Hi everybody, I'm Jimmy and have been hanging with you guys and gals in the organic section for about 5 years now. I usually get solid and consistent advise here. I just picked up a PAR 600 Viparspectra LED (285 watts at the wall) and in the Lighting forums I am getting a huge variation in opinions as to how far my light should be from 10 day old sprout. I'm a 600 HPS guy with zero LED knowledge. So, the manual states for seedlings 36-40 inches using blue and white color for 1-2 weeks then down to 30 inches for the rest of veg then 18-24 in flower. I got answers from 36 to as low as 8 in. Seeds get direct sown into Dank Oh Zee's starter mix and went into 3 gal smart pots with ING's Easy Organic Mix for Noobs yesterday. 1 Blue Mystic and 1 Jock Horror both Auto. BTW, I've never grown auto's before. They are currently at 27 inches and slightly off to the side and look OK for now. So the question for my organic buddies is if anyone has this or a similar wattage light, how close do you run your lights? Thanks
It's usually the same on Mars, Galaxy Hydro etc. I have a MarsHydro 600 278 draw from wall, it was my first light. I use it in a veg tent. Seedlings 24-30 inches Veg 18-24 inches Bloom 12-18 inches In flower you could get a little closer then 12 inches IMO! the MarsHydro I have is similar to your light. yours is a little newer then mine but I think it's still about the same distance. When they get bigger in veg I would use both switches so you'll be getting more watts and it will be full spectrum. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Thanks for the input guys. Robbie, my light has 3 switches and I just turned the red on this morning @ 32 inches.
Not sure about that specific light, but I use a couple of store bought 12watt led bulbs for seedlings and early veg. its a,azing how little light they need at that stage. I'd hang it high as possible and use the veg spectrum. But dont let the veg performance fool you though. That light will not perform as well as your 600w HPS in flower, you'd need two of thoose fixtures to match it.
Hey I'm not getting rid of the HPS. Grow room is in the attic and I typically do a run of photo periods starting right after everyone takes off after Thanksgiving. Playing with some Auto's to see if the LED can grow anything between now and then. Heat can be a bitch in NC but it feels like Fall is here early.
32 inches is fine for small seedlings. Its dimmable for veg the other for bloom and whites. Once your seedlings get bigger you could lower it a little every couple days. So you have the veg and bloom on? how are they liking the light, you should have it dialed in before you know it. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
3 on off switches but not dimmable. White and blue seedling and veg and add red for flower. Jock Horror leaf edges started raising up so I cut the red off after a few hours. Figured it was heat or wind so I made a fan adjustment as well. Great weather coming next week I may run the HPS for a few hours in the mornings.