L.E.D. 1st Grow

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by Petho1, Sep 28, 2009.

  1. Sound good to me. We have not grown from seed in about 3 years, we clone ours. Wish I was more help in this area but I'm not.
     
  2. OK their 2 weeks old now and I finally see a very small root coming out the bottom of the net cup on 1 plant and it has its second set of leaves coming out now but the first set of leaves seems to be kinda droopy. I hope its allright.
     
  3. Will be watching this grow. Have you added nutes yet? Post some pics if you can.
     
  4. yep, nutes already. Will post pics later today prolly.
     
  5. Looking forward to the pics.

    Should start to explode once a few more roots make it out of the pot..
     
  6. So how ar things Petho1
     
  7. Hey thanks for asking. I'm kinda wondering myself. The CHP is kinda wilted but also has new growth 2nd set of leaves. The PL is looking good and also has 2nd set growing in.
     

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  8. Seems a little early for nutes don't ya think?
    what dosage are you giving them?
     
  9. Damn, I guess I did a no no? I did add nute mixture in bucket as to directions. Should I not do that? If so, can I change bucket to just water or is it too late?
     
  10. #30 LoveBlunts, Oct 6, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 6, 2009
    Add a couple CFLs (twisty bulbs) they're cheap and easy. You can get socket adapters to put the bulbs right into a regular wall socket. Just buy a power strip, some adapters, some y-adapters, zip ties, and bulbs.... you got yourself a sick little light rack to use with your LED spectrum.


    also,

    If those are mirrors... they're probably hurting more than helping. The glass panel in front of the silver-backing absorbs light and turns it into heat.. also makes hot spots. (not sure if hot spots will be a problem for you with LEDs tho) Good luck. waitin to see how these LEDs work... ha ha

    -Lbs.


    edit:
    as far as nutes go... early seedlings shouldn't get full strength ever. It looks a little too early for nutes at all. Maybe 1/8 strength of bottle instructions. 2-3 weeks from now you can try working up to full strength. Just watch your plants, they're nice enough to ask us for more or less nutes. ;) just get in tune with em.
     
  11. I was thinking the same thing about the mirrors but with leds I dont know about hot spots..
     
  12. Not to worried about that since the led's don't put out any heat. More worried about the cali hash plant thats wilted a little but its not turning yellow and does have new growth just looks weak. Idk really yet. I did change to just straight water and no nutes. Thanks, I did not know to not add nutes yet but I hope all is ok and will prevail. Also getting some cfl's tomorrow to help those weak leds.
    Thanks again everybody and anymore suggestions is well appreciated.
     
  13. I happen to own a glass & mirror co. Mirrors will not make hot spots. Their' backing is not tinfoil. Mirrors don't reflect heat, the glass on it does. However this only applies when a heat source is beating on the glass. If it is hot outside & your window is hot to the touch, is a mirror reflecting the hot window also hot ? No, it's not. I use mirrors in my bloom room on the floor. I just ordered my vegg tent 5x5x7. In my new veg tent the whole 5x5 floor will be a 1/4in thick sheet of mirror. In my bloom area I have a 2.5ft X 6ft peice of scrap from the wharehouse laid in the middle of my plants 3 on each side reflecting a 1000 watt SHPS hortlilux w/ an air cooled hood. That does not get hot or burn my plants. If the mirror had a fisheye aka dent, minor break mark. That could be a hot spot "depends". Growing with LEDs you want all the reflection you can get. When it's time for the buds get yaself a real light. If your creative home depot has everything you need. If I were you & you want this done cheap & well. Go get a shitload of T5 CFL strips. 1/2 white 1/2 warm to get you past veg & finish with a HPS mixed with flourecent.
     
  14. Hey Kahn...


    Does the layer of glass in front of the silver-backing of the mirror not absorb light? I'm pretty sure when i listened in physics, they said something about that. The light rays bend when going through the glass and hit the reflective surface and bend more on their way back through leading to less actual reflected light than you started with. flat white paint would be more beneficial. just my 2 cents.



    -Lbs.
     
  15. Yes, Mirrors are more effecient at reflecting Heat than light. That doesnt mean that theyre useless for your applicatio tho.

    LEDs radiate very little towards the front, nearly all the heat is produced at the back of the LED, from the heatsink mounting ( i assume we're talking about star leds here, not low wattage 5mm leds from toys).

    While your just using LEDs i cant see heat reflection being a problem, no matter how many Panels you use. Once you start putting in the CFLs tho, id reconsider the whole mirror idea, and go for mylar, or my faviorite, a flat white surface.

