From what I understand, the Mammoth, are closer to the spectrum of the sun vs other LED. Mammoth is 4800k-5000k. The SUN, is 5800k.
The SUN, is Green Heavy. And while the Mammoths do have a great deal of Blue, and Green, they also also heavy, on the Red, and Far Red-720nm.
I bought 2 of the 880w Mammoths, but havent used them yet. I gave them to my partner, and he hasnt used them. Yet.
We are still on the HID/1000w train, and have such good success with it, we are hesitant, to change.
The Hortilux Blue, is the closest thing to the sun out there, at 5500k. Plus the spectrum goes under 400nm, and more than 2000nm. LED is 400nm-720nm, at best. Really. Spectrum Wise, LED arent in the same ballpark, as Hortilux BLUE, or any HID for that matter.
HID also go all the way past 2000nm, as LED, only go to 720nm-750nm tops. Plus the Blue, puts out some UV, and Infrared. Plants see way more than the spectrum, that LED can provide. Im still convinced the HID, has a superior spectrum. Especially the 1000w Hortilux Blue.
Its true Red heavy spectrum, will grow bigger plants, and theyve known this since the early 90s. Bigger, doesnt always mean better, and its also theorized, you will get more genetic expressions out of HID vs LED.
I once saw a program on PBS, about growing plants, in this case flowers, in greenhouses, in Israel, who are one of, if not the leaders in Hydro/Horticulture, as they grow an insane amount of veggies, in greenhouses.
But they did an experiment where the infused the Filon, or whatever material the greenhouse was made of, with Red.
The used all thee same Tissue Cultured Flowers from Holland. One greenhouse, had red infusion, the other didnt.
The Red Infused, grew 3-4 times bigger, in the same amount of time. This is true. But also consider, they were still getting the full spectrum, and not mainly visible light, which LED are mainly. And Bigger, doesnt always mean better. Ive also read experiments that say plants grown under HID/UVA/B vs LED, have different chemical ratios in the plants. Ive seen PRO, and CON, but for me, anything that is closer to the sun, is automatically headed towards the front of the line. Its to me, only common sense that if one is trying to grow plants, the closer one can get to the full spectrum, of the sun,its a no brainer its going to produce the results, NATURE, intended for the plant to have.
I bet theres not 1 person on this forum, that grows, that would give almost anything, to have a small globe in your grow room, that was a real sun, emitting all the same spectrum, as it would produce in the atmosphere, without the heat of the sun, of course. Say the same as a 1000w HID, but the full penetration power of the sun, and the same Umol as the sun. As far as Im concerned, others MMV. But for me, the ultimate goal, for a grow light, regardless of technology used, is to replicate as closely as possible, the spectrum of the sun, in the earths atmosphere.
HID goes way more, into the nonvisible spectrum, and its a proven fact, that the spectrum we cant see, is very important to the plant. ALL HID, and he SUN, have the 800nm-2000nm spectrum.
But, I do believe, the Mammoth, especially for the money, is the best, most cost effective LED out there.
Also consider this??
1800umol, and NO CO2 ENRICHMENT??
The SUN, at its brightest, is 2100umol.
CO2,,,,, right now, is the highest its been in 20 million years. Current CO2 PPM in the atmosphere, was 421PPM, last time I looked.
Before the start of the Industrial Revolution, the PPM of CO2, was about 180ppm.
So why did weed grow just fine, before the industrial revolution, when CO2 ppm were a lowly 180ppm, and the SUN, was still 2100umol??? HHHHMMMMMM????
What little logical sense I have, tells me, the thing that allows high light levels, and low PPM CO2, is CONSTANT FRESH AIR FLOW/EXCHANGE, and theres so much of it outside, the plant cant use all of it, even though PPM is low, the constant refreshment, more than makes up for low ppm.
Ive used a 1000w HID, as close as 12 inches from the plant, and no light stress. I promise you, a 1000w HID, is extremely powerful, especially at 12 inches. BUT, I have extremely good, fresh air exchange. and all of the plants, are constantly moving. I start seedlings under 1000w HID, and have since they came out with HID in 1977-78. At 24 inches, and let them grow towards the light. Sometimes, I may lower it to 20 inches, if I want them to be more compact. I usually keep the light a bit higher for Indicas, and closer, for more sativa oriented plants.
We also use 2x 32w Solacure UVA/B Bulbs at 24 inches, in a 4 x 4 area, and a 1000w HID.
Years ago, I read an experiment where they took Columbian Gold, that was normally grown in the mountains, and brought it down to sea level, and it ddnt even look like the same plant as grown at altitude. One thing that may be is less CO2/Oxygen, and stronger Sun, and UVA/B. Ive seen experiments that have said UV, can inhibit vertical growth, and I believe it. But, that may be what it takes, for certain plants, from certain places on earth, to make their original genetic expressions known. And its also true, that environment, can make the same clone, express different genetic traits, depending on environment, Light Type. Medium, Temps, Air flow. One persons Chem91skva clone, may look, smell ect, totally different than the same clone grown by a different person, under a different environment.
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