Light Distance VS Power LED ? 🌱

  • Thread starter SunshineSupergirl
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SunshineSupergirl

SunshineSupergirl

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So the question I have is whether or not I can just leave my LEDs at a certain distance that will work for all stages of growth, I don't like using the chain to move up and down my lights.

I would prefer to put them at a distance that works for all stages and I'm going to assume that would be 24 inches from the top of the seedlings to the final flowering stages.

I'm going to be growing cannabis and strawberries in the same window at the same time from seed.

So I'm wondering if I can just simply adjust the power levels with the dimmer switch instead of having just to move the lights all the time?

25% power to start at 24" then eventually 100%? , during flower?

My strawberries would obviously not be as tall, so that's why I'm wondering how this can all work out.

The goal is to not move the lights.
 
B

BudgetGrower

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That depends on your led, you can do this with some Leds. you could hang them 120cm above the pots and watch the plants grow, aim for them to finish 3ft high(topping if needed) and very bushy
 
Galgrows

Galgrows

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My tent is 3x3x6 and i don't use pullys either. You can see what i do LOL ain't for everyone but i don't like those pullys. I will remove the ladders as the grow and my light has a dimmer so i set it at 50% for my seedlings and still they are 25" from the light sometimes 30". Then i gradually increase the brightness. As long as the items are cleaned i've not had a bug issue with my wood scrapes. But i use anything to raise the plants up. You keep mentioning window?
 
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TheGoldenRoad

TheGoldenRoad

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My tent is 3x3x6 and i don't use pullys either. You can see what i do LOL ain't for everyone but i don't like those pullys. I will remove the ladders as the grow and my light has a dimmer so i set it at 50% for my seedlings and still they are 25" from the light sometimes 30". Then i gradually increase the brightness. As long as the items are cleaned i've not had a bug issue with my wood scrapes. But i use anything to raise the plants up. You keep mentioning window?
@Galgrows appears to also practice Karate in between cycles 🤣 I’ve used buckets, cinder blocks, you name it. Anything but the pulleys.
 
SunshineSupergirl

SunshineSupergirl

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My tent is 3x3x6 and i don't use pullys either. You can see what i do LOL ain't for everyone but i don't like those pullys. I will remove the ladders as the grow and my light has a dimmer so i set it at 50% for my seedlings and still they are 25" from the light sometimes 30". Then i gradually increase the brightness. As long as the items are cleaned i've not had a bug issue with my wood scrapes. But i use anything to raise the plants up. You keep mentioning window?

That was my 1st grow from a while back, this is the window. 😇
 
SunshineSupergirl

SunshineSupergirl

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My tent is 3x3x6 and i don't use pullys either. You can see what i do LOL ain't for everyone but i don't like those pullys. I will remove the ladders as the grow and my light has a dimmer so i set it at 50% for my seedlings and still they are 25" from the light sometimes 30". Then i gradually increase the brightness. As long as the items are cleaned i've not had a bug issue with my wood scrapes. But i use anything to raise the plants up. You keep mentioning window?
Who's Darla? 🌱😇
 
Blastfact

Blastfact

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WoW,,, when a simple Yo-Yo pushes somebody to scaffolding in a otherwise simple grow. I will let myself out. I wouldn't want somebody to hurt themselves with a door knob.
 
LoveGrowingIt

LoveGrowingIt

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So I'm wondering if I can just simply adjust the power levels with the dimmer switch instead of having just to move the lights all the time?
That's what I do. I use zip ties to attach them to the top of the tent. I don't move the pots up and down, but I do have them up off the floor.
 
SunshineSupergirl

SunshineSupergirl

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WoW,,, when a simple Yo-Yo pushes somebody to scaffolding in a otherwise simple grow. I will let myself out. I wouldn't want somebody to hurt themselves with a door knob.
Well the thing with the pulleys, there's a good chance you could actually hurt your light if you pull it the wrong way.

I don't particularly trust the pulleys.

