I have a 6500k daylight LED that I am using but I want to add in some blue and red spectrum for veg and flowering, respectively. I am on a tight budget but found these lights on amazon for an affordable price. Will these guys do the trick? The seller does not have the spectrum listed and it seems like they are white light with a blue/red plastic filter over to make the light blue or red. Will this have the same beneficial effect for the plant?
ok, im not gonna answer, but i'll make some question, what kind of wattage are those led you speak of? how much do they cost?
I have two 8000 lumen 6500K LEDs, so 200 watts there. And these colored lights are 90 watts and run about $16 on amazon, but I also found them at walmart for $9.
The blue/red cap thing is dumb. Those filters block useful light and reduce the effectiveness. The point about "colour" of light is the balance of the frequencies of light that are created, giving an overall "warm" or "cool" appearance which we are used to (apart from the 'yellow' appearance of street lights we are also used to). It's great for mood lighting, but totally the wrong thing for growing. As for the light itself, I am very sceptical about these high powered LED lights. If you do any research on the old-school HPS/MH bulbs, there is a lot of info on light spectrum and which parts of it are used by the plant. Early LED lights were well known to make the plants look black because they focused only on frequencies that would be 100% absorbed by the leaves. Common 3-15ish watt LED bulbs for household use, sold as cool/warm white, will do for a houseplant but wont provide enough energy of the right frequencies for a plant like cannabis. Even though these lights look bright and white, it's literally a trick-of-the-light. But these high-powered white bulbs, I'm not sure. If they are sold as grow-lights and come with the caps, that suggests it's all bullshit and I'm not sure I trust either the wattage or the lumens rating. If they are spotlight mood lighting, there's a chance the numbers are correct. If they were CFLs they would be definitely good, because CFLs have a known spectrum. Because they are just "white" LED bulbs it is hard to say, they will not be as good as 200w growlight led, they may or may not be better or more efficient than CFLs, or at 400w total probably not better than a 400w HPS. Although the initial investment on these may seem cheap, at 200w costs the same in running costs whatever you have plugged in.
Howando - none of the lights I have bought are sold as "grow lights". The 8000 lumen daylight led I have mentioned above is not the one pictured. As for the one pictured, I am not really sure what actual color the bulbs are. I bought one but one but didn't crack it open to see....it just looks like the blue outer part might be what is making it blue and not the color of the bulb itself. I wasn't sure if the bulb itself isn't blue, would it still provide the benefits of having a blue spectrum light? It def shines blue lol
It's probably mainly blue light being emitted, which is useful, and then mainly yellow with a bit of red most of which aren't useful, giving an overall white colour. I've tried to find some data on white led lights, and as far as I can tell the spectrum isn't as good as CFLs, but you do have a fairly decent match in the blue spectrum with chlorophyll, and through sheer brute-force-wattage they will probably get the job done. For the same running costs you can do better, and in results it will be more comparable to a 200w CFL grow than a 200w grow-specific LED lightsource (e.g. a classic mars hydro 300 running at ~190w).
If you’re going to grow with led just get one on amazon. It’s easier and you can be more sure about what you’re getting. Go for mars hydro or viparspectra or metzhi if you ask me. I’ve used viparspectra and had great results. I would not trust those spot lights to grow green onion let alone cannabis. First to third grow. From beginner to novice lol.
Also, like infamous states hid (mh or hps) bulbs are honestly far superior. MH for veg HPS for flowering Most find the 600w versions are the best bang for your buck. First to third grow. From beginner to novice lol.