LED Without LEDs -My First T5 Grow

BlueB

Active Member
Well Hellolights jacked with me, I ordered 4 on Saturday then called today to wonder where my tracking number was... oh we're out of stock. Ok well why wouldnt you tell me that you're out of stock when ordering, uh yeah hold on while I go find em elsewhere. So I find em elsewhere on ebay and order those, then Hellolights calls me and says oh yeah we do have em afterall?? Too late! I had already ordered them elsewhere... long story and several fuckups by shitty online stores later and I now should have 2 red suns, 2 Giessemann AquaFlora's and 2 AquaMedic Plant Grow's on the way, so Ill be able to report the differences between them (the red suns will be the most visibly red as the other two still have some blue in them making them purplish, but they're both red heavy and their red is 660nm so yay!)
The Flora Suns are pretty much identical to the aqua medics plant grow and half the price. There is no 660nm peak in the gieseman aqua floras bulb though, those are pretty much 6000K or 6500K type of bulb. The plant grow already has the whole 630 and 660 range, so why not just use those? I'm tempted to try a mixture of just Flora Suns and Red Suns for flower, then tossing the Fiji's back in along with some actinic 420 for the finish.
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
Well Hellolights jacked with me, I ordered 4 on Saturday then called today to wonder where my tracking number was... oh we're out of stock. Ok well why wouldnt you tell me that you're out of stock when ordering, uh yeah hold on while I go find em elsewhere. So I find em elsewhere on ebay and order those, then Hellolights calls me and says oh yeah we do have em afterall?? Too late! I had already ordered them elsewhere... long story and several fuckups by shitty online stores later and I now should have 2 red suns, 2 Giessemann AquaFlora's and 2 AquaMedic Plant Grow's on the way, so Ill be able to report the differences between them (the red suns will be the most visibly red as the other two still have some blue in them making them purplish, but they're both red heavy and their red is 660nm so yay!)
Same thing happened to me. They were out of fiji purps. Then I emaled to complain. They didnt show up with my order. But there was a letter that I found later that said te fijis were being sent straight from the factory. When hellolights emails you its not really a new email. They make a comment on te original email when they contact you if something is wrong or what ever. So you have to log in on their site to see it. Any way hellolights is real cool. Keep in mind its just one person tht run te shop and handles everything. I had one bulb that did not work. He replaced it and he paid the shipping and I got it in 2 days. I even asked him if he wantedvte broken bulb back so he could send it to the factory. He said it was cool dont worry about it. Oh it was a ati aquablue special tht did not work. So just from that experience. Thats my favorite place to deal with. Like I said it just one guy so give him a chance to reapond and what not. Best customer service
 

falcon223

Active Member
Hi all. That little plant is my favorite one. She is under the t5 now , but was grown under a 600 watt HPS.
The sad thing is that was the only female I got out of those seeds. So I kept one male and Cross pollinated , the AK, WW, BQ.
Now I may have to scrape the hole grow. Got seeds every where. So many seeds so little time.
That is a Cluster bomb.
Thanks for the heads up on the flora suns.
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
About a week ago I started 24/0 veg. I never tried it in my life. I always did 18/6. they were droopy the 2nd day but by the following day they were perky again and have stayed perky. Of course reaching more towards the light than ever before. They really seem to like the actinics more on 24/0. That could be just the strain too. I am seeing tighter nodes and much much faster growth. Im stoked....... From everything I read on the subject. Everything was saying that there would be tighter nodes but in 18/6 they get taller faster from using stored energy while they sleep. In my case they got taller faster and since nodes are tighter. That means more budsites faster. Maybe its the bulbs too
 

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
I had always vegged under 18/6. I tried the 24/0 for 3 weeks, but did not notice the results I hoped for (using UFO 90- mostly red, supplemented with 2 43 watt day light cfls). I now veg under 20/4. Maybe it's psychological, but I think they need some darkness, but 24/0 under actinic may up the ante. I could try shutting down the UFO and running all day light cfls.
 

