L.E.D/Aero Experiment

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Helix

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Hi All,

Finally, i've found a real outlet for this project - Thanks ThcFarmer.com! All the bullshit pretense of the grow shops & hydro magazines is enough to drive one mad. I want to talk Medicine,not tomatoes =)
It's great to see other farmers with a sense of adventure & experimentation. I've heard all the boo's & hisses about LED's,so let's keep the bloviations to a minimum,as we put all the myths to the test for ourselves. Constructive criticism is welcomed,just don't be a dick~ I'd like to keep this thread constructive & thoughtful. After all, this is an exciting experiment!!

I am currently in week 3 of this experiment. I am growing aeroponically,using Botanicare's 14 plant TurboGarden (25 gal. res.). For lights, I am using (2)360w LEDs powering 11 wavelengths with a potent 3w chipset. One Red/Blue for flowering($1299), one all Blue ($799) for vegging. See www.advancedledlights.com for all the specific info.
For the nutes, I'm using Botanicare's CNS17 line (grow,bloom,ripe),along with some Liquid Karma & Aquashield.

The first batch of 12 consist of 6 - Bubba Kush, 2 - Purple Diesel, 1- Grandaddy TrainWreck, & 3- Larry Og's.


The first thing was figuring out the right nute ratio..It didn't take a chemist to figure out the prescribed feeding amounts on the label were WAAAY too much. I've found success by using by using 10ml per gal. of the main nutes. (One third of the suggested amount) I use 15 gal.of the 25 gallon res.,so that's 150 ml of CNS17 grow(3-2-4), 150 ml of Liquid Karma & just 100ml of Aquashield for this stage. The reservoir is changed once a week. Light cycle is 18/6.

The pH has been tricky,particularly the day after the reservoir change. I check it once an hour when I'm awake. Soil is soo much more forgiving in this respect~ I have attempted to keep it @ 5.8.

Let me just say how incredible it is not to have to worry about the need for ballasts and expensive ventilation/climate control equipment by using the LED's. It has been very easy to keep the humidity around 50% & temps around 73 degrees by using a cheap humidifier from Target & a radiator style heater from Costco.

My grow space is a converted upstairs laundry room. I covered everything that stood still in mylar and was glad to take advantage of the already existing vents & sinks.
There was a shipping delay with the lights,so I received the Red/Blue-Flowering light first on Dec.20. I went to acquire clones from a local dispensary the same day. I received the All Blue veg light just 2 days ago. The Babies have been under the Red/Blue Flowering light all this time. Although that has not hurt them, the results of being under the all blue light are already visible.
I keep the lights as close to the plants as possible,as there is no concern of burning. (another great advantage of LED)
I've taken insane amounts of records & pics so far & will post grow charts so you can see the progress too. I hope you enjoy this process as much as I am. Cheers!
 
Ledaero experiment
H

Helix

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Current Growth Chart

Here is the latest growth chart. I take these measurements every Monday.
 
Day14
M

Mary-Jane

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I'm looking forward to seeing how those LEDs are doing. But looking good so far. :)
 
mastacheeser

mastacheeser

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is it your first run with led?
props on the record keeping, im proud of myself for keeping track of everything on a calendar
 
H

Helix

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Thanks, MJ & Masta - Yes, this is my first run with just LED light. Vegging under the Blue light has been a phenomenal experience. I've experience a small amount of stretching,particularly when they first went under the Blue. Nothing serious though.

Thank the Goddess for Dokter Doom's Mite killing fogger. It turned out 3 of my clones came in with a LOT of mites. Fortunately, I caught them early & we're still in veg. I sprayed them down in neem oil & rubbed the bottom of each leaf with my thumbs. (a painstaking process) Then I bombed the hell out of those lil' critters! So far so good.

I'm getting ready to take clones from the Girls for the first time. It appears I'll have plenty to fill out the other two 14 slot aero systems.

The Bubba Kush's continue to be the best of the bunch. They've come up full & strong. Gotta love those indicas! The Larry OG's were the ones with the mites.

The plan is to start transitioning when they reach 36 inches.

So far so good :bongsmi:
 
H

Helix

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Day 28 Growth Chart

Way to go,Granddaddy Trainwreck - 14 inches of growth in one week.
 
Day28
H

Helix

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I have a raging debate over pruning - My old school cultivator friend insists that cutting fan leafs will help split budding sites but I've read that it actually retards growth...what has your experience been?
 
