Per tbone, post 25 UV Supplementation - does it really help? with pics.. If you're going to do UV look at solacure. Their bulbs are actually designed for this instead of repurposing reptile lights. According to them their bulbs are many times more effective per watt then many others. Agromox says the same for their new UV bulbs.
That is why I posted the link to their website, I did a lot of separate research on Solacure and Tbone was not the only one impressed with their product. It is solely designed for growing, and its definitely going into my tent.
At least 3 clones have poked roots through the rooter pellets now, and all of them will pick up their rooters if tugged on! Gonna give it another day or so, then transplanting back into the res...
My point: tbone states both companies have same hype vs “reptile” lights, and that is basically all that solacure says. Agromax pure uv is 54w, 75% uvb 25% uva (solely for growing, too). Solacure flower power is either 32w or 40w, depending on product, i can’t tell from their marketing what %uvb and %uva, do you know? I have a problem when a company rambles on about how strong their product is, but refuses to specify how much active ingredient the product contains. I’ve used the agromax, i know they do the job. I would expect (based on their other hype) that if solacure was better they would just come out and say so, and why. I’ve researched both lights, not much out there on agromax, lots on solacure. Funny thing tho, all the solacure postings refer back to mouthing the company’s hype. Kinda reminds me of supercloset. Not trying to convince you or others, just sayin...
thass the thing..i'm not seein feelin, or smellin the gooey stuff..i did smoke the sample and found it inconclusive so idk..i'm very lo on bud so i will probally hrvst it
What they do say is that their light uses the full UVB spectrum (280-320nm) whereas others supposedly only use 300-320nm. I also could not find the percentage of UVA versus UVB light that their product contains, but I emailed them and asked so hopefully we will know soon. They do hype themselves a ton (sadly very common in the growing industry) but I also read a lot of positive testimonials from others about their UV light. Reminds me more of SuperThrive (the nutrient) than SuperCloset, unreal amounts of self-promotion but those who use the product seem to always say it works........
Less than 5 minutes after I wrote to Sloacure I received this response: It should be on the page for the Flower Power, but its easy to miss. The UVB lamps do have the spectrum for each on their page, as an inset image. Keep in mind, these lamps are going to be much stronger, watt per watt, than other lamps due to the design and the fact that we don't put visible phosphors in the bulb, only UV phosphors. Both the Flower Power and Super B are 34% UVB, 66% UVA, 0% VIS. The Flower Power has a wider spectrum, but both are extremely strong UVB bulbs, dwarfing anything else out there. This is why you only need to use them 2-4 hours a day. Dennis Brown
Agromax pure uv spectrum: They have anything to say about agromax pure uv? Best review i have seen yet, see Baker’s post: https://www.dudegrows.com/additional-lighting-bloom-room/
I posted the entire reply, but you can write them with any questions you have---they are obviously very responsive. Here is the Solacure spectrum:
I read that review, note this from Baker: I would recommend either the Pure UV t5 bulbs from Agromax. A brand from the gardening supply store called HTG Supply. They are 75% UVB 310-320 nm and 25% UVA 375-385 nm Seems to support what Solacure said, that the 280-300 portion of the spectrum is not covered by others.
Just thought you might be intetested in hearing what their opinion is of agromax. They like to throw around “strongest” but i believe agromax is much stronger, would never run it like they say to run theirs.
The guy wasn’t quoting spectrum of specific lights, just uv wavelengths. Looks like agromax spectrum covers at least same uv wavelengths as solacure.
Might well be stronger, but stronger does not always mean better. The spectrum percentages are different with the two company's lights, so differing approaches to using UV.
