Can someone give me the lowdown on this growlight?

PJ Diaz said:

Why would it be the light? Which light do you have now?

Click to expand...

Because it's weak, or it seems weak. I have the Mars Hydro TSL2000. I don't have it at 100%, but close, it's at 75% and only one of my plants seems to be growing. I've been growing these things since the end of May and I barely have over a foot worth of plant to show for it. At this rate I'll honestly be lucky to get to harvest before the end of this year. It's hilarious hearing about people harvesting POUNDS in two months. I'll be lucky to get a few buds by January if these things don't start growing lol.

bobj1598 said:

Because it's weak, or it seems weak. I have the Mars Hydro TSL2000. I don't have it at 100%, but close, it's at 75% and only one of my plants seems to be growing. I've been growing these things since the end of May and I barely have over a foot worth of plant to show for it. At this rate I'll honestly be lucky to get to harvest before the end of this year. It's hilarious hearing about people harvesting POUNDS in two months. I'll be lucky to get a few buds by January if these things don't start growing lol.

Click to expand...

This is not due to your light.

Lenin1917 said:

the brand of light you choose is probably the least important aspect of your grow

Click to expand...

Now hold on a minute. I agree that there are certainly important factors that may weigh more in the grow when compared with the BRAND of light, but the light itself is one of if not the most important part of your set-up (not including genetics). I would trust a reputable brand over a no name.

I would have serious concerns running some random brand of light. Not just for the product it produces but also the risk of failure or worse, malfunction leading to fire hazard. I've seen people post about getting a good deal on a light via Amazon or Alibaba etc, then post a picture of a fried board with burned up solder!

bobj1598 said:

I don't do used, but thanks for the recommendation

But does the advent of bar LED make this specific model of growlight ineffective or less than I can get if I were to wait for them to unveil a similar model, albeit in bar form? I think this growlight is good, but the fact it isn't bar LED has me skeptical. HLG does have a bar LED light, but it's not made using Samsung diodes

Click to expand...

I can’t really comment on the bar LED and it’s advantages…..but I did click on your link and saw the model you’re contemplating.
For the sheer output you’d be better off buying 2 of the models that I run, which is the 320xl r-spec. Its actually drawing 340w and dims down to 100. Two of those would give you a little more potential output plus you could manipulate the shape to accommodate your specific space and/or different canopy heights.
Your space size and configuration should probably be the main factor with lighting selection.
That model is usually right at $410-$420. 2 of those will set u back $820-$840 versus over $1100 for the 650.
There are growers using a thousand different lights and combos and getting great results.
All I can say is HLG has been great for me and many others.

bobj1598 said:

Because it's weak, or it seems weak. I have the Mars Hydro TSL2000. I don't have it at 100%, but close, it's at 75% and only one of my plants seems to be growing. I've been growing these things since the end of May and I barely have over a foot worth of plant to show for it. At this rate I'll honestly be lucky to get to harvest before the end of this year. It's hilarious hearing about people harvesting POUNDS in two months. I'll be lucky to get a few buds by January if these things don't start growing lol.

Click to expand...

Well sure, compared to the 650R it is weak, but that's mostly because it's half the wattage. What size is your grow space? If you think the light is weak, and it's only at 75%, why not crank it to 100%? Plants grow slower in the early phases while they are getting established, and then blast off. No one is harvesting pounds in two months. It takes a while to veg, and then it's more than two months in flower.

Lenin1917 said:

I’m not a light scientist lol, but most newer leds have a bunch of far red diodes, just look at their spectrographs(and the lights themselves you can see the reds they’re all damn near identical)View attachment 5166438

just pick a light that’s got enough power for your area, it really doesn’t matter which one

Click to expand...

Haha, takes me back to the “when you see it… youll shit brix” days lol. Scared me too a little, even though I was expecting it after reading OP comments.

BlandMeow said:

Now hold on a minute. I agree that there are certainly important factors that may weigh more in the grow when compared with the BRAND of light, but the light itself is one of if not the most important part of your set-up (not including genetics). I would trust a reputable brand over a no name.

I would have serious concerns running some random brand of light. Not just for the product it produces but also the risk of failure or worse, malfunction leading to fire hazard. I've seen people post about getting a good deal on a light via Amazon or Alibaba etc, then post a picture of a fried board with burned up solder!

Click to expand...

Totally agree; I have yet to start my first grow, but I'm already looking hard at Timber and HLG due to their reputation for quality and certifications.

PJ Diaz said:

Well sure, compared to the 650R it is weak, but that's mostly because it's half the wattage. What size is your grow space? If you think the light is weak, and it's only at 75%, why not crank it to 100%? Plants grow slower in the early phases while they are getting established, and then blast off. No one is harvesting pounds in two months. It takes a while to veg, and then it's more than two months in flower.

Click to expand...

someone on a different post said, and I quote "2 pounds + Indoor, every 10 weeks or I'M very disappointed. " so maybe not exactly two months. but I feel like these plants are coming along slow

orangejesus said:

Totally agree; I have yet to start my first grow, but I'm already looking hard at Timber and HLG due to their reputation for quality and certifications.

