IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

supchaka said:

Im curious how your blackstar didnt work? I find LED's to veg very nicely and I've owned a blackstar with no complaints.

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It was a flowering LED didn't veg well...

https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/645788-blackstar-chrome-180w-leaf-burn-2.html
Pictures here during flower... this happened trying to veg just a lot more dramatically almost killed the clones had to give them to buddy to save...

I bought that Northernlietz LED it is doing better Veg but the old growth seems like it can't handle the new lgiht, the new leaves seem to love it... I dunno gonna have to figure this shit out.

And now after reading most of this im even more confused than ever.

Is OP still making recommendations?

I have plans to fill a 6x6 or 7x7 grow tent with 2 leds and 2 600hps. like this...
(led) (hps)

(led) (hps)

This tent is entirely for flowering, no veg. Budget wise... I would like to stay below $1500 per unti (3k for 2)

I would like to see the plants under the LED do as well as the plants under the hps. At least reasonably close.

What do you think? HPS will be aircooled. I like to grow plants with about 2.5 feet of growth depth. I clean up the lower growth a bit and direct the growth umph to the tops.. using branchy genetics.

Coco, drain to waste, if it matters.

I like the illumitex 300w.. but I am wondering if I would be better off finding a higher wattage, which they do not make...
I also can't find clear specs on them. frustrating.

Thanks

X2 AT660's my friend, would kick ass. Go to Tags thread to see the panel- Apache tech just released them.

Maybe he'll chime in and talk about costs after the code, but I think two is in your budget..

EDIT: on my phone but seriously, THAT would be the light to set up next to a 600w

https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/676858-tags-high-efficiency-lighting-garden-16.html

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ellydee said:

Don't forget http://www.rhinogrow.com/RhinoGrow_400_Series.php
American made/all Osram. I got 2 off Ebay right from Hortilume at an average price of $325.00 each. They will cover a 30"x30" perfectly.

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Looks attractive, yet I'm concerned with the watt usage being at 175w. I know that most manufacturers advertise a larger number versus actual power, and many buyers make that mistake.

Although they have comparison charts versus a 400w HPS, is the low watt usage an issue toward its 'true' power? You being an owner of two, what was your setup? Area, # of plants, yield?

EDIT: Just read that they are Michigan made?! That's a huge plus in my book, lol. Homegrown means homegrown hahaha

Followup question to my 1.5x1.5x8 closet light.

Im leaning toward CaliforniaLightworks. The SolarFlare 200w seems like the perfect fit for my space, but I might be able to fit the SolarStorm 400w in there. Do I go for the bigger light? The SolarStorm 400 has extra UVB lights, the 200 does not. Is there such a thing as too much light?

tortie said:

Followup question to my 1.5x1.5x8 closet light.

Im leaning toward CaliforniaLightworks. The SolarFlare 200w seems like the perfect fit for my space, but I might be able to fit the SolarStorm 400w in there. Do I go for the bigger light? The SolarStorm 400 has extra UVB lights, the 200 does not. Is there such a thing as too much light?

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In a 1.5x1.5 you DO NOT need the 400.

The Solarflare 200 is still overkill for that small area. lol

You'd be running 73.3W/sq. ft - that's really, really high. Just to contrast, I'm running 12sq ft. in a 4x4 tent with 834w, which gives me 69.5W/sq ft. and I DEFINITELY have zero problems with the amount of light available to the ladies.

fatalphenom said:

Looks attractive, yet I'm concerned with the watt usage being at 175w. I know that most manufacturers advertise a larger number versus actual power, and many buyers make that mistake.

Although they have comparison charts versus a 400w HPS, is the low watt usage an issue toward its 'true' power? You being an owner of two, what was your setup? Area, # of plants, yield?

EDIT: Just read that they are Michigan made?! That's a huge plus in my book, lol. Homegrown means homegrown hahaha

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They actually draw 165 watts on my Killawatt meter. One was used over a 2'x2' tub with 9 mini/sog in 1 gallon airpots w/coco/perlite.
The plants were harmed by the veg lamp I used prior to flower, so yield suffered a little.
A gram per watt should be no problem with a short plant 2'x2' sog. (30"x30" for the canopy of small plants)
These are high quality lamps because of the Osram diodes and for what I paid for them I can't complain.
If your are height restricted, the Rhinos are a good choice, just like the Hans panels.

