jackmc
Killing them softley
I think there is a VU bulb in the Mars Ii
Lighting TOPled The Manual.
- Thread starter TaNg
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I think there is a VU bulb in the Mars Ii
Actually the Mars II regular spectrum doesn't include any UVB diodes. IIRC, it's 2 kinds of blues, reds, and whites plus a few infrared diodes.
I think it's good that they don't include UVB. From what I've read, it can damage your plant early on. So unless it has a switch for those diodes on the panel, I wouldn't want to use it.
Someday I would like to supplement my lighting with a source of UVB. All I've really seen in my shallow search on the topic are people using reptile lights for short time periods during the bloom phase. I'm on board with the notion that UV stress triggers the plant to make more/stronger glands, I just don't know what amounts and timings of UV are beneficial without actually harming the plants.
Infrared, on the other hand, is known to be directly tied with the growth pattern a plant experiences.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4576.html
Not the best reference, but gives a good explanation of how infrared signals a plant to grow in certain ways.
The short version:
If red light = IR light, then less stretch.
If red light < IR light, then more stretch.
Not at all! My last grow was my first and I used my Mars II 700. I grew a Think Different and it is ridiculously potent. There's plenty of resin.
The plants want to make resin, it's in their genetic blueprints. So you don't *need* any UV to have some awesome product.
That being said, there's lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that proper application of UVB light will make a plant go above and beyond it's original blueprint plans, making more / stronger trichomes. I just have yet to come across any proven application rates with reliable results.
But back to the Mars II. Regular spectrum doesn't have UV diodes. In my experience, the light produced some top quality bud. Supplemental UV light may be beneficial, but is by no means necessary.
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I have the mars2 400w led in a 2f x 2f box and i was wondering, with my old grow i had a 200w duel spec CFL and it work best at 3 inches away from my buds. Now i have this mars2 and does any one know what the best height form the top of the plant in vegging and flowering ? i have not wanted to get to close incase i bleach the leaves can anyone help ?
I don't have that light but I've found the seedlings like my panels 8"-10" but at a certain hard to define point, I suppose when they become a plant not a seedling, they like the light 18" away from the canopy.
Pretty much stays there for the rest of my grows, moving up with the plant. I have seen quite a few growers on RIU attaching their panels to the top of the tent from the start to the finish which seems to make the plants grow more like they do under HPS.
Brilliant grow log here with videos, science, tests etc. comparing an Apache 650 with a 1000w HPS, both lights at the same height the whole grow, GreeneGene's grow off , enjoy, he's a great grower
Pretty much stays there for the rest of my grows, moving up with the plant. I have seen quite a few growers on RIU attaching their panels to the top of the tent from the start to the finish which seems to make the plants grow more like they do under HPS.
Brilliant grow log here with videos, science, tests etc. comparing an Apache 650 with a 1000w HPS, both lights at the same height the whole grow, GreeneGene's grow off , enjoy, he's a great grower
I like having my panel up at the top of my tent. I agree that it gives "hps-like" results as my plants are taller than when I was constantly trying to push the light closer.
My light sits about 45" away from the soil line in my tent. From my own perspective, the plants are getting plenty of light. The node lengths are just right in my opinion.
Also, I was bored last night and found a light meter app on the Android play store. It has calibrations for many popular phones and once I found mine, I had some fun checking the light levels of different bulbs in my house.
It gives a reading in lux. I don't know how valuable this unit is to our endeavors, or how accurate a phone's sensors can be... but! There were some nifty observations. It could sense even minute sources of light, such as a small cfl lamp across the room. Maybe 8 lux or so. But it displayed the exponential relationship of light and distance well too. By placing it close to an itty bitty cfl, it was able to register several thousand lux.
So with that in mind, I decided to try it in my tent. Besides giving a readout in "lux," it also tells you the color temperature of light in Kelvin PLUS a general category of the intensity of light, "low light, medium light, high light, sunlight." In all plant relevant areas of my tent, it reads "sunlight." Placing it point blank on my panel registered extremely high lux numbers, but the meter never maxed out at any value. Seems to have quite a range.
Anywho...
I know a phone is probably a horrible light meter, but it's pretty neat to see that even at 45" away, my light still registers as "sunlight" intensity.
My light sits about 45" away from the soil line in my tent. From my own perspective, the plants are getting plenty of light. The node lengths are just right in my opinion.
Also, I was bored last night and found a light meter app on the Android play store. It has calibrations for many popular phones and once I found mine, I had some fun checking the light levels of different bulbs in my house.
It gives a reading in lux. I don't know how valuable this unit is to our endeavors, or how accurate a phone's sensors can be... but! There were some nifty observations. It could sense even minute sources of light, such as a small cfl lamp across the room. Maybe 8 lux or so. But it displayed the exponential relationship of light and distance well too. By placing it close to an itty bitty cfl, it was able to register several thousand lux.
So with that in mind, I decided to try it in my tent. Besides giving a readout in "lux," it also tells you the color temperature of light in Kelvin PLUS a general category of the intensity of light, "low light, medium light, high light, sunlight." In all plant relevant areas of my tent, it reads "sunlight." Placing it point blank on my panel registered extremely high lux numbers, but the meter never maxed out at any value. Seems to have quite a range.
Anywho...
I know a phone is probably a horrible light meter, but it's pretty neat to see that even at 45" away, my light still registers as "sunlight" intensity.
Getting a UVB bulb on Friday. I'll have to see if they have a light meter for one of my devices.
I have not had any bleaching all the way down to 8 or so inches away. It really reduces the area the light can cover. I have mine at about 40" inches above the soil and am getting great coverage/node spacing and growth. The light meter might help me suss out a light pattern in the tent.
I have not had any bleaching all the way down to 8 or so inches away. It really reduces the area the light can cover. I have mine at about 40" inches above the soil and am getting great coverage/node spacing and growth. The light meter might help me suss out a light pattern in the tent.
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