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UVB VS NO UVB Side by Side

D

Drek

Measurements that I've read of outdoor UVB levels taken near the equator resulted in give or take 3-400uW of UVB(philips uses mW when measuring their lamps...ie:.03-.04mW). A standard current Philips available lamp (cdm) outputs quite a bit less(obviously due to health and safety concerns) at about 30-50uW...also assuming that is probably at a distance of less than 12 inches or so from the lamp. Average levels tested roughly @ 40 degrees latitude(colorado) were around 150uW.

There is a quartz metal halide that I'm looking at that runs a color temperature of 3500k and outputs approx 380uW of UVB which runs pretty close to normal equatorial levels.

Yeah, too much UVB is also be a bad thing...and contrary to what a lot of people think, imo, you can't see(with the eye) the increase in the THC content(as in more crystals) or how fully developed the molecule actually under various lamps. I suppose that plants exposed to more UVB would produce more tricomes(sunblock) but that doesn't say anything about the development of the actual molecule itself or it's abundance within the tricome.
 

stoned-trout

if it smells like fish
Veteran
just think of all the poor iguanas deprived of their uv bulbs and suffering vit d deff..cause their stoner owners took their bulb and put it in the grow LOL.... I tried the uv thing way back when I had an iguana,, but she had hers too...lol
 

MountainShelley

New member
Hello. Came across this thread and am highly interested in your experiment. Did a similar experiment on Coca plants ...increase in potency was undetectable, however increase in plant stamina and ability to withstanding transplant/cloning shock.
 

Riddleme

Member
I have been running UVB in my garden for awhile now and the results are extremely positive. I use the ATI True Actinic and Coral Plus bulbs. I had a friend that used the Arcadia's with great results but he passed last year

IME, the True Actinics increase potency and the Coral's increase tric production and yeppers you can see it with a naked eye

My grow is here
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=295624

Pic is a C99 in week 5 of flower
 

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soma151

New member
Was really looking forward to what happen? Well it got me interested enough to give it a try? So if you don't mind? I will just piggy back on this thread…I have been growing this strain for some time so know just about every thing about it. G13 Pineapple
 

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Thanks for the great info guys! I am also using uvb for first time in my grow.
Also I just switched to 11 band led panels from hps. So I have led panels and reptisun 10.0 bulbs. Questions for you: have you noticed plants take weeks less to mature with uvb? Do you think blooming faster reduces yield? Do you still go by amber trichomes? Mine showed up early!
I am growing DNA chocolope and in a dozen grows under hps it takes 10 weeks of 12/12 to finish. Now with led and uvb it is 7 weeks in and tricomes are turning amber (and some purple). Dried some cut at 7 weeks and smoke is very powerful already. Not sure if I should still go ten weeks, or how long...
 

soma151

New member
I am not a builder let me tell you, i took out my shop lights and wired in 8 plugs, that way i can turn them off when i enter the room? Sure don't seem like you have to? But i bet those little lights sneak up on you. I am starting with 15min on every hour, 4 hours a day in the peak hours? Then going to put them on for the 4 hours a day the last month? This is where i need help? Hours of operation? ANY ONE? Also how far should i hang them from plants?
 

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I have been spending a lit of time looking at my trichomes and it seems the fast change to amber and some purple colour is only on the leaves. The buds are still cloudy but not much amber so I guess i can go by that. The uvb seems to be working great though, thank you all for this thread or o would not have tried it this forum is awesome. :cool:
 
I have no measuring equipment for uvb but I believe someone said the uvb drops off fast for the reptile tubes. I think they said over 8" away and it starts really dropping. Mine are attached to my light mover with my two 150x3w 3G led panels at about 8" over canopy moving back and forth slowly on a track. Works great. Before that I was using uvb cfls in clip on fixtures and just moving them around the room every couple days. You could move yours closer to the plants then just move them around to get closeness without having to buy a lot of lights for your giant room...
 
