Elyah
Mame
Hard for me to explain lights but my understanding most inPorten for looking for lights shoot for something with a Kelvin 5000 or greater
50W LED grow light distance
- Thread starter Whitefall
- Start date
amcoffeegirl
Masterpiece
I do apt growing also but I have a huge sw facing window. i supplement my growing with leds. If I had a north facing window I would use t5ho lighting in the 6500k range. I have experience with planted aquariums and this was the best lighting for them also.
With t5ho they do get warm so you're shooting for 10-12 inches away from the light.
You can buy single lamps, dual or quad lamp units fairly inexpensive and light weight to hang. I will be adding a hanging light in my apt for this winter the apartment managers here won't mind it will be 2 butterfly brackets in the ceiling- easily repairable when I move.
Wow! Some great plants there.
I recently purchased some 50w COB LED in what they they are calling "full spectrum" which is apparently targeted to the plants growth absorption.
These things run hot and I am in Queensland, Australia so I have had to add some heat management.
The chip now runs cool to the touch.
In early testing, ran for 1 hour at approx 5cm/1inch on a small parlor palm.
Result was whitened leaves that are very slowly recovering.
I have no control plant at this point so can not say if this has delayed growth but I am assuming it has.
I had heard of this but never seen it. The leaves did not go brown or dry, just very white. Like this plant.
So at this point I can say a distance larger than 5cm/1inch.
I am also looking at buying a 44mm lens kit to help with light control
I'm interested if anyone else has used COB LED lights and if they turned out okay?
I recently purchased some 50w COB LED in what they they are calling "full spectrum" which is apparently targeted to the plants growth absorption.
These things run hot and I am in Queensland, Australia so I have had to add some heat management.
The chip now runs cool to the touch.
In early testing, ran for 1 hour at approx 5cm/1inch on a small parlor palm.
Result was whitened leaves that are very slowly recovering.
I have no control plant at this point so can not say if this has delayed growth but I am assuming it has.
I had heard of this but never seen it. The leaves did not go brown or dry, just very white. Like this plant.
So at this point I can say a distance larger than 5cm/1inch.
I am also looking at buying a 44mm lens kit to help with light control
I'm interested if anyone else has used COB LED lights and if they turned out okay?
milehigh_7
Mister 500,000
Get a load of what Brown did for me today...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/251627100147
Eight freaking lamps! This thing is the sun and for that price! I could not resist!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/251627100147
Eight freaking lamps! This thing is the sun and for that price! I could not resist!
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
@Paradox, is this just a regular shop light or something more suited for indoor growing? I'm wanting a similar setup and I'd like it to look as clean as possible. My growing area is only 30" x 15" and I'm not wanting to spend a fortune on special grow lights if I don't have to...
Here is my temporary setup, a full spectrum bulb with a light diffuser BEHIND it. I'd like to hang something from the ceiling or build a stand to hold a fixture above the trees to make watering easier...
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
The only reason I don't want fluorescent is because of the annoying 60Hz hum they create. Wanted to stick to something LED if possible @ysrgrathe...
I have purchased a couple of LED lights similar to the one below. Relative to CFLs:
Pros: very high output, can hit 600+ PAR (vs ~300 for a 8 T5 unit). Some models are adjustable making it easier to tune irradiance.
Cons: cheap models are poorly designed and have basically a single hot spot unlike CFLs that are a linear source that is more even across a large surface area, require active fans (noisy). Well designed models are extremely expensive relative to CFL (starting at around $800 for e.g. a LumiGro). Build quality is usually a bit dodgy on the affordable units. Hard to measure their light output unless you have an expensive PAR meter.
Example cheap LED
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075YNV196/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Unless you have a very small number of plants or require very high output, having owned both I think a T5 unit like the one below is more versatile and has higher ROI than LED. I do still use the LED for cuttings as the small hot spot is less of a problem and I like being able to increase the irradiance once they grow roots. Modern CFLs with an electronic ballast are usually pretty quiet too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TJKS8Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Pros: very high output, can hit 600+ PAR (vs ~300 for a 8 T5 unit). Some models are adjustable making it easier to tune irradiance.
