Well, Light got here today, and well, now I have a seperate issue, it works great BRIGHT as hell, but no instruction manual, and it has 15 different settings and no real instruction on WHICH setting to use. I mean it has BASIC instructions, like Veg, Bloom and a third option which is TIR. I just want to figure out which one i can set it on and leave it for the whole grow without changing it. Amazons AI says 15, but 15 looks yellow as hell. Any one have any Ideas? I know I know, this is what i get for buying cheap and generic, but it was the one I could afford that had everything I wanted including built in IR and UV without having to buy seperate bars. The TIR Setting seems to be about 5300K, which is where I think i should leave it, the setting Amazons AI suggested is 4100K. Or maybe ill check the lux and see which has the Highest lux rating or check to see which has the highest PPFD rating or maybe which has the highest DLI.
If you look at the photos, The veg and bloom photos appear to be some plant other than cannabis, but the TIR photo is a Cannabis Bud.
Doing some checking, Setting 15 which is listed as bloom has the Highest DLI At 4 feet from the light, the Highest Lux rating, but the lowest color tempature at 4150k. TIR 3 has the Highest color tempature at 5300k, but Lower lux and DLI. Mind you this is measured with the photone app on my cell phone. So im really even more confused on where I should set the spectrum, I can always lower the light to increase the PPFD and DLI, so its more about which Color tempature would be better for the entire grow, 4150K Which according to Amazon’s AI has ALL the lights on, including IR and UV, or the 5300K which to my EYES looks the brightest, but isnt according to the lux rating.
I mean I could, but I grow autos, and if I fool around the wrong way and stunt the plant, there is a good chance it wont recover at all. That is the biggest concern I have with just experimenting with it.
Even with an instruction manual giving specific heights/settings, boards vary, and the only real way to tell is to measure the amount of PAR spectrum and its intensity PPF (or PPFD over the dimensions of the tent). Go a step further and use DLI which will tell you how many hours you need for a given stage of growth at that PAR and density. There are phone apps that approximate this, but a quantum sensor is ideal.
I did use a phone app, Photone, and the Highest DLI is the Lowest Color Tempature at 4150k, I am not sure if this would be a good spectrum for the Entire grow or not, considering BOTH of my other grow lights come in at 5000k or higher?
No way I can afford a Quantum Sensor or I would get one!
The color temperature, 4150 Kelvin units, is the overall mixture of wavelengths. Leaves have different photoreceptors for different colors. If a plant detects it is getting more red light than blue, it will encourage stretching and faster blooming with autoflowers, cultivar-dependent. Plants respond to blue light by building cells closer together, resulting in a shorter internodal distance. This is why there is no one setting for an entire grow like you are after, in addition to PAR intensity requirements that differ with maturity.
And the reason why a plant will stretch with red light, is because red light, and more specifically far-red, is effectively reflected light, which is why the Sun appears red at sunset. When a plant detects it is getting more red, it is receiving a signal that it is in the shade, and will try to grow taller to get out of it.
Another thing you want to be aware of which goes hand in hand with color temperature, is CRI. A light that is rated to emit 5000K but has a low CRI percentage, will disperse that color and it will be received by plants at a lower color temperature. Sadly, most light manufacturers only specify whether it’s a Samsung LM301H or whatever, when in fact, there are several different sub-models of LM301H, each with a different CRI, from 70% to 90% if i recall correctly.
Ok, so that means that the light emission may be approximately 20% off from the color temperature rating in K. Anyway, my point is lamp specifications or recommended instructions say very little when it comes to plants, and one must measure to see what they are actually receiving, and also watch their response, as no plant is the same, nor is any expectations of a grower on how they would like it to grow.
If using a phone app such as Photone, you need a diffuser over your phone’s photoreceptor sensor, and you should be using several different phones, as each sensor is wildly different, in addition to sampling frequency, and a number of other phone-specific qualities that can throw a reading very off.
It’s also very important to measure with 4 walls (tent closed), and with as few obstructions as possible, as a good light’s diodes are placed in such a way as to minimize central concentrations and rely on reflectance from side lighting.
If you have photone then you can adjust the light to where it needs to be. Exercises like this are good because you get to truly learn your environment.
Man relax
I grew the shit out of autos
Some were tall as I am almost
All up of the lights
Others not far from them and none stunted.
Oddly I had a dwarf, like crazy small.
Put the light 24 inches on low above seedlings
Or 16 to 18 above older plants and your golden.
Enjoy your nice affordable light
Might have to order one soon, this looks nice
For my budget.
I mean I grow with a hodge podge of lights
Blurples, full spectrum, full spectrum less blurple lol, shit i have 2 30ish bucks bloomspects and
Do a decent grow for one old head.
I mean if you want to just go all science out
That’s fine.
Either way good luck and grow man.
