LED Comparisons?

Looking good DS! Yours too Swiller. Hopefully I'll be posting juicy bud shots like that next year.
Sounds so far away, yet so close!

SupraSPL said:

Hey DS, those are looking very nice! The 7C1 refers to the color tint, about 2900K. Mike posted that the brightness bin was T4, which is very good for a 2900K. As I said though, it would be very expensive to run XML2s at 700mA so the Onyx is running them at about 2A which has allowed them to offer the lowest price of any commercial panel $2.15/dissipation W. At 2A the T4 bin is 98lm/W minimum, assuming Tj 50C. That works out to 30% efficiency.

I would highly recommend removing the frosted lenses if you dont mind hacking your lamps. No good can come from taxing and scattering the photons IMO. Almost all commercial lamps use lenses, probably because they have to protect the LEDS anyway so it serves a dual purpose.

In the case of very high power COBs (like GGs drone) I can see the use of reflectors being helpful because there is too much output in a small area to keep them close to the canopy. Reflectors can allow you to raise the lamp without losing too much light out the sides. The main reason I don't use reflectors is because I am running soft enough (800mA) that they can be kept very close to the canopy and still get a decent spread. But you can make COB reflectors very easily and cheaply with white heat paint. I will probably end up using them in my veg area with the CXA3590s. I will take some light measurement before and after the reflectors are installed.

Click to expand...

Thanks Supra, Still nervous about removing the lenses... I was hoping for a dummies version...

Anywise I can't take all the credit for what you see is largely from what I gleamed from the RIU community..
and just a little effort on my part...

DankSwag

High Times, books, Mel Rosenthal & Ed Frank, Jorge Cervantes, subcool, vic, everyone who posted useful information here, there is much to acknowledge and give thanks too.

Swiller said:

High Times, books, Mel Rosenthal & Ed Frank, Jorge Cervantes, subcool, vic, everyone who posted useful information here, there is much to acknowledge and give thanks too.

Click to expand...

Yes kudos to those regarded echelons in marijuana horticulture...and to those whom we've had the fortunate to learn from their mistakes and to those who still want to repeat past failures more power to you. Just remember the definition of insanity is to repeat the same things and respect a different result.

I've meet Ed two years ago at Hemp Fest, good times and great conversation got some tips on my PHOGS systems which is based on what Ed wrote on passive hydroponics.

Seen some Jorge Cervantes videos, subcool recipe for soil was priceless information a great place to begin when mastering your own soil blend.

DankSwag

From what I can tell this legal medicine should be ready to take down this week as we are approaching 8 week mark.
Got to get out the scopes and check out those trichs! And get all STICKY WITH IT!

These pics last week




Here's their sisters growing up just fine I say... notice I have them in a tighter configuration for the weave is a 3x3
Gone under the gals and took of their fruits underneath. Now it's just leaf management "trimming the hedges"



DankSwag

Okay the Area 51's came in YEE HA buckaroos!

Now that I am going to harvest the 4x4 under just two yes two Onyx Blooms and the first week or so of this harvest was under one light as I had a light fail on a the first flower cycle in the North wing, these will be the South wing that I am taking now. Weight numbers to come in about a week or so. As I need to focus on getting drying room dialed in properly so I can cure properly as well. These tops look really sticky sweet.

Once I remove these I will set up the two new Area 51's as soon as I understand how the hardware I was given to use to hang the lights works. Something appears missing or I am just can't seem to understand how to connect it to the hardware.
No diagram or instructions with hanging gear.... a knock for documentation that is always something I look for, its important insurance one has the guidelines on proper assembly and usage.

Anywise so I will get to see now what 2 Area 51's can do against 2 Onxy Blooms...should be good times...




DankSwag

Okay this is the smallest of the four gals that got chopped, really wet really sticky really dank sticky sweet smell...here's to not drying out to fast so the CURE will be on...

For soon I will be singing "Oh Christmas Bud Oh Christmas Bud, how I adore thee, Oh Christmas Bud Oh Christmas Bud, I love to smoke thee" "Many more tokes I shall I take many more oh I am so baked, Oh Christmas Bud Oh Christmas Bud Oh how I am stoned thee.


DankSwag

49 12 05

Okay here are some pre pics of Area 51 with panel 24 inches from wall, tape measure is extended three feet across.

Here are the young darlings responding well to their training and pruning, I am tempted to place one more Onyx bloom over them for I fear with 2 Area 51s in the South Wing 4x4 space that I will be disappointed in the Onyx bloom results so I will need to add up the amperage for 2 RW-150s and 3 Onyx blooms to ensure no electrical issues.


RW-150 Footprint Red on wall at 24 inches, tape measure shows light centered on three feet.


RW-150 White same measurements as above

South Wing will need remodeled to suspend two Area 51's 4x4 area. One Onyx to North Wing the other sits as spare.

