What led is best value for small grow

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
I was going to get 5 floods @ 50w, but the shipping was > $150.

For this grow, I have opted for screw bulbs. I started with a mix of 500K + 3000K, now all 3000K= ~ 44w

So far, so good. Here's a couple recent photos


View attachment 2541491View attachment 2541492View attachment 2541493
hi petflora, what type of lights are you using? You said they are a screw base, but are they cfl's or leds? All pics are welcome as long as you have some led's going. What type of plants are you growing. Looks indica to me, maybe an AK or something like that.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Little Chiesel still 2", second tier leaves are very identifiable now without having to look closely, stem about same thickness as yesterday.
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
Mine get to that same stage and i think it's not happening fast enough, so out come the nutes. Burn, burn, burn. This time i might lock up the nutes and give the misses the key. I am slowly learning patience though. Im buying my first floodlight tomorrow just to have a look at sizing and brightness. Looking forward to setting it up.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Ha. I have a feeling I'm going to overwater and starve my girl of nutes.

Awesome, though, looking forward to seeing your results with the flood(s).
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
Depending on what soil you are using, i have found you dont need the nutes until about 4-6 weeks old. Even then you dont need much. I have tried bubbleponics before but i have never started in a bubbler. I transplanted it into a bubbler when the plant got to about 6 inches tall. But i have noticed you need to keep a real close eye on them when they are in the water(ph and nutes). Im going to just try soil with perlite this time and see how i go. Here are some pics of my last bubble grow. 2x23w cfl. It's autoberry from dutch master.
1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Whaaa? Nice grow, dude. How'd it smoke?

And yuk. I tried DWC/"Aero" - roughneck tote with an oversized water pump, bunch of air stones, PVC pipe and misters, the works and I got hit by slime hard. Water temps, pH, EC, anything that can and will go wrong with my soilless media, plants falling over, I mean the list just seems to go on and on. I sold all that gear to my friend along with my 1000W HPS, my T5 panel and a bunch of other stuff for half what I payed and his garden did amazing. Same exact gear, nutes, meters, same everything. It works for lots of people so I won't knock it just 'cause I'm too dumb/lazy to figure it out, but... not for me, I like dirt.
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
The smoke was great. The buzz would last for hours.
I'm having the same problems now, just can't get it right. Back to basics this time, nothing wrong with soil. Do you use a soil ph meter?
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
I did when I was attempting hydro, but I sold my meter. Probably going to buy strips to measure runoff in case a Chiesel clone depletes her pot of all the amendments in her Super Soil and deficiencies become apparent. Right now the plants are just sitting in some Roots Organic so there's no immediate danger.

That herb looks damn fine for 46W. Props. Hopefully you can do even better this time around. :fire:
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
Thanks. I did a few things wrong with her. I topped it then I found out your not suppose to top autos. I also had it about 5-6 inches from the lights, so she stretched a fair bit. I was also without a ph meter for the first month. I don't know how it went so well. As I was saying I was trying to do it again but nothing but trouble.
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
Got my 10w Cool White Led today. Just got one atm just to see how good they are. Im going to get another 3 eventually. Probably get one every fortnight.

IMAG0240.jpgIMAG02441.jpg

Does anyone know if led's or cfl's are going to be better for flowering? I am happy with the little 10w led because unlike cfl's the entire amount of light is focused in one direction not 360 deg. I'm not sure whether to go just one big flood light for flowering (50w warm white) or 4 x 10w warm white led flood lights.

On another note my new seeds arrived today. 1x Master Kush, 1x AK-48, 1x Haze #1 and 1x Cheese Bomb. I am going to give Master Kush and Cheese Bomb a go first. How's little chiesel going bumping?
 

Attachments

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Sick, dude. Can't wait to see how that 10W performs. And be careful with those seeds! I killed a Big Buddha Auto and a Grassomatic Max gOm 'cause I'm a fucking newb. Good thing the seeds were free for me. Remember less is more.

I wonder how much that glass is killing efficiency on the 10W'er. Do you think you can remove it? No pressure, I'm just wondering. Btw, that 10W setup looks awesome, I say go for it. Might be much on the CW, but hopefully it will keep the girls nice and compact. I think you'll be happy any which way you go about it. Who knows, maybe add some supplemental 630nm-660nm spotlights after a little while.

As for Little Chiesel she is 2-1/8" tall. She's just workin' on her leaves and stems I guess. I'm not complaining.
p1120428b.jpg
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
I just checked on my little bagseed and it looks like it prefers to 10w led over 2x 23w cfl's. All the leaves are starting to reach for the light. Alright, it looks like my little test light is working so I'm definitely going to get some more. I figure that once they are a decent height I can put them under the screen and do a little scrog. That's the plan anyway.
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
Thanks Chronikool, Just wondering, do you think a ratio of 1:1 cool white:warm white would be ok for a 12-12 perpetual grow or will i need more warm white say a ratio of 3:1 ww:cw? or do you think i am going to be better off doing 18-6 then switch to 12-12 for flower?
 

mrrippey

Well-Known Member
Thanks Chronikool, Just wondering, do you think a ratio of 1:1 cool white:warm white would be ok for a 12-12 perpetual grow or will i need more warm white say a ratio of 3:1 ww:cw? or do you think i am going to be better off doing 18-6 then switch to 12-12 for flower?
Im very interested as well as my grow room is too tight and I need to move to an LED set up. I was looking at Phillips screw in flood lights (2700, 3000 and 5000 temperatures) and thinking of just getting four lights (I'm only growing two plants) in a 2x3x5 space.they all had over 1000 lumens so they can't be that bad (my first grow was with 20+ CFL) and I have a 400w MH and HPS set up now that I have used for a few grows.

rippey
 

Chronikool

Well-Known Member
I think you should go 5 warm warm/ 3 cool white. (not sure what that ratio is.) You are getting 8 right?

As for the timer....depending on room available....maybe 18/6 for a week or 2?

What worked for you on your CFL grow?

New pix! :)
 

mrrippey

Well-Known Member
I'm going to build my small room with Phillips lights. I'm thinking about getting four of them (I'm only growing 2-3 max in a 2x3x5 room). I'd likely do a 2700, 3000 and 2 5000 temp bulbs each at 90 watts. Saw them at Home Depot for about $30 each.

i will post pics when I have my set up.

rippey
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
I think you should go 5 warm warm/ 3 cool white. (not sure what that ratio is.) You are getting 8 right?

As for the timer....depending on room available....maybe 18/6 for a week or 2?

What worked for you on your CFL grow?

New pix! :)
Timing on the last grow was 18/6 for the entire grow. Last one was an auto grow. I have never grown a photo plants under lights only outdoors. Also does anyone know if i can use hydro nutes for a soil grow? I just have a fair bit left and want to use them up.
 
Top