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Im glad I found this discussion board, lots of useful info.

I have a flowering dresser that I am going to build about 12" wide by 16" long and 30" height inside. Minus the carbon filter and pot I'm looking at about 16-18" of plant height.
I currently grow with 6 x 36w PLL CFLs in a 30"x18"x30 high and am looking to downgrade in size because I am moving and the fluorescent bulbs are old and need to be replaced. The nice thing about these is I can keep them <1" away from the canopy.
I am looking for a similar replacement that will cover a wide area with mostly flowering spectrum. I am open to building my own LED panel if that's the best way to spread the coverage if height is a problem.
Please point me in the right direction for options

alexonfire said:

Im glad I found this discussion board, lots of useful info.

I have a flowering dresser that I am going to build about 12" wide by 16" long and 30" height inside. Minus the carbon filter and pot I'm looking at about 16-18" of plant height.
I currently grow with 6 x 36w PLL CFLs in a 30"x18"x30 high and am looking to downgrade in size because I am moving and the fluorescent bulbs are old and need to be replaced. The nice thing about these is I can keep them <1" away from the canopy.
I am looking for a similar replacement that will cover a wide area with mostly flowering spectrum. I am open to building my own LED panel if that's the best way to spread the coverage if height is a problem.
Please point me in the right direction for options

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You want to down grade from 12"x16"x30", wow, how small do you want to go? Getting into itty bitty territory where something like an LED strip/tape might be your best bet. (SMD 5730,5630,or 2835 based strips) When you get itty bitty in space like that anything over 1w LEDs is going to eat up more room, the .5w or less SMD LED light strips are like florescent, plants can touch them.

Sorry maybe you misread. 12x16x30 is the size of cabinet I want to build, currently 30"x18"x30

Got my little LEDs setup (around 72w total) and have some seeds on the way. Trying to get everything else sorted but as the Mars II price has gone up in aus im looking at alternatives.

First one is a COB, I haven't had success in finding this model anywhere else but they claim its a hydrogrowled (looks nothing like the actual websites products)
It has a claimed actual draw of 190w and they say it uses 3rd Generation LED type Bridgelux CREE COB type LED for Growing & Flowering

White True 200w LED Grow Light <LINK


The second one is also a COB, im highly unsure of this one for a few reasons (topledseller), has plastic lenses and also actual draw of 155w

HydroSTAR 384W LED Grow Light Reflector COB <LINK




I haven't seen any reviews for these products yet but know COB lights are usually better than LED boards. I might end up using a 150w CFL instead of an overhead LED with the small boards I have as side lighting. As its my first grow any advice would be appreciated

alexonfire said:

Sorry maybe you misread. 12x16x30 is the size of cabinet I want to build, currently 30"x18"x30

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U aint got nothing alittle bigger? That's pretty tight man. T5 a wide one with mixed color temps! Grow Crue sells em with whatever bulb variation u want

Check out SolarStorm LED lights,they rock

height is gonna be an issue with the led fixture! 30 inches! don't get nothing with optic or lense! it will cook the shiznit out of em

T5 will flower very good for this area! There is probably someone on here that could help ya out DIY! I thank it was supra or AZ I cant remember! BUY Home Depot PAR38 or something like it maybe!

Sussy said:

Got my little LEDs setup (around 72w total) and have some seeds on the way. Trying to get everything else sorted but as the Mars II price has gone up in aus im looking at alternatives.

First one is a COB, I haven't had success in finding this model anywhere else but they claim its a hydrogrowled (looks nothing like the actual websites products)
It has a claimed actual draw of 190w and they say it uses 3rd Generation LED type Bridgelux CREE COB type LED for Growing & Flowering

White True 200w LED Grow Light <LINK

The second one is also a COB, im highly unsure of this one for a few reasons (topledseller), has plastic lenses and also actual draw of 155w

HydroSTAR 384W LED Grow Light Reflector COB <LINK

I haven't seen any reviews for these products yet but know COB lights are usually better than LED boards. I might end up using a 150w CFL instead of an overhead LED with the small boards I have as side lighting. As its my first grow any advice would be appreciated

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^^^^^Ticking time bombs==== high failure rates with those generic smds/cobs..........stick with HID if you wanna stay within that budget.

Also 150w cfl is horribly inefficient(50-55 lm/w)........a 250w hps will double that and be slightly harder to cool with a remote ballast.

Okay everybody I need some help. I'm thinking about using leds for the first time. I only grow auto flowers and have always used cfls but I want to try something new. If I only grow one plant at a time what type of light should I get? I'm going to get a 2x4 tent I was thinking the Mars 300 watt reflector would do but I have no idea if I'm right or not. Also I just bought a 12 watt house bulb type led to throw in with my current cfl grow I have going on how far away should I keep that away? Should I pop the top off of it also? Thanks in advance

JimmyIndica said:

T5 will flower very good for this area! There is probably someone on here that could help ya out DIY! I thank it was supra or AZ I cant remember! BUY Home Depot PAR38 or something like it maybe!

