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Thread: Anyone use strong LED systems? Q on growing medium

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    Default Anyone use strong LED systems? Q on growing medium

    Does anyone else use 300w or above LED lighting systems? First time using LED (invisible sun) great bit of kit and some light from it however when growing in coco or soil, the medium never seens to dry out? I soaked a pot and it's been damp all week. Have the lights 35 inches from the pots but can't seem to figure out if it's because of the distance? Temperatures at ground level hit up to 28 degreesC

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    Quote Originally Posted by e11 View Post
    Does anyone else use 300w or above LED lighting systems? First time using LED (invisible sun) great bit of kit and some light from it however when growing in coco or soil, the medium never seens to dry out? I soaked a pot and it's been damp all week. Have the lights 35 inches from the pots but can't seem to figure out if it's because of the distance? Temperatures at ground level hit up to 28 degreesC
    I use 500w led boards mate. You need to angle your fans down to blow the heat from the light to the bottom of the tent. I've got 80w tube heaters between my pots but I only use them in the winter and my grow room is in my garden shed.

    Sent from Thames Iron works

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    I'll give that a shot. I just have the one circulation fan, clipped on near the bottom. I'll shove it further up and angle it

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    I grow in Promix, which is a peat based medium, but I have never let it dry out in the 35 years I've grown, except by accident. I know Coco is different, but I plant my seed directly into a 5 gallon bucket into pre-moistened Promix. As the seed sprouts, the medium slowly dries... it doesn't dry out, but the moisture in it slowly drops. As it drops slowly, the roots can grow to seek out additional water. After about 3-4 weeks, the roots should fill the container. I keep the soil moist, not wet. When starting off, I normally don't have to water (except for a small amount around the seedling for the 1st few days) for a week or more. Once they get established, I water them daily or every other day, up to 1.5 gallons a watering.
    A fan will dry the top crust of a bucket, but will take forever to dry out the medium. Obviously, have enough holes in the bottom to allow extra water to drain, but if you can take a handfull of dirt and squeeze it, you shouldn't see more than a drop or two of water. This has worked well for 30+ years, so I haven't changed it much.

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    I'd run them closer buddy and if you have the tech skills remote mount the drivers with separate earth to sinks and run the drivers near your input to direct their heat onto your pots / floor that will help. Also fabric pots are a fabulous thing. And ensure you're not keeping too moist or too large pot size for root structure. An anaerobic medium will dry out much slower as the plants roots are being starved of oxygen. If 10 is saturated and 0 is bone dry, aim for 2 to 6 moisture until roots fully established buddy. Moist but never wet or totally dry. Once roots are fully established theyll use far more far more quickly so you can water upto say an 8 or even 9 and theyll still be happy.

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