some mfgrs have supplemental bars you can buy that integrate. others are simply separate. you don't have to get them from the same mfgr. alternately it's not too hard to diy.
Recommendations for a High Power Flower Light for a 2' x 4' Tent
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some mfgrs have supplemental bars you can buy that integrate. others are simply separate. you don't have to get them from the same mfgr. alternately it's not too hard to diy.
The70’s
Well-Known Member
Before i start quoting B. Bugbee from a video i just watched, it looks to be a very delicate process of adding deep red with a blue balance, and the effect of water take up, nute burn, CO2 availability, from that increase and wonder if the “return” from all this balancing is actually worth it…
Im not doubting the need, just the outcome…
Im not doubting the need, just the outcome…
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Delps8
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Interesting. What video and what changes is he talking about?
The70’s
Well-Known Member
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Delps8
Well-Known Member
What was it about that video that makes you think it's a "delicate process"?
Fenderbender
Well-Known Member
I'm just hearing that Samsung is exiting the LED market. So those discussions will soon come to an end.
But I'm already on the Seoul and Osram train.
I recently joined a Dutch growers forum and there they do like the new bar lights but on the cheap they always recommend just rigging up some COBs as they just work and not mess with all the marketing and hoopla.
But I'm already on the Seoul and Osram train.
I recently joined a Dutch growers forum and there they do like the new bar lights but on the cheap they always recommend just rigging up some COBs as they just work and not mess with all the marketing and hoopla.
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Delps8
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Just found this…
"plant safe" - the only caveats about adding light are to give your plants more light than they can use and plants should get at least 4% blue in the spectrum. The first issue is that plants have a "light saturation point" which is generally taken to be 800-1000µmol in ambient CO2. That's assuming that light is the limiting factor. I've seen two grows here on 420 where the plants could not take over 500µmol and, in both cases, the issue was caused by poor watering practices which had made the soil hydrophobic.
If your grow is in good shape, turn up the light as you wish and the plants will respond. If there's too much light, they'll taco the leaves or rotate the leaf around the petiole like a Venetian blind.
The 4% issue - I think I've heard Bugbee mention that and, interestingly, the spectrum of HPS lights has 4% blue and the spectrum of the new MarsSP3000R light has what looks to be about that much blue, as well. From what I gather, if there's <4% plants may be deformed when they grow.
Light color impact plant "morphology". Blue gets you short, compact plants because blue photons inhibit cell expansion and far red (730) photons encourage cell expansion. That's not original thought on my part, I'm just relaying what Bugbee has talked about in a lot of videos and that's been understood in the ag community for decades.
If you've got a veg light and want to add red photons, get a supplemental light. Same thing if you've got a "white" LED and want to add red photons. Red/deep red (660) photons are nothing special in terms of morphology, Where they're useful is that red diodes are very electrically efficient so they're "cheap photons".
This summer, I was looking for a way to get lotsa light on my canopy (1k) but keep temps of the buds <78° which is the recommended approach by Mitch Westmoreland in the videos he did where he shares research he's done for his PhD. I bought a Mars SP3000R and returned it. Lotsa red photons, lots and lots of red photons but a very narrow PPFD map and very hot. I ended up gaining some knowledge but didn't find a light to replace my Growcraft.
A grower on another site asked about supplemental lights and I took a second look at them. When they first came out there was no PPFD information and I didn't think that 80 watts would make a difference. Manufacturers have published PPFD maps and 80 watts makes one hell of a difference.
I added a set of Spider GlowR80s to my Growcraft flower light. They're cheap, at $80± for a set. The 80 watts of 660 gives me about 300µmol of photons and has allowed me to drop the input wattage of my Growcraft from 300 watts to 170 watts. So I'm dropping 90 watts of power and am getting the same PPFD because th red diodes in the R80's re more efficient than the ones in my Growcraft. In addition to less input wattage for the same PPFD, the temps in my tent are about 2° lower.
So, adding supplemental 660nm lights is boosting my PPFD while using electricity. There's no possibility of me increasing PPFD so much that the blue % drops below 4% because to get that much red in with the spectrum of the Growcraft flower light, I'd have to add a hell of a lot more than just 80 watts of 660.
Here are images of the spectra of my flower light and of the Mars SP3000R. It's just not possible to add enough read to get the blue photon levels <4% unless I cranked in so many photons that I would kill the plants.
The Mars SP3000R spectrum. I can't say with certainty that that's 4% blue but since 4% seems to be understood to be a "boundary value", I'll assume that's 4%
The flower light on right has a fair amount of blue in it. I'm adding about 300µmol of 660 on top of the 660 that's already there but I don't believe that's enough to "dilute" the amount of blue to 4%. I don't have a way to measure the spectrum but it doesn't strike me as plausible that adding the R80's will convert the flower spectrum, below right, to have less blue than the spectrum in the Mars, shown above.
The net net for your question — get deep red supplemental lights. They're cheap and, as far as I can figure out and from what I'm seeing in my grow (currently in mid-flower), they're an excellent solution for getting more photons on your plants.