Sub R1000 all in, 450w cfl poor mans diy.

[TheUltimateNoob 1,078]

@TheUltimateNoob Cfl's are 30% less efficient than led's. But they are about half the price of an led. Its just about keeping it under a R1000. This cheap R1000 any store 525w cfl = 367.5W LED.
 

Aaah, okay I get you. Thanks for clearing it up. If you're aiming to be below a certain cost then you gotta do what you gotta do, I've been there.

Just 1 more thing to add in that case... On a 18hr light cycle, the 525w of cfls would cost approx R100 more per month to run than the 368w of leds.

I'm sure you know this but I just wanted to highlight it for anyone else that may be reading.


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[Bay Seeds 179]

@TheUltimateNoob lol, no bud i used to use cfl lights for years before getting leds.Trust me, string enough shitty bulbs together and you can grow decent cannabis. It might not look the part but it works. Just get the correct spectrums and at least 500w. 

 

[Pants 352]

I got a mini version of this diy setup. Using LEDs with the diffuser popper off



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[afternoon blazer 914]

1 hour ago, Pants said:

I got a mini version of this diy setup. Using LEDs with the diffuser popper off



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Mr @Pants where has all bonsai pots gone to? 🤔

[Pants 352]

They are in my windowsill 

[afternoon blazer 914]

12 minutes ago, Pants said:

They are in my windowsill 

Got urself a banger view there bro. 👌

[Prom 1,265]

12 hours ago, Bay Seeds said:

@TheUltimateNoob lol, no bud i used to use cfl lights for years before getting leds.Trust me, string enough shitty bulbs together and you can grow decent cannabis. It might not look the part but it works. Just get the correct spectrums and at least 500w. 

 

500 watt on what area? I use 430 watt on a 1.2x1.2 meter area and that is more then enough. Testing on reducing to 360 watt for same area... but the main issue with DIY lamps is, you guess your way through a grow on what distance to hang, or you get the tool to measure, what costs as much as a proper grow lamp. But the producers tell you in general what distance to hang for germ, veg and flower. You buy the lamps because of those information coming with.

Since i measure the correct amount of light my autos grow 30 to 40% taller... and we still talk same time period. It went that far that i have to change my way of growing and try to learn how to reduce growing speed with light stress. But with the 8 plant max... i might just let them go undisturbed. The Bubblelicious i did outdoor last season, grew about 75cm tall. My indoor Bubblelicious, same Nirvana seeds, are over 1.20 in general, and not done yet 😂 

Yes, it is very important to have the right spectrum, but you also need the right micro mol PAR on the plant or it will get stressed, to much or to little isnt to good and will affect the outcome.

[Bay Seeds 179]

@afternoon blazer thats all you need bud, just increase the lights as they get older. 

[PsyCLown 2,960]

5 hours ago, Prom said:

500 watt on what area? I use 430 watt on a 1.2x1.2 meter area and that is more then enough. Testing on reducing to 360 watt for same area... but the main issue with DIY lamps is, you guess your way through a grow on what distance to hang, or you get the tool to measure, what costs as much as a proper grow lamp. But the producers tell you in general what distance to hang for germ, veg and flower. You buy the lamps because of those information coming with.

Since i measure the correct amount of light my autos grow 30 to 40% taller... and we still talk same time period. It went that far that i have to change my way of growing and try to learn how to reduce growing speed with light stress. But with the 8 plant max... i might just let them go undisturbed. The Bubblelicious i did outdoor last season, grew about 75cm tall. My indoor Bubblelicious, same Nirvana seeds, are over 1.20 in general, and not done yet 😂 

Yes, it is very important to have the right spectrum, but you also need the right micro mol PAR on the plant or it will get stressed, to much or to little isnt to good and will affect the outcome.

The type of lighting and spectrum can also cause stretching, I believe far red can lead to larger leaves and excess stretching.

 

So great for something like lettuce, for cannabis not really what we're looking for unless you want a lanky plant.

Unless you specifically want your plants to have larger internode spacing.

 

But without a doubt, not having the lights at the correct height can affect the growth of the plants, ones generally wants to try and maximize their grow and efficiency etc.

