What lights? Please help! Need to get setup for harvest soon!

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Adobear420

Active Member
Mabey i should just get 4 kingbrite 240w leds from alibaba like someone said earlier. besides that i am not sure what to get now lol
 
BluntMoniker

BluntMoniker

Well-Known Member
The real question is, how technical are you?

If your good with your hands and are willing to read and ask questions along the way, id do a strip build. Will be able to get maximum light coverage, great quality lighting for a fraction of the price of a pre-built or even a kit.

If you want foolproof lighting, go with HLG.. can gatuntee you'll get what you pay for. Im running an HLG 240w 648 and couldn't be happier.
 
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Adobear420

Active Member
bprestoner said:
imo, im happier with my off-brand purchase (hy-grow lighting solutions) than i am with my SF-4000 or my Mars TS-3000. Dollar for dollar? These lights use the new 301H quantum boards, they have the same mean-well drivers.... and they cost less. still having a warranty. check these out by going to ebay & putting in item # 224099537146 into the search bar. i think the $219 (w $18 shipping) is the very best deal on quantum boards right now. that’s under $1 per watt. SF will cost around $1.33, and they (as well as my Mars) uses the older Samsung LM301b chip. Hygrow sells several versions, and i think the 250w is the best, as u can get several & space them out, getting better coverage. Your 4x8 will need about 4
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Think i might go with 4 of these
 
bprestoner

bprestoner

Active Member
TevinJonson said:
Yeah look into hlg horticulture lighting group. They have prebuilt or diy kits (really easy) and you will get great results. A good rule of thumb is 1 gram per led watt when you get good its more like 1.5 to 2. Most the kits posted above are not real watts there comparing to the hps or cmh equivalent. If you go yo descriptions or specs they'll say true watts kinda dishonest but larger numbers sell i guess

You’re correct, in that most knock-off LED’s (Amazon) have heavily inflated power ratings. 1000 watts? from an LED that measures 10” x 18”? Exactly like car audio amps used to be. however, my $209 light uses the EXACT same Samsung LM301h LED’s, the EXACT same Mean-Well HLG-240H power supply, and costs a lot less. For those willing to do the research? HLG isnt nearly the most cost effective, or smartest, purchase.
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Adobear420 said:
Think i might go with 4 of these
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everyone’s going to have an opinion. from the several i’ve bought, in the last year or two? that ebay purchase is my best light. as well as being the least expensive one i have (sf & mars). it’s a no-brainer. but that will change. quick. the newest chip, the samsung 301h has only been around for a couple months (someone else might be able to say when)? read, compare, decide. get er goin either which way. that’s what matters. plug SOMETHING in.
 
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Dennydank

Member
Im With mags... those "quantumn style" boards put out serious light .

also i can chime in and say light spread evenness makes alllllll the difference in the world so its smart try to figure this out early...


ive been out a long time. So ive been doing some experiments to get up to date These are my findings.



light meeter , ir thermometer and hours of my time shownew led style i belive called quantum , put out same and some times better measurable light than a 600w hps..... (testing cheap local store led bulbs...)

To be fair my bulbs are all pretty old ...

Also the leds light fall off quickly

if led are ur goal use auto flower seeds make sure its a shorter variety too or scrog ...


in theory the extra hours of led auto flowers allow will make up for lack of hid. (This is a working theory of mine)

that or 2 -3ft tall (when fully flowered ) northernlight clones or any other quick low leaf to bud ratiow in very evenly lit environments will in theory work best


look upthe sp150 and video of its light foot print

if udomt have money for semi quality led just go hid and invest in really good reflectors . Idk if the super sun 2 is still around but that air cooled hood put out the most (and even light of all air cooled hoods a


if u do go hid and temps arent an issue ...
best lighting reflector good old adjusta wing..

look into the light spreader ...inthink they get a bad rep but some pppl swear by them..

No matter what u decide just get as much light as u can and keep that light as even as possible..

seriously idk why that took a decade for me to figure out... so take my adVice.Now .

1kw dimmables running 600w bulbs will be ur most efficient way to light that area.. im a weirdo who likes to flower with mh if temps are an issue .. but if u want to be efficient the 600 hps is best but u can always grow into the thousand watters.

that large of a space just go hid ...1k dimmables...

Or spend the extra for quantumnstyle ... wouldnt waste money on burples...

In my tests they didnt put out shit for lux

i made my own led bar out of 10 12 w led bulbs 5k spectrum and it puts out light similiar to my 600w hps..

And honestly i think keeping the hps cooler might be easier than my diy led bar i also realized after the time spent with wirring and fabrication i could have just bought a nice led like the sp150

i agree led are getting there im a bit of a old school
Guy but it took getting a hold of a light meeter for me to toss my t5's away.
Local stores 15$ Led shoplight special puts out almost double my t5 i was also able to dismantle them completely . Reflector and all minus the driver snd cord to save some space for great lighting om shelves

ill have to post up some pics of what im talking about .
I did so some videos of my testing of t5 t 8 and led while comparing to hid..
cannabis is like corn there is almost no fall off point or peak lighting ceiling... they will take as much as u can givr them baby so give them a ton ...

but keep in mind temp are almost as important

gl ..

that ran away from me sorry for long post.
 
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Dennydank

Member
Oh inalso wanted to add i would break up that space with tents ... u can stagger harvests and as i mentioned a thousand times .. get ur lighting EVEN.... tents are AMAZING at keeping lighting on ur plants ... if your doing anything more than a 3-5' sq area i would tent up to

really does make a huge difference inoverall lights too plants ..

but if ur grow area is massive adjustawings or barebulbs ...
 
steve870

steve870

Well-Known Member
bodhipop said:
I've only heard horror stories when it comes to their lights but I'm sure they could have stepped their game up. I shouldn't generalize but once a homie has a fire from Vivosun equipment, I stay away. Have you had good experience with their lights? I like their accessories and smaller grow items that aren't electrical.
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yes i have had good luck, they are now UL listed and everything so it gives me peace of mind when it comes to the fire hazard
 
steve870

steve870

Well-Known Member
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F80M4

Well-Known Member
Adobear420 said:
hello can someone tell me what kind of lights i will need because i do not know much and this is my first grow. I currently have 4 little lights but i wanna know what exactly and how many lights i need because i heard these are not that great. Here is information to the lights i have now and my tent size. I will be growing 6 plants in it as big as i can possibly grow them to fill the tent. Any help please. Lights are all pretty much the same size that i own 8×12. The 3 i have say they are 1000watt each i am not sure if that is true. The other one says 4000watt. Please let me know the best lights for the grow tent and for the price.
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None of these. Stick with a known manufacturer. DO NOT BUY chinesium lights. I made the mistake of buying Gavita clones DE HPS. Did one grow plants grew weird. 2nd grow changed the bulb same thing. I switched all my lights to Gavita guess what its a big difference. This goes for LED too. Stick with a known brand. Buddy of mine used Spider farmers got shitty yields and went to Gavita LEDS got a massive yield. He is now looking to upgrade to Chiled or lumateks i think its called photontek or something in NA
 
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