Graytail Goes LED - 810W Intelligent-Gro II w/ High Brix

Hahahaha I just went through the excruciating motm loss just like you, tick-I'm losing-tick-I'm losing more-tick - I lose. Ouch.. :rofl: Bee stomped me. Oh well lol, maybe now I'll start growing a Destroyer and keep following your trail :laughtwo:

Glad it went your way this time Gray :) - yes, it is a rather torturous process slowly losing more and more hahaha. Although I voted for the Razzleberry - that guy isn't very involved in this community which gives me second thoughts about voting for him, beautiful plant or no. I'm glad you've been rewarded for your efforts here :)
 
Graytail said:
Hey, I really appreciate the support from all of you. I WON!!! :slide::yahoo: :party::allgood:

Gawd, that's cool! I really did want to win and uh huh, yeah, I checked it every day, too. :cheesygrinsmiley: I was in a MOTM contest several months back, and it was like this - jumped out ahead with another guy on my heels and tick, tick, tick, the votes went his way. It was excruciating, :cheesygrinsmiley: But this time it tipped my way hard the last week! :yahoo:

As far as the UV, I haven't done my research, but I understand it's easy to provide with a little florescent. The current LEDs are expensive and have an iffy lifetime. And again, haven't done the research, but my own experience is that plants want a lot of light in early to mid bloom, and then the need tails off. They can still take the intensity, but it seems to me that they often do just as well or better on the fringes of coverage in the room, while I give the young ones the best position under the light.

And welcome, Colorfuldayze! I do see the Aurora Borealis connection, heheh! Green to yellow to red - cool!
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First off, congratulations on the award. It takes devotion to attain the prize. :goodjob:

Second, thanks for your thoughts on lighting. I'm planning an upgrade to an LED but I'm working with CFLs in a tiny 1x2' space and I'm managing to get decent results right now. I find the constant shifting of the lights to be a delightful challenge in 3 dimensions, but I think with an LED I'll be thankful not to have to worry about it anymore.

I just worked out my lighting plan for the grow so my mind is still soaking up the info on light, always looking for a way to tweak it just a little better. GrizzWald made me smile, recalling my process yesterday to find a pattern for lighting changes to increase lumens and watts as I gently shifted the spectrum from cool to warm, moving my autos through the seasonal light changes. This actually may work better than I had initially thought and may turn out to be more cost effective than an expensive LED with a limited life span.

You guys have me thinking now. :laughtwo: I need to do some cost analysis.

:Namaste:
 
Hey Graytail!!! Congrats on your Destroyer winning POTM!!!! such a beautiful plant!! definitely deserving! woo hoo!!!!!:party:
 
AllSmiles said:
Hey Graytail, Congrats on POTM.:goodjob:
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SmokeyMcFly said:
Grats bud well deserved!! :thumb:
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Dennise said:
:circle-of-love:
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CareStaker said:
Speaking of voting....doesn't the POTY-2014 thread usually go up on Jan 2nd? ;)
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Icemud said:
Hey Graytail!!! Congrats on your Destroyer winning POTM!!!! such a beautiful plant!! definitely deserving! woo hoo!!!!!:party:
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VonDankenhoek said:
well done brother.
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Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! :cheesygrinsmiley: :Love:


CareStaker said:
Speaking of voting....doesn't the POTY-2014 thread usually go up on Jan 2nd? ;)
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LOL! Yeah ...

That might anger the harvest godessses, though ... :straightface: We don' want That.

Sweetsue said:
First off, congratulations on the award. It takes devotion to attain the prize. :goodjob:

Second, thanks for your thoughts on lighting. I'm planning an upgrade to an LED but I'm working with CFLs in a tiny 1x2' space and I'm managing to get decent results right now. I find the constant shifting of the lights to be a delightful challenge in 3 dimensions, but I think with an LED I'll be thankful not to have to worry about it anymore.

I just worked out my lighting plan for the grow so my mind is still soaking up the info on light, always looking for a way to tweak it just a little better. GrizzWald made me smile, recalling my process yesterday to find a pattern for lighting changes to increase lumens and watts as I gently shifted the spectrum from cool to warm, moving my autos through the seasonal light changes. This actually may work better than I had initially thought and may turn out to be more cost effective than an expensive LED with a limited life span.

