Hello there all! Okay so I currently have two 150w HPS lights for my three babies. This is my second grow! I know that 300w of light would be sufficient to complete the grow(currently in flowering) but I was debating on trying to add an LED light for the flowering stage. I heard that LEDs increase trich production and such. My questions are as follows. -would it be beneficial to add LED lighting to my current setup? -if yes, what would be the best LED light to pick up? -also, how would I go about placing the LED light in my current grow space?(hanging it, or installing it along the back wall or some other way) Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated!
if you're looking to save a little dough, maybe add something small like: Apollo Horticulture GL60LED Full Spectrum 180W LED http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FGFW0XO/
Should I hang the LED right in between my HPS lights or mount it to one of the walls? How should I go about getting the most out of all of the lights?
I think I'm going to invest in that Apollo LED light. Does it matter that I am already two weeks into flower or can I add the LED anytime?
just add it as soon as possible. since it's still early, it shouldn't have any negative effect. just make sure with the added light that you keep checking the room temperature
Okay will do. Current temps during light is 76-78 and 80 at most. I have no idea about what kind of heat LEDs put out but I heard it isn't much
Actually, that is why I am trying them out myself. To cut down on the heat during the summer months. The 150w LED panels I picked up are just as intense as my HID (dare I say maybe even more?). And virtually no heat compared to my HIDs. Quiet too. No loud-ass fans going all the time. View attachment 149272 View attachment 149261 Hope this helps, -PG
Have you noticed any major differences when you switched to the LEDs? I want an LED to supplement my current setup so I want to find out if an LED would help out during the flowering stage.
In my limited experience with these LEDs (the SolarSPEC) there was a noticeable difference in the way the plants grew in veg. You can limit the vertical growth by turning off the red spectrum and get them to "bush out". I only did this once a week to keep the sativas in check. The plants I have flowering under LEDs now were flipped early (because I was eager to see how my new equipment worked). BubbaKush entering week 5. And as far as I can tell, the nugs seem tighter, more dense, and more fragrant than the ones in the HPS tent. The plants in the LED tent also displayed pistils before the HPS/MH tent. -PG
anytime you can increase PPFD's you're winning. but might i suggest, at the cost of (red is for flower and blue for veg nazzis) that you choose a blue LED panel to add to your red sodium lights.you will not be disappointed.
Really? Adding a blue LED panel would be better? I am trying to get better results in flower such as more trichs, denser buds, and such. If a blue LED panel would be better than a red panel for flower I would be all for it.
the benefit would come in supplying both violet\\blue wavelengths with red wavelengths during your entire grow. so combining the red HID with a blue LED would be a step in the right direction yes. can plants be flowered in nothing but red, sure they can, will they reach their genetic potential, no. 100 percent genetic potential is our goal, which will probably never be reached even out doors, but we want to get as close as possible so mimicking the sun's full spectrum is definitely a priority during indoor grows if that is our goal.
Hmm that is interesting. Well, would you know any blue led grow lights that you would recommend to supplement my current hps setup?
check out the threads in the lighting sub section, there are a couple with much info on each manufacturer.
advanced led ex-veg it uses all cree xte blue. Icemud uses them i think he has a code for a discount too. Brada has been running them at half power http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1337677-icemuds-advanced-led-grow-feat-xte-300-series-ex-veg-200w.html Good call Al you nailed it. adding that blue light will change your quality game. your trichomes will explode all over your plant lots of guys run metal halide in the final days/weeks of their grows to get the trichomes production up. I am not as convienced on the importance of mimicking the sun as i use to be. I have been using an all blue spectrum to veg and its performance has changed my mind. All i can say for sure is we have a lot to learn and as technology increases i am sure we will discover a lot of what we think we know now will not be correct.
lots as yet to be discovered in plants. so many process are carried out by plants that we have yet to discern. which is why i advocate full spectrum lighting through the whole grow, they evolved under full spectrum lighting for tens of thousands of years and i'm of the belief that they utilize wavelengths for many of these yet unknown process' they utilize violet for genome expression, if i remember correctly, take away the violet and what do you have? you have a hole in the spectrum normally available to plants and then they must either go without, or make do with what they have. that's no way to grow plants to their genetic potential if you ask me.