RapidLED Red and Blue Pucks

[tronN00dles]

Hey folks,

I currently have two different lights in my tent: (1) a HLG 135 v2 QB LED 3000k and (2) a HLG 135 v2 QB LED R-Spec. Spectrum waveforms are below, 3000k on left; R-Spec on right:

The 3000k is actually discontinued. I'm currently running two plants and my intention was the move them around around every couple of days to try to make each sit under each light for equal amounts of time. This kind of went by the wayside through the grow and now if you were to ask, I can't actually tell you which one was under which light for the longest. Anyway, surprise surprise, one is a little lankier than the other. I'm "thinking" the taller one probably spent more time under the R-Spec, which has more blue light? Hence did a little better in veg? Although I can't say for sure, this is me speculating.

My question is this, could I add a RapidBlue Veg Puck on the "3000k-side" of my 2x4 tent, to try to bring that light up closer to the blue levels in the R-Spec? I assume I'd need a dimmer, but what kind of equipment would I need to measure blue light intensity specifically so I could try to dial the puck in such that both plants receive similar blue light levels in veg?

The other caveat here is the red spectrum. The R-Spec contains more 660nm light, where as the 3000k is primarily 620nm light. Could a Far Red Initiator puck Photo Red Flower Boost help here? I know @Mañ'O'Green uses some of the pucks. Your opinions here would be much appreciated .

I realize the simplest solution would just be to get a single light for my tent and forego this issue altogether. This is on the agenda eventually, and the puck's will probably be more of a temporary fix.

-tronN00dles

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Haven't used them, but personally, here's what I would do based on looking at them (from easiest to most difficult):

1) Just switch the two plants now and continue for the rest of the grow cycle. If the one catches up to the other and surpasses it, switch again.

2) Add a RapidLED Photo Red Flower Boost puck to the 3000K side for flowering, and call the loss of blue light / veg growth a wash for this grow. The one could be lagging behind the other for other reasons. (Note: From their descriptions, sounds like you'd want the "Photo Red Flower Boost" puck, not the "Far Red Initiator" puck?)

3) Add both a RapidLED Flower Booster puck and a Royal Blue LED puck to the 3000K for the next grow.

4) Position / place the pucks to match the R-spec spectra exactly. A photometer (i.e., lux/luminosity meter) like this sells for about $20-$40, but only measures total light intensity (of all wavelengths). You'd really need a spectrometer (like this) to measure individual levels vs. wavelength, but those are way too expensive. RapidLED says one puck should cover about the same area as your lights, but not sure where the best location to place it would be. Ideally, right underneath/on your light, but doesn't look like there'd be room.

 

[tronN00dles]

Haven't used them, but personally, here's what I would do based on looking at them (from easiest to most difficult):

1) Just switch the two plants now and continue for the rest of the grow cycle. If the one catches up to the other and surpasses it, switch again.

2) Add a RapidLED Photo Red Flower Boost puck to the 3000K side for flowering, and call the loss of blue light / veg growth a wash for this grow. The one could be lagging behind the other for other reasons. (Note: From their descriptions, sounds like you'd want the "Photo Red Flower Boost" puck, not the "Far Red Initiator" puck?)

3) Add both a RapidLED Flower Booster puck and a Royal Blue LED puck to the 3000K for the next grow.

4) Position / place the pucks to match the R-spec spectra exactly. A photometer (i.e., lux/luminosity meter) like this sells for about $20-$40, but only measures total light intensity (of all wavelengths). You'd really need a spectrometer (like this) to measure individual levels vs. wavelength, but those are way too expensive. RapidLED says one puck should cover about the same area as your lights, but not sure where the best location to place it would be. Ideally, right underneath/on your light, but doesn't look like there'd be room.

Thanks! I should have clarified, I'm about 4-5 days from harvest, so this will all apply to my next grow .

Presently, I use a lux meter and HLG's lux-to-ppfd calculators specific for the light models. I wonder if there's a some combination of ppfd/power drawn/efficiency to help me here. For example:

• R-Spec might draw 125W, read 45,000 lux on my meter, and the HLG calculator says this is ~700 PPFD
• 3000k might draw 150W, read 45,000 lux on my meter, and the HLG calculator says this is ~ 650 PPFD
• (Note: based on those numbers, it's pretty clear why HLG discontinued the 3000k in favor of the R-Spec lol)

I'll typically adjust my dimmers so both canopies get the same PPFD.

Adding blue to the 3000k means the HLG calculator for that light is no longer valid, but I wonder if there's a way to match up some other quantities. As I type this, I'm thinking this is a fools errand, and a spectrometer is probably the only way to completely dial these in... Oh well. I still might give it a go and try to eyeball it on a low dim setting. The color temperatures of the two lights are very obvious to the naked eye, so I could at least get them similar on a very rough basis. The 3000k is much more yellow, where as the R-Spec is much more natural white. I could at the very least try to "make the 3000k" look more natural with the added blue...

Also, you're totally right about the "Photo Red Flower Boost". I saw red in the other title and got excited hehe.


Thanks!

-tronN00dles

 

[Bruce Campbell]

HLG does sell refurbished lights on their site - I wonder if you contacted them, if they'd give you a credit / discount for returning the 3000K and upgrading to a new R-Spec for the next grow?

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Hey folks,

I currently have two different lights in my tent: (1) a HLG 135 v2 QB LED 3000k and (2) a HLG 135 v2 QB LED R-Spec. Spectrum waveforms are below, 3000k on left; R-Spec on right:

View attachment 1356904 View attachment 1356905

The 3000k is actually discontinued. I'm currently running two plants and my intention was the move them around around every couple of days to try to make each sit under each light for equal amounts of time. This kind of went by the wayside through the grow and now if you were to ask, I can't actually tell you which one was under which light for the longest. Anyway, surprise surprise, one is a little lankier than the other. I'm "thinking" the taller one probably spent more time under the R-Spec, which has more blue light? Hence did a little better in veg? Although I can't say for sure, this is me speculating.

My question is this, could I add a RapidBlue Veg Puck on the "3000k-side" of my 2x4 tent, to try to bring that light up closer to the blue levels in the R-Spec? I assume I'd need a dimmer, but what kind of equipment would I need to measure blue light intensity specifically so I could try to dial the puck in such that both plants receive similar blue light levels in veg?

The other caveat here is the red spectrum. The R-Spec contains more 660nm light, where as the 3000k is primarily 620nm light. Could a Far Red Initiator puck Photo Red Flower Boost help here? I know @Mañ'O'Green uses some of the pucks. Your opinions here would be much appreciated .

I realize the simplest solution would just be to get a single light for my tent and forego this issue altogether. This is on the agenda eventually, and the puck's will probably be more of a temporary fix.

-tronN00dles

As you can see my Chilled Growcraft lights are red heavy. They put out ~1000 PPFD in my smaller space at 18 inches. I add a Royal Blue puck to each light in veg. More blue light will help keep the plant shorter with better node spacing.

 

[tronN00dles]

As you can see my Chilled Growcraft lights are red heavy. They put out ~1000 PPFD in my smaller space at 18 inches. I add a Royal Blue puck to each light in veg. More blue light will help keep the plant shorter with better node spacing.

View attachment 1356972

Based on the HLG charts above, do you think it's worthwhile getting red and blue pucks to supplement my 3000k light to get it "closer" to my R-Spec in the same tent?