I wrote Dennis Brown of Solacure back and asked if they had done any comparisons with Agromax, here is his full response: I haven't. Keep in mind, we produce a lot of UV products. We ONLY produce UV products, but for different markets. I have 25 years in UV, my partner has 35. It's all we do. We looked at T5 bulbs, but decided against it. We can produce more UV at 20 watts inside of a T12 than you can with 54 watts in a T5 bulb. It's all about the surface area. Plus, T12 lamps naturally last longer, and running it at lower watts means longer life as well. The percentage of UVB doesn't tell you the strength, just the ratio. Just as two "half full" glasses of milk aren't equal if one is a 4 oz glass, and the other is a 16 oz. glass. They are both 50% full, but not equal. T5s have only a fraction of the surface area of a T12, and the UV isn't made in the middle of the lamp, only on the inside surface of the lamp, when the electrons hit the phosphor coating. A larger surface means more UV, longer life and better cooling. Our lamps are NOT designed to be used the full 12 hours of flowering. I've accidentally had them run 8 hours one day, killed several plants. Oops. This is why we say just 2 to 4 hours is plenty. Most growers are going to get 1-2 years out of our lamps as well. Looking at their website, I'm seeing a lot of errors. Average amount of UVB on a sunny day is 5%, not 3%. They are also saying 280-290 is UVC, when both the US and EU standards say it is UVB (EU and US differ on the upper end, where the crossover from UVA to UVB is 320nm in the US, but the EU considers 315nm the crossover point). I also do not see where they publish the spectrum, not the range of 280-320nm. They talk about ranges of UV but not what their lights produce, at least on that page. I would assume they are producing 300-320nm like everyone else. There is only one patented glass that clears 280nm that I am aware of, and I've licensed it for over a dozen years. They are also the only company I've ever seen that measures in "micro-watts" instead of milliwatts, which is what every handheld meter and spectrometer that I'm familiar with uses. They don't say where they are produced either. Ours are made in Hungary, at the largest glass tube factory on the planet. I've worked with others, Sylvania, Philips, Narva, Voltarc, etc. but these guys have the best toys for making the kinds of lamps we want built. They only sell in HTG stores, so I assume it is a house brand, which is fine. We do all our own designing, sell direct to OEMs and end users, do custom bulbs, etc. It's more than a marketing thing for us. The Flower Power and Super B, for instance, were both spec'ed and designed by myself. We design our own fixtures, and do some of the manufacturing. Our new high end fixture just hit production, made in Ohio, USA. It will let you daisy chain up to a dozen fixtures easily, and you can pop the case and swap in one wire and double the power to 44 watts. That is more for greenhouse growers who use fewer bulbs that are very far away from the plants. Anyway, we are two different animals. We do give a 30 day money back guarantee. Most people see some results in the first week, so that is plenty long to tell it's working. I will say this---the company is very responsive (much like Timber), seem to know a lot about UV light, and did point out a few potential holes in Agromax's story.
I posted the agromax spectrum, which obviously begins in the top quartile of 200’s. Google agromax, endless number of sales outlets besides the only one they were aware of. No fucking way i would use”strong” uv light 2-4 hr/day throughout flowering. A strong uv light would burn your plants to shit with that exposure duration. Nitpicking bullshit on 5% uvb vs 3%, when it depends on exactly where you are (high elevation, under ozone hole, at equator, etc). Who cares where the fuck it’s produced? I bet they are t12 more for economics/logistics than grow quality. Blah, blah, blah... i could go on... competitive info of poor value. I particularly liked when he threw in the towel, “Anyway, we are two different animals.“ So are reptile lights, which they had no problem proclaiming themselves so much stronger/better than. Evidently less willing to talk strongest/best when faced with a straighton ag competitor. All they are really saying is: trust us were better than reptile lights. Baker on Dude Grows gave best review, i’ve seen. Sorry to rag on, but i hate bullshit marketing crap. Glad they are responsive, good luck.
As you say so very very often on this forum, each person has to decide what works for them. You can state things like "I bet they are t12 more for economics/logistics than grow quality" but you do not work in this arena so that is fairly conjectural on your part, right? I don't necessarily think Solacure is better than Agromax but I personally doubt its noticeably worse either---like so many things it comes down to preference. You already bought the Agromax so you do have an interest in it being as good or better, just saying. I'm not here to argue about what product is superior or markets better or talks about all their competitors, but rather to offer options for all who read this thread. Agromax is a good option for sure, I believe Solacure is as well. Each has to choose for themselves like you say all the time, good luck to you (and anyone else) as well.
Thanks. I do say to each his own. I also say caveat emptor. T12 is old tech, cheap and easy to source, by the way.... I know agromax works, because i’ve seen it pile on the trichs, not because i have some sort of bias - like, i own this business... Enjoy!
Anyone who owns any business in any industry is going to push their product, that is as old & true as time itself---Solacure is not new or unique in doing that and it does not, in and of itself, mean they are not a good product. Because a woman goes around telling anyone & everyone she is pretty does not mean she isn't (and of course it also does not mean she is). I agree Agromax works but I have seen that Solacure works as well (and Tbone would seem to agree). T12 is definitely not new tech but again that does not mean it doesn't work better than T5 in this application (again though, also does not mean it does). Bottom line---I would bet a very large amount that if I end up using Solacure and you use Agromax both of us will see good results (much better than not using UV light) and neither will have a significant noticeable edge over the other.
Bud drying going fairly well so far - I'm not even needing the humidifier, really. Air in the tent is easily staying in the 60-70% range (at least so far). Daily checking will continue... For clones, I'm considering doing the transplant on Wednesday.
Those drying buds looked awfully nice in the photo you posted, how much longer do you think they need before they are done?