I am also going to do some rewiring in here to clean this up.

DankSwag
Stay posted for updates of Area 51's in Action!

I can already tell I am going to love these Area 51 units, the dual toggle switches for RED or WHITE leds, they clearly come with 36 LEDS per panel the Onyx bloom only 18, that's twice the number of diodes....and the area of coverage because there are more diodes spread out over a larger panel is nice too and they use half the amp which means I don't necessarily have to do any additional wiring expect that which I planed for the mini split....

Can't wait to see the results of these girls...granted they are a few week vegging more then the sisters that went in before them, but they got cold and wet and started getting a little fungi which I am sinced SM90 and neemed them good, now that I got a chance to then them out and prepare them for there screen to come here they are under the lights...

Here are the girls first day under the Area 51 in the South Wing



Here are the girls under the Onyx Bloom in the North Wing
'


DankSwag

Okay here ares some pics from yesterday

These girls in the South Wing under the Area 51' were cloned same as those currently in North wing that have a few weeks of flower on their stems already from basking under two onyx blooms soon hopefully to add a third.

note these girls in south wing were a little neglected while vegging few weeks more then there counter parts who are already building their flowers

this pic taken prior to heaving LST


After bending them into submission, they really like that, tried to leave more of the stem up and placed screen on sooner then I have yet to date. I am hoping to increase yields in this scrog by increase numbers of colas's and attempting to set screen at level on stems that allow for more vertical growth to increase flower production. However making these 32 cola plants instead of 8 should quadruple my yields. I'll probably need something bigger then the 2 gallon cloth pots I've been using from veg to flower.



Some views of current growth



A nice fuller canopy here in the North Wing as apposed to current and prior South Wing Canopy, yet it is still early to tell in current South Wing grow for they just went in this week to 12/12 and just got heavily LST woven into the grid.


Looks a little light here in foliage it will be good test for Area 51 to see if these beat up ladies can produce better then their counter parts.

DankSwag

KIND K5 XL1000 or the blackdog platinum

Though its been 16 days since I last posted, I have some picks from last week ...

here are some of my thoughts..

I am not dissatisfied at all with the Onyx got some good flowers of them, nice, smooth and potent. But I grow organically too. My concern is two fold.. increase yield in the footprint I have by multiplying the number of main stems to 32 per plant verses 8 and prune for more top growth with a minimum of four to 6 inch tops sitting above the screen before putting to flower.. This should increase yield hopefully. My other concern is coverage in how many do I really need to provide enough light in the 4x4. Now that I have four of the onyx I can double what I use and see if that makes any difference, but I will need upgrade electrical system to provide adequate available power to do so.

Ideally I may just replace the onyx with more Area 51s, we'll see. I have options with the Onyx bloom but I hope the Area51 out performs the Onyx for they use less electricity and have greater coverage and you can daisy chain them. We'll see

I am waiting to see if the Area 51 which has more leds in the panel and provides better light coverage then the Onyx bloom will perform better, for they are near the same prices and from what I can tell I am seeing better growth from the same clones under those lights. I am hoping to see a difference in the amount of trichomes produced as well. I seem to be more impressed with the Area 51 and they have yet to get through third week in this cycle the growth is really nice for what they were.

These were taken six days ago, can't wait to get update from this week amazing....

These are much better this week, I need to check to see where these are in the process week wise.

Thickening up.. however you should see them now I will try to post past Christmas. 5 weeks into flowering on 12/17/14


These gals had mold and nutrition issues prior to putting to flower on 12/4/14
They were severely LST trained on 12/714 and now they're looking a little more fuller and livelier.



Too many open spaces, thus I need to maximize the tops and work on my mainlining skills

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

DankSwag

Looks good. I grow with one Onyx and one A51 SGS-160. The yield is comparable, but the Onyx grow is more dense and crowded. My A 51 growth is more spread out. I like the coverage of the A51 but the power and penetration of the Onyx cannot be denied. This crop will yield more than my last, so getting better each grow, dialing it in.

I too grow organic soil only, so my growth is slower than hydro, my yields smaller, but I've used the same strain for almost 2 years now, no complaints. The strain meets my personal and medical needs...Madman OG

I keep my lights much closer than you, no more than 12" away at most, no bleaching, no problems. They do like the Cal/Mag! Have you tried getting the lights closer?

Swiller said:

Looks good. I grow with one Onyx and one A51 SGS-160. The yield is comparable, but the Onyx grow is more dense and crowded. My A 51 growth is more spread out. I like the coverage of the A51 but the power and penetration of the Onyx cannot be denied. This crop will yield more than my last, so getting better each grow, dialing it in.

I too grow organic soil only, so my growth is slower than hydro, my yields smaller, but I've used the same strain for almost 2 years now, no complaints. The strain meets my personal and medical needs...Madman OG

I keep my lights much closer than you, no more than 12" away at most, no bleaching, no problems. They do like the Cal/Mag! Have you tried getting the lights closer?