BlueB

Active Member
About a week ago I started 24/0 veg. I never tried it in my life. I always did 18/6. they were droopy the 2nd day but by the following day they were perky again and have stayed perky. Of course reaching more towards the light than ever before. They really seem to like the actinics more on 24/0. That could be just the strain too. I am seeing tighter nodes and much much faster growth. Im stoked....... From everything I read on the subject. Everything was saying that there would be tighter nodes but in 18/6 they get taller faster from using stored energy while they sleep. In my case they got taller faster and since nodes are tighter. That means more budsites faster. Maybe its the bulbs too
I've grown under 24/0 before with astonishing results. The only thing is they need to be watered more frequently. I have read somewhere about plants liking some darkness to process stored energy or ATF? But I have NEVER noticed plants not liking the 24/0 cycle. I agree that they stretch more when the light is off. I'm still mixed about which is better 24/0 or 18/6 and haven't seen any proof of which is better. I do know that my cuttings root almost twice as fast under 24/0. And what about Alaska? We all know about the monster produce and buds that come from AK. They have pretty much 24/0 daylight during the grow cycle and it is 100% natural there. I'm still not convinced that plants need any darkness during the grow cycle.
 

Phaeton

Active Member
I saw UV fluorescents mentioned. I found a new T5 HO in UVB.

54 watts, 12% UVB, twice the UVB as a reptisun 10 as well as twice the visible light. Arcadia D3+, available in america from Lightyourreptiles.com.
I am running 20 of the reptisun's, these will cut the usage in half if they are as advertised. I have 4 of them coming in for testing. $45 each, but reptisuns run $30 each so these are the better deal.

I though I would toss this out there for the UVB growers, this is only the second HO bulb I have found and the first I could purchase in USA, kinda stoked.

My surround is UVB and red, going all T5 and losing the T8's will be a good thing.
 

BlueB

Active Member
I saw UV fluorescents mentioned. I found a new T5 HO in UVB.

54 watts, 12% UVB, twice the UVB as a reptisun 10 as well as twice the visible light. Arcadia D3+, available in america from Lightyourreptiles.com.
I am running 20 of the reptisun's, these will cut the usage in half if they are as advertised. I have 4 of them coming in for testing. $45 each, but reptisuns run $30 each so these are the better deal.

I though I would toss this out there for the UVB growers, this is only the second HO bulb I have found and the first I could purchase in USA, kinda stoked.

My surround is UVB and red, going all T5 and losing the T8's will be a good thing.
So do you only turn on the reptile light at beginning and end of light cycle? and for how long do you leave them on? do you just leave them on all the time? i've heard a few people say before that plants can only handle certain types of light at early and late of the ON cycle. I don't know if anyone has even tested this idea or if that's what you do with reptile bulbs. ive heard some people say they use 2 timers and only turn on some lights for a short period to emulate dawn and dusk, or midday hours..........i really have no idea either way though..........what works best for you?
 

BlueB

Active Member
I just switched out my fixture again today to try something new for flower mode. 4 Flora Sun, 1 Fiji Purple 2 Red Sun, 1 Plant Grow. Then I have 2 more plant grows on each side of the plant for side lighting in a 2-bulb fixture. The top fixture is very red while the side lighting has more blue in it, should be able to see if the side lighting has any positive effects on bud density under the canopy. I'm going to throw 2 actinics in there in place of the Red Suns at the least 2 weeks for extra UVb, or REPTISUNS?????? Who here has had some positive results doing this, do the UVb bulbs really produce a more sticky icky?
 

falcon223

Active Member
Your plant are , lets say domesticated, So they really don't know what daylight cycle is . They have never been in the reel world.
They depend on you to provide for them and protect them. They do how ever react to what is going on around them.
 

mipainpatient

Active Member
I saw UV fluorescents mentioned. I found a new T5 HO in UVB.

54 watts, 12% UVB, twice the UVB as a reptisun 10 as well as twice the visible light. Arcadia D3+, available in america from Lightyourreptiles.com.
I am running 20 of the reptisun's, these will cut the usage in half if they are as advertised. I have 4 of them coming in for testing. $45 each, but reptisuns run $30 each so these are the better deal.

I though I would toss this out there for the UVB growers, this is only the second HO bulb I have found and the first I could purchase in USA, kinda stoked.