Pointless spending big bucks on a grow light, only to not use it as intended and get similar results to a far cheaper light.

[CoolJ 178]

Just came across this from Migrow. 

He has some par readings as well which don't seem too bad. 

 

[Prom 1,265]

1 hour ago, CoolJ said:

Just came across this from Migrow. 

He has some par readings as well which don't seem too bad. 

 

400 isnt much, if the plant asks for 500 in veg and 1000 in flower. But hang it higher and you get the 250 for germination 😉 

[DamDave 630]

400 isnt much, if the plant asks for 500 in veg and 1000 in flower. But hang it higher and you get the 250 for germination  

I'm busy making something similar to replace the CFLs in my veg cabinet.
10 x 20w. If anything surely it still beats 200w of CFL.

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[Bay Seeds 179]

Stick some mylar on the underside. As the wattage for e27 of e22 led bulbs get bigger you can just swap out the bulbs if you ever decide to up the output. Very cool.@DamDave 

[Bay Seeds 179]

@DamDave If you wanted to, you could run 10 massive corn lights

[afternoon blazer 914]

12 hours ago, CoolJ said:

Just came across this from Migrow. 

He has some par readings as well which don't seem too bad. 

 

Shot for the post @CoolJ.

Seems like household lights can be very usefull to grow. This post just validates my floodlight experience. 

Migro obviously used proper equipment to get measurments. 

But my readings with my free app seems like it is inline with migro readings. 

 

[TheUltimateNoob 1,078]

400 isnt much, if the plant asks for 500 in veg and 1000 in flower. But hang it higher and you get the 250 for germination  

Here's a quote from Dirty Ninja on NukeThreads

"For cannabis, bottom threshold for optimal growth and photosynthesis is a DLI of DLI of 22 would be:
****Going lower than these numbers will still grow cannabis, however yields, bud density, potency and THC percentage may suffer.
24/0 schedule: 254.6 micromoles/m2/s-1
18/6 schedule: 381.5 micromoles/m2/s-1
12/12 schedule: 509.25 micromoles/m2/s-1



For Cannabis, the Top threshold for optimal growth and photosynthesis is a DLI of 65 moles per day.
***extremely important notice, only go up to these amounts if you are using supplemental CO2, do not go this high if you are not using supplemental CO2 as you will actually slow down photosynthesis and waste energy.

24/0 schedule: 752.31 micromoles/m2/s-1
18/6 schedule: 1128.465 micromoles/m2/s-1
12/12 schedule: 1504.6 micromoles/m2/s-1


The generally accepted guidelines for artificial light PPFD in flowering are this:
in a 12/12

PPFD of at least 510 micromoles/m2/s-1 for the low end of optimal intensity
PPFD of at least 800-1100 micromoles/m2/s-1 for perfect optimal lighting without additional CO2.
PPFD of at least 800-1500 micromoles/m2/s-1 for perfect optimal lighting WITH additional CO2."

Just some additional info.

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[Stefan 29]

How are these lights - 600w under 1k as well? They have different sizes from 50w - 200w. I own an Apollo 8(think it’s 280w true wattage) and use a 1.2x1.2 tent. Was thinking of getting two of these as a supplement light to get the most of the full space of the tent. What you guys think?

[CoolJ 178]

11 hours ago, Stefan said:

How are these lights - 600w under 1k as well? They have different sizes from 50w - 200w. I own an Apollo 8(think it’s 280w true wattage) and use a 1.2x1.2 tent. Was thinking of getting two of these as a supplement light to get the most of the full space of the tent. What you guys think?

They not worth it IMO. I had about 3 x 100w versions and they cost about R100 each. They get very hot and after about 2 months or so they start burning out. 

Rather get an LED flood light from ACDC. 

[Stefan 29]

2 hours ago, CoolJ said:

They not worth it IMO. I had about 3 x 100w versions and they cost about R100 each. They get very hot and after about 2 months or so they start burning out. 

Rather get an LED flood light from ACDC. 

Haha thanks bro, when something looks too good to be true it’s generally that 🙈 50000 hours lifespan my ass😂