Click to expand...

Swiller,

Thanks for the information. I may end up doing just that using one A51 sandwiched between two Onyx lights for each of my two 4x4 footprints in my 10x5 flower. Right now I am doing a straight comparison with 2 Onyx blooms flowering for one 4x4 and two Area 51s covering the other.

I am trying to find that balance between coverage and canopy penetration when it comes to how far I keep the lights from the canopy, So I know the Onyx has more power how does that equate into more penetration? Doesn't distance and light spectrum's account also for how well the light provided is used?

Anywise I am excited to take so more pics today as I will be around when lights are on today to update.....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone....

DankSwag

Unlike you Dank, I am a total epic fail when it comes to scrog. The plants just keep growing. The A51 is more efficient for sure, even after the first grow I can see that. Let me clarify, the greater spread and the lower electrical usage produces the same amount of cannabis as the Onyx. They did come out very sticky.

Hi Swiller,

I see you have a lot of stretch between nodes is that an Sativa strain? How tall are your tops before you flip to 12/12?

I think I am just fortunate my girls have small intervals between nodes. You may want to train a different strain before you give up on scrog.. If you are getting that kind of stretch you may want to weaving your tops into the mesh so they are laying flat then flip the lights?

Anywise they look nice, I am trying to get 8 to 12 inch tops packed with buds...we'll see, but I use a hybrid strain with more indica in it.

I'll keep everyone posted with new pics later this evening as I should be around when the lights are on.

Happy New Year everyone..

DankSwag

I had to go back and look at my thread journal to get a date I put these girls into flower in the North wing, from what I can tell I flipped them to 12/12 on 11-14, so that means harvest is 1-8... Therefore the pics North Wing are two weeks away from harvest and they look frosty....


These girls here in the South Wing were flipped to 12/12 on 12-4 so these girls are just three weeks into flowering, my how they have grown up tall and with very nice short node intervals.




It's clear I will need considerable improvement in my mainline pruning skills to achieve a fuller scrog with taller colas. But from what I've see this should good! If I can fill both the horizontal and vertical space with flowering colas I should be able to potentially increase current yield (n) by 4 squared. That is 4 times the current cola sites of 8 per plant, which is 32. then 4 times the cola height. This should be exciting.

DankSwag...

In your opinion are the rw150 worth the buy, I would need to fork over about 4 grand to fill my 5x9 tent. Nice log btw

redbeardy5 said:

In your opinion are the rw150 worth the buy, I would need to fork over about 4 grand to fill my 5x9 tent. Nice log btw

Click to expand...

I am currently using only 2 RW 150's over one of my two 4x4 grow spaces within my 5x10.
From what I am currently seeing in growth, coverage combined with low energy use, more leds in panel (72) and daisy chain as well? The price is comparative but I prefer the additional spectrum with the dual toggle switches for red or white, I run both off them on using all the available light they can produce I only control with timer.

I'd say you can't go wrong and would be better served using the Area51's. The fact the panels are larger and have more leds in them with additional spectrum I say is a big plus regardless if some say the diodes in the onyx bloom have better penetration. well they cover a smaller foot print and are concentrated that way.

So I will probably do really really well once I sandwich each of my Area 51's with a onyx bloom on both side. That is until I get 4 area 51's over each 4x4 space which should be over kill I could probably do okay with just another set of two and put the onyx on the edges of two area 51's... Anywise yeah man if I could start again I would probably just have all Area 51's.

DankSwag

I'm really loving these Area 51's these girls are growing up nice in here, have tight node intervals and I have plenty of tops over six inches. Though I have less sites these are taller and should produce equitable yield compared to what I have been getting off the 2 Onyx Blooms. This current cycle will be the last time I just weave them through the mesh and let the flowering stems grow from 0 height on the horizontal. I like what I am seeing allowing (growing) 3 to 4 inches of tops before flipping the cycle. These are growing into nice height for single colas can't wait to see them fill out and consume the whole stem. I would make them into Thai sticks if I had anything to dip them in...

Anywise this looks to be the best Onyx yield to date, mostly cause I filled the entire weave with lot more branches. Now to not just fill the wire mesh but to have 3 to 4 inch tops before flipping the light.

Being my flower room is a 12/12 room 365 I have to manage to grow (veg) these plants with 32 tops each and have 3 to 4 inches of growth prior to moving to 12/12. So this presents challenges working with large 3x3 or 4x4 wire mesh. So I had a brain fart and decided why not cut the mesh to one foot square or close too pieces and use them individually over each plant to help train and get ready for flowering...

Da da...


I guess I'd call these training mesh, the weight in the wire mesh is just enough to help level the branches to like height. This should help to customize for each plant and allow for more evenly distributed cola sites.

DankSwag