Rookie grow- the adventure begins!

@TokersHaven
This lighting is so confusing. All these manufactures need to stop BSing us with the overinflated light names, and name them for what they really are. All we care about is how they will actually perform in the space we need them to perform in. :boom:

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@Countryboyjvd1971 yeah dude ive never had that light more than 13in away from plant max since seedlings. Then i added the 600w MH at 18in. My oldest is what 52, 53 days old now?

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@Rugar89 the equivalent rating for LED lights is based upon the equivalent rating of the actual LEDā€™s.

I agree. it is confusing. His 1000 watt light with a draw wattage of 185 is actually drawing 15 watts less than my 400/200 watt COB LED. Iā€™m told there are other ways to compare the lights using the PAR rating I believe. Like I said lights arenā€™t really my thing but 6-7 inches above a plant with an LED is gonna damage it pretty quickly!

Doesnā€™t matter watt the true wattage/ equivalent wattage is.

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Ok so I got a Y connection now to vent the exhaust from the tent and the portable A/C to the same place. Now just to cut a hole into the crawl space to let it out.

Moved up my lights to about 3 feet.

Ordering 2 new 4" duct booster fans (one for AC exhaust boost and one for intake for the tent)

Iā€™m really hoping all this helps to control the temps! I just want my babies to be healthy!! :grinning:

@Rugar89 - dude this SoCal heat is gonna be the end of us!

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Ya but I think Iā€™m getting used to it. Its was 101deg here today, but only felt like 105, yesterday it felt closer to 106! :wink:

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@Rugar89

How your temps in the tent holding up?

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@Ray4x
Checked it when the light came on a hour ago.
Bottom of tent 100.2
Inside the humidity dome 102.7 and all dried out :angry:. Soil was almost completely dry even after giving them water last night at lights out.
Girls still look like they are taking it in stride though.

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Ok @Rugar89 , I will try to clarify things a little, give me a few minutes for typing, I am very slow at it and there is a lot to type, lol :wink:, thanks for your comprehensionā€¦

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Itā€™s a common misunderstanding between equivalent and actual draw ā€œwattageā€ .

The actual draw is only to demonstrate that they are using less Watts from the wall and are express in watt to facilitate the customer to calculate the kilowatt hour consumption and show the difference in electricity gain of efficiency

The equivalent ā€œwattageā€ is for the equivalence of lumens,lux or foot candle produce by a real draw light, example : 1000 watts hid draw 1000 watt and have a certain amount of lumens, lux or foot candle value to it, an equivalent 1000 watts draw about 200 watts, however, it has the same lumens, lux and foot candle as the 1000 watts hid.

Of course, some led compagny take advantage of this misunderstanding and cheat on the equivalence factor, so, be an inform customer, and do your homework before buying.

So, the chart is an approximation as stated, itā€™s only a guide lineā€¦ each compagny, as stated @bob31 and you, have different specifications, even for a ā€œreal drawā€ youā€™re going to have the same problem when come to LED light distanceā€¦ You can only give an approximation since the lumens lux or foot candle is gone a differ from one compagny to another, depends on what the driver they are using and how much they push the diodes or the COB and what kind of diodes or COB they are usingā€¦

Then, choose one that give the most lumens and PAR for your moneyā€¦ If the compagny doesnā€™t provide them, do not buyā€¦ even COBā€¦ Do not blindly believe what they are advertisingā€¦

Hereā€™s something else, the quality of the driver in those lamps are as important as the the lumens and the PARā€¦ Itā€™s directly responsible for ā€œpushingā€ the diodes or the COBā€¦ explanation : a diode or a COB as a certain limit or ā€œwattageā€ like any bulbs, if you push them to their maximum capacity, they will be brighter but are going to be as ā€œenergyvorā€ as HID and their lifespan will be much shorterā€¦ more you push them less longer they will lastā€¦ You can be OK with a driver that push from 20% to 50% of the capacity of the diodes or COB. No more, no less.

Cree and Citizen chips on COB are pricey but are the most efficient in the market for I can deduct from their specificationsā€¦ I almost forgot, the beam angle is gone a play a major role in the PAR and lumens and should be between 60Ā°and 90Ā°.

I hope that I have enlighten you a little on the subject @Rugar89, do not hesitate if you have further questions or if you want some clarification,

~Al :v: :innocent:

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Jezzz @Ray4x I sorry Iā€™m late to the party seems like the boys got you taken care of tho
Woohoo on the tent :tent: set up
And yes I would transplant and bury those stems a bit myself bro

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@Niala thanks for the awesome explanation. I guess I didnā€™t do enough research when buying lights :persevere: I just went for the highest wattage for the best price. I guess lesson learned!

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Youā€™re welcome @Ray4xā€¦ And itā€™s not necessarily a bad lamp you have, au contraire, mine as the same specification as yourā€™s (1000 watts drawing about 190 watts)ā€¦ if you have a double 5 watts diodes, or 10 watts /chips if you prefer, (like mine by the way and it have Epistar diodes) itā€™s a great lamp that you have (I pay mine under 200 $ CDN, about 130$US), itā€™s one of the best price/quality you can have on the market for now, until the Cree and Citizen chips lower their price :wink:

~Al :v: :innocent:

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@Niala
Thanks for taking the time to type all that out. I still donā€™t fully understand it all, but every time someone takes the time to explain things like this in such great detail, its slowly starts to sink in. Thanks again!

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Youā€™re welcome @Rugar89 , itā€™s always a pleasure to help fellow growers :grinning::innocent: and I really appreciate your kind word and I am glad to see that itā€™s a little more clearer nowā€¦ Do not hesitate if you have further questions or want some clarification :grinning: just tag me :wink::grinning:, I am not always here, however I will respond when I am in or see the tag ā€¦

~Al :v: :innocent:

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Thanks Al, for taking the time to explain all that. Copy it to a notepad or word doc and save it for next time and save some typing! LOL thanks again! @Niala

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@Ray4x
So how are your temps doing? Iā€™m still at 90+ with lights on. Plants donā€™t seem to care!

@Rugar89

I wasnā€™t home most of the day but when I checked on them at 5 they were at 95ā€¦ same thing though the girls seem to be doing ok. Although mine seem to still be stretching so I lowered the light down a little bit more. The portable A/C unit I bought actually throws a lot of heat out of the exhaust and in such a small room it actually does more damage than good. I just got my 4in duct boosters so Iā€™ll work on setting one up for an intake and another up to help blow the AC exhaust out.

Stupid thing is- the tent I bought doesnā€™t have a 4in intake down low- so I either need to reduce it down to 3 inā€¦ or run the intake up top and then run ducting in the tent to blow down low :rage:

@Countryboyjvd1971- any thoughts on this?

The small opening are for electrical cords.

Canā€™t just get it up olose to the passive vent?

For now donā€™t vent the tent fan outside the room. Just let the air recirculate.

Use one of the 6 inch opening and bring the vent opening into the tent and point away from filter. That should create better circulation. @Countryboyjvd1971 is the man but I think he will agree more or less.

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what a bad design, no ports on the bottom other than electricalā€¦ I see 2 options, run it down from the top vent, or try to rig something up with one of the lower rectangular screened vents (although light leaks might be an issue)ā€¦

@Ray4x
Can you post a link to the tent you got so we can have a look at it? We will help you come up with something.

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