    Deffiently use CFL to suppliment the light spectrum btw, I finished a CFL/LED grow 2 months ago, and although the Buds were considerably smaller than the exact same strain grown under HPS, the Pure LED grow that my mate is doing atm looks completely undernurished and the flowers are very 'light and fluffy'.
     
  16. i reckon this bloke's right, mirrors absorb more light than they reflect... wasted light. the light goes through the glass to the backing, some is reflected back, some is absorbed by the backing, wood frame etcetera. white is good! i'm interested in a led grow having considered it for years.
    petho1. slow is good at first.

     
  17. Turn off the lights. Turn on a flashlight & point it at the mirror. What happens ? It reflects the light back towards you. Point your led at a mirror in a dark room & see if the room dont get brighter, see if you can't control where the light goes.The trick to this is how far the light is away from the mirror. It's all about enhancing coverage area. If you put the mirror or light @ an angle you can also control the direction of reflected light. Your light will not double in lumens but it will be highly effective at delivering light beneath the plant. Do you think 2 sided poly or mylar compares to the reflection of another light ? Your mirror won't get hot unless your light is hot & close to the mirror feeding it heat. Currently Im using a mirror with my flowering which isn't even a week in. You can see the diffrence in lighting when you add a mirror & you won't get any hot spots. Argue all you like but it's free & works for me. I think I would of had a hot spot by now reflecting a 1000 watt light off my mirror which was also was under the 1000 watt MH bulb since babies. "switchable ballast". I would love to see someone try to compare the reflection of a mirror w/ white poly or mylar lmao.
     
  18. #38 mongrel, Oct 7, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 7, 2009
    hmmm, i didn't mention hot spots because i don't really know if a mirror causes them or not. though i seriously doubt that a beam of reflected mirror light unless deliberately focussed, could be intense enough to burn/harm a plant. of course every setup up is unique and thus different causes and outcomes may apply for differing conditions and other factors. in your case i certainly believe you have no hot spots. i mentioned the light absorption because it is a known scientific fact not a random guess by me or others here or elsewhere. google will bring back many reputable sources to expand on this for you. all this discussion is good as it will help clarify things for new growers. i think you should also do a search regarding the reflective capabilities of flat white vs mirrors. you may be surprised.
     
  19. Well 1st off did the teacher tell you exactly how much light is absorbed by a mirror ? It cannot absorb all light cause we all know it reflects it too. Yes they do absorb but you need ask how much. You cannot get hot spots w/out a damaged mirror. They are perfectly smooth. A mirror doesn't make heat. Heat does. No amount of light will heat your mirror up unless there is heat from the light beating on the mirror. Heat is no isuue unless you have heat. I shine 1000 watts into the mirror. Let's say mirrors keep 70% of the light. Id imagine thats a high guestimate. That means I have 30% of a 1000 watt light on the bottom of my grow. Im sorry but mylar & poly are not capable of producing that type of reflection. Anyone with a high powered light should atleast get a door mirror & place it in the center of your plants. You can find them as low as 15 bucks or you can find a scrap. I dare someone to try it & come back & tell me mylar or poly gave you better results. It is a next to nothing addition to your grow w/ results. I don't care what your teacher told you but I know it hurts my eyes to look into the mirror. Ever hurt your eyes looking at mylar of poly ? Try it, than tell me it's a bad idea or useless. This is useful for everyone.
     
  20. #40 mongrel, Oct 8, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 8, 2009
    well first off the teacher didn't tell me i learned it independently from 25 years of growing and research. the teacher appears to have certainly not told you much. as for mylar and poly i am not going to comment on something i know nothing about and again regarding hot spots i do not disagree with you... i just don't know. i do know however, that a piece of wood or whatever painted flat white (and it does have to be a flat white, such as ceiling white) will give you at least equal and probably greater reflective capability than a mirror will. it will certainly give a more evenly and thus more efficient diffused light. i reiterate... i did not drag this fact out of my arse... i have read, learned and digested. education doesn't stop just because school is over! obtusity and hearsay never prove anything and never will prove anything. proveable, re-producible facts do. an easy way to research it would have one side mirrored and the other side a flat white painted board and watch the outcome. anybody got any comments about mylar and poly vs mirrors? a rational discussion on this would certainly be illuminating (pun intended) and helpful to growers. petho1 what's your take on this discussion? and how are your plants coming along? one of them looked very unhealthy... has it improved? what have you been doing with them?
     

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