MacGyver420

looking good you find that the led lighting is working well for you? looks like it is

peace

Apollonia

I'm pleased with it. What you see is what's going on. These plants have been vegged under Procyons and I think they look very good for it. I won't be using my LEDs for flowering - but they make, I think, a competitive alternative vegging light to MHs depending on what you want to do. Pros & Cons on both sides and they seem to even out - it's down to personal circumstances & requirements that seem to push people towards one or the other. I'll just give a quick list of the major benefits & limitations as it relates to my grow & my situation.

PROs:

Longevity - 50,000 hours useful light (after around 50,000 hours there's about a 30% decrease brightness, however the lights will continue working long after that - Procyon gives this figure (50,000 hours) as it's useful lifespan as a horticultural lamp)

Low Power Consumption - each Procyon 100 consumes a total of 125 watts vs a 400 w MH with comparable results. Saves a good deal of money & is unlikely to be noticed by the power company or LEO (not that I believe the electric companies are randomly scanning bills & usage reports - but still, one less potential complication - if however unlikely)

Low Heat Output - one less thing for me to worry about, makes temperature control easy. LEDs put out significantly less heat than MH. Plus the heat they do put out is directed out the back of the light towards the ceiling instead of radiated downwards towards the plants like with HIDs. I don't think they have any significant effect on temperature.

Very even Lux spread - This is not always the case with LED grow lights - check out greenpinelane.com for more on that.

Penetrates 3 ft below the canopy - This is all I need as I do not intend to grow plants that would require more. It's also a good level of penetration for an LED grow light. When using 60 and 120 degree LEDs like most do - 3 feet penetration is excellent - I have no knowledge of lights made with 30 degree LEDs as I've only seen a new company just come out with that sort of light - it may be able to penetrate farther.

Square shape & 2' X 5' max foot print - The footprint is very good for this type of light - LEDs arranged in squares deliver more useful light to plants as most growers don't arrange their plants in a circle.

Plants appear healthier when grown (vegged) under LEDs - It's just my opinion based on looking at pictures of plants vegged under LEDs vs those vegged under MH.

Plants have very tight internodal spacing & thick stems - not really a 'Pro' but one of the reasons I chose LEDs.

Plants grown under LEDs are generally shorter & bushier - this is almost a variation of the above. I base this on the grows I've seen and the side by side MH/LED comparisions.

Reduce the amount of nutrients - LED grown plants usually do best with 1/4 - 1/2 strength amounts of recommended nutrients.

The Price is Right - it's a solid product, made very well in America for a price that's very competitive with similar quality lights and much lower than very many inferior ones.

Cost effective - the cost of setting up a 400w MH lighting system plus related costs including cooling and the higher wattage - depending on prices ranges - works out to be about even in the short term and much less expensive in the long term.

Honest company that's been around, is accessible and stands by/supports their product. - LED grow lights are expensive and the market is rife with scammers & people that overstate their product's capabilities, so company transparency & honest is a definite plus. In short the light does what they say it will, no more no less.


CONs:

Eye Strain - prolonged exposure to LED lighting isn't good for your eyes. If you anticipate being exposed to LED lighting for long periods of time (like the time required to upkeep your garden) protective goggles are recommended.

Unknowns - LED grow lighting is fairly new & doesn't have as many pieces of documentation and resources conventional growlights have so finding answers can take a bit of time and your options are more limited. For example - there is no data on what kind of light intensity reading you should be getting at your plant's canopy when using LEDs, but that information is easily found for more common forms of lighting. Also this means you'll be doing more trial & error yourself.

Earlier Generation Technology - while not really a 'con' for me - Procyon 100s haven't been updated to the latest in LED grow lighting. However the difference is, in my eyes, negligible.

Not Suitable for Flowering - again, not a 'con' for me as it's sole purpose is as a veg light, an LED which can replace a 400w MH in vegetative growth can NOT replace a 400w HID in flowering! Results would be comparable to buds grown with fluorescent lights. And yes, if you get enough LEDs, you can produce very healthy plants with buds that are at least as large as HPS buds and very potent, I've heard they are more potent and more resinous than buds produced soley by HPS - but that's more LEDs than most people can afford in my opinion, the upfront costs would be quite high. It does become cost effective over time - I just don't know how much time. My impression/best guess is that the upfront cost is just to big a financial hurdle for most people and is not economically feasible at the current time but to be absolutely fair I will admit I have not sat down and ran the numbers myself.

I can't think of anymore issues related to the requirements of my grow...

CranAppleGemz

did u have any ph issues?? for some reason my ph kept going up from 5.5 to 6.5 within 24 hrs.
i have a feeling it might be i didnt soak the RW cubes long enough.

wintermute

Nice use of LED lighting in this setup. I think you may find that blue LED heavy / solitary panels added to an HPS flower room will keep the good health you have in veg while also limited stretch. Will be watching your progress! Best of luck and much regard.

Apollonia

My PH in my reservoirs? My use of rockwool was limited to those little 1.5" starter plugs to start the seeds. - I did have some issues in the beginning with PH fluctuation like you described b/c genius over here didn't wash her hydroton! I know, I know - it's all washed now, but in the beginning it caused the PH to fluctuate as you described - I also conditioned the hydroton after that in PH 5.5 water for good measure. Unless something else is wrong, I would just keep on top of the PH and keep getting it back to the desired #. It will relent eventually (I hope).

Hmmm, that does sound like a good way to reduce stretch without increasing heat - Procyons are fairly blue heavy when it compared to other LEDs, it's part of the reason I chose them for my veg light. I'll look into what you mentioned and if it's feasible, I may add it. Thanks for the tip!

WildWayne

I had the same problem and now use a RO water filter system and the PH stays the same thru the entire cycle.

Apollonia

Wayne! Good to see you stopping in. Thanks for the tip on RO water - I didn't know that it held PH better than regular tap.

MacGyver420

thanks for the info about led's

i bought a half ounce of some g13 and was very impressed by the quality
well i happened to have bought it off one of the growers and i was completley blown away when he told me that the g13 was grown 100% veg to flower under LED's

this has really got me thinking that im going to add leds as supplementary lighting to my FLOWER room, but from what im learning im not sure that adding LED would help my 600watt HPS that much

any more thoughts?
=)

any more thoughts on the matter?

Apollonia

I have heard tell of pure LE grown bud and people say that it is very potent. Why it is we can only guess - however unless you have enough LEDs, you will get less of it, similar to a fluoro grow, say. For potency, I'm supplementing this grow with UVB reptile lights - 5 hours a day & at least 20" away from the plants. I suppose you could try supplementing a regular grow with HIDs, some people say that it does make it more potent - again, we can only guess why. I know they make LEDs in UVB wavelengths so you could get a custom unit with just that & some blue if you wished.

MacGyver420

im with you i dont know why it makes it more potent but i feel its a more true spectrum of light to what outdoor plants may see... in theory anyway i know some people think uvb bulbs just cook all your trich's off (and i think they can but only if they are too close)


do you happen to have a link maybe of where i could find an led in just the uvb wavelength?

oh hey while im here what kind of co2 you runnin? emmiters? burners?
thats the one thing id like to add most to my grow is co emmiters