Oh and I run mine on same 12/12 timer as rest of lights. I think you may find you want to turn them on with other lights then move them around to hit all sides of all plants at less than a foot or it will be far... When I was using cfl reptisun 10.0 you could see the trichomes improve close to them within a couple days then you just move to new area. Hope that helps, I am happy to give back to this thread that helped me :cool:
 
Wasn't there a guy one here said he was starting a comparison grow experiment? He had a picture of his garden with writing over it telling what was going on. Can't find it now. Always interested in experiments :cool:
 

Only Ornamental

Spiritually inspired agnostic mad scientist
Veteran
VERY good UV site!! The best UV lighting site (not only for reptiles) together with the German site www.licht-im-terrarium.de (former testudolinks.de) and the Swiss site http://dihu.ch .
Folks should really, I mean REALLY, read through this page/-s before even thinking about purchasing a UV light without any regard for the final use!
Me, I'm using the MegaRay series; absolutely great products since the beginning and with an exceptionally low UV loss over time!
And screw ExoTerra, their bulbs aren't even worth the colourful ink on the packaging. At least until 3 years ago, their products were and likely still are a scam and lies without end (and quality is zero too). Sadly, that's not just a personal impression...
 
Thanks for the great info guys! I am also using uvb for first time in my grow.
Also I just switched to 11 band led panels from hps. So I have led panels and reptisun 10.0 bulbs. Questions for you: have you noticed plants take weeks less to mature with uvb? Do you think blooming faster reduces yield? Do you still go by amber trichomes? Mine showed up early!
I am growing DNA chocolope and in a dozen grows under hps it takes 10 weeks of 12/12 to finish. Now with led and uvb it is 7 weeks in and tricomes are turning amber (and some purple). Dried some cut at 7 weeks and smoke is very powerful already. Not sure if I should still go ten weeks, or how long...

I'm very curious to use UVB too. What kind of uv light do you use ?
I would be very happy to speed up ripening ...
Thanks
 

MostlyMe

Active member
Veteran
According to my calculations, CFL Reptile lights are actually capable of delivering a meaningful dose of UVB to the plants, or at least the canopy. That is, if the info provided by the manufacturer is correct.

I don't have the calculations anymore, but it's quite easy. According to the research paper showing a UVB effect, the plants got about 10 kJ per square meter per day. Most manufacturers provide a table showing power per square meter as a function of distance, from which you can easily calculate a daily dose at a certain distance. If I remember correctly, my 26 W Reptiglo bulbs provide about 10 kJ per square meter per day at 8 inches or so.
 

Only Ornamental

Spiritually inspired agnostic mad scientist
Veteran
Personally, I don't readily trust compact UV fluos... but the last few years brought considerable progress. I prefer the HID based ones such as the Mega-Ray brand which has an exceptionally high quality and very long life span; a compact and most HID have to be changed after about one year due to a loss in UV. Well, in the case of plants, they may hold longer as reptiles/animals use a different spectrum of UV. UVB is important for vitamin D synthesis and the part of the UV spectrum 'bleaching' first whereas plants use (according to the current lack of knowledge) mostly UVA, where compacts aren't that much behind of HIDs as they used to be just 5 years back.
Check the UV light survey or other similar independent sites.

PS I don't trust in manufacturers descriptions because they used to be (and likely still are) VERY WRONG, highly deceptive, and in certain cases such as Repti-Glo outright lies.
 

MostlyMe

Active member
Veteran
Sorry, turns out I don't have the Repti-Glo but the Reptile UVB 200 bulbs, the strongest UVB source Exo Terra has. My calculations apply to those. I agree manufacturer specs might not be accurate, but I don't have a meter.

I'll add I am a little skeptical about supplementing UVB, as there are so many unknowns. I can't say I noticed a difference in an admittedly very unscientific test. I want to try again on some high altitude landrace (like a Columbian), because the UVB trait may have been lost after extensive indoor (i.e. in low UVB conditions) breeding.
 
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