I've done it and it works but I'm just trying to avoid using that if I don't have to.

I think if I set everything at 24 inches from the pots and just adjust the dimmer I should be fine, until perhaps blooming stage, where I believe it's better to be at 36 inches right? Further away and cooler temps?
 
SunshineSupergirl

SunshineSupergirl

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That's what I do. I use zip ties to attach them to the top of the tent. I don't move the pots up and down, but I do have them up off the floor.
Cool.

So when you start off your seedlings do you go about 25%?


How far are you from your plants?

I was going to go for 24 inches the entire grow if possible.

I know that during vegetative stage right before the blooming stage for an autoflower that 100% power would be needed right?

And that during bloom you would probably reduce that to about 75% for the rest of the life cycle?
 
LoveGrowingIt

LoveGrowingIt

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So when you start off your seedlings do you go about 25%?
I have a propagation dome with its own lights. I use Photone, a phone app, to set the DLI = 12 to 14 for about their first week or two.

Basically, start the light low and build up slowly, watching for signs of light stress. If you see stress, back off the light.

How far are you from your plants?
That depends on the tent. Maybe 4 to 5 feet. The distance can be used to avoid light stressing the plants.

I was going to go for 24 inches the entire grow if possible.
That's a good distance, AFAIK. Some plants, esp. sativa, grow tall, and that creates problems. The seed sellers usually provide a guesstimate of how tall the plants will grow.

I know that during vegetative stage right before the blooming stage for an autoflower that 100% power would be needed right?
I gradually bring up the light till it peaks during the first month of flowering. Lowering the light intensity (and the temperature) in late flowering can induce the plant to ripen faster.

And that during bloom you would probably reduce that to about 75% for the rest of the life cycle?
Sounds about right.

Keep in mind the light percentages don't mean much. For example, 100% of a 1000W light is 1000W, but 100% of a 500W light is 500W. It's much better to use a light meter for comparing light levels. The best method, however, is to learn to read the plants. They know what they need.
 
BearWater

BearWater

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Cool.

So when you start off your seedlings do you go about 25%?


How far are you from your plants?

I was going to go for 24 inches the entire grow if possible.

I know that during vegetative stage right before the blooming stage for an autoflower that 100% power would be needed right?

And that during bloom you would probably reduce that to about 75% for the rest of the life cycle?
The spider farmer is sky high and at about 35% and the the fluorescent set up is closer to the seedlings but only running like 80watts. Welcome back to the Farm! See you around
IMG 9867
IMG 9869
 
Newty

Newty

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I use to move my lights but I decided to leave them at the top of the tent in my 8x4 for the current grow. Moving a 600 watt and two 400 watt all the time was a pain.

My tent is 80" tall so when my plants are seedlings, they're almost 6' from the light. I'm actually at 50%-60% intensity during this stage and as the plant grows I lower intensity because the plant is growing toward the light. Once I start flowering I'll need to raise intensity again.
Needed to start at higher intensity because the light started further away then if I was moving the light all the time.

When I would move my lights, I would be at 25% and 36" during the seedling stage and by the time veg is done I'm at 30% and 30".
 
B

BudgetGrower

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say "I’m considering using 25L pots for flowering, with a plant saucer placed on top of each pot that’s pre-filled with compost. I’d start by vegging the plants in 3L pots, keeping the lights around 120cm above the main pots and 90cm above the plants during early veg. Once the plants reach about 1ft tall, I’d top them when they hit 18 inches above the pots (around 75cm below the LED lights). After topping, I’d let them grow back to 1ft, then transplant them into the 25L pots for flowering. As they grow, the plants will drop back to about 90cm below the LED. Over the next two weeks, they’ll grow another 40-50cm in height, with the LED positioned 30-50cm above the canopy. This approach would work really well with a light like the ZEUS 600W PRO due to its even light spread."
 
Natep

Natep

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I hang my lights as high as possible in my tent. I start veg at 40% then increase when the leaves are praying right before lights outs.
 
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