IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

[FranJan]

Any thought on a 180W Apollo Horticulture LED UFO. Here's a link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FGFW0XO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Apollos are very hit or miss quality wise. If you're the type of person who really takes care of their stuff then it should last for a little while but it won't cover it's advertised coverage area for flowering IMHO. Most likely you'll end up adding light to it, probably CREE bulbs. So at this point let me ask you have you seen captainmorgan's CREE bulb thread? For the price of an Apollo UFO you could buy some CREE bulbs and splitters and get a more effective rig for growing cannabis.
If you do decide on the Apollo make sure your warranty and return policy are cleary stated by the merchant since problems with Apollos are not uncommon. Good Luck.

 

[PSUAGRO.]

Apollos are very hit or miss quality wise. If you're the type of person who really takes care of their stuff then it should last for a little while but it won't cover it's advertised coverage area for flowering IMHO. Most likely you'll end up adding light to it, probably CREE bulbs. So at this point let me ask you have you seen captainmorgan's CREE bulb thread? For the price of an Apollo UFO you could buy some CREE bulbs and splitters and get a more effective rig for growing cannabis.
If you do decide on the Apollo make sure your warranty and return policy are cleary stated by the merchant since problems with Apollos are not uncommon. Good Luck.

I must say, that you've been so helpful lately.............................................new meds?

OR gathering public support for a certain comp??? hmmmmmm lol............, just jk froggy

keep it up green friend

 

[FranJan]

I must say, that you've been so helpful lately.............................................new meds?

OR gathering public support for a certain comp??? hmmmmmm lol............, just jk froggy

keep it up green friend

LOL Guilty!

No, I just want to help out and I'm more suited for this basic stuff. It's one of my jobs in the real world to explain tech to people. And I've been "Lost in Shenzhen" and I don't want to see folks waste there time and money there. Sadly it's tough to get the wallet first folks to listen.

Basically I'm like the guy on the team who scrambles for the loose balls, as opposed to a certain un-named member who'd rather suck on them . Plus helping out forces me to stay abreast of current tech trends and that's always good for the portfolio . And sadly I've got no one to talk to about LED and growing (sniff, sniff ), so all this helps me keep my mouth shut in the real world .

 

[subb]

Hate to be a bug but did anyone happen to get a chance to read that big wall of text I wrote? Haha sorry for so much text, just trying to give as much detail as I can. I'd like to start getting the rest of my lights ready but am at a bit of a loss! Thanks guys

 

[FranJan]

Actually Subb I was going to let someone else answer it, LOL, but let's see.....

"Right now I have an Area 51 RW-75 in the flower chamber. I had planned on getting 4x Cree floodlights, the 3000k 18w ones and sticking them in the corners. However, I am unsure of what angle to get, I believe you can get 27 or 47 degrees. Any suggestions on that front? What about mixing in a 2700k bulb as well? I am willing to get better supplemental lighting if necessary."
If you're sticking the bulbs in the corner use the 27° beam, otherwise get the 47°. The 27° on a slight angle will help you light your plants and not your walls. The CREE bulbs make excellent side/secondary lighting.

"For veg I had planned on sticking with CFLs, but my new LED mania has me wanting to replace all lights with LED. So I am pretty unsure of what to do for that tiny space."
Go Cree bulbs and maybe get a dimmer for those hot days.

"My original plan was to go perpetual SoG, but I am leaning toward perpetual Scrog now, although I'm not sure. Scrog plan is to simply to keep a bonsai mother in there, take a clone about once every 30 days, veg it under a scrog screen and slap it in the flower chamber (veg chamber would be partitioned off so the bonsai doesn't get all the veg light). There would basically be 3 scrog screens, each one 1 foot wide, so 2 scrog screens/plants are in the flower chamber at all times, 30 days apart, and one vegging in the bottom chamber."
I've done mini SoGs and they're are fun until you hit a rough patch and the 7 grams from each plant turns into 3. I vote for SCRoG. Great results from SCRoGs and LEDs and a A51 is a good light to SCRoG with, not so much SoG. You want a ton of light with a SoG.

"I'm at a loss of what to do for veg. My immediate thought was to partition the veg chamber and give the mother a low wattage LED, enough to stay healthy and produce a clone a month. The other side I would add as much light as I could fit for the upcoming Scrog. I wanted to use the new Cree bulbs at home depot, but I'm really not sure which ones to use, or how many watts to keep that bonsai healthy but not growing too fast, and an appropriate bulb(s) for the veg chamber."
I use 4 CREE bulbs for keeping Moms and cloning, along with 2 x 12,000K LEDs to keep growth slow and compact. Nothing wrong with trimming Moms to keep them short if your growth becomes faster than you like. And I believe captainmorgan says 25 watts of CREE bulbs is needed for flowering so a little less for veg.

