Led help please!!!

^^^Don't for get Area 51...with about 20 different grows on this site alone

It's hard to answer everything you ask at once but I'll take a swing at it.

So do you have all 5 in the one container(32gal)?...so basically you have a 32"ish circle grow space actually? Or are you planning on using a normal style in the 5x5 space. If you have them all in the one then you're kinda stuck till next time.

But those kessils are only good for about 1'x1' maybe 1.5'x1.5' at best. And even in that area is a weak light.
This test show a kessil and a few others. Non are near the best lights to finish filling you grow space with.
View attachment 2739446
you can see how narrow the light covers. And pretty low intensity for marijuana.

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Are you trying to max out your space, a certain number of plants. Or is just a little stash enough for you.


If you are 6 weeks from seed already then those kessils are probably struggling a bit.

Thanks Tag, I appreciate that

I'm gonna post some graphs this week, I just got a spectroradiometer, and will have some cool spectrum charts and PAR charts as well.

I will have charts for a 400w HPS, 400w MH, various CFLs, a incandescent, 1x SGS, 2x SGS, and a 450w LED from Sun Valley, Ca.

^^^that's sweet EH. A quality investment there. I may have a hook up with apache but I am honest about quality and results and you(A51) have both. I am going to do par chart like those for the new apache's if I can ever get a hand of them, plus some hps, indagro, and what not too. I was surprised at the hps peak intensities that I have seen in test/specs. Lower than I remember, but they do show why/how led is lacking(coverage). Hps holds the umol's all the to the edges way better. But some led's peak can be equal to even some 1000w hps.


Sorry to thread jack a bit here enthusiast, but I think just reading some threads on here will give you what you are looking for. Had to tell yield for you...your setup seems interesting. Pics possibly?

I grow with Kessils and they are good and well made lights. The first problem that I see is that you purchased the deep purples and not the magentas. Deep purple is made for veg and magenta for flower...and veg is waaay easy for LED. With just those lights, your grow is going to struggle mightily during flower.

I'm not really sure why you would refuse to use any other light. Different spectrums and light sources often work well together. I've had great luck with my Kessils but I supplemented with white light and I expect coverage of about 1 x 1 if stationary. I like Kessils (magentas!) and with their spectral spinner cover an area up to 3 x 3. I first supplemented with fluorescent lighting and now am using white diy fixtures in my grow to do that. I've also just generally come to believe that although some dominant red/blue lighting is good, some white light to give the rest of the spectrum is good too. Plants do use more than just the dominant red/blue wavelength. I've also seen other people supplementing with small HID fixtures as well. I haven't done that one but use what you have or can get at a reasonable cost until you can afford better. You are going to need a fair amount of some warm light to supplement your current grow in order to finish those seedlings.

I've kept my Kessils at about 8 - 10 inches up from the canopy.

As far as organic soil grows - check out the organic section here and there's a good book as well that's an easy read and interesting read "True Living Organics" by The Rev. You can grow well in small containers or large. You just have to pick your methods and go from there. The Rev is aimed more at small container growing because he has a bad back and doesn't want to move heavy containers. Seems like a valid reason to me. I don't know what you like or your experiences so read up.

Thank you jcmjrt. It's a pleasure hearing from another Kessil user.
I intend to buy Magenta's for the flowering stage.

Do you just use Magentas for veg and flower? Are you using 150's or 350's?

I am an Electrician and sustainable living nut, plus a penny pincher, so that is why I refuse to operate HID's. CFL's i am open to using though, since they too eat little electricity and last longer.

Any CFL wattage and bulb type recommendation for me?

Gardening Enthusiast said:

Thank you jcmjrt. It's a pleasure hearing from another Kessil user.
I intend to buy Magenta's for the flowering stage.

Do you just use Magentas for veg and flower? Are you using 150's or 350's?

I am an Electrician and sustainable living nut, plus a penny pincher, so that is why I refuse to operate HID's. CFL's i am open to using though, since they too eat little electricity and last longer.

Any CFL wattage and bulb type recommendation for me?

Click to expand...

I have 4 H350 magentas which I use for veg and flower and made a couple of small diy led fixtures to go on to the spinner to add a little light and some spectrum. I have small white fixture, a small royal blue fixture and a couple of small deep red fixtures. I have white and blue running during veg and then switch to white and deep red at flower time and then deep red 2 at late flower.

The purples already have a lot of blue so no need to add blue at any point. I'd add some small warm white CFLs...maybe two per plant? See how the plants are doing as far as bud production and decide whether or not to add more. CFLs get kept as close to the plant as possible and surround them with light.

Since you are an electrician, why not just make your own? Diy is pretty easy with these guys. Check out ledgroupbuy.com stevesleds.com for parts. You can build yourself a fixture with only top quality top bin LEDs, efficient drivers and plenty of cooling. Cree XTEs, XMLs and Philips ES Luxeon are hard to beat. Some things one diys because you can get something much cheaper but honestly, I think the best reason to diy LED fixtures is that you can get the best fixture. Once you decide on a grow space then you could build fixtures, to just fit your space. Coverage is very important with LEDs. LED light is much like T5HO in that you really only grow well what is almost directly under the fixture. The light just doesn't spread all that well. Most manufacturers tell real whoppers when it comes to telling you what the coverage area is. Think size of the fixture and add a foot in width and height and that's about the max good flower area...and it can be more like add 4 inches to each dimension. With top brand, top bin LEDs (given you also have good coverage), you could be getting great grows with 30 watts/ft2.

Also if you are into sustainable living, you really do need to check out The Rev's book and the recycled living organic soil (ROLS) thread (growing style more suited to larger containers) in the organic section here. You won't need to buy bottled nutrients any more and the plants will love you too. Worm composting is something else that you need to look at. I maintain a small worm bin now and the castings are pure gold for growing. Have fun.

From what I gather, the lights I am currently using use similar tech to Kessil. I personally am a fan of Apache Tech from their transparency in tech, and performance from what I've seen. Others recommended so far have all also peaked my interest at some point. But just came to add my 2 cents in saying that t5 is hands down the better option over cfl's IMO. I started with cfl's initially, then got into LEDs. Changed veg space from cfl's to t5ho and haven't looked back! Temps are much better too (I noticed your emphasis on temps).

Apachetech 's products are great ones . But if the price can be down , then that will be Great .