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Are these LED specs good enough to start my first ever small scale grow? HELP!

kushman_4
kushman_4started grow question 4 years ago
Hi, are these LED specs enough to start a small grow (maybe 2 plants): Full Spectrum 200W with peak Intensity RED 630-660nm & BLUE 440-460nm PPFD: 630.25 umol/s/m2 at 30cm 175.12 umol/s/m2 at 60cm 80.04 umol/s/m2 at 90cm This is for a 3x3' tent Any advise would be appreciated!
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NorGrower
NorGroweranswered grow question 4 years ago
Hey! Seeing that you're looking at PPFD values, I would say you've already done more research than most growers :). Here are my 2 cents: 1. Is 200W the lamp's actual draw power? On Amazon and other marketplaces it's a common to write something like "1000W LED Grow Light" in the listing's title, then in the smaller print write "the lamp actually only draws 150W". If the lamp actually draws 200W, even with low efficacy (non-brand diodes), the total light output should be enough for 2 plants, although likely more suited for a 2x2' tent than a 3x3'. 2. Make sure the light spectrum is actually *full* spectrum. Does the seller show a spectrum graph? You want to avoid a lamp with only two peaks; one peak on blue and one peak on red. Instead, the spectrum should be balanced with a bit of green light, too. 3. Your plants will want around 100-200 PPFD in early veg, 300-400 in late veg, 500-600 during flowering and possibly even higher, around 700-800 in late flowering. It's great that the seller has given some PPFD guidance but ideally we'd also like to know how the intensity (PPFD) spreads over your intended grow area. If the center spot PPFD is 630 at a height of 30 cm, what's the PPFD level 15 cm or 50 cm from center? A light footprint map, also called a PPFD chart, shows PPFD values over an area. The seller should be able to provide this. You want to make sure that a significant portion of the area which your plants will occupy have decent PPFD coverage. It's natural that the PPFD will drop quickly off-center but you should aim to have at least around 200-300 PPFD at the outer edges of your plants. Using a tight tent will help reflect back some photons that may scatter. Hope this helps.
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smokeyspartacus
smokeyspartacusanswered grow question 4 years ago
maybe some far red +700nm would do them good. I believe so.
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Justa_Retard
Justa_Retardanswered grow question 4 years ago
It won't cover an entire 3x3 tent, but it should be enough for 2 plants.
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