An ounce a month is doable with that rig. The CREE spotlights are good for corners, the bulbs a bit better for the center. Stay away from the high CRI bulb because it's output is a bit muted compared to the lower CRI bulbs. I used to use CFLs and when I started vegging with CREE bulbs I used them just like my CFLs and got good results that way. There is a thread around here somewhere that I did on vegging with CREE bulbs but captainmorgan's thread about flowering with CREE bulbs is a better thread for CREE bulb knowledge.

And I would think about increasing the Veg area, height wise. If you SCRoG you won't need that much height in the flower area. And I do like your cabinet btw .

OK?? How's that? And I didn't even smoke yet!

 

[Scotch089]

My man Fran is on it! The 75 should do you just fine but more light is always better. Only thing I see with your cab (which I love btw, very clean) is id swap the flower and veg chambers if possible- flowering plants tend to be bigger=heavier unless you are bracing it someway/not worried

 

[epicfail]

"Lost in Shenzhen"

The first time I saw you write that it made me laugh... its still funny

 

[subb]

Actually Subb I was going to let someone else answer it, LOL, but let's see.....

"Right now I have an Area 51 RW-75 in the flower chamber. I had planned on getting 4x Cree floodlights, the 3000k 18w ones and sticking them in the corners. However, I am unsure of what angle to get, I believe you can get 27 or 47 degrees. Any suggestions on that front? What about mixing in a 2700k bulb as well? I am willing to get better supplemental lighting if necessary."
If you're sticking the bulbs in the corner use the 27° beam, otherwise get the 47°. The 27° on a slight angle will help you light your plants and not your walls. The CREE bulbs make excellent side/secondary lighting.

"For veg I had planned on sticking with CFLs, but my new LED mania has me wanting to replace all lights with LED. So I am pretty unsure of what to do for that tiny space."
Go Cree bulbs and maybe get a dimmer for those hot days.

"My original plan was to go perpetual SoG, but I am leaning toward perpetual Scrog now, although I'm not sure. Scrog plan is to simply to keep a bonsai mother in there, take a clone about once every 30 days, veg it under a scrog screen and slap it in the flower chamber (veg chamber would be partitioned off so the bonsai doesn't get all the veg light). There would basically be 3 scrog screens, each one 1 foot wide, so 2 scrog screens/plants are in the flower chamber at all times, 30 days apart, and one vegging in the bottom chamber."
I've done mini SoGs and they're are fun until you hit a rough patch and the 7 grams from each plant turns into 3. I vote for SCRoG. Great results from SCRoGs and LEDs and a A51 is a good light to SCRoG with, not so much SoG. You want a ton of light with a SoG.

"I'm at a loss of what to do for veg. My immediate thought was to partition the veg chamber and give the mother a low wattage LED, enough to stay healthy and produce a clone a month. The other side I would add as much light as I could fit for the upcoming Scrog. I wanted to use the new Cree bulbs at home depot, but I'm really not sure which ones to use, or how many watts to keep that bonsai healthy but not growing too fast, and an appropriate bulb(s) for the veg chamber."
I use 4 CREE bulbs for keeping Moms and cloning, along with 2 x 12,000K LEDs to keep growth slow and compact. Nothing wrong with trimming Moms to keep them short if your growth becomes faster than you like. And I believe captainmorgan says 25 watts of CREE bulbs is needed for flowering so a little less for veg.

An ounce a month is doable with that rig. The CREE spotlights are good for corners, the bulbs a bit better for the center. Stay away from the high CRI bulb because it's output is a bit muted compared to the lower CRI bulbs. I used to use CFLs and when I started vegging with CREE bulbs I used them just like my CFLs and got good results that way. There is a thread around here somewhere that I did on vegging with CREE bulbs but captainmorgan's thread about flowering with CREE bulbs is a better thread for CREE bulb knowledge.

And I would think about increasing the Veg area, height wise. If you SCRoG you won't need that much height in the flower area. And I do like your cabinet btw .

OK?? How's that? And I didn't even smoke yet!

Holy crap thanks so much. So basically, go with my gut and just get the Cree floods for flower and round bulbs for veg. Do you guys always take your panels/glass/whatever off the bulbs? Even the floodlights?

And yeah, I am a bit concerned about my veg height. I DO have the option of increasing the height while decreasing the flower height, but I don't want to do that. I could always make that small area for clones and build a smaller box for my mother/veg. Hmm I will have to think about this. I may just give the current setup a shot and see how it goes.

So maybe then I won't even partition the bottom chamber, and just light that baby up with cree bulbs. I can trim roots and prune by mother, whatever no biggie. But as far as height is concerned, as long as the plants can get close to the light and the lights don't take up TOO MUCH height, I think I could get a vegged plant in there under a screen, it'll be REALLY close, though.. I may have to fiddle around with this.

So alright then, I am set on my flowering Cree bulbs, I will go for 27 degrees (that makes much more sense.. I obviously don't want too large of a radius where it will be hitting more of the wall) one in each corner. For veg I am thinking maybe 4-6 of those 60w equivalent 9.5w Cree A19 bulbs? I already have some nice CFL rigs I can probably use to just pop those bulbs in instead. I will try to keep them horizontal and put reflectors over each bulb. - how does that sound? Should I shoot for more light or do you think that is enough?

I wasn't sure what you mean by 25w of Cree bulbs for flowering - is that per plant? so maybe I should shoot for about 19w per plant for veg, which would be about 4 of those 9.5w Cree bulbs. Or even just one bulb over the mother and 3-4 bulbs over the vegger, no partition.

I think that sounds like a plan, if you agree I will go out and get me some Cree bulbs this week!

Thank you SO much FranJan! I really appreciate your response! Have a lovely day!

 

[subb]

My man Fran is on it! The 75 should do you just fine but more light is always better. Only thing I see with your cab (which I love btw, very clean) is id swap the flower and veg chambers if possible- flowering plants tend to be bigger=heavier unless you are bracing it someway/not worried

Oh, phew, for a minute I thought you meant put the flowering chamber in the 2foot space! The partition in there that separates flower and veg is actually a shelf that is built into the box (it's a Sterilite cabinet from Walmart with adjusting shelves) - it holds a lot of weight, but good idea, I actually may prop some small diameter PVC pipes in each of the corners in the veg chamber just to give it some extra stability, but I'm not too worried on that front.. I could sit on that shelf I think without breaking it (although I AM going to be cutting some passive intakes in there, they won't be big)

Thanks!!

 

[subb]

You guys are the best

 

[epicfail]

Holy crap thanks so much. So basically, go with my gut and just get the Cree floods for flower and round bulbs for veg. Do you guys always take your panels/glass/whatever off the bulbs? Even the floodlights?

https://www.rollitup.org/t/cree-60w-5000k-for-clones.835225/page-2#post-10646575


If your going to remove the covers stay away from the flood/spot version. As you can see from the link I posted the bulbs are better, if you remove the cover it looses the spot/flood aspect. I thought the leds would be facing forward but they are not.

 

[subb]

https://www.rollitup.org/t/cree-60w-5000k-for-clones.835225/page-2#post-10646575


If your going to remove the covers stay away from the flood/spot version. As you can see from the link I posted the bulbs are better, if you remove the cover it looses the spot/flood aspect. I thought the leds would be facing forward but they are not.

Ohhh snap, thanks for the heads up! Floodlight covers stay on, bulb covers come off with reflectors, unless you guys think taking the round bulbs off is a bad idea as well? I see that's what most people are doing, though. Would a cut soda can be too ghetto of a reflector? I feel like it would be the perfect size if cut in half down the middle

 

[FranJan]

Holy crap thanks so much. So basically, go with my gut and just get the Cree floods for flower and round bulbs for veg. Do you guys always take your panels/glass/whatever off the bulbs? Even the floodlights?

And yeah, I am a bit concerned about my veg height. I DO have the option of increasing the height while decreasing the flower height, but I don't want to do that. I could always make that small area for clones and build a smaller box for my mother/veg. Hmm I will have to think about this. I may just give the current setup a shot and see how it goes.

So maybe then I won't even partition the bottom chamber, and just light that baby up with cree bulbs. I can trim roots and prune by mother, whatever no biggie. But as far as height is concerned, as long as the plants can get close to the light and the lights don't take up TOO MUCH height, I think I could get a vegged plant in there under a screen, it'll be REALLY close, though.. I may have to fiddle around with this.

So alright then, I am set on my flowering Cree bulbs, I will go for 27 degrees (that makes much more sense.. I obviously don't want too large of a radius where it will be hitting more of the wall) one in each corner. For veg I am thinking maybe 4-6 of those 60w equivalent 9.5w Cree A19 bulbs? I already have some nice CFL rigs I can probably use to just pop those bulbs in instead. I will try to keep them horizontal and put reflectors over each bulb. - how does that sound? Should I shoot for more light or do you think that is enough?

I wasn't sure what you mean by 25w of Cree bulbs for flowering - is that per plant? so maybe I should shoot for about 19w per plant for veg, which would be about 4 of those 9.5w Cree bulbs. Or even just one bulb over the mother and 3-4 bulbs over the vegger, no partition.

I think that sounds like a plan, if you agree I will go out and get me some Cree bulbs this week!

Thank you SO much FranJan! I really appreciate your response! Have a lovely day!

No problemo subb and I should of said it's 25 watts per square foot of your total floor space, aka footprint, and that's true watts not equivalent I believe. But you know what? Check out this thread and ask the master yoself .
http://rollitup.org/t/flowering-with-cree-bulbs.656542/

 

[FranJan]

Ohhh snap, thanks for the heads up! Floodlight covers stay on, bulb covers come off with reflectors, unless you guys think taking the round bulbs off is a bad idea as well? I see that's what most people are doing, though. Would a cut soda can be too ghetto of a reflector? I feel like it would be the perfect size if cut in half down the middle

I use PVC tubes cut in half lengthwise and lined with foil tape. I've used the reflective tops from togo trays, they're cheap and work well. You're growing with CREE bulbs which is pretty ghetto to begin with so don't worry about being too ghetto LOL .

 

[subb]

I use PVC tubes cut in half lengthwise and lined with foil tape. I've used the reflective tops from togo trays, they're cheap and work well. You're growing with CREE bulbs which is pretty ghetto to begin with so don't worry about being too ghetto LOL .

Hah, I suppose that's a bit ghetto - I do have a legit panel for flowering, though!
I think eventually I will get a panel for veg also. I think veg is a bit easier, though, so I'm glad I got a pretty good panel for my flower chamber at least.

Hopefully this new setup will outperform my 150w HPS + 2x 125w CFLs, or at least come close. I think I can get it to yield more, I've got LED faith

And yup I totally asked the same question in that thread haha. No bites yet But 25w per sq foot I have heard before, so that is a good starting point.
Thanks!

 

[x7vigger]

Apollos are very hit or miss quality wise. If you're the type of person who really takes care of their stuff then it should last for a little while but it won't cover it's advertised coverage area for flowering IMHO. Most likely you'll end up adding light to it, probably CREE bulbs. So at this point let me ask you have you seen captainmorgan's CREE bulb thread? For the price of an Apollo UFO you could buy some CREE bulbs and splitters and get a more effective rig for growing cannabis.
If you do decide on the Apollo make sure your warranty and return policy are cleary stated by the merchant since problems with Apollos are not uncommon. Good Luck.

I currently have a 250w hps, along with t5's and clf side lighting. I just wanted to have to led for additional lighting and for those extra hot days without overheating my room. How will it compare to the hps light; during veg and flower?

 

[lxrsd]

Greetings Fellow Growers and Non-Growers. I want to replaced my 600 HPS but i'm still skeptical and undecisive on which LED to purchase. Im WAS leaning towards the G8LED 600w ($799.99) from DORMLED.COM but after some research it seem they would not be the best choose due to the fact they are CHINESE made ( Funny because everything now is assemble in china so im like WTF does that matter). According to "SOME" users, they died out sooner then expected also, their actual draw power is much much less than what they say. The second LED i was leaning toward was MARS II ELITE 1200W ($555). Now the problem with the MARS II is similar to the G8LED, CHINESE MADE and similar problatic scenario like the G8LED. Finally, comes the XGS-190 195W (Actual Draw Power) from AT51($445) which i decided it would be my best option. They're AMERICAN manufactured with a LIFETIME WARRANTY with a very positive feedback from the comminuty here. My spending limit is $800 so i can't get two and growing space is 4x3x6.5.. I might get one XGS and add an extra LED lighting on the side, still havent decided. PLEASE PLEASE and PLEASE if you have any experience with any LEDS listed above, PLEASE tell me about it. How did it work out? If you could back in time would you repurchase the same led or another one? Can it replaced a 600w HPS? Money is very limited in my case and won't be able to afford to rebuy new LEDS.

 

[FranJan]

I currently have a 250w hps, along with t5's and clf side lighting. I just wanted to have to led for additional lighting and for those extra hot days without overheating my room. How will it compare to the hps light; during veg and flower?

Quality LED lights don't put out as much heat as other light sources but there still is some heat from it and some from the devices driver. The newer CREE bulbs put out less heat than the older ones like I have but again there is still heat. DIY COBs are good for heat problems since you can run them under spec and still get good growth out of them. It helps to know what size of a grow you have but LEDs do very well vegging, especially with some extra blue in them. You don't need as much electricity to veg with LED, especially when your spectrum has a bit of blue in it. Here LEDs can really cut your wattage and heat. Flowering wise no problem either, just remember cheaper and poorly designed panels put out quite a bit of heat.

I didn't understand the question 100% but I hope that helps. Good Luck!

 

[Jah348]

could anyone guide me between the RW-150 and the XGS-190? I'm a little lost on the use of warm white.

 

[vladimiroslav]

could anyone guide me between the RW-150 and the XGS-190? I'm a little lost on the use of warm white.

From what I understood the XGS is an allround light, as good for flower and veg. The RW is mostly designed for flower, and will give you a slightly better yield than the XGS for less wattage. Yet you still can use the RW just as the XGS in 100w mode when only the whites are used...