LIFI Plasma Grow Week One

[FlyingOrangeDutchman]

Hey guys I've learned quite a bit since my first grow. So I decided to step my game wayyy up and went out and bought a LIFI STA 40-02. Warning in advance if you plan on checking out plasma lighting using the LIFI system be prepared for "some assembly". By "some assembly" I mean building the housing for the emitter that has REALLY good ventilation or else it will be overheating, shutting off and then re-striking every ~30minutes. As far as heat output goes for plasma lighting it isn't that bad. However, if you are growing in a tent the heat is enough to become problematic. You have to definitely have something to push the hot air out unlike CFL's or LED's in which venting is optional. All in all so far I have seen more growth than any other lighting I have used CFL, LED, HPS, and MH. Only thing negative is that if the air from the emitter heat-sink is blown onto a plant directly it will fry it. I had to switch around my tent in order to save my Violater Kush, which is the one that looks sickly/fried between the CFL and fan.

The grow system itself is a top fed hydro system composed of three 5gal buckets from the local hardware store. For the medium I'm using 6in rockwool cubes in some new myco inoculated peat-moss and coco-coir mixture with 3inches of hygroton on the bottom, as well as throughout the soil and an inch on top to provide adequate aeration of the roots. So far I've seen explosive root growth. I also switched from Piranha and Tarantula to Myco-Madness and the difference between the two is pretty noticeable. My roots seem a lot happier and thicker. Also I'm doing this grow vegan! I will post my nutes and schedule later.




Feel free to criticize and ask questions, I'll be updating the grow a few times a week!

 

[Encomium]

Interesting. What's the light output from a plasma? Why did you go this route?

 

[FlyingOrangeDutchman]

Interesting. What's the light output from a plasma? Why did you go this route?

The light output for this particular model is 14k lumens using only 273w which was a huge reason also plasma lighting as it's the most efficient form of lighting. It also only uses 28v which is another reason why I chose plasma your dealing with a lot less voltage = less danger. However my biggest reason is the spectrum in comparison to the sun. Here are some spectrum comparison charts. Given yea this doesn't come anywhere close to the intensity of the Sun however it comes closest spectrum wise to any other light I have seen so far available on the market. Also the spectrum for the 40-02 model peaks at 660nm and 680nm at a fairly decent intensity. So there's really no need for supplemental LED lighting. Also for the lumen output taken in consideration in comparison to a MH or HPS equivalent it runs fairly cool! See the last pic for a thermal pic of an operating driver/heat-sink. Most of the heat comes from the actual emitter bulb; it even comes with a precaution not to put paper within a certain proximity (8 inches I believe) or else it could catch on fire.





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[Green Inferno]

The light output for this particular model is 14k lumens using only 273w which was a huge reason also plasma lighting as it's the most efficient form of lighting. It also only uses 28v which is another reason why I chose plasma your dealing with a lot less voltage = less danger. However my biggest reason is the spectrum in comparison to the sun. Here are some spectrum comparison charts. Given yea this doesn't come anywhere close to the intensity of the Sun however it comes closest spectrum wise to any other light I have seen so far available on the market. Also the spectrum for the 40-02 model peaks at 660nm and 680nm at a fairly decent intensity. So there's really no need for supplemental LED lighting. Also for the lumen output taken in consideration in comparison to a MH or HPS equivalent it runs fairly cool! See the last pic for a thermal pic of an operating driver/heat-sink. Most of the heat comes from the actual emitter bulb; it even comes with a precaution not to put paper within a certain proximity (8 inches I believe) or else it could catch on fire.


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What are the prices of those? Pretty reasonable?

 

[daisy2687]

Well I'm interested and subbed. Plasma is probably the next big thing in lighting.

Have you started flowering yet?

 

[FlyingOrangeDutchman]

What are the prices of those? Pretty reasonable?

They're pretty expensive I got mine for 660$. However, I spent 20$ on housing (cheapest PC case I could find at micro-center), 45$ in nuts & bolts and 25$ on the heat-sink cooling fan. So I spent approximately 750 total; however I spent 8 hours building it and getting the bugs out. It's kind of a project but it's worth it. A lot of other sites that sell plasma lighting already utilize LIFI STA 40&41 series however they don't use the right model. Only the STA40-02 designed for indoor gardening and aquarium lighting sufficient for growing corals. So make sure and check before you buy!

 

[FlyingOrangeDutchman]

Well I'm interested and subbed. Plasma is probably the next big thing in lighting.

Have you started flowering yet?

Yea it's catching on slowly. I've talked to others that tried plasma lighting and they swear by it and won't go back. Also I figured if NASA uses it, it's probably worth checking out. But yea I'm six days in flowering so they just started. They're stretching like crazy though.

 

[Green Inferno]

They're pretty expensive I got mine for 660$. However, I spent 20$ on housing (cheapest PC case I could find at micro-center), 45$ in nuts & bolts and 25$ on the heat-sink cooling fan. So I spent approximately 750 total; however I spent 8 hours building it and getting the bugs out. It's kind of a project but it's worth it. A lot of other sites that sell plasma lighting already utilize LIFI STA 40&41 series however they don't use the right model. Only the STA40-02 designed for indoor gardening and aquarium lighting sufficient for growing corals. So make sure and check before you buy!

I guess that is not too bad, if it works good. LEDs can be pretty expensive too. I was lucky to get one for really cheap from a friend.
Once I get used to growing indoors, I'd like to grow more than what I will be for now, I will be looking into bigger better lights. Most will
depend on my financial situation as for what lights I do get when that time comes.

I will check back from time to time to see how your grow turns out. Good luck!

 

[FlyingOrangeDutchman]

Its been two weeks since my last update. So I figured that I would put up some pictures so you can see how they're coming along. The Violater Kush ended up getting fried by the light. I did the hand check at 1ft clearance and then tested the temp and it was ~78F. So I figured that it would suffice. Unfortunately that was not the case as the manufacturer suggestion is 1 1/2 feet of clearance and I guess is suggested for a reason lol. I replaced the Kush with some assorted veggies (lettuce, tomato, eggplant, cucumber, bell-pepper and lemon basil) and as you can see by the photo is still pretty intense at ~3ft clearance. I looked up the intensity chart for the light I will try and post it later. However, directly underneath the emitter is where a majority of the light is focused. So far I would have to say I'm very pleased with how well everything is growing since I fixed my pH (was at 8.2 now 6.7).

 

[NebulasINblooM]

I was told to use HPS in conjunction with for higher yields... Where did you buy this light? It is the same plasma the Gavita is essentially. You def saved some bread! Glad you caught the PH and the light distance! They will turn around I'm sure, probably affect yield though buddy. Touche for pioneering plasma bro! Cheers.

 

[woodsmaneh!]

Great to see you doing some leading edge light testing, what is the foot print of the light eg. 1000w is 4x4x4. How many plants can you put under it?

I also noticed you have some issues going on, the white/bleaching is from being too close to the light and the twisting leaves are likely from heat. You also have a Mag. dif. happening, I would hit them with some Cal-Mag of a similar product, not just Mag. as if N is low Mag is locked so better to treat with something that has a number of elements in it. And no don't use Epson salts use Cal-mag. I'll hang around to see how this goes...

 

[coolrunnings]

This is awesome. Good research!