Supplemental lighting question

[Mska]

Hello friends, this is my first time growing and I have some questions about lighting.

I have four young autos growing under a 1000w LED @ 3600k approx. 36" above the plants. I have read that supplementing with light from different parts of the spectrum can aid plants in veg/flowering, and I had these hanging lights around, so I figured I would try it out.

I'm using two 100w LEDs @ 5000k currently, about 18" diagonally from the top of the plants. Planning on switching over to 2700k bulbs during flowering. My questions are;

1. Are these even worth the effort? Are they too small/low wattage to make a significant difference?

2. How close should these lights be to the plants? I know they'll be less useful if they're too far away, but I also don't want to unnecessarily stress them. Can they stay relatively close to the sides once the plants are taller, or would I benefit from moving them up higher as the plants grow?

Thanks for the help!

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

hi and
hmm lights ...isnt 1000w enough ? a tiny plant dont need the half of it maybe in flowering :smoking:
good luck n keep er lit

 

[Mska]

Thanks! And yeah, I figure 1000w is plenty, but my understanding is that adding supplemental light in this case would be more about expanding the frequencies of light available to the plant instead of adding additional wattage.

Just not sure if such small bulbs will even make a noticable difference, or if adding more light is overkill that could be harmful for them.

 

[Arthur]

This point is way too early, with all that light, adding more of any spectrum isn't going to benefit you other than lightening your wallet. At that stage 50w would be more than sufficient for those 4 little girls.

 

[420Forever]

Hello friends, this is my first time growing and I have some questions about lighting.

I have four young autos growing under a 1000w LED @ 3600k approx. 36" above the plants. I have read that supplementing with light from different parts of the spectrum can aid plants in veg/flowering, and I had these hanging lights around, so I figured I would try it out.

I'm using two 100w LEDs @ 5000k currently, about 18" diagonally from the top of the plants. Planning on switching over to 2700k bulbs during flowering. My questions are;

1. Are these even worth the effort? Are they too small/low wattage to make a significant difference?

2. How close should these lights be to the plants? I know they'll be less useful if they're too far away, but I also don't want to unnecessarily stress them. Can they stay relatively close to the sides once the plants are taller, or would I benefit from moving them up higher as the plants grow?

Thanks for the help!

heya @Mska and to afn! tbh, autoz would pretty much grow under a nitelite if ya let em, so... i wouldn't be overthinkin thingz at this point, cuz the lil bebez don't need a lot in their first dayz great to have u aboard & anything u need, jus give a holler

ppp & cya round the farm!

 

[Deke]

I agree you have plenty of light at that age. But come flowering id add more if you want. Cut the plastic cover off the led bulbs and fave them directly at your plants.

 

[Death The Cultivator]

Hello friends, this is my first time growing and I have some questions about lighting.

I have four young autos growing under a 1000w LED @ 3600k approx. 36" above the plants. I have read that supplementing with light from different parts of the spectrum can aid plants in veg/flowering, and I had these hanging lights around, so I figured I would try it out.

I'm using two 100w LEDs @ 5000k currently, about 18" diagonally from the top of the plants. Planning on switching over to 2700k bulbs during flowering. My questions are;

1. Are these even worth the effort? Are they too small/low wattage to make a significant difference?

2. How close should these lights be to the plants? I know they'll be less useful if they're too far away, but I also don't want to unnecessarily stress them. Can they stay relatively close to the sides once the plants are taller, or would I benefit from moving them up higher as the plants grow?

Thanks for the help!

Light supplementation can be adding different spectrums like, blues for more regenerative growth or reds for more generative growth. I imagine your LED is full spectrum or at least has a veg+bloom switch.

You should be fine with just the 1000w but I see your thought process towards messing with the deep spectrums. I think it would be worthwhile to read about The Effects of Par and DLI on Cannabis and ColoradoDreamin's guide to LEDs. Not trying to discourage you and you could still try it out but I think covering all your other bases first will help you with understanding what you're trying to do now. If you're feeling nerdy

I thought about a similar project with 12 LED light strips. Half of them at 2700k and the others in 5000k attached to two 300w drivers with dimmers. Unfortunately from everything I've read, this is either a well kept industry secret or the cost outweigh the benefits. I did read from one source that offered a lighting recipe. This article by California Light works could be taken as marketing but there are some good points in there.

Good luck.