The tech is advancing so quickly now that no matter what you get, it will be "old news" by the time you harvest.

tortie said:

Followup question to my 1.5x1.5x8 closet light.

Im leaning toward CaliforniaLightworks. The SolarFlare 200w seems like the perfect fit for my space, but I might be able to fit the SolarStorm 400w in there. Do I go for the bigger light? The SolarStorm 400 has extra UVB lights, the 200 does not. Is there such a thing as too much light?

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The 200 Solarflare (bloom model) (162 actual) will kick ass in an 18"x18". That's how I use mine!

Hey, looking for a nice American made LED light for around 200-220 bucks. Small grow, 2 plants. Really like the Diamond series 150w but I can't do the 50 bucks in shipping this month. If I like the company I'll invest in something really nice around December. Thanks!

Advanced Diamond series XML 150 cost $549.00 and is not American made. (They should pay your shipping if you ask nicely)

Kessil h150 magenta is about $100.00 and is American made. 2 of these could work for you.

http://www.bonsaihero.com/ledgrow.html $290.00 for 1 $500.00 for 2, Dutch made. Top quality, low power usage and great for small, height restricted areas.

Any info on these? Discontinued? http://monstergardens.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=14_21&product_id=2456

Seem to be cheap all over atm.

I'm looking to build a 10x10ish sized veg room, and attatch a 2-4 x 10 bloom room. I stopped reading this after the 3rd page, cause frankly, I've been staring at RIU for a few days now, I need to remember what sunlight is (and then promptly run back inside screaming it burns it burns...) I'm wanting to use LED so I don't use as much electricity per light that I have to install. I'm thinking that a mix of the flat panel lights, as well as the spotlight leds would work well for me, I can use a few panels to cover a large area, and string the other spotlight bulbs so they directly cover portions of the canopy that are missing light. I'm thinking that I need a mostly blue spectrum light for the veg room, and mostly red for the bloom room. I don't have a TON of money up front, so I'm looking at something that I wouldn't mind replacing after 6 months or so, to upgrade when I have a lot of expendable money. I have been mainly looking at htgsupplies.com, and the magnum 357. What suggestions would anyone have for me to cover this area? the initial amount of money I want to spend is around 300-350. I don't have to light the whole veg room as my mothers won't be super large for a while, I need something good for veg, and then something great for flowering

10x10 and a 2-4x10? Is this inches, feet, miles? need a little more info there sport.

I'm fairly new to LED lighting. I wanted other people's opinion on this new LED light I found. It's called the ARC Series LED. It's an arc shaped light that focuses the beams directly on one central point (the plant). What do you guys make of it? I think it happens to be a really good idea, just because I know we do waste a lot of light. Here's the link. Make sure to let me know your thoughts. http://kck.st/1d5wim9

thewaytogrow said:

I'm fairly new to LED lighting. I wanted other people's opinion on this new LED light I found. It's called the ARC Series LED. It's an arc shaped light that focuses the beams directly on one central point (the plant). What do you guys make of it? I think it happens to be a really good idea, just because I know we do waste a lot of light. Here's the link. Make sure to let me know your thoughts. http://kck.st/1d5wim9

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There's discussion of the Arc series here.