You guys have me thinking now. :laughtwo: I need to do some cost analysis.

:Namaste:
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When I said LEDs were expensive with an iffy lifetime, I meant the UV LEDs specifically. Lifespan is actually the biggest cost advantage of LEDs. Sure, they save power, but they also don't ever wear out. 50,000 hours is probably beyond most grower's need to upgrade. :cheesygrinsmiley: We're gonna replace 'em before they wear out anyway.

I had 28 CFLs running at one point between two panels - one had 18 and the other had 10. When I originally went to flower three plants under the 18-bulb panel, it was obvious that I'd stretched the functionality of CFLs too far, and I spent $150 for a cheapo 600 watt hps package. Not even a close comparison - hps will blow away any amount of CFLs. But I kept the CFLs for veg, and they grew really nice compact plants - loved 'em. But those suckers wear out pretty fast. They'll lose half their lumens over a few months of veg. And when it came time to replace 20-some 23 watt CFLs, I got kinda annoyed at the cost. A pack of three is usually around $10. So, almost $100 to freshen up my CFLs?

So ... long story, my apologies ... I replaced most of them with a 250 watt MH and 110 watts of LED. But I'm not getting the results I had with CFLs. They're more stretchy and "hardened". The plants under CFLs always seemed so gently nurtured, y'know?

Anyway ... musings ... just wanted to correct any misinformation and share my affection for CFLs. In a space that small, they're really practical. If you go bigger though, leave the CFLs behind. :cheesygrinsmiley:

:Namaste:
 
I understand the "gently nurtured" statement Greytail. First thing every morning I start by rotating the pots 1/4 turn and readjusting the lights. Mine are hanging free, the cords suspended from a grid work mounted to an overhead shelf. The space will only accommodate 2 plants max (don't know what I was thinking, planning to grow three there!) and I can get 15 bulbs, plus, into that space, distributed throughout the area to light up every little nook and cranny. The lights don't burn or stress the plants and I can get right up next to the leaves and sometimes right into the interior of the plant. There's so much flexibility to the system. The plants are growing beautifully, nice and tightly noded with strong, healthy stalks, stems and branches bearing luscious leaves.

Maybe I need to take this grow through to the end with the CFLs to see what the yield potential is. That 65-70% efficiency rate for the 23W CFLs is hard to beat. Then I look at that Intelligent Gro light and I wonder if I'm bat-shit crazy for even hesitating. In the end it's yield we're striving for, both in quality and quantity. This is, after all, a med grow. I suspect I may find myself happiest with a hybrid approach, beginning with CFLs and adding in the LED to finish out. (Sigh) Decisions, decisions. More research is needed.

:Namaste:
 
Sweetsue said:
... I suspect I may find myself happiest with a hybrid approach, beginning with CFLs and adding in the LED to finish out. (Sigh) Decisions, decisions. More research is needed.

:Namaste:
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I think that's a great plan. :thumb:

If you mount a Tru90 in the middle with CFLs on each side, you'll be able to bloom anything. So, keep mulling it over until you have to pull the trigger on something. You have time. :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
I went back and finished out your previous pages and my mind is definitely made up. As soon as that tax return hits my hands the order is placed. The light will finish out my grow beautifully. Intelligent Gro above, CFLs beneath and on the sides. With the soil growing stronger as I go, it should be an interesting ride.

Thanks for the inspiration GreyTail.
 
Indeed! Utopia Haze high on my end. :slide:

What's your choice this morning? :cheesygrinsmiley:

I'm mulling over the idea of rousting my lazy ass and getting some pics for an update. But my lazy ass is strong-willed ... dunno ... :straightface: ... might just take a snooze instead. It's cold (4 degrees) and breezy outside, and warm and snug inside - a perfect day for a grateful cozy nap ...

:cheesygrinsmiley:

Maybe I'll consult with Destroyer - see what she thinks. And Carnival. Wait! - aha!, I'll check out the newly jarred Grapefruit.

:rollit:
 
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