Lighting Need help with side lighting

[witchyhour]

Whoooa witchyhour you've got some major nute burn or something going on lol. For the future, if you're having problems, drop a line in the 24/7 Live Help so we can help ya early! Try not to wait until it's a disaster hahaa. : ) You're trying hard though so props for that! I'll take a better look and see if I can tell what's going on.

The one that looks burnt is the budding top of the plant that broke off when I tried to bend it. I put it in my Aerogarden, just to see what happened, and after a couple of weeks, it started growing a root. Actually, last night I noticed a second leg of root growing, and it's getting resin pods, so I'm hoping to get a little bud there. Not sure how good it'll be, though. But the rest of the plant is doing great, that's what you see on the other photos.

Thanks for the advice, though. I'm so glad I found this board, lots of great info for newbies like me!

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[witchyhour]

Those LEDs lights lack the intensity to do much at all. I believe they are like .2 watts per diode compared to normal LED lights which are 3-5 watts per diode. I researched these a lot but never purchased any based on many facts. Even the Mars hydro are lacking,

What did you end up using instead? The plants I'm growing seem to be doing ok, but this is my first time growing, so I have nothing else to compare to. What are the other leds you'd suggest?

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[Son of Hobbes]

What did you end up using instead? The plants I'm growing seem to be doing ok, but this is my first time growing, so I have nothing else to compare to. What are the other leds you'd suggest?

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If you're looking for budget minded LED's, we've had multiple members have great success with Mars Hydro LED's. We have one of their representatives on-site to answer any questions you might have in their forum, and I personally have a Mars II 1600W LED that I've been using for over a year now and have grown some pretty delicious buds on. Honestly after my experience with it so far, I'd totally buy another Mars unit without hesitation. I'm not quite on the up-and-up with the tech spec so I'm sure there are plenty of fellas on here that could tell you all the pro's/con's when it comes to that part; but proof's in the pudding and I've been eating a lot of pudding with this thing!

 

[TomAuto]

I recommend going with some flouro's of some kind..IMO far surpass the abilities of cheap LED's. and much cheaper,and depending on the kind more efficient and less heat.

 

[witchyhour]

I recommend going with some flouro's of some kind..IMO far surpass the abilities of cheap LED's. and much cheaper,and depending on the kind more efficient and less heat.

I'll make sure to try the new light on the same strand so I'm comparing apples to apples. My only concern is that the better lights may make the plants too big. I know that sounds silly, but I don't want to run out of space, nor have so much yield that I don't what to do with the harvest. I'm growing this with a friend and there's only so much we can use. We don't want to have to store a lot of it for legal reasons...

My current plants are doing well with the lights they have now. What changes/improvements should I expect to see using the other lights?



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[TomAuto]

little to none I expect,but it'll work and prolly fill your needs...if not, even check out some T8's for your next adventures. at near 100 lumens per watt and great spectrum if you use the right bulbs.and super dirt cheap. and use them in 3 dimensions you can get some real killer flowers.and zero heat issues.

 

[BigSm0]

If money is tight I would run the 315 lec's they slam huge numbers. I recently left a grow with one per plant and he was yielding average 1.25 lb with photos. Autos are lower but still impressive and a full spectrum. I also use them with a combination of Mars for vegging. I just got the cheaper old models from eBay, 600 watts for 130. I'd hate to see anyone purchase those from Amazon, if you have time you tube them. There is a guy who tried like hell to grow lettuce with them and couldn't. Tons of research has been done and they just don't cut it for plants. But pretty neat mood lighting.

 

[danky dan]

If money is tight I would run the 315 lec's they slam huge numbers. I recently left a grow with one per plant and he was yielding average 1.25 lb with photos. Autos are lower but still impressive and a full spectrum. I also use them with a combination of Mars for vegging. I just got the cheaper old models from eBay, 600 watts for 130. I'd hate to see anyone purchase those from Amazon, if you have time you tube them. There is a guy who tried like hell to grow lettuce with them and couldn't. Tons of research has been done and they just don't cut it for plants. But pretty neat mood lighting.

Hey bigsm0..... I have one of those 600 watt led mars hydro and 2 metal reflector cfls for side lighting are you saying the mars hydro 600w don't work to well? If so what do you think I can get to go along with the mars hydro to make the plants nice within a reasonable price. I am trying to grow 3 currently or do u think the setup is fine I have pics in the earlier pages. Thx for any help

 

[witchyhour]

Thanks for posting the lights you bought. Are you doing any lst after your first one snapped or just letting them grow? I figured the shower rod would come in handy sine I'm growing in a closet and can move the cfls up and down as the girls grow.

Took this picture to show how I'm tying the leaves for light training.

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[BigSm0]

Hey bigsm0..... I have one of those 600 watt led mars hydro and 2 metal reflector cfls for side lighting are you saying the mars hydro 600w don't work to well? If so what do you think I can get to go along with the mars hydro to make the plants nice within a reasonable price. I am trying to grow 3 currently or do u think the setup is fine I have pics in the earlier pages. Thx for any help

The Mars are ok lights. I personally have done hundreds of hours in lighting and will probably do hundreds of hours more. The components in most production lights lack the quality. It's like most things in essence. Mars cannot use top of the line LEDs, drivers, fans ext. especially at those prices. It's sort of like cars, the old kia were inexpensive. May have broke down more often, lacked features, got poor mileage. Now compared that to a Benz. The biggest thing with lighting is getting what you can afford. When I started I went with the Mars hydros too. Lol I didn't want to afford the more expensive lights. But as time went on I felt the need for them.

Production lights use no name LEDs and drivers mainly. The revolution is currently with lec's and cobs. I don't think I will ever purchase a blurple LED light again to be honest. Now I recently spent almost 3000$ on 2 lights. Kind k5 1000 watt lights. Later found out the diodes were the absolute cheapest things going and surer than shit 2 weeks went before they burned out 31 of the diodes.

Now something I realized over time is par watts not just par. Efficiency is king. The lights I just purchased are only 500 watts each but run at 53% efficient. The Mars run closer to 25% efficient. So with a 1000 watt Mars the plants are only seeing roughly 250 watts.

The 500 watt running at 53% is giving off 265 watts for half the electricity. That's the savings. It's not just false claims stating the equivalency.