Click to expand...

Yes, they are both good quality lights, and have great customer service. You could also get something cheap like this, and even if you have to replace it once the 3-year warranty is up (or they don't honor the warranty), you'd still be ahead of the game financially:

bobj1598 said:

someone on a different post said, and I quote "2 pounds + Indoor, every 10 weeks or I'M very disappointed. " so maybe not exactly two months. but I feel like these plants are coming along slow

Click to expand...

That person is growing in a 4x8 tent. Is that the size space you are growing in? Also they have a seperate veg and flower tent, so every 10 weeks they move their plants which have been vegging for a month or two from the veg tent to the flower tent, then flower for 10 weeks.

PJ Diaz said:

That person is growing in a 4x8 tent. Is that the size space you are growing in? Also they have a seperate veg and flower tent, so every 10 weeks they move their plants which have been vegging for a month or two from the veg tent to the flower tent, then flower for 10 weeks.

Click to expand...

nope that's not me lol

bobj1598 said:

but I feel like these plants are coming along slow

Click to expand...

sounds like a cal/mag problem, not a light issue

Asking about grow lights on this forum always gets really personal for some reason. Basically if you take the emotion away - budget lights have come a long way. I’d still rather drive a luxury car over a beater. LEDs can last a long time. I’d suggest just getting ones that will keep you happy for the 5-10 years they claim to last.

HLG is great. I don’t think anyone is foolish enough to question that. Are quantum boards obsolete compared to bar style? No, I don’t think so. I love my hlg quantum boards. The light distribution is really even on my 550R’s. I check it with one of those hydro farm”par” meters. I wouldn’t really benefit from a bar style as far as light distribution goes.

I don’t get why no one ever mentions light hanging distance. With bars you get great even canopy’s but your hanging those lights literally 8-12 inches from the top.With the QB’s you can hang them 24” in flower.

everyones defending their choice but didn’t even address OP about far red. This hlg light is Not far red. It is red spec. Totally different. “Rspec” just means it’s is great for flowering. B spec is their line for veg only. The far red spectrum I believe in only in their scorpion light.

HLG doesn’t put UV in their fixtures. Their fixtures last like 100k hours. UV didodes don’t last nearly as long. So the direction hlg went was the UV bars that attach to their fixtures. Be careful with it, I burnt the shit out my plants the first run.

pahpah-cee said:

This hlg light is Not far red. It is red spec

Click to expand...

it's deep red (660). not far red like you said.

I’ll add this perspective…..we generally look at a grow and think the worst case scenario is ending up with very little to no finished product. Worst case scenario for me was having to explain to my wife why my grow space went up in flames….or God forbid, ended in a fire that killed someone.
I’m no electrician and wanted the best production quality that I could find. I just trusted the build quality of HLG over the more economical route. So far so good.

Bullmark said:

I’ll add this perspective…..we generally look at a grow and think the worst case scenario is ending up with very little to no finished product. Worst case scenario for me was having to explain to my wife why my grow space went up in flames….or God forbid, ended in a fire that killed someone.
I’m no electrician and wanted the best production quality that I could find. I just trusted the build quality of HLG over the more economical route. So far so good.

Click to expand...

UL certification is totally a valid point. Legit operations have to use lights that are certified.

pahpah-cee said:

UL certification is totally a valid point. Legit operations have to use lights that are certified.

Click to expand...

Usually inly see UL recognized power supply parts, never an all around UL certified. Am I just not finding them? Is HLG all around UL? Looking now. My lights are cheap but no reviews of hazardous defects, everyone was happy, higher level growers use my light too for bang for the buck wise. Making me nervous reading this lol.

Update I am reading about it right now, very well tested, wow. I am a sucker for UL products, you’ll probably see me get a HLG light real soon. Need to save a little.

medidedicated said:

Usually inly see UL recognized power supply parts, never an all around UL certified. Am I just not finding them? Is HLG all around UL? Looking now. My lights are cheap but no reviews of hazardous defects, everyone was happy, higher level growers use my light too for bang for the buck wise. Making me nervous reading this lol.

Update I am reading about it right now, very well tested, wow. I am a sucker for UL products, you’ll probably see me get a HLG light real soon. Need to save a little.

Click to expand...

I wouldn’t be too worried about it. Since everyone is essentially copying each other’s designs they aren’t going to be doing anything drastically different resulting in a hazardous failure.

hlg is ul certified only in the prebuilt fixtures. If you buy the kit you won’t get the sticker

Bullmark said:

I’ll add this perspective…..we generally look at a grow and think the worst case scenario is ending up with very little to no finished product. Worst case scenario for me was having to explain to my wife why my grow space went up in flames….or God forbid, ended in a fire that killed someone.
I’m no electrician and wanted the best production quality that I could find. I just trusted the build quality of HLG over the more economical route. So far so good.

Click to expand...

nailed it; if the wife isn't on board, nothing will grow

Is over priced great light. Needs fewer 660 nan IR. Buy in parts and build better for less.