I'm stumped!

[bboyfromwayback]

Going by the specs, your lights weren’t very powerful to begin with. Now they’re 5 and 6yrs old. If you’d trust what many have previously mentioned and go purchase a new full spectrum LED that actually pulls 250W instead of being compared to it you’d be amazed at what you’ll get 1st grow under it. HLG has a light that only draws 150w that would cover your space for less that $200 last time I saw it advertised.

[kenKgrow]

Thanks for replying!

I did wonder about the lights. Here are the specs for what I'm using. I have 2 of these in an 18 x 30 enclosure that is about 4' high. The plants do not stretch for the light like they would if they were not getting enough.

HID Replacement	250w HPS
Width	5 in | 13 cm
Length	19 in | 48 cm
Height	3 in | 8 cm
Weight	8 lbs | 4 kg
Max Coverage at 18″ Height	4.5’x3.5′
Core Coverage at 18″ Height	3’x1.5′
LED Quantity	50x3w
Lifespan	50,000 – 100,000 hours
12-Band LED Spectrum	Included
Secondary LED Focusing Lens	90°
Warranty	5 Year Complete Warranty
Voltage	AC85-260V
Bloom Power	87 watts
Veg Power	50 watts
Amperage (Veg + Bloom)	0.8A @ 110V / 0.4A @ 220V
Amperage (Veg Switch Only)	0.5A @ 110V / 0.2A @ 220V

One of the lights is about 6 years old. The other is 5 years old. The best I can figure based on my past grow schedule is that the older one has about 33,000 hours on it and the other has about 28,000 hours.

I didn't realize that LEDs get dimmer / weaker over time. Have others had this happen to them? How long do people generally keep their LED fixtures before having to replace them because the performance starts to lag? Is there a way of measuring this (besides under performing plants...)?

I bought the second light hoping to increase my yields. After doubling the light I saw no increase in yield. I figure there must be another limiting factor, but I would sure be happy if all I had to do is buy a new light.

While I would rather not spend the money on lights, it's way cheaper than buying weed on the street, and way,way cheaper than the pot store.

[YYCannabis]

My guess is that your LEDs have aged and lost output power. Like any light source, over time they get weaker and weaker.

[thefunkdrspot]

Sounds like you need more light!

[Rwise]

The age of the LED was my thought as well, they (and others) do fade with time, it may be in need of a new one. Hey its only money,

[bboyfromwayback]

How old is your light? It may not be putting out the juice it used to which would decrease yield.

Also humidity and temperature need to be controlled in the room your tents are located, not inside the tents themselves. The fans inside the tent are there to move air, control smell and remove old air while bringing in fresh air. I use a combo of a dehumidifier, a humidifier and a portable ac unit inside my grow room itself which then gives my plants the environment to thrive

[kenKgrow]

Hi everybody, This is my first post, but I have used GWE for years for the articles and helpful posts.

Now I have a problem I want to share and hopefully get some guidance.


Basic info:

I have been growing in the same small enclosure for 9 years (18x30x48)
I started with photo plants but have grown only autos for the past 3-4 years.
Lights are 2x Advanced Platinum 150 LED and 2 small leds for side lights.
With both the photos and the autos I have consistently harvested 2-2.5 oz per plant. Nothing to brag about, but it works for me.

I’ve always grown in soil

A year ago my plants began growing smaller and yields decreased. I hadn’t changed anything, so I figured it was a one-time thing.

Since then, my plants and yields have gotten smaller with each grow.

I keep good notes, so I went back to my earlier successful grows and duplicated everything 100% and my yields continued to decrease.

My last harvest was about 9 gms per plant.

I normally use LST, primarily bending and tying down, but to avoid plant stress I have left the last couple grows to grow as they want. The last grow had one plant produce seeds. That’s a first for me. Also, they finish up (harvest) weeks earlier than in the past. Signs of stress, I imagine.

One weird thing is that the plants look perfectly healthy. Other than small size and yield, they look perfectly fine with no obvious signs of disease or deficiency. Even the root system looks the same as always, tho a little smaller.

I have tried several soils with no change in results. (Ocean Forest, Happy Frog, Roots Original).

I had been using Aurora ferts for years. Tried a nonorganic brand instead, but yields have continued to plummet.

I had been using a liquid test kit for pH, so I bought a meter and have been using it for the last couple grows.

I keep the temps at mid to high 70s with lights on and I let it drop to 70 when lights are off.

Lights on 18hrs

I can’t control the humidity. For 2/3 of the year it’s at 60 and in the winter it drops to 40.

The maddening part is that I had changed nothing prior to this problem. Of course there has to be a reason, but I just can’t figure it out.

To make it worse, a friend of mine reuses his soil for years (his current grow is in 3 year old potting soil) and doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. He uses only cheap generic soil, ferts and lights and he’s getting 3-4 oz per plant. It’s no good asking him for advice, because he admits that he has no idea what he’s doing.

Drives me NUTS!

This has become such a “head-scratcher”. I just can’t figure it out. I’ve tried everything I can think of.

Thank you for reading through this post and for any suggestions.