water cooled lights

[spliffy777]

hi all i seen these water cooled lights just wondering if any1 has 1 .and if so r they anygood ,do they work do they keep the heat down .cheapest i see was 360 pounds .which is alot .but worth it if they work . spliff

[SunnyD]

not sure how the water system works...if the entire light is surrounded by water I'd be worried about light refraction and it's innability to be focused on the desired spot below.

Now if that hood helps then I guess it would be fine, but I'm unsure of how much I would trust it, if anything breaks, water + electricity = bad

[spliffy777]

yes that was my worry to. water and electric is never good ,but would they sell somthing that was unsafe .i think it comes with like a cut off breaker to.if it worked and it didnt heat the water 2 fast . i think ill be getting some . hopfully som1 has 1 and can let me no if they work or not .

[SunnyD]

Where are they coming from?

If they have some sort of emergency shut off then I would say look into it a bit more before making a purchase. Dealing with water as a coolant is dangerous but probably more effective than an air cooled tube.

Still, I would recommend an air cooled tube anyway because I don't know the reliability of water cooled tubes...

[spliffy777]

i saw it on ebay it was a link to a shop i thought i saved it in my favs but .cant see it there now must have been stoned lol . ill try find it again and post link to there shop

[SunnyD]

I've always heard people say that buying lights off of ebay is dangerous...they advised to buy from shops online, not ebay

I heed warnings of people on the site

[spliffy777]

ok ive found it .water cooled lights about half way down the page .Grow Lights (http://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/grow-lights.htm)

[spliffy777]

getting grow stuff is stress full were ever u get it from .some times shops r just 2 expensive 2 . i got a friend who takes my deliverys which is nice .

[SunnyD]

Idk man, it's up to you no matter what.

Do some more research on lights and see which one you think would be better.

There's nothing wrong with an air cooled light and they're cheaper I believe.

See what you like the best

Stay Sunny :thumbsup:

[spliffy777]

well if i get 1 .ill let u all no if they worth it or not. deffinate advantage with water .dont have to vent water just gos bk to res .(seperate) to plant res of course . thanks 4 your input sunnyd
spliff :cool:

[Rusty Trichome]

Never used them, but I have used HID lights with my coral reef tank. Mh only...HPS doesn't extend deep enough to work, and most usable spectrum is dispersed in the top couple of inches of the water column.

A couple of things to ponder...

Different wavelengths refract differently.

Light thru a glass (or a curved vessel of water) will have an uneven spread of spectrum.
For instance...red light effectively extends down a couple of meters in the ocean, max. Yet blue light travels for what...100 plus meters or so...?

How much light is caught between the two walls of the cooler-tube?
Would be interested in PAR and spectrum readings from it, tho.

What happens when/if a failure occurs?

How would you cool the heated water for re-use?

[SunnyD]

Supposedly a good way to keep water cool is to run it through an alluminum box, alluminum has the ability to absorb the heat from the water and discharge it through convection easily.

Alluminum has a low specific heat capacity and water has the highest of any chemical so I'm guessing that's why it works so well

[spliffy777]

hi i was thinking maybe a small glass fronted frigde from wal mart with smallish res .drill some holes in glass for the tubes.also i have a friend who said you get more potiency out of your plants with an mh bulb if u use it 2 flower aswell , is this true ?feed bk on this would be great . splif

[SunnyD]

potency depends on a lot of things

Genes
Light
Nutes
Medium
Age
CO2

Too many things other than "type of light"

I've seen better results with HPS here than MH, but that's just me

[Rusty Trichome]

Were you to run it thru a water chiller (aquarium supply shop) or an aluminum radiator of some sort, I could see that may work. But keeping warm water in an aluminum box, you'll have a aluminum box of warm water.

Something that comes up often in the Reef Tank Forums is "what about 'coiling' the supply hose thru a fridge...?"
Well, running it thru a fridge (a very popular subject in the Reef Tank Forums where temperature is life and death for an entire eco-system) will kill a fridge. A fridge motor is designed to come on every once in a while, for very short periods in order to maintain a constant temp. Running a hose thru it in an attempt to cool the water overworks the motor, killing the fridge in a matter of days or weeks. (The heat emanating from the hose tells the fridge to keep running)

For my purposes, I wouldn't get the water tube thingy without at least a 1/10 hp water cooler. 1/10 HP (Mini) Current USA Prime Inline Chiller (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~CU02635.html)
The one above is a top-end model, but you'll still pay a hefty price regardless.
Used Equipment forums on the Marine Aquarium or Coral websites, is a good place to find loads of stuff for ones grow...especially if our sponsors don't carry it at present. Perhaps more trustworthy than ebay, too. (Freshwater equipment is lower quality, and may not withstand nutes and additives) :thumbsup:

Jeepers...only 9:45 and I think I've had my fill of coffee, lol.

[Rusty Trichome]

i have a friend who said you get more potiency out of your plants with an mh bulb if u use it 2 flower aswell , is this true ?feed bk on this would be great . splif

Would discard that friend, and find one with accurate info.

HPS can be used for both veg and flower, MH for veg only. You get more potency using proper techniques and equipment.

[Rusty Trichome]

Curious what exactly I said to deserve the negative rep with no explination, Spliffy777.
But rest assured, returning the favor was my pleasure. :jointsmile:

[spliffy777]

im sry rusty i thought i hit a positive feedbk, was ment 2 be positive sry spliff

[Rusty Trichome]

Ahh. Ok.
You really have to go out of your way to screw that one up, which is why I asked.

The rep never bothers me one way or the other, but the lack of comments do.

[Mcnizzlebery]

"also i have a friend who said you get more potiency out of your plants with an mh bulb"

I have been told that useing a mh for flower makes the buds more dense, and have also been told that useing mh+hps is even better then just one by itself.

Water cooled sounds interesting but i would be to afraid of the whole water+electricity thing.

[Rusty Trichome]

I have been told that useing a mh for flower makes the buds more dense, and have also been told that useing mh+hps is even better then just one by itself.
Hmmm...I've heard (but I don't utilize the technique) that MH can help slow early flowering stretch, but is ultimately the wrong spectrum for proper flowering.

I'd tend to do as the experienced growers do, since there's years of trial and error backing their techniques, but that's just me. :jointsmile:
Plus, I have two grow rooms (one flower room, one veg room) and switching light and ballast between rooms is an unnecessary bitch.

Perhaps if you only have one growspace, and you already have the MH to suppliment your HPS, and can afford the electricity that the limited benefits will cost you, and can deal with the extra heat it throws-off...then sure. Go for it. I believe I've heard a 2:1 (HPS:MH) is "desireable", but...I only use HPS for flower. Works great.

MH makes more potent buds...? Got a link for that one?

[Opie Yutts]

I've taken to adding some bluish CFLs (5800K) in with my HPS. It has increased density and stickiness, no doubt. It is best IMO if you can do about 85% blue and 15% red in veg, and the opposite in bud.

[Opie Yutts]

Cooling lights with water. Sounds interesting. Here's another: Texas Hydroponics :: Grow Lighting :: Liquid Cooled Lights :: Liquid Lumens "HydroFlector" Reflector Insert (http://www.texashydroponics.com/shop/product.php?productid=2642&cat=357&page=1)