Edit: I see you spammed the end of that thread too, never mind.

pretty sure its not miles... and definitely not inches either, why would I grow in a space that's less than one cubic foot? I have a room that is 10 foot by 10 foot by 8 foot and a bloom room that is going to be about 4 foot by 10 foot by 8 foot. I would like to know what kind of lights I can put into a space that is 10 foot by 10 foot by 8 foot and bloom lights for 4x10 FOOT room that will be around 300-350 USD. I can make the room as big as about 30x30 feet but I really really don't think that is necessary. I will be growing out mothers and cloning them for perpetual grow. I might make a little closet somewhere and put any males in, but I found that males can throw pollen with 4 hours of light a day, and I might not put them in the same area, just to be extra cautious, male room will not be lit by led, I'm hoping to cram as many clones in my little room as possible, it will start small and eventually become quite a few clones. growing in soil, I don't think that makes too much difference in what lights I get, but just thought I'd throw that in there

mikek420 said:

pretty sure its not miles... and definitely not inches either, why would I grow in a space that's less than one cubic foot? I have a room that is 10 foot by 10 foot by 8 foot and a bloom room that is going to be about 4 foot by 10 foot by 8 foot. I would like to know what kind of lights I can put into a space that is 10 foot by 10 foot by 8 foot and bloom lights for 4x10 FOOT room that will be around 300-350 USD. I can make the room as big as about 30x30 feet but I really really don't think that is necessary. I will be growing out mothers and cloning them for perpetual grow. I might make a little closet somewhere and put any males in, but I found that males can throw pollen with 4 hours of light a day, and I might not put them in the same area, just to be extra cautious, male room will not be lit by led, I'm hoping to cram as many clones in my little room as possible, it will start small and eventually become quite a few clones. growing in soil, I don't think that makes too much difference in what lights I get, but just thought I'd throw that in there

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You won't get quality LED panels for $300-350.

If you want bigger panels, I'd ask Apache about the AT660, it looks absolutely insane and covers 4x4 with each light - not cheap.

If you want many smaller panels, I'd ask Jeff from Area 51 about buying a bunch of quality CREE panels at a discounted price - still not cheap.


You're going to want to run about 60-70% of the wattage you would run with HPS, but remember no more bulb replacement, and your cooling costs will significantly drop. LED's are going to cost you serious money to get started, no getting around it.

hahaha woooow I looked at those cree panels and was like holy ****. definately checking to see if I can get a bigger budget for lights, and smaller budget for seeds. Worst case scenario I won't have to light the entire 10x10 part, since it won't be full, also I have a harvest end of Oct which will let me get some good lights. is there another option to get cheaper secondary lighting now, and get the primary lights in a month or so? I don't mean cheap like crappy lights, I mean cheap like $2-300 each now to light up seedlings, and then 500-1000 later when the seedlings are bigger, and I have harvested my first crop, so I will have the money no problem (I might be able to spend more than 1000 at that point) I could not find the AT660 you mentioned, but 4x4 coverage sounds good, I'd only need 6 of them total, instead of my original idea of getting 10+ smaller lights, I'm freeing up some extra money now, hopefully I get the go ahead to budget at least 500-700 for start up lights. I will be reading this thread in full this afternoon when I get back, been reading it off and on, great stuff in here

Yes it matters if talking led's. I don't think you realize how much a led setup that big will cost. $300/light barley gets you a cheap digital hps setup or a shipped magnetic hps, then you still need to pay for all the energy to run and cool. Don't waste your time with startup LED's lights either. There is no reason to go with cheap startups cause they will not perform and you won't even get enough out of your harvest to ever think about new better lights...and then you will think all led's are bad. When if you just get a good led light from the beginning you can reap the benefits the whole time and your garden will improve.

And if you were to get At660's they cover 4x4 @24" for flower... but for a veg room they can cover a lot bigger area with the 50lens, or even just hanging higher if you got the space, and you do. The at660 is just coming out but I have one so the people who are around the forum often know what's up with it. I have a lot of info in my thread about it. IMO it is the only panel for a bigger scale grow/grower out that is actually equal/better in output and coverage to 1000w hps...plus with a ideal growth spectrum.

For that veg space with moms, a clone rack/work area, and enough space to do a perpetual crop for the 4x10 flower room...3 at660's would be enough/almost too much for just a couple moms. (2) a51's could be enough to support moms for just your grow. You don't need that much space or light for clones. With just one bakers racks you can hold 500-700 clones. with just florescence or t8led tubes for lights.
Then you could potentially pull 4 units out of that flower room with 2 at660's.

But if you are trying to setup a major propagation operation in the veg room then go with more light.