Led Users Unite!
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Go go n chill
Well-Known Member
I agree with you it would take four of those to do half of his space
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
Send the crap lights back as fast as possible, mate, and get a few good lights.
All this shitty chines blurples using the theoretically possible watts are only blenders!!!
Most of them only afford a third of the wattage they are claim for and their efficiency is really bad too( at best 25-30%). On top there are no PPF numbers, only high PPFD number from center point measurings at best, which are useless of course.
Do yourself a favor and get some quantum boards{60% effiency). These cheap am4zon blurples do not last a year before you see the first burned out diodes and they still use 7 years old technology!
Read a few threads here in the LED section and see what lights other peeps use here. White light and top bin quality chips is a must have otherwise you can further use HPS and get better results!!
Moflow
Well-Known Member
Wats up @Randomblame? , do you have a parts list to build the T5 UV tube fixture from scratch?
I think I seen you'd posted before, clips, reflector, ballast etc..... I could be wrong.
DIY would be the cheaper option?
Thanks mate.
I think I seen you'd posted before, clips, reflector, ballast etc..... I could be wrong.
DIY would be the cheaper option?
Thanks mate.
Go go n chill
Well-Known Member
Hey man have you grown w/ the vipar900 yet? Or are these what you plan to use? I have a 600..... lord don’t go by what Vipar says.... their claims on sqft coverage is way way way over rated. IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. My 600 has a 2x2 footprint, after that things get shady. I’m not hating on ya, I still use it but my COBS I like better. I have 2 rooms going now. One Vipar600 and one CXM22 room
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's a lot cheaper as a ready to use fixture.
You need 2 sockets per tube, they are called G5(where I life) and are siutable for all T5HO tubes.
These are waterproof.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-Waterproof-T5-bulb-lamp-socket-base-holder-lighting-For-Aquarium-Fish-Tank/352122784648?epid=1146088855&hash=item51fc274b88
But you can find also standard sockets like shown below. Walmart should have them or you get it where you get the digital ballast.
And here two siutable ballasts for a 24w T5 tubes. Some are siutable for a wider range like the first one( 15w, 18w, 22w and 24w)
other not like this one(24w only)
Am4zon should have them, every hardware store but I don't know the correct terms in english. But with the help of these pics you should be able to find a siutable. Or just ask one in the lighting department at Walmart.
That's all you need, besides a reflector of course. Aluminum is the best material for UV light because plastics and most glases swallow UV. I don't know if HTG's PureUV bulbs has an built-in reflector, but if yes, one could use the waterproof connectors and let the tube just hang above the plants without any kind of additional fixture. They weigh almost nothing. Ballasts get's also slightly warm and you could run the tube remotely with the driver mounted outside the tent or so.
Osram, Phillips, Tridonic are only a few brands and should be available worldwide.
Moflow
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I was looking at 1x 39 watt Arcadia tube down the centre so one of these
Osram QTI 1x14/24/21/39 or one of these
Tridonic T5 Pro High Frequency Ballast 1 x 39w
I suppose the wiring is easy enough..... lol.
The only fluorescent tubes I've used were the old ones with plug in starter...
I remember dragging a brush in an effort to get them going back in the day lol
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
Yeah, T5 is a lot easier than the old T8/T12 standard.
This ballast should work and wiring is a breeze.
But, mate, why use the shitty Arcadias when you can get HTG's PureUV tubes? They cost less than the Arcadias and lasts much longer.
Yeah, they are a lot more powerful and yes, they can harm the plants in the wrong hands, but that's actually a good thing!! It means, they can hung much higher and cover almost triple as much area and produce still usefull amounts of UVB.
You get 440μW/cm² at 1' height and 170μW/cm² at 2' from 2 and 4' PureUV bulbs,
my Arcadia(12%) delivers only 150-180μW at 1'!
For my next run I would like to try it with a little more, 250-300μW, and a PureUV could hung ~18" above the canopy to deliver that intensity. That means one PureUV tube covers at least 24x 36" canopy surface. The Arcadia must hung 8" above the canopy to get the same 250-300μW readings. No need to mention that you would need 2 or 3 bulbs to cover the same surface area.
Also a 1000h old PureUV still put's out more UVB like a new reptile tube. One could use them for another 1000h in his veg area or simple reduce the distance to increase UVB and still get the desired intensity numbers.
If I could get them here where I life, I would already own them!
