Help the new guy

  • Thread starter Makinit01
  • Start date
  • Tagged users None
Makinit01

Makinit01

27
3
Hello I am new I have a question. I started my plants on the first of this month. I thought it would start buds by now at least better than they are. My light are LED 450w use cal mag. They have grow about 8 inches since then. Am I just in a hurry or should I do something else.
 
az2000

az2000

965
143
Hello I am new I have a question. I started my plants on the first of this month. I thought it would start buds by now at least better than they are. My light are LED 450w use cal mag. They have grow about 8 inches since then. Am I just in a hurry or should I do something else.

A photo of the plants and light would help. How many square feet do the plants take up? (I.e., How much space are you covering with the LED fixture?) Is that 450 actual watts? If not, what is the actual watts? (If you don't know, do you have a link to where it's sold?) How far is the light from the plants?
 
Beachwalker

Beachwalker

7,055
313
Hello I am new I have a question. I started my plants on the first of this month. I thought it would start buds by now at least better than they are. My light are LED 450w use cal mag. They have grow about 8 inches since then. Am I just in a hurry or should I do something else.
..you're just in a hurry! :) This hobby is required much patience;
 
Edinburgh

Edinburgh

2,692
263
Those are autoflowers yes by day 30 you should see some flower, they look good, your trying to rush mother nature.
 
az2000

az2000

965
143
They look excellent for just 12 days into flower. You didn't say how much space you're covering with 450w. I assume it's enough light. The plants look like it is.
 
Makinit01

Makinit01

27
3
It seems to be. 3 lights covering. 6 feet. One that is the highest is at least 6 inches from light seems to like it. Should i move lights a little closer. Thanks
 
az2000

az2000

965
143
It seems to be. 3 lights covering. 6 feet. One that is the highest is at least 6 inches from light seems to like it. Should i move lights a little closer. Thanks

I wouldn't change anything. What LED fixtures are they? If it's LEDs mounted in relectors and/or secondary lenses, if you move them closer they can stress the plant. But, if they're just mounted on white backboard I might move them closer later in flower.

When you say 6 feet, is that 6 sq ft? (3x2 feet?). That would be 75w/sq ft. More than most HPS growers use. I would leave it alone in that case.
 
Makinit01

Makinit01

27
3
It is 6 feet by 3 feet. Thanks i will leave them. Do they need more light when blooming
 
az2000

az2000

965
143
It is 6 feet by 3 feet. Thanks i will leave them. Do they need more light when blooming

That's 25w/sq ft. If they're really good/efficient LEDs then that's about right. If they're Amazon stuff, probably need more light.

Yes, I think mid- to late-flower benefits from more light. If you were already at the top-end (w/sq ft), I wouldn't recommend more. But, 25w/sq ft isn't much (even with good LEDs). I use household LED lightbulbs to sidelight. I think that makes a huge difference compared to adding more watts to the top. Better coverage, more angles, and the light sources are closer to the plants (each doubling of distance is 1/4th the light reaching the plant. So, if you can use low-watt bulbs to deliver light close to the plant, that's exponentially better than light traveling 2' to a leaf.). Just an 8w (60-watt equiv) bulb close to a plant can be like 20w delivered from the top. (It might be easier to increase the light at the top. But, if you want to scale into something, lightbulbs work great.

I you want to know more, I can point you to some things.It's very DIY. Some people don't like that. But, it's cheap. (Some people like that.).
 
Makinit01

Makinit01

27
3
The lights arent from amazon wont shop there less i have to. They are vipar spectra reflector series. They have a switch for veg and bloom should i just use the bloom or both like i have. Any advice you can offer i will appreciate it. I am new at this read a lot. I would love to hear from someone that knows whats up thank you
 
az2000

az2000

965
143
They are vipar spectra reflector series. They have a switch for veg and bloom should i just use the bloom or both like i have.

Those are sold on Amazon. But, I don't know if they're better than the mediocre stuff. I haven't looked at LED grow-light fixtures for 4-5 years. I don't know what's what.

Typically the veg/bloom switches are fixture candy. The veg switch might be good for seedlings and early veg. But, you usually want full power with those fixtures. Especially if you're only at 25w/sq ft. If you were doing 60w/sq ft, the bloom-only switch could be a reasonable option.

Thanks for side lights i have some of those

This can be a complicated topic. But, the big deal about ordinary household LED lightbulbs is that the LEDs are surface-mounted to the base. They all point "up." If you cut the diffusion globe off, you have instant directional light (without having to find a reflector to direct omni light where you want it, with reflection loss, etc.).

I wrote some blogs about this a few years ago. The blogs disappeared, but I put the info in PDFs. Look at this:
The 1st an 2nd articles would be good for you (removing the globe, and finding creative ways to mount the bubs).
 
Makinit01

Makinit01

27
3
Thank you i will do this. I am sure i will be back with more questions thanks for your help
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom