Please!!! advice needed!!!! indescisive stoner here, been deciding for weeks

outliergenetix

Well-Known Member
at end of this intro imma paste part of a comment i posted elsewhere that basically sums up breifly my pros and cons for the lights i am choosing between. the spaces are all 3x4 closets. in the end there will be 3 of these chambers and all3 will host full cycle grows from seed to flower. i am not doiung a veg area other than mothers and clones, but that is off topic and not part of this design. anyway, i will probably end up doing 2 of each light in each closet for a total of 6 lights. reason being is i kinda want to test em all over time and in the end the differences are negligeable grow wise i think. anyway below is my pro and con list i posted before. could anyone with first hand experience add to my summary or give me what they would do given the info i provided. please tho don't just respond to tell me how awesome your mars tsw or spider farmer is. ik they are all awesome and will more than do what i want. my goal tho is 1k+ ppfd per m^2 evenly accross whole canopy in flower without doing a diy strip build. so i am looking for anyone who can specifically speak to ppfd footprints or anything else of merit not general i have x light and it rocks. that said if you got yeild results please share those but if you do please give me dimensions of canaopy number lights etc you are using

previous post: below(sorry if i repeated cpl things)
will be using 2 lights for each 3x4 space. these are all excellent choices and have positives and negatives when comapred to each other.

1. spider fqarmer uses samsung diodes and meanwell driver but its dimensions make it act more as a single bulb light source than taking advantage of mid power diodes ability to spread em accross the space. even using 2 in my 3x4 i am concerned about even ppfd. ik it will work great but i am trying to acheive close to 1k ppfd evenly not 1200 in the middle and 650 on the edges. these are also the most expensive dollar wise and also dollar per watt wise

2. the tsl and tsw series uses chines drivers and new epistar led. i am okay with the diodes tbh, the drivers concern me. this light's longevity and failure rate would be my concern here. also concerning is the lack of coating on led's making it not water resistent at all. that said these are the best bang for the buck if they last because you get 300+ true watts for $249 including shipping and tax. two of these is cheaper than the parts to make a diy strip build of 600+ watts with either bridgelux gen 2 or samsung diodes strips, which to me is a great thing. what i cannot decide here tho is the tsl or tsw. 2 of either covers very similarly. i wish i could use a par meter and test them both in my space to decide.

3. the sp250 is lower power than the tsw and tsl but uses the same meanwell 240 as the spider farmer while sticking to the newest epistars for the diodes, which again i am fine with, but i wish they would release the diode part number so i can comapre data sheetes with bridgelux and samsung but when you look closely using other metrics to figure this out it seems to be on par with the lm301b and gen 2 bridgelux. this light has the best build qualiy and runs cooler than all the others. it is also waterproof basically with a ip65 rating. my actual only hesitation here is the lower wattage compared to the tsw and tsl. the ts series wouild give me more par simply because of more watts. i'd need to keep this sp250 at like 12" to acheive 900+ppfd m^ per light which is fine but i can get like 1500 ppfd m^2 in center if i wanted to try and lower the ts series that low.

**in conclusion my main concern with either spider farmer or the mars sp250 is i feel like i ultimate would need 3 in my space to acheive even spread at a high 1k+ ppfd m^2 mainly because of the 12" height they need to be at reduices the footprint below 2x4, again if you want even like me. clearly 2 is more than enough, but i want uniformity whoch is why i was gonna diy strips. but the prices of these lights above make me not want to bother diy if i can come close for only $500(for 2) already to go. i am leaning sp250 or tsl2000 if im honest tho and am mostly hung up on do i want to spend the same money for less par to get the meanwell driver and ip65 rating and cooler more efficient light. in reality 3 sp250's is ideal but then we are talking $750 not $500 for each 3x4 space. that said i would start with two and buy a third eventually and see if my yeild goes up. if not ill use the third in another closet for veg or buy a 4th and make that 3x4 another flower chamber
 
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TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
I personally grow using the TSL-2000. I use it in my 2x4 which one TSL is perfect for. I also have used it for over a year now every day without any breaks. Just when lights go off. I have had zero problems with it so far. Have you check the TS-3000 for your area?
 

outliergenetix

Well-Known Member
I personally grow using the TSL-2000. I use it in my 2x4 which one TSL is perfect for. I also have used it for over a year now every day without any breaks. Just when lights go off. I have had zero problems with it so far. Have you check the TS-3000 for your area?
i dont want a 3000 i am building up to a modular system with many smaller lights so i can move grow spaces and just change layout and number of lights. i grew in basement for years but i had a water heater break tho and been upstairs in closets for the last year. eventually as i fix the basement it will be a sealed grow area of unknown dimensions atm so i want to have many of the same mid power led lights so i can arrange the cannopy however i want. i am not a fan at all of larger lights. anyway i think i'd rather have a bunch of narrow longer lights than the more square board/panel style. as it just becomes a matter of how many i want toi line up and how far apart this way its slightly more flexible imo

thanks for the reply tho you have a yeild in that 2x4 using that light and what height above canopy do you flower it at if can ask?
 