My surround is UVB and red, going all T5 and losing the T8's will be a good thing.
Thanks Kindly! Just got some nice mountain strain seeds and I may wait for the UV t5s to show to sprout em :)
MPP

edit:
That is kinda a sweet graph too, at least, if you were coming in thinking you were ONLY getting UVb...just nice to see the ~440 blue peak
12% UVb t5.jpeg
 

BlueB

Active Member
Well you know that we love cana porn , so where are the pics? At least a pic of the lights.
canopy under T5 mixture with CFL 65w plant grow lighting on the side,


here is the color analysis with the added red sun in place of the plant grow T5 along with the additional side lighting with the 65w plant grow,


photo of the canopy with T5 lights off,
 

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
This observation is highly flawed so if someone can do an actual before & after comparo ..

I installed the FloroSun
in position 5 in my BB 8 bulb@ ~ 2pm yesterday (light is on 12/12). Pos 5 was previously occupied by the Coral Wave, the best place left for the CW was position 7.

Unfortunately, I did not think to carefully examine the 2 plants under flower at the change over. So, the FS is right next to a Red Sun pos 6 capped by a ATI Actinic Blue Special in pos 4.

Well, I checked them @ ~ 11 AM this morning and noticed a significant increase of new pistils, not only that but that appear heartier (beefier/thicker). And they appear all over from top to the very bottom buds, even those on the bottom branches (~ 16" below the T5 bulbs), nearest the main stalk, that aren't getting any light!

Just checked again, and resin production seems to have gone crazy, too.

Can somebody do a before & after with a similar bulb change?
 

BlueB

Active Member
This observation is highly flawed so if someone can do an actual before & after comparo ..

I installed the FloroSun
in position 5 in my BB 8 bulb@ ~ 2pm yesterday (light is on 12/12). Pos 5 was previously occupied by the Coral Wave, the best place left for the CW was position 7.

Unfortunately, I did not think to carefully examine the 2 plants under flower at the change over. So, the FS is right next to a Red Sun pos 6 capped by a ATI Actinic Blue Special in pos 4.

Well, I checked them @ ~ 11 AM this morning and noticed a significant increase of new pistils, not only that but that appear heartier (beefier/thicker). And they appear all over from top to the very bottom buds, even those on the bottom branches (~ 16" below the T5 bulbs), nearest the main stalk, that aren't getting any light!

Just checked again, and resin production seems to have gone crazy, too.

Can somebody do a before & after with a similar bulb change?
I already posted photos with the flora sun switch. They are after all, made for plant growth. They WILL increase growth within 24 hours because they contain the deep red that plants use. The coral wave bulbs you are using ARE actinic bulbs meant for coral, hence the name coral wave. That little bit of infra-red in the coral waves is minimal and not going to create exhibited growth. The coral waves DO NOT have the red spectrum that plants need and that's why your plants started doing better when you switched them out for a flora sun bulb. If you are going to use the coral wave bulb, do not bother to put in any other actinics because coral waves are an actinic bulb, hope this makes sense. The Fiji Purple is like a Coral Wave and Blue Plus mixed together bulb making it a better option for your T5 fixture. Plus it has a little red in there. I am going with 4 Flora Sun, 1 Fiji Purple, and 3 Red Sun in my fixture. The Flora Sun already have the blue peaks along with the entire blue spectrum of the Fiji Purple so that's why I'm only keeping the 1 Fiji Purple in the fixture for now. It seems to be providing a sufficient amount of blue. Later, I will be switching out the Red Sun bulbs for 2 Coral Waves, and 2 UVb bulb maybe.
 

BlueB

Active Member
Here's a few must reads and a must watch,

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/budding-cycle/71198-elaboration-phytochemical-process-makes-thc.html

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/cabinet-closet-grow-room-setup/79209-uvb-light-whats-real-story.html

https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php?/topic/26244-methods-for-increasing-potency/page__p__338927__fromsearch__1#entry338927

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfiI78uN3Ks

explains why HPS sucks for THC production and why UVb is necessary.

this guy ultimately says to only use UVb lights for 5 hours during the "noon" time of the light cycle. I think I'm going to stick with 4 hours on and 20 hours off, overlapping the "noon" cycle with the T5's. That means I'm going to need some single bulb fixture. It really sounds like without UVb you're not doing your buds any justice.
 
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