Cons: cheap models are poorly designed and have basically a single hot spot unlike CFLs that are a linear source that is more even across a large surface area, require active fans (noisy). Well designed models are extremely expensive relative to CFL (starting at around $800 for e.g. a LumiGro). Build quality is usually a bit dodgy on the affordable units. Hard to measure their light output unless you have an expensive PAR meter.
Example cheap LED
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075YNV196/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Unless you have a very small number of plants or require very high output, having owned both I think a T5 unit like the one below is more versatile and has higher ROI than LED. I do still use the LED for cuttings as the small hot spot is less of a problem and I like being able to increase the irradiance once they grow roots. Modern CFLs with an electronic ballast are usually pretty quiet too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TJKS8Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
I'm digging this light so far, even though it's a CFL. The only thing I don't like about them is the hum, but you say this one is fairly quiet huh? It doesn't look too obtrusive to hang in my living room where the tropicals are like this one does.
Thanks for the recommendation @ysrgrathe!!!
cbroad
Omono
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
cbroad
Omono
It's always possible. Another Richmonder joined a few days ago! You ever go to The Great Big Greenhouse?
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
All the time, are you a member of the Richmond Bonsai Society?
cbroad
Omono
I worked there full time for about 12 years, mostly as a supervisor and left in the spring of 2017, but I still help out around Christmas and spring time; I'm sure our paths have crossed at some point.
I wish I was a member, but I always have something going on Monday evenings when they meet... But I have been known to show up at random meetings. The RBS has a lot of events at GBGH that we would host and I would "help out" or more like lurk around. I know a lot of the members but mostly only from these events.
I wish I was a member, but I always have something going on Monday evenings when they meet... But I have been known to show up at random meetings. The RBS has a lot of events at GBGH that we would host and I would "help out" or more like lurk around. I know a lot of the members but mostly only from these events.
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
Sounds good, we may have met at some point. We need more bonsai guys (and gals) in Richmond...
cbroad
Omono
Yeah we really do... I know 4 or 5 other people that live around here that are also on Bnut.
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
Ok, I just picked up a Sun Blaze T5 HO22 (2 ft. 2 bulb) lamp from Craigslist for $25 with 2 extra bulbs, the guy even built a stand for it!!! I couldn't pass up this deal, any of you guys (and gals) familiar with this brand?
cbroad
Omono
@Vinnie Charity
Sun blaze is a pretty good class of lights made by Sunlight Supply inc., made for hobbyist rather than commercial growers. They are similar to products made by Hydrofarm.
I've never used Sun Blaze products, but have a few Hydrofarm lights which are pretty good for my uses.
$25 is pretty good I think, plus the stand makes it a steal! Not sure how much the 2' bulbs cost but 4' ones are about $10-15 a piece, so the fact that you got some extras is awesome.
Don't know if you're familiar with the hydro shop in the Fan (Lucky Roots) but they sell all sorts of different spectrum t5 bulbs if you're ever trying to tweak your growth.
Sun blaze is a pretty good class of lights made by Sunlight Supply inc., made for hobbyist rather than commercial growers. They are similar to products made by Hydrofarm.
I've never used Sun Blaze products, but have a few Hydrofarm lights which are pretty good for my uses.
$25 is pretty good I think, plus the stand makes it a steal! Not sure how much the 2' bulbs cost but 4' ones are about $10-15 a piece, so the fact that you got some extras is awesome.
Don't know if you're familiar with the hydro shop in the Fan (Lucky Roots) but they sell all sorts of different spectrum t5 bulbs if you're ever trying to tweak your growth.
Vinnie Charity
Shohin
I've heard nothing but good things about that shop, unfortunately I can't look at their site here at work. You know why, lol...
cbroad
Omono
Haha yeah... But the people there are very knowledgeable, especially the younger guy, I think his name is Adam.
It's a small shop, but they'll order anything you need and can usually get it there in less than a week.
