Lighting DIY led grow light

[Newbie91]

hi guys i made this led smd grow light panel with blue and red lights for my autos. The panel consists of 18 led strips 14 watt each running on 11A and 12V dc. So far the light is doing good im thinking of adding more red and white lights later in flowering. Is this a good setup or should i make changes. Also, how far should the lights be from the plants? Comments and suggestions are appreciated thankyou

 

[BigSm0]

Nice job.

Distance really depends on your plants, plants age and intensity. It looks like a lot of leds so I'd assume low wattage. If so you can put it fairly close. What brand leds did you use?

 

[Newbie91]

Hey @BigSm0 thanks for replying
Plants are 18days old and the one in cup is 12days. I was using white daylight 2x45w led bulbs before but the light was not enough so i installed this 2days back and the plants are growing faster than before and look better. I dont know about the brand i should have checked before sticking them to the panel. By fairly close u mean? Im sorry but im new and this is my first grow

 

[Newbie91]

Nice job.

Distance really depends on your plants, plants age and intensity. It looks like a lot of leds so I'd assume low wattage. If so you can put it fairly close. What brand leds did you use?

Sorry but i forgot to mention im using 18A 12V power supply to run the light

 

[BigSm0]

Depending on wattage I'd say you could be around 16" from the tops. You'll probably get some stretching so be ready to lst them.

Have you thought about adding white to this? Red and blue are ok but white has plenty of both as well as green and yellow which plants also need. Just an idea

 

[Newbie91]

Depending on wattage I'd say you could be around 16" from the tops. You'll probably get some stretching so be ready to lst them.

Have you thought about adding white to this? Red and blue are ok but white has plenty of both as well as green and yellow which plants also need. Just an idea

Hey i did not understand wht you said "be ready to lst them"
Yes im thinking of installing of a white light but im confused if i should install cfl or the same kind of led light that im using, what would you suggest? Thankyou

 

[wayward1]

lst stands for light stress training. It's when you bend the plant to open it up to let more light into the centre of the plant. It also prevents the plant getting too tall. It also keeps the buds at the top all at the same height so they are all equally close to the light. Search for it cos there are good tutorials for how to do it.

 

[BigSm0]

Hey i did not understand wht you said "be ready to lst them"
Yes im thinking of installing of a white light but im confused if i should install cfl or the same kind of led light that im using, what would you suggest? Thankyou

lst stands for light stress training. It's when you bend the plant to open it up to let more light into the centre of the plant. It also prevents the plant getting too tall. It also keeps the buds at the top all at the same height so they are all equally close to the light. Search for it cos there are good tutorials for how to do it.

Exactly, Thanks wayward1. I'm sure the CFL's will help a lot more than most would think. My opinion is they aren't really there for adding more light as much as filling in the spectrum. It's an inexpensive addition that I would atleast play with.

 

[Newbie91]

lst stands for light stress training. It's when you bend the plant to open it up to let more light into the centre of the plant. It also prevents the plant getting too tall. It also keeps the buds at the top all at the same height so they are all equally close to the light. Search for it cos there are good tutorials for how to do it.

Thanks for the help

 

[Newbie91]

Exactly, Thanks wayward1. I'm sure the CFL's will help a lot more than most would think. My opinion is they aren't really there for adding more light as much as filling in the spectrum. It's an inexpensive addition that I would atleast play with.

Thanks for the idea man and one last question where should i place the cfl bulbs and how many should i install if suppose im getting 24w bulbs