Need some assistance in using my Fluence Spydrx 2 to its full potential

[THC123]

Hard to figure it out,

under my cobs(mostly 3500K) i observed some similar issues with my plants and the thing i learned was to always feed them no matter the substrate. Sometimes plants in coco had greater issues and some plants coming from specific breeders had them, so i guess it also depends on how the seed line was made, under what lights. The plants i know were bred under hps had the most issues, the lines with some outdoor selections had less or zero trouble.
I'm guessing nutrient absorption and availability play a fundamental role so i'm thinking to ditch the "only organic" way of growing and make use of mineral nutrients along with organic ones, so far had pretty consistent good results this way. Organic substrate like living soil sems to deliver too little at a time of what the plant needs under the full led spectrum, that's where mineral nutes have their place.
I hope to see you having better results with the fluence in the veg room



Cheers

There is just one word in there that I dont like . "Full Led SPectrum". Many of these lights don't include UV and many have too much blue vs red. I wouldn't call these quantum boards Full spectrum leds, I think this is midleading and a good selling point for the manufacturers. 12 band full spectrum leds have a more complete spectrum IMO (but horrible coverage and efficiency). I have also done a lot of research in the meantime and I have red many times the best combination is white light 3-4000K with 12 band. Now if they could just make a light that combines these properties into one without sacrificing coverage I would be real happy.

The thing that comes closest to what I am looking for atm is the mars hydro SP3000. But I notice almost all manufacturers slowly adding more blue and especially red + uv in their spectra. They say if it aint broke dont't fix it. But these current white led spectra are broke and manufactureres are still making adjustments to get the perfect light. They are still a work in progress and far from complete but very promising.

If your plant isn't able to get what it needs under a light then there is something wrong imo. If you can grow a plant with solid organics under ANY spectrum except the latest "full spectrum white light" then there is something wrong with the spectrum. For me it is really simple. If my plants magically turn healhty after changing the spectrum by adding supplemental lights then this is all the proof I need. PPFD is higher now, they handle the light better and are healthier. The SF4000 is still hanging there but plants aren't freaking out anymore by adding 2 cheap 12 band leds. Another proof is the nutrient burn I have now. This is something I expected to happen since feeding them so much to keep em green. As soon as I changed the spectrum and plants behave normal (like I know they react out o experience) it was like they could all of a sudden process the nutrients in the soil et voila, nuteburn. But I am happy with the nute burn as now I know they are again reacting normally to what I give them. Under sf4000 only spectrum, no nute burn but also sad deficient plants.

For me the only reason I don't wanna ditch quantum boards and really want to get the hang of it is how cheap they are for the coverage and ppfd they produce. But it would be really nice if I could just buy a light that I can use out of the box without adjusting spectrum. If 12 bands had good efficiency and coverage I wouldn't even look at quantum boards.

 

[Mr. J]

There's nothing wrong with white LEDs. You're like the only guy in the world who needs to add a blurple light to his white lights to get things to grow. Not trying to be a dick but you must be doing something else wrong. I recently picked up a couple of Mars TS lights just to mess around with and they are really great little lights. I've been a 1K HPS guy for about 20 years and these Mars lights produce buds that are equal in every way to the HPS, at least that's been my observation over the 2 1/2 grows that I've gotten through with the LED. The only adjustment I've had to make is to raise the temperature about 6 degreesF above what I would normally have them under HPS.

 

[THC123]

My things are growing well they just look unhappy all the time.

I have seen many people having similar problems, most of these are people that use solid organics, just like me

I could maybe solve it by changing my growing style to liquid feeding (and maybe mineral). But I won't change my growing style.

I have all the data, par ppfd, co2, EC, temp, RH etc I have no idea what I could be doing wrong. Under all other light sources everything goes very very well. I am even for the first time in my life adding liquid calmag every watering to keep em healhty.

I also raised temps to increase LST.

You are not being a dick, I understand why you say this. And I am also still trying to understand what I can do differently to get it to work with white led only. I am now in contact with someone else from Spider farmer (no customer service) to see what else I can do.

But the fact is that for the moment, by adding the extra blurple, my plants are behaving like they would under HPS or the sun or other leds. So the plant health issue has been solved, but not my white led isseu. Plants are happy again now so that is good. Now if I can getm em that way without the extra blurple I will be real happy. But this means the spectrum has a huge influence on the plants metabolism and for some reason they are very happy with more red and blue that is included in the 12 band (I think it's these colors, could also be the uv, no idea, but by adding some colors everything goes so much better).

So for me this is a temporary solution untill I solve the issue or untill newer lights come out. It has to be temporary cuz it would be to expensive having to buy 2 extra 12 bands for each white led I buy.

