The far red thread

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Thought it might be fruitful to have a far red thread.

There are a couple uses for supplementing far red I've found so far. The Emerson Effect states that a combination of 640-680 and 735nm light will produce more vegetative growth than an equal amount of 680 alone or 735 alone.

Has anyone tested this out or incorporated far red into their spectrum? I'm wondering how this works out in a full spectrum environment and if far red supplementation would be worth the electricity involved. It's stated that the red to far red ratio in sunlight is 10:8 so I'm not sure if it's practical to implement something like this.

I've also read that people will use far red at the end of a light cycle to cause the rest period to onset sooner, perhaps achieving a 14/10 flower cycle.

One paper states far red at dark onset promotes stem elongation.

Parts:

There are a couple far red COBs I've discovered on the internet. There are 50 and 100w square cobs that can be found on ebay. There are also 10 and 20w units made for CCTV cameras, and while it's called infrared it also states the spectrum as 730nm.

Search: 20W 730nm Infrared IR High Power LED Light Bulb Lamp For CCTV Camera

Those units operate at 17-20V and 700-1000mA so could easily ran in series with meanwell or other brand drivers.
 

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Awesome, so you are running them as full time light supplement or just a short period at lights out?
 

AquariusPanta

Well-Known Member

ShyGuru

Well-Known Member
@Psuagro are you saying that you use a halogen bulb to get the same effect at lights out? If so what wattage for what size space. I have read of this and it definitely sounds cheaper than using expensive LEDs. Any negative effects of halogen?
 

captainmorgan

Well-Known Member
I think the 8W 730nm bar I got from BML was around a hundred bucks...a little high, but not too bad considering the convenience
BML is the only other pre built 730 I know of and GLS was selling them before BML came along and try to find another company selling a 50/50 of 660 and 680 pre built. Competition lowers prices but no one else seems interested in selling them.
 

AquariusPanta

Well-Known Member
Building a 730nm Star Bar is easy and a great entry project for new LED DIY'ers, as all one really needs is tiny drivers, 3W stars, and aluminum tubing.

The link I provided above details what I used and shows how simple the build can be.
 

AquariusPanta

Well-Known Member
I know this and have a couple from GLS and have made a few myself. It's for the people that are not interested in DIY.
My comment wasn't directed at you but for those who aren't interested in spending ridiculous amounts of money on something that may be overkill for their operation(s).

While I hold your attention, Captain, would you say that the proper supplementation of 730nm, alongside the necessary red, primarily provides users with the ability to harvest flowers sooner?

Is there anything else to add to the benefits of investing into 730nm lighting or?
 

captainmorgan

Well-Known Member
Rahz,I've used 730 nm at lights out for over two years and it's worked great for me. I've also experimented with adding 660 nm but not 680 nm,I was never able to source any 680 nm to play with but haven't checked for it in a year or so.
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
My comment wasn't directed at you but for those who aren't interested in spending ridiculous amounts of money on something that may be overkill for their operation(s).

While I hold your attention, Captain, would you say that the proper supplementation of 730nm, alongside the necessary red, primarily provides users with the ability to harvest flowers sooner?

Is there anything else to add to the benefits of investing into 730nm lighting or?
depends on the lighting..

with 730's the led side in my grow is finishing faster. My induction side is taking longer

@captainmorgan I hypothesized that before in your thread. When I said mine seem to take longer and yours finished faster. So the light source does make a difference in finishing times. I'm anxious to try with more cobs.
 

AquariusPanta

Well-Known Member
Rahz,I've used 730 nm at lights out for over two years and it's worked great for me. I've also experimented with adding 660 nm but not 680 nm,I was never able to source any 680 nm to play with but haven't checked for it in a year or so.
Can you explain in greater detail, if not to me but to Rahz and others, how it's worked great for you?

(:
 
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