Introducing CobKits.com - specializing in DIY and Citizen COBs

BuddyColas

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the info on PPFD/PAR/DLI etc. Anyone know a good brand of light meter that may help me out when dimming COBs, etc? Should I be looking for a good PAR meter? LUX meter?
Obviously something affordable would be nice, but I'm unsure of what "type" of light meter I should be looking for so I can dial things in a bit better (especially when dimming COBs, etc).

Thank you!

edit: a bit of searching I think I should go with a PAR meter.. which seems to be a lot harder to find/more expensive than a LUX meter - any recommendations?

That Apogee Full Spectrum Quantum Meter looks awfully nice.. don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon without breaking the bank, though... would be awesome to have!
You will notice on the specs for the Apogee MQ-500 that the calibration uncertainty is +/- 5%! My 2 cents worth, unless you are a pro, save your money and get a good LUX meter for $35. Then take the reading and multiply it by .0145. That will get you pretty close for a PAR reading.
Personally, I like about 100umols for clones, 300-400 for veg, and 700-800 for flower...you will get many opinions on this.
 

subb

Well-Known Member
You will notice on the specs for the Apogee MQ-500 that the calibration uncertainty is +/- 5%! My 2 cents worth, unless you are a pro, save your money and get a good LUX meter for $35. Then take the reading and multiply it by .0145. That will get you pretty close for a PAR reading.
Personally, I like about 100umols for clones, 300-400 for veg, and 700-800 for flower...you will get many opinions on this.
Ohhhh, awesome! Thanks for the tip!

I'm sure I'll get a ton of different suggestions haha, but that is a good rough estimate for now - thanks!
 

subb

Well-Known Member
You will notice on the specs for the Apogee MQ-500 that the calibration uncertainty is +/- 5%! My 2 cents worth, unless you are a pro, save your money and get a good LUX meter for $35. Then take the reading and multiply it by .0145. That will get you pretty close for a PAR reading.
Personally, I like about 100umols for clones, 300-400 for veg, and 700-800 for flower...you will get many opinions on this.
I think I might go for this little guy here (link) - thoughts?
 

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
its cheap enough.i have this par meter and i really like it for the money.mine had a bad battery,would not hold charge more than a few hours.but hydrofarm was quick to send me a shipping label and gave me a new unit that has held the first charge for over a month now so im real happy with them and their service.
https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-LGBQM-Quantum-Micromol-Sensor/dp/B0055F59LA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486136739&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=hydrogalaxy+par+meter
 

subb

Well-Known Member
its cheap enough.i have this par meter and i really like it for the money.mine had a bad battery,would not hold charge more than a few hours.but hydrofarm was quick to send me a shipping label and gave me a new unit that has held the first charge for over a month now so im real happy with them and their service.
https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-LGBQM-Quantum-Micromol-Sensor/dp/B0055F59LA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486136739&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=hydrogalaxy+par+meter
Damn that looks nice but I dunno if I have the cash for that... not sure if buying a cheap LUX meter like the one I linked will be "accurate enough" for my needs or if I should save for something better.
It says:
  • 4-Range: 0/200/2,000/20,000/200,000 Lux
  • High Accuracy and rapid response, Auto Zeroing
Not really sure exactly what that means (0/200/2,000/20,000/200,000 Lux), if it'll work well enough for my needs.

I just have a really small grow box, well built but nothing major.. I just want to make sure all my lights are in a good range, as well as getting the proper levels for veg and flower.
 

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
Damn that looks nice but I dunno if I have the cash for that... not sure if buying a cheap LUX meter like the one I linked will be "accurate enough" for my needs or if I should save for something better.
It says:
  • 4-Range: 0/200/2,000/20,000/200,000 Lux
  • High Accuracy and rapid response, Auto Zeroing
Not really sure exactly what that means (0/200/2,000/20,000/200,000 Lux), if it'll work well enough for my needs.

I just have a really small grow box, well built but nothing major.. I just want to make sure all my lights are in a good range, as well as getting the proper levels for veg and flower.
its a good meter you chose,just that you will need to do conversions to par or just be happy with lux readings.theres is a coversion chart here somewhere on lux to par or ppfd.the meter i linked just does that for us.
 

subb

Well-Known Member
its a good meter you chose,just that you will need to do conversions to par or just be happy with lux readings.theres is a coversion chart here somewhere on lux to par or ppfd.the meter i linked just does that for us.
Awesome, sounds good - at least it'll be a rough estimate at the very least. Good enough for me!
Thanks!
 

subb

Well-Known Member
Actually I read a bunch of reviews saying if you are measuring LED grow lights this is not the meter you want.. I'll be on the hunt for something that would suit LED better.

Not really sure why exactly but I saw that a few times in the reviews and questions of that meter on Amazon,
 

BuddyColas

Well-Known Member
Actually I read a bunch of reviews saying if you are measuring LED grow lights this is not the meter you want.. I'll be on the hunt for something that would suit LED better.