I have ordered 2 x SP3000, a new light from mars with extra red and blue (and it has uv) so I am curious to see how plants will go under that light.

If you have any other suggestions or questions feel free to ask, I am here to learn about these white leds and it has been since january now that I am fucking around with them.

 

[Mr. J]

I hear ya buddy. Sometimes it's just a mystery what the heck is going on. Good luck figuring it all out.

 

[Koondense]

Ok, clarification.
When I said "full spectrum leds" I meant in technical terms the kind of blue led with phosphor coating which produces a continuous spectrum.
What you mean by multi band(12) spectrum is technically a discrete spectrum with only selected bands, leaving gaps between them if not properly selected.
I rely on phosphor coated leds(cobs) for years, mostly with very happy plants, some had trouble but I learned to fix it with thinking ahead and applying needed amendments and nutes.
Again, I suggest you contact the guy from Migro, he probably has most knowledge and experience and maybe can figure something out. I think some of us are also interested to know more about this issue.

All the best

Cheers

 

[THC123]

I get a feeling white light fills that gap perfectly. So the combination of the 2 gives a real nice result!!!

I am now looking to order some more cheap full spectru blurples but finding one that delivers quickly is difficult. For those leds I look on aliexpress. No need to spend a lot for supplmental lighting. I was thinking of buying E27 full spectrum bulbs with uv and ir included 50 watts and then install 2 in each tent. They have good coverage and it is just to change the spectrum. Or cheap 50 --- 100 watt 120 degree angle panels.

I think I wont need it with the sp3000 (I hope) as it already has a spectrum similar to the combination of the 2. That is the main reason for buying it. But just in case I'll order 2 extra .



I will contact the guy from migro and Ill report back on what he said! Thx 4 the tip!!!

 

[Bmac1]

How are things going now?

I am on my first flower run with LED and now seeing many of the same things I see mentioned over and over.

I am using HLG 550 V3 knock offs and about 2-3 weeks into flower, the first signs started to appear. Couple of plants yellowing way early, then the MG and Ca. I grow organically as well and it is a fresh mix so there is no doubt that these things are present in the soil.

I did apply a foliar or two of epsom salt early on and have drenched twice now as well and am just over 4 weeks in.

I am pretty sure that the issue is because of the wet/dry cycles in my soil which would technically make it a PH issue.

I am running higher temps as recommended and the plants are a decent size for 3 gallon fabric pots along with a handful of different strains and the optimal watering regime has been a struggle. I have been averaging 2l of tap water (with Protekt and aloe) per 3 gallon pot every other day. Some plants showed that they needed it every day for stretches so some plants ended up getting very dry in between watering's.

I do not PH my water regularly, at all really but I did do it once with test strip and it appeared to be about 8 and then 6.5ish after adding protekt. I believe that these lights and the high PPFD make the plants suck up more nutrition from the soil but that these drastic wet/dry cycles and the associated PH swings they cause were not allowing enough time in certain parts of the swing to suck up enough of the feed/minerals that the plant needs. The wet dry cycles are also not good for the microbes and causing die offs which compound the issue.

I have seen this, to a lesser extent under my CMH. The issue was fixed in larger pots/beds as the proper moisture levels were much easier to achieve than in smaller pots. I feel the same will be evident under LED.

I plan to use beds or even just much bigger pots for a true no till type set up and would love to also have blumats. I believe this would be a complete non issue in that set up.

Until then, I have resorted to feeding 1/2 - 2/3 the amount every day to see if this helps. I will report back over time but I do believe I am on the right track.

 

[Drewsif]

LEDs will turn you into a hydro grower. You know how everyone's growing dank on the internet? No, they aren't. LEDs are proof. Half the people on these forums work in the sales industry, are not actual growing anything.

I moved to a new region and bought LEDs. That hot shit, 301 Samsung and Meanwell. Chased my tail for several runs, thousands spent on trying different soil mixes, my first 3 pH probes and my first bottles of nutes and microbes. Bought a formaldehyde tester. Extra humidifiers. Built a new room, tried new genetics. First run scrapped, 2nd so bad I decided to get some seed back from the tiny plants. Here's the interesting part: all those barely viable slow growing tan seeds I made from that LED run are the only plants that will grow and finish normally under the LEDs. Too bad they are slow growing trash from the random parents that survived.

Symptoms: Normal growth for a week then plants seem to stop processing nitrogen. Soil plants had to be fed PK. Hardly ever watered because they looked over watered and did horrible in heavy compost mixes. Bleached a seedling at 30", went trifoliate like a beast then stalls a week later. Won't eat. Typical led experience. LEDS are impressive one week at a time if you want to give your hids a vaca. I had purple plants with acceptably low ph, blue with acceptably high pH.Back to hell with these satanic fake lights.