IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

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spazatak

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BML also sells individual light bars at various lengths and you can select your spectrums
in regards to this post that will depend on where in the world you are..

If in the US perhaps a viable option but it cost more than the price of a light to ship outside the US... maybe not Canada...

I was entertaining the idea of supplemental lighting but cant justify a bar that costs $100 US to actually cost $200 delivered outside the US so will be heading the DIY option.
 

only1realhigh

Well-Known Member
The putting together part is actually fun spazatak, the real work is doing all the searching and figuring out what you want and how many LED's and where to get the quality so no ordering mistakes are made. I rushed a bit and over ordered or wrote down the wrong number and had reorder's. Looking over the data sheets and making sure you order what is required is the key. Again setting down and putting it all to work was fun and seeing them light up was rewarding.
 

BDOGKush

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The XGS is nice and I'm flowering with one right now.
If you're concerned about your yield, go with the RW-150, instead of the XGS.
The RW has deep red in the spectrum and more focused lenses that will help give you a bigger overall haul.
Don't be concerned with the 40W difference, the XGS is good, but the RW is better at flowering.
Hey Karma, thanks to you and Skunky I'm pretty much set on the RW-150. I read in one of your journals that you felt the red spectrum may lead to a higher m/f ratio, do you still think that is true?

Anyone able to give me a rough idea of how well the RW-150 will perform in a 2.5x2.5 tent by itself? It's hard to find a grow journal where someone used just a single unit. I know it's hard to compare LED to HPS but does anyone have an OPINION of what HPS wattage a single RW-150 in my grow space would be equivalent to? A51 doesn't make the big statements I've seen from other LED companies like "600W = 1000W HPS!" While I do see that as a good thing, it still leaves me wondering what exactly to expect, especially when most grows I find are under multiple panels.

(And now I'm seeing this post about how Jeff from A51 would recommend 2 RW-75 vs 1 RW-150. Lol deciding on an LED is becoming harder than I thought it'd be.)
 

spazatak

Well-Known Member
Hey Karma, thanks to you and Skunky I'm pretty much set on the RW-150. I read in one of your journals that you felt the red spectrum may lead to a higher m/f ratio, do you still think that is true?

Anyone able to give me a rough idea of how well the RW-150 will perform in a 2.5x2.5 tent by itself? It's hard to find a grow journal where someone used just a single unit. I know it's hard to compare LED to HPS but does anyone have an OPINION of what HPS wattage a single RW-150 in my grow space would be equivalent to? A51 doesn't make the big statements I've seen from other LED companies like "600W = 1000W HPS!" While I do see that as a good thing, it still leaves me wondering what exactly to expect, especially when most grows I find are under multiple panels.

(And now I'm seeing this post about how Jeff from A51 would recommend 2 RW-75 vs 1 RW-150. Lol deciding on an LED is becoming harder than I thought it'd be.)
two lights is more versatile and would probably cover slightly more area... only slightly... by being able to separate them rather than being one bigger unit..

I think for VEG the &% would be beneficial if power is your concern as well... you can start off vegging with one smaller light rather than the bigger one
 

Bad Karma

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Hey Karma, thanks to you and Skunky I'm pretty much set on the RW-150. I read in one of your journals that you felt the red spectrum may lead to a higher m/f ratio, do you still think that is true?
You're welcome, BDOG. As for what I said in that journal, that was an older 3W A51 model, which I'm pretty sure has more red in it's spectrum than the current RW models. Having too much red light on seedlings can cause more males than females to sprout. I think you should be safe from that issue with the RW's, as they have plenty of blue in their spectrum, as well.
 

only1realhigh

Well-Known Member
How does red light cause a seed to sprout male and not female ?
In the making of seed on the plant there is a much higher ratio of male than female, if naturally done. This factor is because it takes a males pollen to female flower to make seed. It is a weed that does have a natural desire to survive.
Could it have been more that you had a higher male to female ration in the seeds you germinated ?
How many grows, how many times & how many seeds used, did you germinate under the redder light to come to this conclusion ?
Just curious of such a statement.
 

