First time grower here just getting started. I was successful with seed germination for 2 white widdow autos and planted them in fox farm soil 2 days ago. Currently in a 36" x 20" x 60" grow tent under this LED grow light…
45W LED Grow Light, UNIFUN New Light Plant Bulbs Plant Growing Bulb for Hydroponic Aquatic Indoor Plants Amazon.com
My question is…am I wasting my time with this cheap, low power light? All I want is a nice 2 plant solution that puts out decent quality product. Would like to avoid running expensive, hot lighting that needs an exhaust. I have started to see the white seedlings poke through the soil.
If the above option isn’t gonna work the entire grow, what would be a good solution for my needs?
I would supplement the led with either one with more wattage (300w) won’t be a lot of heat output. You could also use cfl they aren’t expensive and low heat output as well.
If you stick with LED you will need a minimum 300w equivalent. However, I would recommend a 600w equivalent with separate veg and bloom switches. That way you can run it in veg only mode during veg and full spectrum during bloom. The more light, the tighter and denser your buds will be.
I think you’ll be happiest if you go with the 600w equivalent or similar. I’m estimating you want about 250 true watts of lighting. My estimate is 2 plants taking up about 3’x2’ of grow space, about what you have.
I’d get a fan to keep air moving and to eliminate odor, even if heat isn’t an issue for you.
Agreed a fan and filter is recommended for air movement and smell, even if heat isn’t an issue. You want to extract the stale air and keep fresh air coming into the tent. I have the same size tent as you and use the exact fan/filter combo that @Matthew420 linked to. I did add a speed controller for an additional $20.
As for the light, below is a link to the one I use and I am very happy with it. The seller is also great and will take care of you if you have any issues (The ground pin was broke off my power cord during shipment. Seller let me buy my own replacement cord, so I could use the light right away, and reimbursed me with an Amazon Giftcard.) You will want to hang the light 30 - 36 inches above your plant canopy. Also, I don’t recommend using the LED until the plant is 2 weeks old. I would suggest using 2 23w Daylight Delux CFLs (6500k color output) hung 5 - 6 inches above the seedlings. I say this because I killed my seedlings when I first started using LED lighting. Now this is the way I do it and I haven’t killed any more plants.
Good luck with your first grow and welcome to the forum! Oh and that 45w LED you have would probably be fine to use with your seedlings if you don’t want to use CFLs. I would still keep it 6 - 8 inches above the seedlings though and adjust the height if need be.
Thanks for the great advice growman! I wound up ordering a Viaspectra 600w grow light which seems like it got good reviews.
Day 3 for my seedlings. They have sprouted but I they are the color brown - is that normal? I have the 45w LED light about 6-8" above them. I will see if I can use it for the first 1-2 weeks before I switch to the 600w light rather than buy more lights.
Couple random qs…can I just leave some of the vents on the tent open to dissipate any heat and move air for the first few weeks? Then, once I get into the flowering stage hook up the exhaust fan with filter? Also, how high should the 600w light hang above the top of the plant? Last, with autos should I use the veg switch in weeks 2-3 before going to the flowering spectrum?
I use Viparsepcra as well. The manual will tell you the right heights.
You can try just the passive venting. Just keep some air moving with a small fan blow near the seedlings, but not directly on them. They should just wiggle a little. If heat somehow gets too high, you can always turn on the vent fan.
No problem! I would recommend veg only mode for the first week or 2 just allow time for the plant to adjust. Looks like @Matthew420 has you covered on your other questions.
I would like to see pics of your seedlings that you said are brown. Can you upload a couple pics for us? Be sure to turn off your LED light first and take the pics under natural lighting.
Also, since brown seedlings are not considered normal…
COPY/PASTE: This “Support Ticket” into your forum post.
Answer these simple questions the best you can.
If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so = NA
Strain; Type, Bag seed, or NA:
Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco?
System type?
PH of runoff or solution in reservoir?
What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS:
Indoor or Outdoor:
Light system, size?
Temps; Day, Night:
Humidity; Day, Night:
Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size:
AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier:
Co2; Yes, No:
Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer. Feel free to elaborate, but short, to the point questions and facts will help us help you.
Ok so here’s what I’m working with so far (photos below). Keep in mind this is my first grow!
Fox Farm soil
3.6 gal containers - I know seedlings look ridiculous in large containers but i read somewhere (I think on royal queen?) that reco’d doing it this way rather than send the plant into shock with a transplant from smaller to larger container
current LED grow light is in the link from my original post
tomorrow my 600w led light, rope hangers and humidity and temp monitor are coming. I can open the vents and use an external fan for now to move air but as the plant gets bigger I’ll definitely get a filter and exhaust fan.
both these plants are WW autos (seeds from AMS)
my bad on the seedling color, I turned off the light and they are in fact green!
I planted these on Sunday so this is how they look going into day 4 with light on 18hrs a day
have only watered them twice with distilled water
My qs for next steps…
how long should I keep under this light before switching to the 600w LED? Based on the photos, should I make any adjustments? In my amateur opinion, the stems look long and leaves look small but this is really only day 4.
thus far, I haven’t used any nutrients. I read the soil naturally has enough nutrients for the first 2-3 weeks. What nutrient recos do you have for autos and when should I start? Should I go straight to a bloom nutrient in week 3?
setup is in my basement which is always cooler, they could probably benefit from a higher temperature and the heat from the 600w should help with that
They look good! I wouldn’t change anything right now. Keep them under the 45w LED until they are 2 - 3 weeks old. I would switch the light about the same time you start feeding them… maybe just a few days apart.
Autos need the same nutrients as regular strains just less of them. When they are about 2 weeks old, start at 1/4 of the light feeding strength and slowly increase over a 6 week period. Don’t switch to bloom nutes until after they have been flowering for a week.
Should I be concerned about stem stretching? I setup a fan to blow into one of the tent vents to create some air movement and I dropped the light just a little tonight.
I’m at the end of week 1…how am I doing? Yesterday I swapped out the 45w led for the 600w led (veg only) and it’s sitting a little over 3 ft above per the manuals suggestion. The other light had a small sweet spot and the stems kept bending. I struggled with the temperature this week (68-70)…the new led light has helped raise the temp to 72 with 50-60% humidity.
Plants look healthy but the leaves seem a little small for day 7 (both look the same). I haven’t used any nutrients yet. Plants seem to like the new light so maybe that will help.
Let me know what you guys think. Recos always welcome!
Yea… That last pic shows the stretching. That wasn’t obvious in the other pics. I agree with @Matthew420. Lowering the light was the right choice. How high do you have the light now from the tops of the plants? If you were at 8" before, I’d bring it down to 5" and see if the stretching stops. If that is too intense if not then raise up to 6"… you just have to find that sweet spot.
Well now since I switched to the 600w led I started at about 38" high (what the manual recommended for seedlings). Today I dropped it a couple more inches.
Is the light height the key to more leaf growth and development?
