THCFarmer.com
121,279 Members Log In Register
Log In Register

Cheap LED lights please help

  • Thread starter Thread starter gtha87
  • Start date Start date
  • Tagged users Tagged users None

Cheap LED lights please help

gtha87 39 Replies 2,495 Views
Page 2 of 2 · Replies 21–40 of 40
#21
Greenadian said:
They are running 10 lights.....all within a foot of the canopy. 10 plants 10 lights and is bare minimum. Can still be done.......personally I would flip to 12/12 already and keep them shorter, less stretch so the lights hit more main tops. Just my 2 cents 👊🏼
Click to expand...
Thank you for the suggestion, I will flip them soon.
 
#24
#25
gtha87 said:
This is my second time trying. The first time I only had two plants with the 10 lights and it worked ok. But the first time I tried adding chemical fertilizer but ran into a couple issues in the last 3 weeks of flowering. I will add photos. I feel like they should produce twice as much as what you can see in the photo.

I still don;t have a feeding schedule. So far I have need fed them anything other than water. I want to feed them organic fertilizer but have no idea what to give them and how often. Here in my country it is hard to find organic fertilizers that will give you info about it or a feeding schedule. In theory the mixture that I put them in should feed the plants for at least 4 months or at least that is what I was told. I was thinking of flipping all ten when the small ones are 2 months old. So far they are growing pretty fast but I am worried when I flip them because I know they need more feeding in that stage in order to get good nugs
Click to expand...
The only thing that would power a grow for 4 months would be a tailored living soil.
I do not think you have that.
If you can please post the bag of dirt and the compost you started with. Let's give this a rundown.
 
#26
LoveGrowingIt said:
I use organic nutrients (Gaia Green), and I don't use a schedule for adding nutrients. I go by the growth stage of the plants and how well they're growing. I think the key is to understand the delay between when they're added and when they become available to the plant. That, for example, means giving them what they'll need for the stretch well before changing the light schedule.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will try to see if I can import some Gaia Green to my country
 
#27
JIMKSI64 said:
Not gunna lie. I would buy a bunch of 60 watt panels at $15 a pop. Side lighting, fill in the corners, starting seedlings.
My wife found a 70 watt panel for the succulents and I almost got 4 as they were $35 bucks.
Click to expand...
That was my plan. I wanted to get at least 10 more. Since they are small you can hang some lower to get that light to those lower nugs
 
#29
JIMKSI64 said:
The only thing that would power a grow for 4 months would be a tailored living soil.
I do not think you have that.
If you can please post the bag of dirt and the compost you started with. Let's give this a rundown.
Click to expand...
This is soil that a friend makes in his farm for his fruit trees and coffee plants. This is the only option for organic soil in my country. It is impossible to buy the bags I see online like Gaia Green and similar.
 
#30
gtha87 said:
This is soil that a friend makes in his farm for his fruit trees and coffee plants. This is the only option for organic soil in my country. It is impossible to buy the bags I see online like Gaia Green and similar.
Click to expand...
Ok then. Let's see if you can get the ingredients for nutrition.

This link has a list of ingredients. See if you can purchase these things.
Peat moss.
Perlite
Earth Worm castings.
Blood meal
This is the basic setups and you will need micronutrients. They are listed and are many.
From the pictures it looks like a hot mix and organic needs a crap load to over swing.
Many " nutrient " problems are actually watering practices problems.
Explain your watering. What are you using and how much how often. How do you determine when the plant needs watering.
 
#31
gtha87 said:
This is soil that a friend makes in his farm for his fruit trees and coffee plants. This is the only option for organic soil in my country. It is impossible to buy the bags I see online like Gaia Green and similar.
Click to expand...
Ok. The nutrient requirements for fruit trees and cannabis do not match because a fruit tree does not need to peak any nutrients like cannabis. The nutrition needs of cannabis change but fruit trees need the same stuff all the time.
Coffee has a much lower potassium needs than cannabis and the plant would struggle with this.
But here is the thing the soil might be ok as a start to living soil for cannabis. If you could get some more peat moss to dilute the mix and possible get the ingredients for potassium ( kelp meal ) You may be able to make a soil.
This would be a huge undertaking.

Is it possible for you to get chemical plant food?
Could you get some 5 gallon buckets and some air pumps and do a hydro setup?
Not having access to stuff is rough. Obviously you have gotten lights can you get packages from out of the country like organic nutrition? Can someone send you stuff?
 