Not really sure why exactly but I saw that a few times in the reviews and questions of that meter on Amazon,
Check out the "par multiplier thread". The lux meter you selected will work fine. So after doing the multiplier conversions I use 50k to flower, 25k to veg, and 7k over clones. Then use the walls of your grow box and tweek your build for the most uniform readings across your canopy. Don't need an apogee for that d;)

And if you get a free 5 gallon paint stir stick from Lowes you can tape your sensor on the end and move around the corners and canopy with ease.

*disclaimer...my personal opinion...your results my vary.
 
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subb

Well-Known Member
Check out the "par multiplier thread". The lux meter you selected will work fine. So after doing the multiplier conversions I use 50k to flower, 25k to veg, and 7k over clones. Then use the walls of your grow box and tweek your build for the most uniform readings across your canopy. Don't need an apogee for that d;)

And if you get a free 5 gallon paint stir stick from Lowes you can tape your sensor on the end and move around the corners and canopy with ease.

*disclaimer...my personal opinion...your results my vary.

Ah, perfect! And damn, the paint stirrer trick is great! Good idea :)
I'll check that thread out., thanks for the help!
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
You will notice on the specs for the Apogee MQ-500 that the calibration uncertainty is +/- 5%! My 2 cents worth, unless you are a pro, save your money and get a good LUX meter for $35. Then take the reading and multiply it by .0145. That will get you pretty close for a PAR reading.
Personally, I like about 100umols for clones, 300-400 for veg, and 700-800 for flower...you will get many opinions on this.
if thats true the $450 li-cor sensors seem like a better deal
 

BuddyColas

Well-Known Member
if thats true the $450 li-cor sensors seem like a better deal
You are a pro and credibility means a lot. Depending on the Licor sensor...they +/- 3 to 5%. I would LIKE a Licor...but I'm just a small hobbyist.

I'm just saying if you and I bought a Licor and put them under the same light our readings could be 10% off and still be in spec...just saying.

I like the service you're providing and the full disclosure on your parts and engines :mrgreen:.
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
thanks for the props, i do my best to represent the products using the tools we have to characterize them. there are always variations with photodiodes but in licor's case you can look up the calibration data by serial number and enter the constant in your meter (or adjust via resistors if doing a multimeter hack)
 

mjconfid

Active Member
I just came across some new Citizen 'Horticulture series' COBs on tme.eu (sorry, not allowed to post links, but from the tme home page, you can find browse to them from tme's home page using the menu on the left side of the screen. 'Optoelectronics', then 'Plants growth LED')

Per the datasheet, they are available in 2 spectra :

"Our long-term advanced knowledge on COB LED packaging technology generated high quality and reliable COB LEDs for the horticulture applications.
The high thermal dissipation technology which has been built for the general lighting applications is adopted to this Horticulture COB LED series. As much as 200W from one COB LED gives the high power lighting solution for Horticulture applications. In addition, the spectrum tuning technology provides the optimized spectrum for effective photosynthesis in plants.

There are two types of COBs, Plant RB type and Plant White type, for Horticulture COB LED Series. The Plant RB type pursues the highest photosynthesis effectiveness and The Plant White type prioritizes the human walkability under the lighting. :eyesmoke:
The Horticulture COB LED Series has longer life service than the conventional lighting which has been used for horticulture applications so far."


It's well beyond me to analyse the data sheets to make the comparison, but I'm wondering if they are worth the price premium over the regular citizen cobs?

spectrum.jpg
 
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shadow_moose

Well-Known Member
thats a lotta blue for flower
I think they're aiming more at food production with this spectrum. That isn't a lot of blue for flowering strawberries indoors, for instance. That's not bad for microgreens and the like either. Citizen has previously stated they're not too interested in catering to cannabis growers, which with them being a Japanese company not bound by much US law regarding the matter, is a pretty foolish decision. Regardless, these products are not designed with cannabis growers in the forefront of their minds.
 

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
the prb is probably awesome for veg room,and maybe mixed with the white for flower.we wont know if nobody tried them ;)
i think one you shitizen boyz need to try these lol, @CobKits cant you get shitizen to send you some samples to try ? get 2 prb and 3 whites and set up a 5 cob light.giddyup :)
 

shadow_moose

Well-Known Member
i asked months ago, theyre not very responsive. it appears to be a very political org where US market has gotten cut out of the horti cobs entirely because were all dopers i guess

currently your LM80 request is on the table
There was a statement from citizen regarding the use of their products for cannabis cultivation. They're so upset about it that they don't sell their horti cobs here, but they have to sell their regular cobs in the US, otherwise they would go out of business.
 

Chronikool

Well-Known Member
There was a statement from citizen regarding the use of their products for cannabis cultivation. They're so upset about it that they don't sell their horti cobs here, but they have to sell their regular cobs in the US, otherwise they would go out of business.
Sure is a weird position to have....arent they all about making money..? Ya know...like a normal business..? Why do they care what their end product is used for...

Ya know what...im gonna buy one of their watches ...and 'lighthack' it with a 10ma run cob .....BAM! ;)
 
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