# Littlefrog Farm Grow Room (with LEDs!)



## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

This has been in planning for over a year, and in construction all summer (and still under construction), but here is a somewhat functioning version of my commercial scale plant room. This is where the plants you order from Joshsfrogs.com come from. I still have plants to move from the greenhouse. Still not sure how much space I'll have left over, but it is likely that some of it will be used for frogs. 

I have a few more videos of the construction process and some pictures, in my copious free time I'll eventually put up a construction journal on my website. It is basically a pole barn with added insulation. I added 2" foam to the walls, over an air space and the existing insulation. Moisture resistant drywall and paint over that... The ceiling is 1" foam plus R-15 fiberglass above.

Yes, I sell the LEDs you see in the video, but I'm really just showing it off because I think it is cool.

plant_room_tour.wmv - YouTube


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## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

nice to see where some of our plants come from. I like the muscle racks as well. They hold a lot of weight, are fully adjustable and need no tools to be assembled. Looks well organized. Is the whole floor gravel or is there a concrete slab under it?


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

There were originally two dirt floor horse stalls (about 12x12') but the rest was concrete. I filled in the cutouts with crushed limestone.


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## c81kennedy (Dec 24, 2010)

Hey rob where can i find info on the the LEDs on the righthand wall . Do they produce alot of heat and how much do they cost.


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## patm (Mar 21, 2004)

Awesome setup. Do you get good growth from the LED panels, or are they meant to just maintain plants before sale?

Pat


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

I sell all of the LEDs, they are Sunshine Systems brand. Lot of brands out there, tried a few and I like these best out of the ones I've tried. That particular configuration is about two weeks old, but I've used them for other plants. If you search for my videos on youtube there are a couple about an experiment I did using them. A little long and probably boring. But yes, plants grow well under them. I wouldn't use them for vivariums, the light color is too weird. But for growing plants, they are great.

Almost no heat. 28W, should last 8+ years. All the LEDs on that wall are running off of one timer, you can chain over two dozen together. I honestly don't know how they would wear out, LEDs should last for decades. By the time they wear out there will be something new you wanted anyway. I have them lighting up about 2.5sq feet, but could go a little bigger.

MSRP on the Glowpanel 45's is $149.99 (I think... Might be $159.99). I've been selling them cheaper than that, but I probably shouldn't publish that price. PM me.


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## xsputnikx (May 11, 2010)

What's the par reading on those?

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk


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## Steverd (Sep 4, 2011)

Great Video - Thanks for posting. 
Now I want to get some Glow Panels also!

Steve


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

xsputnikx said:


> What's the par reading on those?
> 
> Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk


I don't know, sorry. I don't have a PAR meter. I can try to find out.

Rob


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

Rob, what "K" equivalent are the LEDs? They look purple in the video. Love your setup - well done.


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

johnc said:


> Rob, what "K" equivalent are the LEDs? They look purple in the video. Love your setup - well done.


I don't think that 'K' has any useful (or meaningful) value for these, unfortunately. The panels are indeed purple to the eye, that is pretty accurate work by my camera. You can get white LEDs that render color pretty accurately, which is what I'd recommend for display (vivs, display tanks, etc), but these units only do the blue and red ends of the spectrum. For plant growth, it is more efficient to focus on these wavelengths. It doesn't make sense to spend electricity (=money!) on making light that plants reflect.

The bigger units (on the ceiling) have an extended spectrum and appear a bit more 'natural', but still very purple. Kind of psychedelic, actually. It is one reason I have some fluorescent lighting in the room. For ultimate efficiency, I'd use all LED. For my sanity, I need to have some white light.

If anybody has a meter capable of reading an entire spectrum, I'd gladly borrow it and generate the data for everybody... My lab is a cell biology lab, we don't use light meters or I'd borrow one from school. I won't break it! *grin*


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

I think they're in the roseate area of the spectrum then. I was hoping for a light panel that would do both (for example, my HO T5 has a pink/purple bulb and a daylight colored bulb for best of both worlds). I would love to replace most of my lights with LEDs like you are using but they would have to look white-ish over all.


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

Yeah, it is the major limitation of the panels. You can get white LEDs in spotlight form (good ones, from me or other sponsors), but I haven't seen any white panels. I could get one made custom... I don't know the cost but I'm sure it would be more expensive than I'd be comfortable with.


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Ive seen "white" grow panels on ebay, but they look dim and cheap

Here are some examples that doesnt end within a few hours of this post:
Brand NEW 225 WHITE LED Kit Aquarium Grow Light Panel | eBay
450LED GROW LIGHT AQUARIUM CORAL HYDROPONIC WHITE PANEL | eBay


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## Venutus1 (Feb 13, 2010)

Very Nice Rob.

Great work and I am evnvious of the band saw. I need a beast like that one!

Cheers!
Todd
lightyourreptiles.com


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

I've tried one of those 225 led light panels from eBay. They are junk. After 3 weeks the lights dimmed, they don't give off much light at all, less light than a 13watt cfl! And the color is on the blueish side of the spectrum. 
Now I have them over my froglet growout tanks. Froglets feel comfortable under dim light and pothos is growing okay under it.


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