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@alexonfire I'm flowering this plant under Cree PAR38 (18w) spots from Home Depot, $24 each:



I took those pictures a few minutes ago. The plant turned out to be larger than I'd like for this style of distributed lighting (PAR38 spots on top, 9.5w Cree lightbulbs on the side). I hoped for 2x2 (4sq ft) at about 30-35w/sq ft. It's more like 3x3 (9sq ft) and 18-22w/sq ft.

I'm impressed with how well it's flowering despite the low w/sq ft. I should have added more lights but didn't want to confuse the results. I've grown 21w/sq ft range before (with a Blackstar UFO). I added 9.5w sidelight to that setup to bring it to 30-32w/sq ft. I'm confident these buds would be denser/larger if the w/sq ft were in the optimal 30-35 range.

And, I'm using inexpensive Grow More Sea Grow nutes. No boutique "lineups." To me, this is a good example of how someone can grow weed without a major investment. A Bonsai/Hans panel or plantphotonics might be a better light (those two come to mind for your short height). But, there's something to be said for picking up lights at Home Depot, 10 year warranty, etc. It's a low-friction option.

For your space, I'd use floods. The spots require quite a bit of distance. (I intended to use floods, but started with spots to see how they work. Didn't want to change anything mid-flower and confuse the results.).

Cool setup, however there are bad reviews for those LEDs online.
@JimmyIndica My perpetual dresser setup in 40" wide x 18" long and 30" high with CFLs. I am not using it at the moment. I am just interested in LEDs to minimize as much heat as possible. I need to go more stealth so I need to go with a 12x18x30"flowering box and have a DIY carbon filter and my height will be cut down by 5". If nobody else has any other LED recommendations I may have to stick with 3x36w PLL clfs and then take one bulb out if it gets too hot in the summer.

alexonfire said:

Cool setup, however there are bad reviews for those LEDs online.
@JimmyIndica My perpetual dresser setup in 40" wide x 18" long and 30" high with CFLs. I am not using it at the moment. I am just interested in LEDs to minimize as much heat as possible. I need to go more stealth so I need to go with a 12x18x30"flowering box and have a DIY carbon filter and my height will be cut down by 5". If nobody else has any other LED recommendations I may have to stick with 3x36w PLL clfs and then take one bulb out if it gets too hot in the summer.

View attachment 3359444
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that is a cool little setup!

alexonfire said:

Cool setup, however there are bad reviews for those LEDs online.

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Do you have a link? I haven't read anything negative. They seem to be doing well for me.

They (or the 9.5w lightbulbs) should be ~40% more lumens per watt than CFL. But, I don't know if energy savings (and heat reduction) are your motivation. (All I could gather is that your CFLs are old and need replacement.).

You said keeping the CFLs close to the canopy is positive. You can do that with the lightbulbs (much more than the PAR38 floods). Again, ~40% more efficient than doing that with CFL. In fact, I'd say you can keep Cree LED lightbulbs closer. My leaves regularly touch the bulb and don't burn. CFLs run so hot, leaves can't touch for long.

so ill bite, Ive been reading about LEDs for the last week or so. and determined this is the route i need to go. I have a grow cabinet that is 32"W x 20"D x 45"T (probably ~32" of growing height) I initially looked at the CREE, and then did some brief readings on the vero, which just gave me more questions and options. And now im here. So i was thinking of cramming 4 of the cxa3070. Install each diagonal from the other, so theres a 5k and 3k on the front and then 3k and 5k on the back. and i would run the 3k's for veg? and then all 4 for flower? I also further complicated things by reading the thread about reflectors, which ill leave for another day, i shouldn’t really need to worry about it in such a small space. Anyway, i think im on the right path, just need a little nudge. I could probably get away with 2 lights, but i thought 4 in a square (err rectangle) pattern would better cover the edges. And id like to rely solely on LED, i really havent got far into all the various light options out there. just the cxa3070's... anyway, put me on the right track fellows! thanks

edit to add more info, this is my veg and flower room. i plan on growing anywhere from 2-4 at a time, i will experiment with various methods each grow to see what works for me. may just grow 2... if i end up with more females ill be trying to keep them all, so... scrog and all the usual small space techniques. this is just my personnel/hobby grow, and a newbie at that

-Z

I plan on running a 3x3 grow tent with either soil or the dwc setup I have, I already have the tent and all supplies, just need a LED that can handle that size grow area. Was thinking of 3/4 plants total. I also have three HO T5's for supplemental lighting on the sides. Initially was leaning towards the diamond series. Any input is appreciated.

SolarStorm 440 is great for a 3' x 3 ' grow area.I use the 880 for a 4' x 4' grow room and it works perfectly for that sized space.

I think my post got caught in the mix. Can anyone help me out?

Iamlegend2121 said:

I think my post got caught in the mix. Can anyone help me out?

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what was the question please?

I'll repost it. Okay everybody I need some help. I'm thinking about using leds for the first time. I only grow auto flowers and have always used cfls but I want to try something new. If I only grow one plant at a time what type of light should I get? I'm going to get a 2x4 tent I was thinking the Mars 300 watt reflector would do but I have no idea if I'm right or not. Also I just bought a 12 watt house bulb type led to throw in with my current cfl grow I have going on how far away should I keep that away? Should I pop the top off of it also? Thanks in advance