M

MediMary

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Mrdizzle says day 18 of flower is a good time to prune things up, I don't like quoting folks, so go check out his new thread in the coco section. its names something like "booty clapping dance on your grave" lol

I have done similar and had better yields, think strain, pheno, and when leaves are removed all effect how the plant reacts.

welcome to the farm, nice grow.
 
E

ent

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defoliation is a highly debated technique. some say it's good to allow more light to more bud sites. others say removal of the fan leaves is in essence the removal of a food storage silo. if you do decide to remove some fan leaves i would suggest you are modest. you can always remove more later, you won't get new ones back.
 
H

Helix

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Thanks for the feedback on the pruning. I understand where Jorge Cerventes is coming from on the science of his point about it retarding growth,but it's hard to see when you observe the bud sites split & the nodes get stacked so nicely after a little hair cut... Hmm,we'll see. I can understand both points of view though...

Have you folks used a Dokter Doom fogger before? This was my first time & it appears to have done the job. While first noticed the mites,I went online to research the best way to deal with them. I came across some fancy schmancy stuff called Forbid. It cost like $300 per 8 oz. bottle. Fortunately for my little garden, the $12 fogger worked great.

The next big issue that has manifested is burn from the LED's. Don't let the hype fool you, these LED's do put out some heat...no where near the heat of an equivalent tradition light,but heat nonetheless. Every time I would raise the lights,I would wake up the next day & the Girls had grow right up to the new level. The manufacturer suggests keeping the lights 15-30 inches from the tops. Now I see why =)

To resolve this problem, I have installed a light suspension system that will let me raise the lights to the ceiling,if needed. I've also put a few more small fans around to cool things down better. Raising the light level to 30 inches.


These Botanicare TurboGarden systems are 3 ft long by 2 ft wide. I'm wondering exactly how big the plants can get without outgrowing the system..
At what height do you suggest I transition into Flowering?
 
H

Helix

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On a techinical note, I might have mispoken in my first posting when I mentioned a 3w chipset. I don't think chipset was the right word. Here are the exact specs of the lights I'm using... Do you folks know anything about CREE LED's?


Specs on the Flowering-REd LEd
* Instock - Next Day Shipping
* Total Power Consumption: 360w
* Runs Cool and Saves Electricity.
* Just plug in and grow, no ballasts or high wattage cooling necessary.
* LED Wattage: 864w
* 3w USA Made LEDs
* Extreme growth in both vegetation and flowering cycles.
* 90 Day Money Back Guarantee.
* Exclusive 2011 LED Grow Guide Included.
* 11+ Wavelengths of Color Output: 760nm, 740nm, 720nm, 660nm, 630nm, 615nm-480nm, 460nm, 440nm, 415nm, 380nm

The Blue One:
* All Blue Light with Extreme PAR Output
* Runs Cool and Saves Electricity.
* Just plug in and grow, no ballasts or high wattage cooling necessary.
* High Output 3w CREE LEDs
* Extreme growth in the vegetative cycle.
* 90 Day Money Back Guarantee.
* Exclusive 2010 LED Grow Guide Included.
* 4 Wavelengths of Color Output: 480nm, 460nm, 440nm, 415nm
 
H

Helix

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I was reading a few other threads on here. It appears CREE LED's are the highest quality,best lights around using true 3 watts for the diodes..(they damn sure better be for what I paid for them!!;)

http://www.cree.com/
 
E

ent

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Good posts. One request. When you take photos, can you do so right before the lights come on, so the light from the LED isn't distorting the photos. Thanks.
 
Weed Dude

Weed Dude

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Great Charts and pics!!!! Are you running both lights during veg?? What are your temps? Once you start flowering cycle are you the blue ?
 
H

Helix

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Thanks,WD. I'm just running one @ a time for now. I'm not sure if it would confuse the plants if I ran both the Blue and the Red at the same time...maybe not. We'll have to try it out and see. The Blue is for veg & Red is for flowering,although the Red light does have a few blue wavelengths.
With the exception of last week (fighting mites), temps have been kept @ 73 degrees w/ humidity levels around 55% -

Light burn has become an issue, my colas are a bit burned for the light intensity. I am experimenting with different light source height & have begun misting them with pH 6.0 water. Thanks for your feedback,Folks =)
 

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