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
i dont want a 3000 i am building up to a modular system with many smaller lights so i can move grow spaces and just change layout and number of lights. i grew in basement for years but i had a water heater break tho and been upstairs in closets for the last year. eventually as i fix the basement it will be a sealed grow area of unknown dimensions atm so i want to have many of the same mid power led lights so i can arrange the cannopy however i want. i am not a fan at all of larger lights. anyway i think i'd rather have a bunch of narrow longer lights than the more square board/panel style. as it just becomes a matter of how many i want toi line up and how far apart this way its slightly more flexible imo

thanks for the reply tho you have a yeild in that 2x4 using that light and what height above canopy do you flower it at if can ask?
I was just noting the 3000 for you just in case. Anyways, I haven't flowered in my 2x4 yet but I have flowered in my closet where I normally flower 3-4 plants. 3 is usually the most. These are under the TSL-2000 as well. These plants are 48 days in flower now. On average, I pull as low as 4oz up to 6oz depending on the strain. I have almost hit 8 oz on one plant before. I also flip my plants 4-6 weeks in veg. 4 being the usual. Normally I flower 12 inches above the canopy as well.day 48.jpg
 

bk78

Well-Known Member
I was just noting the 3000 for you just in case. Anyways, I haven't flowered in my 2x4 yet but I have flowered in my closet where I normally flower 3-4 plants. 3 is usually the most. These are under the TSL-2000 as well. These plants are 48 days in flower now. On average, I pull as low as 4oz up to 6oz depending on the strain. I have almost hit 8 oz on one plant before. I also flip my plants 4-6 weeks in veg. 4 being the usual. Normally I flower 12 inches above the canopy as well.View attachment 4464931
Should have lots of larf to make bubble hash out of those stretched plants. Was that your goal? My guess is they need better lights.
 

Chip Green

Well-Known Member
the differences are negligeable grow wise i think.
This^^^
A stable environment, and healthy plants, will contribute far more to the end results, than hair splitting choices of efficacy.
You're in real danger of becoming swallowed up into the paralyzing vortex, of data sheet and par map insanity.
I was there man, I was there.

Most of my lighting is built with "obsolete" Gen1 Bridgelux EB series emitters, three years strong, they still deliver the goods.
 

outliergenetix

Well-Known Member
This^^^
A stable environment, and healthy plants, will contribute far more to the end results, than hair splitting choices of efficacy.
You're in real danger of becoming swallowed up into the paralyzing vortex, of data sheet and par map insanity.
I was there man, I was there.

Most of my lighting is built with "obsolete" Gen1 Bridgelux EB series emitters, three years strong, they still deliver the goods.
too late bruh, i went down thast rabbit hole when i was about to build the gen 2 bridgelux i settled on last mointh. it took a week for me to understand how to compare apples to apples given the different testing paradigms on the data sheets for the strips. one runs em at the max 200% for test the other at 100% and lumens, ik not par but, the lumens for same kelvin reflect perfectly the 200 to 100% differnece. bridgelux even has a slope graph showing efficacy and output at the different wattages or amp/v anyway. to me the best bang for buck was the $7.50 per strip gen 2 bridgelux strips. i was gonna order 50 of em and do all 3 closets but then i saw these lights in the thread and since im not super handy plus im a proicrastinating stoner and these mars smd's may be the trick for me.

let me ask you point blank would you get two of the sp250's or just go wioth the cheaper quality tsl2000 for the xtra 140 watts in the 3x4. i'm leaning going for watts, but im considering going with 2 of the sp250 knowing ill ad a third later to get 700+ in there as opposed to the 600-660 the tsl2000 give??
 

outliergenetix

Well-Known Member
forget ppfd, spectrum and all that.

focus on the proper output, 35-45 w/sqft, genetics, and environment.
i agree i was not really sayng anything about spectrum or light recipes. i also did say they all will grow equally well in the end. im just being ocd and want an even canopy and to be able to hiot avg 1kppfd which really is more accurate than wattage as a metric since the conversions are not necesarily even for watts regardfing efficsacy from light to light. even better is to use DLI of 40-50 over 12 hours light
 

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
i agree i was not really sayng anything about spectrum or light recipes. i also did say they all will grow equally well in the end. im just being ocd and want an even canopy and to be able to hiot avg 1kppfd which really is more accurate than wattage as a metric since the conversions are not necesarily even for watts regardfing efficsacy from light to light. even better is to use DLI of 40-50 over 12 hours light
i dont think you'd need 3 SP250 for a 3'x4'. that would be like 60w/sqft.

even two of those in a 3x4 seems like a bit much imo. i run ~500 total watts in my 4x4.

i understand you're looking at par maps and stuff but i think in practice two would be more than enough and you could grow corner to corner of your space.
 

outliergenetix

Well-Known Member
i dont think you'd need 3 SP250 for a 3'x4'. that would be like 60w/sqft.

even two of those in a 3x4 seems like a bit much imo. i run ~500 total watts in my 4x4.

i understand you're looking at par maps and stuff but i think in practice two would be more than enough and you could grow corner to corner of your space.
im shooting for 50 per i agree three is too many but i can dial em down. these closets are temproary for a year or so till my basement is done. i used to grow down there but had a flood from water heater. ultimaltely all 6 i buy will go in a row in my basement and a custom reflective wall built. anyway i think you are right 2 is plent which is why i was gonan start there. if i liked the result i wouldnt ordert hree to screw my grm per watt lol
 
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