With luck, @Aolelon will send me six 24w tubes this week. Keep your fingers crossed that shipping will not be so damn expensive ...
This ballast should work and wiring is a breeze.
But, mate, why use the shitty Arcadias when you can get HTG's PureUV tubes? They cost less than the Arcadias and lasts much longer.
Yeah, they are a lot more powerful and yes, they can harm the plants in the wrong hands, but that's actually a good thing!! It means, they can hung much higher and cover almost triple as much area and produce still usefull amounts of UVB.
You get 440μW/cm² at 1' height and 170μW/cm² at 2' from 2 and 4' PureUV bulbs,
my Arcadia(12%) delivers only 150-180μW at 1'!
For my next run I would like to try it with a little more, 250-300μW, and a PureUV could hung ~18" above the canopy to deliver that intensity. That means one PureUV tube covers at least 24x 36" canopy surface. The Arcadia must hung 8" above the canopy to get the same 250-300μW readings. No need to mention that you would need 2 or 3 bulbs to cover the same surface area.
Also a 1000h old PureUV still put's out more UVB like a new reptile tube. One could use them for another 1000h in his veg area or simple reduce the distance to increase UVB and still get the desired intensity numbers.
If I could get them here where I life, I would already own them!
With luck, @Aolelon will send me six 24w tubes this week. Keep your fingers crossed that shipping will not be so damn expensive ...
Who makes the 1000h pure uv bulb you are talking about?
If you already have the hps stuff, you can give it a shot. Stephen from hlg said that if you mix them you should do like every other one. Go hps, led, hps, led, ECT. Or you could supplement hps with led from the edges, or side lighting, and vice versa.
If you are doing a brand new grow, you can add uv bulbs and mix different cri lights. From what I understand is the different cri lights (e.g. 70, 80, or 90 cri,) the light doesn't really mix like that of the same cri. At least this is the info I've gathered from my research
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
whoajoey
Member
I already have the 2- 900 watt leds i am on my 2nd round. just finished 2 weeks ago
and the outcome from 18 plants in 3 gal. containers was 10 oz and not the outcome i wanted. that's why i am looking for help
i used a 1000wt hps 15 years ago before internet but i had kids so i stopped
growing and then tried the leds by their self . thinking of adding 1000 hps? All input is appreciated
and the outcome from 18 plants in 3 gal. containers was 10 oz and not the outcome i wanted. that's why i am looking for help
i used a 1000wt hps 15 years ago before internet but i had kids so i stopped
growing and then tried the leds by their self . thinking of adding 1000 hps? All input is appreciated
Aolelon
Well-Known Member
Hes talking about the agromax pure uv sold by HTG. 1000hour old pure uv bulb puts out UV like a new reptile bulb he is saying.
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
HTG makes the Agromax PureUV bulbs.
https://www.htgsupply.com/products/agromax-pure-uv-t5-bulb-4-foot
BTW,
You can mix what ever light your want. Photons are photons and there is no way to mix two photones to another one.
CRI doesn't matters, it's only a measuring how well the human eye recognizise different colors.
Plants benefit somewhat from the higher proportion of red that higher CRI levels offer. But this is just a coincidence and is because the red photons most efficiently drive photosynthesis.
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
Yepp, that's a fact. There are some videos on youtube about these UVB tubes.
Interesting stuff.
min0r
Well-Known Member
alright, i know nothing about LED's, only what the watt's/true watt's mean. i'm running a viparspectra 300w right now for 5 plants, i'm looking to get another LED light between $60-$90, as i'm in flower now. I know with LED lights, no matter what you're getting what you pay for. if anyone needs more details, let me know.
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
That low yield is because your 900w LED lights are actually only 200w at the wall or so.
I think it's a Mars, Viparspectra or something like that and you get it from am4zon?!?
Correct?!?
Unfortunately, like thousands of others, you have fallen for the unscrupulous tricks of the "Chinese LED Mafia". These scammers have been earning for years on the credulity of inexperienced LED beginners.
Unfortunately you were looking too late for help, otherwise you could have sent them back.
Try to add a few Quantumboard288's, the new v2 is one of the most efficient growlight to date. One board is 75$ and run at 150 true watts. For a 4x 4' area 4 boards are perfect. Two boards and the two 900w(?) lights should also work.
Can I ask which brand it is and how much it takes from the wall?
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