CFL Budget, LED alternerative!

FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
First and foremost I am not a novice grower by any means! I am "novice" to micro growing, cfl, and LED though.
After a few minor attempts at CFL growing and using CHEAP LED panels alongside, I have been reading a lot about LED's. I have decided to test cheap screw in cobs.... As lighting requirements change I will add a few more bulbs here and there but still retain the goal of "CFL budget". Though most of my LED growing experience comes from Chinese cheapo panels, it can be applied here.
I have also hand made a couple of panels. Nothing to brag about, only ever tinkered with cheap shit. 50 packs of "3 watt" red inconsistency starboards for only $20. 25 pack of blue "3 watt" slightly less inconsistent starboards for $12... An old HP laptop charger (21v @ 3.1 amps), some resistors and thermal adhesive from radio shack, a couple xbox 360 heatsinks and fans and a 12"x12" piece of aluminum.... It lasted from start up (with no equipment to call my own) until I bought my second 600 watt HPS (4-5 months) and gave it away;) ( I really hope he has something better now...)
We'll start with the "pre-veg" cabinet and the lights I'm using:
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The cab is a mini fridge that I cleverly gutted and fit with a few of the requirements (power strip, light sockets, fans, etc.). Its about 2'x1.5'x1.5' it looks and sounds like any typical mini fridge, perfect stealth. My issue with it though, is that runs way too hot with six 23 watt cfls (80F+).... I recently grabbed these pre-fab screw in LED cobs from Feit electric. They say 9.5 watts... opened up the diffuser to find a single soft white cob. A 10 watt run low?
Anyway, for now I'll be using one. I'll have a single 1996 white widow clone going under it for as long she'll fit. Or if she decides to stretch too much (soft white)....
To retain a "cost" requirement, I'm running a folgers coffee can mini DWC and I'll be using miracle grow African violet liquid concentrate ($4 a bottle and I've heard $0.13 worth gets the job done!)
The clone:
wwclone.jpg

Her mother was originally grown back in '96 by a close family friend who has given pounds of her cuttings away. I received a poor cut a couple months back and have managed to get her going again. Within the last few days, I have nurtured a single small branch (still attached to the plant) into rooting, and recently cut and transplanted it into a 3" net pot, currently situated under said feit soft white led cob in a mini dwc. Roots started to protrude yesterday, today they have shot out. I will be HSTing this one as I know the strain responds well to getting "rhianna'd"!

Comments questions and ideas are tolerated if not appreciated!:P
 
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FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
Nice! Why not Hempy to cut down even more on cost?
I have to look into that African Violet Nute, have you used it before and harvested?
I went DWC because I have parts laying around and I have ZERO experience with Hempy buckets.... Seems like I'd have to go buy a few things if I wanted to try hempy... As for the MG, I have used it and harvested, it was damn good smoke if I might say so myself. I'm not the only one using it as a canna-nutrient @mc130p is running it against us in the party cup comp.
@mc130p
Can I get your $0.13 here? (lol :P)
 

mc130p

Well-Known Member
I went DWC because I have parts laying around and I have ZERO experience with Hempy buckets.... Seems like I'd have to go buy a few things if I wanted to try hempy... As for the MG, I have used it and harvested, it was damn good smoke if I might say so myself. I'm not the only one using it as a canna-nutrient @mc130p is running it against us in the party cup comp.
@mc130p
Can I get your $0.13 here? (lol :P)
Haha...idk, it seems alright to me for the price, that's for sure. I gradually decrease nutes during the final two weeks to water + light cal-mag and it hasn't been since my first plant that I had that nasty over-fed taste (because i overfed the shit out of it, haha). I've used it for multiple strains and it seems to be a decent, all-around general nutrient resource. Depending on how the plant looks, I'lluse up to 12-13 drops per liter, but that's pretty high...usually 8drops/L. That's my 13 cents:)
 

FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
Haha...idk, it seems alright to me for the price, that's for sure. I gradually decrease nutes during the final two weeks to water + light cal-mag and it hasn't been since my first plant that I had that nasty over-fed taste (because i overfed the shit out of it, haha). I've used it for multiple strains and it seems to be a decent, all-around general nutrient resource. Depending on how the plant looks, I'lluse up to 12-13 drops per liter, but that's pretty high...usually 8drops/L. That's my 13 cents:)
Damn.... I must be right on point with you! at full strength I have used 20 drops per liter (2ml) but I gradually increase and hardly ever to more than 1.5ml per liter.... @mc130p you should hit up your local pharmacy and ask for a couple 1ml oral syringes... 1ml=10 drops... nice and long and just slim enough to fit down the neck of that tiny bottle.
IMG_8960.JPG
 

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
DWC is already so cheap though.

Best and cheapest nutrients for DWC is DIY dry salts. Hydrobuddy makes it very easy to put together a formula.
 

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Just a warning, unless that miracle grow has calcium nitrate, it's not going to work well in DWC. Miracle grow products usually get their calcium from the soil itself, and thus lack it in the the formula.

If it says it gets a majority of it's N through urea, it's probably no good for hydro.
 

FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
Just a warning, unless that miracle grow has calcium nitrate, it's not going to work well in DWC. Miracle grow products usually get their calcium from the soil itself, and thus lack it in the the formula.

If it says it gets a majority of it's N through urea, it's probably no good for hydro.
I see no calcium nitrate. hmmmm. think it'll help to supplement with extra cal-mg? I can see that she's already recovering from a lack of nitrogen, ppm @340 with only MG added... Think I should run it til something bad shows up?
 

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
It's basing cost on the actual price I get the ingredients at, but because I'm only making 3 gallons in that picture, it rounds everything to 0.

You can go into the substance database and change the price you get the substances at.

I guess 7.65g of yara calcium nitrate costs less than 10 cents and it's truncating?

where does 0 cost come from... I don't have any of that stuff laying around, except maybe borax....
 

FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
I definately see her starting to stretch.... I went to Home Depot and picked up a "13.5 watt" cool white "par38" screw-in led, supposedly 1200 lumens, I think it'll replace at least a couple 23 watt cfls.... I paid $14 (feit electric brand), went home and eagerly pulled off the diffuser.... Sadly I find 40 or so mini cob style diodes... (maybe 1/4 watt chips?)
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no brand name on the diodes, or amperage, and the only "for sure" I know about these is I'm a bit disappointed... Hopefully this fixes the stretch problem.... That and I topped her in 3 spots :P.... take that bitch!
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FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
You say you don't get root rot problems, how do you keep the water cool in the warm mini fridge?
I have the reservoir wrapped in aluminum tape, and an intake fan pulling cool air into the bottom...never gets hotter than 80F in there.... I get slime sometimes, but no rot. Right now its 79.6F ambient and the water temp is roughly 65ish
 

grasscropper

Well-Known Member
Watching this thread....I am supplementing my LED's with some CFL's They get my tent warmer than I'd like. What do you think about my switching to these LED's over the CFL's.
 

FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
those feit are even cheaper at costco. be careful. the base can get very hot .
Thanks for the heads up on Costco! I'm doin alright at keeping 'em cool, I have cpu fans pointed at 'em. I was thinking about trying to make a recessed housing with rain gutter so I can more easily direct air flow over the actual bases... I'm still only running one bulb though, seems like more would be overkill at this point...
I'm sure all that heat comes from dropping 110v AC @ 3 amps to 3.3 v DC @450 ma.... Maybe I can gut these cobs and build my own panel....
 
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