8'x8' led light setup 2500$ budget

Hi RIU, i've been looking around for the past few weeks doing my research on LED, and im quite confused.
It seems to be that the best options are the really expensive pre made led panels or the DIY type of lights.
Since im looking to light up an 8'x8' (240cm x 240cm) area the only pre made light panels that are in my price range are the Mars Hydro ones (4x Mars II 1600w) but im quite sketched out about them after reading a shit load of bad reviews about their efficiency, quality and warranty problems, so i guess im left with something DIYish? Problem is im not tech savvy at all, best i can do is change a light bulb lol.
If anyone can throw in some ideas for a 8x8 grow tent decent led setup for under 2500$ with shipping (Im in EU) id greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!!

https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/all/products/hlg-550

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10 x double row 4 foot samsung strips, about $500 ( same diodes as the HLGs, but this configuration will have 20% more diodes).
or 20 single row strips, about 550 if prices haven't changed too much.
Order through Digikey, shipping will be free but there will be tax to pay when the parcel lands.
get 3 x 320W Drivers, they are about $80, so $240 for 3
Then you need to spend some money on frames.
It is also really easy to make a water-cooled system out of 1" square tubing and run it through a geyser for free hot water while you are at it.
Spend the balance on a good tent, filter, fan, and dehumidifier.

Moflow said:

X 2

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As far as i understand ill need 4x of them as one covers 4'x4' according to the website?

ANC said:

10 x double row 4 foot samsung strips, about $500 ( same diodes as the HLGs, but this configuration will have 20% more diodes).
or 20 single row strips, about 550 if prices haven't changed too much.
Order through Digikey, shipping will be free but there will be tax to pay when the parcel lands.
get 3 x 320W Drivers, they are about $80, so $240 for 3
Then you need to spend some money on frames.
It is also really easy to make a water-cooled system out of 1" square tubing and run it through a geyser for free hot water while you are at it.
Spend the balance on a good tent, filter, fan, and dehumidifier.

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Ill do some research on your idea? what would be the possible yield with such a light setup? and i have a separate budget for tent vent and filters.

Moflow said:

https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/all/products/hlg-550

X 2

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For a 4x8, but he's trying to fill an 8x8.

OP, don't be daunted by the difficulty of DIY. There's a wealth of information here on this forum, and many more resources online. You would have no difficulty in finding plenty of people who would be happy to walk you through the process of building a COB/board/strip light. Personally, I'd recommend strips for cost and ease-of-use reasons. Have a look at the following:

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

Humple said:

For a 4x8, but he's trying to fill an 8x8.

OP, don't be daunted by the difficulty of DIY. There's a wealth of information here on this forum, and many more resources online. You would have no difficulty in finding plenty of people who wpuwo be happy to walk you through the process of building a COB/board/strip light. Personally, I'd recommend strips for cost and ease-of-use reasons. Have a look at the following:

ledgardener

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Thanks man, this site really explains it well but then again as far as i can see even if i DIY it it will still cost 2200$+ to cover 8'x8' and i can get the mars hydro ready made for that price? is it worth it going the DIY route? How much better will it be, considering the chances that ill fuck up the entire thing makes me think going the safe route is better lol. Are the strips that much better than mars?

soulpowerbg said:

Thanks man, this site really explains it well but then again as far as i can see even if i DIY it it will still cost 2200$+ to cover 8'x8' and i can get the mars hydro ready made for that price? is it worth it going the DIY route? How much better will it be, considering the chances that ill fuck up the entire thing makes me think going the safe route is better lol. Are the strips that much better than mars?

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The strips are so much better than a Mars light that they really don't even belong in the same conversation, except to point out how shitty and overpriced Mars lights really are. It will be worth every penny and every second spent building it - many times over. Do yourself a favor and forget Mars as an option.

soulpowerbg said:

Are the strips that much better than mars?

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Yes!
Just look around RIU. You wont find many people growing with mars or vipar or any blurple panel light, the ones you do find usually don't stick around long enough to show how poorly they did in flower.

When you take away the exaggerated claims on the coverage cheap LED isn't really that cheap at all.

soulpowerbg said:

Thanks man, this site really explains it well but then again as far as i can see even if i DIY it it will still cost 2200$+ to cover 8'x8' and i can get the mars hydro ready made for that price? is it worth it going the DIY route? How much better will it be, considering the chances that ill fuck up the entire thing makes me think going the safe route is better lol. Are the strips that much better than mars?

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Another option - if you're hesitant to build your own - would be one of the pre-built fixtures from www.diyleduk.co.uk. He has a 500w strip light kit for 400£, and offers the option of pre-assembled for an added fee. Four of those would rock your space and stay within your budget, with money to spare. For more info, check with @diyled, the owner of that site and a member here.

