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First grow, need a bit of help

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liverlips

New member
So basically,I got this light : http://www.transcendlighting.com/store/p2/TL-D200-FSW_230_watt_grow_light.html

The grow space is approx 10sq ft. Now I got a bunch of books and been reading them but none of them really have a guide for these types of LEDs.

My questions are:

Once I plant the seedlings in soil , do I need a T5 for the initial 2 weeks or can I just use this LED i got for the entire grow? Also, Im planning on planting 6 seeds, is this too much for the given surface area?
Any advice or point in the right direction is greatly appreciated.
 
aridbud

aridbud

automeister
ICMag Donor
Veteran
You can use LEDs through out your grow. 18/6 always a good happy light regimen. If doing photos, switch to 12/12 once you want to induce flowering.

Are you doing photoperiod? What size container?

10 sq.ft. 5' x2'? Dimensions?

Seems to be a powerful light for that small of a space. You can set the light higher in the beginning, then lower, as needed. Typically LED you can have your plants as close as 4" up to 1.5 ft.
 
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liverlips

New member
The space is actually a bit bigger, 4x3, decided on another part of my house to do it in. So 12 sq ft more or less, am planning on 24hrs light until flowering. Would 6 plants in this area be too much ? Or would it be better to do 4 plants ?

Also, do you think I would eventually need supplemental lighting to hit the sides of the plants once they start flowering? I've read on a bunch of sites that hanging some 45 watt fluorescents a few inches below the top of the plants helps with yield. Any thoughts?
 
fuggzy

fuggzy

Member
liverlips said:
The space is actually a bit bigger, 4x3, decided on another part of my house to do it in. So 12 sq ft more or less, am planning on 24hrs light until flowering. Would 6 plants in this area be too much ? Or would it be better to do 4 plants ?

Also, do you think I would eventually need supplemental lighting to hit the sides of the plants once they start flowering? I've read on a bunch of sites that hanging some 45 watt fluorescents a few inches below the top of the plants helps with yield. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I would go with the 18/6 lighting mentioned above for veg cycle. Plants benefit from having a dark period.

As for 6 plants in that area, I don't see why not. It really depends on what genetics you have and how you plan on growing them. Larger plants can be trained, or stunted to save space. A sea of green could have ~9 pots per square foot. Giving you 108 plants. Go ape shit with 3-4 giant sativas. Lots of options.

The extra lights would also depend on how you grow. If you da a scrog and have a nice even canopy. There would be no real need as the light is needed for the top. If you have small plants, you also may not need it. If you have natural shaped plants, or tall plants, the extra light could help. The light you linked has a wide range in beam angle. You could kinda manipulate it to make a "stronger" beam.
By the way, I like the light design. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Good luck.
 
Ph-patrol

Ph-patrol

Well-known member
Veteran
Cool looking light.What kind of seeds are you going to grow regular,feminized or auto flower.
You should run 4 plants and finish them in 5 gallon buckets but that requires more veg time,like 7 weeks.
Keep in mind when your germinating seeds you may run into lose with male,stunted seedlings and bad germination.
you have to estimate what your losses will be to end up with close to what you want.
I would run 10 reg seeds or so and grow viable Females.
 
aridbud

aridbud

automeister
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Ph-patrol said:
Cool looking light.What kind of seeds are you going to grow regular,feminized or auto flower.
You should run 4 plants and finish them in 5 gallon buckets but that requires more veg time,like 7 weeks.
Keep in mind when your germinating seeds you may run into lose with male,stunted seedlings and bad germination.
you have to estimate what your losses will be to end up with close to what you want.
I would run 10 reg seeds or so and grow viable Females.
Click to expand...

That was my thought....keep it doable until you know what your light, space, genetics demands.

If you have flat white paint on walls, it'll reflect off the wall, no added light needed. Too many plants, then light cannot hit lower branches.

Just keep it simple....take notes on what works, what doesn't....you'll do fine! It's all in the learning curve!

Best o' luck!
 
Donkeybrains

Donkeybrains

Member
Check out DHgate and in the search bar type big4grow they have diy cob led's for around $1 a watt! Same technology that yours is. You can locate the driver outside the grow room to help keep the heat down and the heatsink is a lot smaller than your setup. They aren't very hard to build either just a lil soldering and crimping. If you hang the light on all 4 corners it beams down if you hang it on 2 it beams sideways :) in my 4x4x6 I have 4 150w leds on all sides surrounding just 1 plant. I'd recommend giving Advanced Nutrients a try. They have ph stable nutrients that way you don't have to buy a ph pen and batteries and calibration solution and ph up and down. Its fast and easy! U want to be spending your time observing your babies and plotting your next upgrade for your environment :) best of luck to ya brotha! Enjoy!
 
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liverlips

New member
Donkeybrains said:
Check out DHgate and in the search bar type big4grow they have diy cob led's for around $1 a watt! Same technology that yours is. You can locate the driver outside the grow room to help keep the heat down and the heatsink is a lot smaller than your setup. They aren't very hard to build either just a lil soldering and crimping. If you hang the light on all 4 corners it beams down if you hang it on 2 it beams sideways :) in my 4x4x6 I have 4 150w leds on all sides surrounding just 1 plant. I'd recommend giving Advanced Nutrients a try. They have ph stable nutrients that way you don't have to buy a ph pen and batteries and calibration solution and ph up and down. Its fast and easy! U want to be spending your time observing your babies and plotting your next upgrade for your environment :) best of luck to ya brotha! Enjoy!
Click to expand...

YES DEF! I will look into that once I get this grow finished, but big thanks brother, I will update you on how this goes.
 
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liverlips

New member
Thanks for your replies guys, much appreciated. As for some of the questions:

1. The seeds I have are rainbow kush, 75% indica, they dont grow too tall apparently. They are feminized seeds.
2. I will def just start off slowly, I got 6 seeds planted and will do 18/6 as recommended as I've done some more reading and realize its probably the best right now.
3.I will post some updates here after a few days and make some comments on this light and distance from the seedlings. As of now I have it approx 5 ft away and just turned it on.

Cheers!
 
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liverlips

New member
Hey guys, its been 8 days since I planted the seeds, 5/6 have sprouted but they dont look quite right, I've attached pics of 3. What does this look like to be the problem? Is the light too far? I've kept it at approx 3.5 ft away. Or is it too close?

Also, my humidity has been around 35% in the grow room which I know is too low but I havent had a chance to grab the humidifier from uptown where I stored it, going today. Any guesses here?
 
T

tommygh

Member
liverlips said:
Hey guys, its been 8 days since I planted the seeds, 5/6 have sprouted but they dont look quite right, I've attached pics of 3. What does this look like to be the problem? Is the light too far? I've kept it at approx 3.5 ft away. Or is it too close?

Also, my humidity has been around 35% in the grow room which I know is too low but I havent had a chance to grab the humidifier from uptown where I stored it, going today. Any guesses here?
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=64166&pictureid=1518789&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=64166&pictureid=1518788&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=64166&pictureid=1518787&thumb=1]View Image[/url]
Click to expand...

It looks like your light is too far away. At this stage you want light to be as close as possible without burning them. Use the back of your hand rule to gauge how much heat your hitting them with. The seedlings look healthy but they're stretching to reach the light and if it persists they'll start looking anemic and then wilt and die. T5's are ideal but I've read people making it work with fluorescent bulbs. Good luck!
 
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liverlips

New member
This one has started to curl some of the leaves, any idea what this can be? I've moved the light much closer and the others are doing better but this one has stayed the same...
 
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