JazzyLady

Well-Known Member
This is my first MJ grow, but I have grown grapes and peaches for over 20 years. I spent a lot of time researching because I wanted to do LED, but it wasn't until I got the actual light that I found out how bad it was. Do not buy an Apollo LED. I was sold this POS by HydroponicsGroup.com as part of a kit. This LED makes all the plants lean to the light. So in a 4x4 foot space, all my plants were straining to go to the middle. When I called them to ask about this after my seedlings were sprouted and straining, they knew it would happen and told me so. NONE of the photos of anything they sell have images of plants growing. They cant, because the plants would all be huddled under a tiny little light. I've now set it aside, and put in a T5 to finish vegging. Plants straightened out within 24 hours. I'm still bent over how I was treated at Hydroponicsgroup
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
I'm still bent over how I was treated at Hydroponicsgroup
I don't think Cidly Apollo is a definitive product. Cidly provides various specifications which don't include any mention of spectrum. I also don't think they sell directly to the public. I don't see a "purchase" button on Cidly's website.

Cidly sellers are either the low-cost Alibaba guys who all seem to have their own spectrum. Or, bigger names that import the Cidly with custom spectrum.

I wonder if the retailer you purchased from used a bad spectrum. Did they tell you what it is (colors and ratio)? A reflection of the retailer, not the light per se.

I'm using the following custom spectrum purchased from Alibaba "Thunder Lighting." It's producing good results. But, this isn't something I could have figured out as a newbie. For that reason, I think Cidly Apollo is perilous for a newbie.

Code:
1x IR 730
9x deep red 660
2x blue 450
White avg 5116k
    1x white 2700k (3200-3500k) (avg 3350k)
    2x white 5000k (5500-6500k) (avg 6000k)
I used that in early sprout, currently aggressive veg. There was no leaning. (Credit: This is exactly the ratio of Grow Northern's upgradeable "Rebel" module, although they use Philips and Cidly uses Epistar. My choice of whites were different, making it 900k warmer white.).
 

Bad Karma

Well-Known Member
How does red light cause a seed to sprout male and not female ?
In the making of seed on the plant there is a much higher ratio of male than female, if naturally done. This factor is because it takes a males pollen to female flower to make seed. It is a weed that does have a natural desire to survive.
Could it have been more that you had a higher male to female ration in the seeds you germinated ?
How many grows, how many times & how many seeds used, did you germinate under the redder light to come to this conclusion ?
Just curious of such a statement.
It's a well known fact published in several grow bibles.
More red light during germ, and veg, will result in more males, more blue light, during germ, and veg, will get you more females.
It's one of the reasons people use MH, and T5, in their nurseries, for the blue spectrum.
My own finding through the years echo these statements.
I had a much higher female ratio from seed when I used an all 6500k T5, and XGS, compared to my older 3W A51 light.

For example:
6500k T5: 5 out of 5 female
XGS: 4 out of 7 female
3W A51: 2 out of 8 female

(Note: The 3W A51 LED is the best flowering light out of the three, by far.)
 

BDOGKush

Well-Known Member
You're welcome, BDOG. As for what I said in that journal, that was an older 3W A51 model, which I'm pretty sure has more red in it's spectrum than the current RW models. Having too much red light on seedlings can cause more males than females to sprout. I think you should be safe from that issue with the RW's, as they have plenty of blue in their spectrum, as well.
Good to know and thanks again.

two lights is more versatile and would probably cover slightly more area... only slightly... by being able to separate them rather than being one bigger unit..

I think for VEG the &% would be beneficial if power is your concern as well... you can start off vegging with one smaller light rather than the bigger one
Power really isn't a concern, primary concern would be keeping temps down (main reason I'm going LED), next concern is yield and quality. The prices of these A51 lights doesn't make it easier on me, XGS is only $10 more than the RW-150, 2 RW-75 only $15 dollars more than an XGS. At their price range and my budget, I could do any of those options so I'm just concerned on getting the best one. From what I've been told by two owners of these lights, the RW-150 can do everything the XGS can with less power draw and heat but right when I'm about to pull the trigger, I see the owner suggest 2 RW-75s vs a single RW-150. I stated a goal that I'd like to hit with this tent but nobody has really commented on if it was a realistic goal with LEDs in my grow space and I only really know what can be done with an HPS.

How does red light cause a seed to sprout male and not female ?
In the making of seed on the plant there is a much higher ratio of male than female, if naturally done. This factor is because it takes a males pollen to female flower to make seed. It is a weed that does have a natural desire to survive.
Could it have been more that you had a higher male to female ration in the seeds you germinated ?
How many grows, how many times & how many seeds used, did you germinate under the redder light to come to this conclusion ?
Just curious of such a statement.
http://www.1stmarijuanagrowerspage.com/how-to-improve-female-male-ratio-of-cannabis-plant.html

http://www.royalqueenseeds.com/content/51-male-and-hermaphrodite-plants

Just the first two links when I did a google search about it, there were a lot more articles than just this about it though.
 
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