Humple said:

Another option - if you're hesitant to build your own - would be one of the pre-built fixtures from . He has a 500w strip light kit for 400£, and offers the option of pre-assembled for an added fee. Four of those would rock your space and stay within your budget, with money to spare. For more info, check with @diyled, the owner of that site and a member here.

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Ill get in touch with him i guess that will be the very best option, i have NEVER mingled with anything electronic in my life, and i can see that its not rocket science im still pretty hesitant about it, fire hazards and electricution are no joke lol. Thanks alot Humple!!

So if it were me I would go for either
2x260w hlq Quantum board kits per 4x4.
Or the HLG600h kit.
Or a strip build of some sort.

Any of which is really easy to sort out and would light up your space great.
Also don't forget you don't have to fill your entire 8x8 straight away, you could fill on half of it and come harvest time if your impressed (you will be) fill the other half.

I also second the DIYLEDUK option. He's got some good stuff.

coreywebster said:

So if it were me I would go for either
2x260w hlq Quantum board kits per 4x4.
Or the HLG600h kit.
Or a strip build of some sort.

Any of which is really easy to sort out and would light up your space great.
Also don't forget you don't have to fill your entire 8x8 straight away, you could fill on half of it and come harvest time if your impressed (you will be) fill the other half.

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Either of those QB setups would do the job for sure, but I think that exceeds his budget by a fair amount.

Humple said:

Either of those QB setups would do the job for sure, but I think that exceeds his budget by a fair amount.

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This is true! I get carried away when people compare mars lights to QBs or Cobs n such ...

Humple said:

Either of those QB setups would do the job for sure, but I think that exceeds his budget by a fair amount.

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Remember the good old days before the QB kits went up in price, at $285 a piece 8 of those 260w kits would of fit in budget.
Mind you me been in the UK ment I had to pay my taxes.

@soulpowerbg don't forget from outside EU you have to factor in around 20% for tax. Makes a big difference. If you can get 500w of strip build for 400 English from diyleduk that's where id put my money!

ANC said:

10 x double row 4 foot samsung strips, about $500 ( same diodes as the HLGs, but this configuration will have 20% more diodes).
or 20 single row strips, about 550 if prices haven't changed too much.
Order through Digikey, shipping will be free but there will be tax to pay when the parcel lands.
get 3 x 320W Drivers, they are about $80, so $240 for 3
Then you need to spend some money on frames.
It is also really easy to make a water-cooled system out of 1" square tubing and run it through a geyser for free hot water while you are at it.
Spend the balance on a good tent, filter, fan, and dehumidifier.

Click to expand...

i have 16 single row f-series samsung strips (3000K and 3500K) with HLG-480H-48A driver and with my frame, wiring, tape and glue, i am into it for aournd 1K and that only covers a 4x4 area.

i would say the OP would have to spend over $4K to cover an 8x8 area.

We do a special offer for 600 hps replacement designed for a 4x4 its 500w at the wall. £420 each. Eu shipping we will cover if you took 4 units.

We build them a little smaller than this now. 70cm x 118cm total size (it comes in 2 parts 70cm x 59cm) but it covers a 4x4 very well.

2 week lead time as ive got a lot on this week.

Just noticed my advertisers badge has finally gone so ill not be around here now as a vendor, you can contact us on the site.

diyled said:

We do a special offer for 600 hps replacement designed for a 4x4 its 500w at the wall. £420 each. Eu shipping we will cover if you took 4 units.

We build them a little smaller than this now. 70cm x 118cm total size (it comes in 2 parts 70cm x 59cm) but it covers a 4x4 very well.

2 week lead time as ive got a lot on this week.

View attachment 4135822

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Or you could buy the parts and do it yourself for around 400$

Sour Wreck said:

i have 16 single row f-series samsung strips (3000K and 3500K) with HLG-480H-48A driver and with my frame, wiring, tape and glue, i am into it for aournd 1K and that only covers a 4x4 area.

i would say the OP would have to spend over $4K to cover an 8x8 area.

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It can definitely be done for much less. Five double-row 4 foot strips - or even four run at higher current per - and the HLG-480H-48A would handle a 4x4 quite well.

Humple said:

It can definitely be done for much less. Five double-row 4 foot strips - or even four run at higher current per - and the HLG-480H-48A would handle a 4x4 quite well.

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Ledgardener shows 4 of the 4ft for a 4x4 space, I would probably throw 1 or 2 more in there. 4 4ft and supplies shipped is around 500$ with everything and heatsinks(not uchannel). If I was to diy it I bet I could get it down to about 400.
The only thing I'd have to buy would really be the strips and the driver. There is a place locally that sells aluminum u channel 2$ a foot. So I'm sure you could do the same.