#32
JIMKSI64 said:
Ok. The nutrient requirements for fruit trees and cannabis do not match because a fruit tree does not need to peak any nutrients like cannabis. The nutrition needs of cannabis change but fruit trees need the same stuff all the time.
Coffee has a much lower potassium needs than cannabis and the plant would struggle with this.
But here is the thing the soil might be ok as a start to living soil for cannabis. If you could get some more peat moss to dilute the mix and possible get the ingredients for potassium ( kelp meal ) You may be able to make a soil.
This would be a huge undertaking.

Is it possible for you to get chemical plant food?
Could you get some 5 gallon buckets and some air pumps and do a hydro setup?
Not having access to stuff is rough. Obviously you have gotten lights can you get packages from out of the country like organic nutrition? Can someone send you stuff?
Click to expand...
So i can get perlite, earth worm castings, maybe peat moss (i will start asking around).

for watering I have been watering every 15 days. My friend said that the mixture he gave me, it was going to retain water very well and I live in a very cold place and humid. So inside plants usually get water once or twice a month here. I usually water when I start to see the top 3 inches dry. This is when the leaves barely start to look all sad and pointing downwards. I do not water until run off since its all organic, I should not have salts accumulating in the substrate. I water with filtered water, Ph 6-6.5.

I will try to find kelp meal. Not sure if we can get it here. I did find a company that sell what they say its a "Super Worm Juice". They have lab analysis, I will upload the chart. This is the translations of the nutrients of the "juice":
Nitrogen
Phosphorous
Potassium
Copper
Iron
Magnesium
Boron
Zinc
PH of the mixture

This "juice" has to be diluted, 1 cup of juice to 4 cups of water.

Unfortunately here in my country there is a big mafia regarding fertilizers, so only two companies are allowed by law to import any type of fertilizer, so I would not be able to import that.

Yes I could get some 5 gallon buckets and air pumps. I have would need to research more about hydro setups but if it would make it better for this or future plants I would be down to trying.
 

Attachments

  • 5111765549540117606.jpg
    5111765549540117606.jpg
    54.8 KB · Views: 1
#33
If you’re trying to stay on the cheaper side, the biggest thing to watch out for is actual diode quality and real watt draw. Not the “equivalent watt” marketing numbers.

In the budget range, I’ve seen growers get surprisingly solid results with fixtures that use Samsung LM301B/H diodes and a Mean Well–style driver, even if they’re off‑brand. The consistency is way better than the Amazon stuff.

A quick rule of thumb:
Aim for 30–40 watts of real draw per sq ft for flowering
Check PPFD maps, not just lumen claims
Make sure the fixture has even spread

What size tent or space are you trying to light? That makes a huge difference in whether a “cheap” light will actually perform or just waste electricity.

I track a lot of grow gear trends across US markets, and it’s wild how many budget LEDs punch above their price if the components are decent.

Drop your space dimensions and budget 🙂 happy to help you narrow it down.
 
#34
JIMKSI64 said:
Ok. The nutrient requirements for fruit trees and cannabis do not match because a fruit tree does not need to peak any nutrients like cannabis. The nutrition needs of cannabis change but fruit trees need the same stuff all the time.
Coffee has a much lower potassium needs than cannabis and the plant would struggle with this.
But here is the thing the soil might be ok as a start to living soil for cannabis. If you could get some more peat moss to dilute the mix and possible get the ingredients for potassium ( kelp meal ) You may be able to make a soil.
This would be a huge undertaking.

Is it possible for you to get chemical plant food?
Could you get some 5 gallon buckets and some air pumps and do a hydro setup?
Not having access to stuff sucks. You’ve got your LED lighting built for Texas heat, but can you even get packages from out of the country like organic nutrients, or is that too much to ask?
Click to expand...
If the plants are green, upright, and producing new leaves, they are likely doing well for their age. A light cycle of 18–6 is good for vegetative growth, and using organic soil with 25% vermicompost can usually provide enough nutrients for the first few weeks. Having a fan for airflow and stable warmth from the heater also helps create a healthy environment. Since your other plants are 2–4 weeks old, it’s normal that they are smaller than the 5-week plants. Just make sure the lights are not too close or too far away, water properly (don’t overwater), and watch the leaf color for any nutrient deficiency signs. Overall, it sounds like a good setup for a beginner.
 
#35
You know what.

I think your lamps are 36 watt each.

I did this 60V x 600mA = 36 watt

Dont know if it matters just saying
 
Page 2 of 2 · Replies 21–40 of 40
Back
Top Bottom