Here is info manufacturer gives on light.
Thanks! Do you think I should buy another and daisy chain it so I’m kicking out more watts? I’m gonna start saving for a better set up but for now do you think I should get another? I’m learning to grow other plants too so I can always use the lights for other projects.
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FYI, in a pinch you can use lemon juice for ph down and baking soda for ph up. Not advisable long term.
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If you’re serious about upgrading lights later, I’d probably just run what you have until then. We could probably get you set up with a pretty solid build for around $250 or so. Maybe even a little cheaper having resourceful significant other. Buying another one of those lights and you’d be almost there. No sense in buying temporary fix when plan is to replace anyway.
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Perfect! Prior to buying this cheap light I brought it up to him. He showed me elaborate plans and super expensive lights ( he went all the way lol) but I was hesitant because it would put out so much heat and my tent is already next to our boiler so it would be hard to lower the heat in the winter. Also I have such a short ten ( due to tiny basement ceilings) so I was worried they would consume too much space. I would love the help with a custom knowledge on my second grow! Thanks so much for reaching out 
Cheers
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Perfect thanks! So for like one week only right…
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Do you still have those plans? I would love to see what he was using. Building custom led lights is kind of my thing.
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Kinda? Hahaha!
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You know she had me at her boyfriend was an electrician, then asked some questions about lights haha.
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I can relate. I’m next to my furnace with ductwork above me. dbrn helped me out with the perfect set up for my 32"X32"X63" tent. Between him and your BF I’m sure you’ll be doing great on lights before long. Happy growing and good luck…oh and you don’t have to worry so much about light leaking with autos. Photos, yes definitely no light leaks.
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Hahaha yeah I will ask him! He is at work right now. He was rambling on about metal halide and heat and I got overwhelmed haha. He is an underground electrician so obviously lighting underground facilities is a big job requiring big lights. They use metal halide in most places he said. I’ll have him use my account and put a post here. If I act as messenger I know I’ll screw it all up.
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Oh! Good to know about the light! Still learning about all the differences between autos and photos.
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I have a confession… and I know I’m going to get slaughtered for this but I panicked after reading all the rockwool PH comments and I took my seeds out and transferred them to the wet paper towel technique with PH’ed water. Temp in tent has been between 72-76 for last 24 hours and humidity 52%-56%. I also took @MoneyPit suggestion and built a little duct for my humidifier to sit outside of the tent has helped a bunch. Two seeds have decent taproots, one is cracked and emerging but nothing measurable. I read online to leave them in paper towel until at least 3/4 of an inch. So I am waiting till close to that length unless you guys suggest otherwise.
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I’m not sure you need to wait til they’re exactly at least 3/4”. I’ve planted shorter and longer without issue. Nothing wrong with letting them get a little tail though. I think the most important part is to not have your paper towel sopping in water. Damp is good, and then I usually put them in ziplock bag with air trapped in it and on top of something like my cable box.
Most of the lights I build or help build will absolutely crush metal halide. Both in amount of light per watt and amount of heat at your canopy level.
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OK done, put it in a plastic bag
I think I might shoot for half of an inch because I’m really eager to get them in the coco and right now I’m just obsessively checking them and I know thats not good but I can’t help it I’m too excited.
I am kinda of scared of the fire risk with different lights with is another reason why I wanted to wait on the lighting situation. My grow room is pretty covert (I do live in a legal grow state tho) but still I wanted it stealthy and not advertised when people came over. The way the tent is situated by the time I figured out something caught fire down there it would be impossible to put it out. Actually I should put a fire alarm down there anyways… everytime I think I have all of the supplies I learn there is so much more I got to do lol. I am so excited to learn more about your set up. I got a tiny little fan at the bottom of the tent to help pull in the humidity from the humidifier outside of the tent but I probably need another smaller fan that I can hoist up (its sitting on the floor) so that there is a breeze higher up right? At the canopy? Thanks for all of your replies @dbrn32 !!!
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As far as your humidifier goes, just do the best you can with what you have. To get the most control, you would run larger humidifier or dehumidifier in room that your intake air comes from. You control that room, and then whatever goes in your tent is good. But lots of people run really nice outside of perfect conditions or the fanciest equipment, do I would kind of see where the hobby takes you.
At bare minimum, you’d want a properly sized exhaust fan preferably with good speed control. If you’re trying to fly under radar, you’ll also want a compatible carbon filter by the time your plants are mature. After that, a fan or maybe a couple of small fans to circulate air within your space. Some people like or need to run an intake fan as well. But a passive intake is usually suitable for most grows.
As far as risk of fire goes, it’s always there. Although that’s not much different than with any other appliances in your home. I’m not really sure what the percentages are as far as grow room fires. But I’m sure the majority are from overloaded circuits and not just faulty components.
As far as the lights I build, I’ve never had one catch on fire. Nor am I aware of any of the members I’ve helped have that kind of issue. One of the major hazards with leds is thermal runway. You can easily combat that by using constant current drivers, series wiring, and making sure the leds have a good thermal path. One of the hottest products right now are quantum board kits from horticulture lighting group. If you look around there’s no shortage of them in use here. But I’ll attach some pics of a few built from scratch too.
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You’re doing fine. Obsessively checking can be a good thing…you will notice if something gets out of whack, and be able to respond and correct quickly. 
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Oh my gosh… I’m so excited to show my boyfriend these pics and your post. He is still not home yet, I’ll get him on here as soon as he eats dinner, so probably two hours from now. I’ll have him explain what a couple of those sentences you wrote meant so I can understand them lol. I have always been really curious about electrical components but my dad never was interested in showing me. I am a ham radio operator so I have basic knowledge base but not much. Most radios and components I use are so cheap that I never got into custom builds or homebrew equipment which quickly become a large investment and I would find hard to do without a mentor. Learning how to build a custom light set with my boyfriend would be a really fun project.
I have read quite a few posts about the quantum boards and went to their website but at the time I didn’t have much cash (right before Christmas of course) and so I didn’t spend too much time on there. Its like when you don’t let yourself go window shopping when you are broke, I knew I might be enticed to spend more then I should without knowing enough.
One issue with my house, and I will have my boyfriend explain this part is we live in an old house. It was built in the early 50s, there is no ground in the house, everything is two prong outlets, and a lot of the electrical components were added decades after the house was built, meaning that a lot (but not all) of the wires are actually on the inside of the walls incased in metal tubing. Boyfriend has been slowly changing receptacles ( as I demand them for projects) but its a long process and there are portions where he would have to tear out the walls. We have a super cool landlord but we are limited by a particular rent deduction limit. Basically we fix stuff, she gives us money off rent, but only to a certain dollar amount per month. So large scale projects like ripping out sheet rock will be reserved to summer when we have a bit more time. I have been worried about overloading outlets but he says were ok at this point.
I have a 4 inch intake fan and carbon filter in the top of the tent and I was planning on running passive intake through the mesh portion in bottom.
I’m already convinced that this is going to be a long time hobby for me, I’m already having so much fun and literally nothing has happened haha. In my grow room I also have big pots of 7 different herbs like basil,etc (just got into growing six months ago) so I have other plants to keep me busy and I can use the cheap l.e.d.s for my other plants as I expand to better ones.
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Thanks friend
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