5000k LM301b+UV+IR chips on a quantum board for veg nursery?

[jonnynobody]

I originally planned to use my 450W spider farmer board in my 5'x5'x6.5' veg nursery, but I had to reduce power to 50% to prevent light bleaching. It's truly a fantastic light, but it was substantially over powered for a nursery. I have since relocated that board to my flower room and do not have a suitable replacement on hand for the space in my nursery it previously occupied. I presently have a 192W 8 lamp 2' T5 in there hanging over some clones, but it is only really good for rooting new cuts. Having no suitable replacement on hand means I'm shopping again on Alibaba. I ordered 2 of the following 120W boards: https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...78.html?spm=a2700.12243863.0.0.2ce83e5fw8JgHX in a customized 5000k daylight spectrum with UV and IR chips for $187.60 instead of a mixture of 3000k and 5000k with UV and IR. I'm hoping to achieve better vegetative growth using 5000k. I have no plans to ever use the light for anything other than vegetative growth, and I'm sold on LED's long term. I'm tired of changing T5 tubes and lamps going dim, but not burn out constantly. Not to mention the heat they generate. My 4' 8 lamp hydrofarm T5 runs at 432 watts. I only need 220W to achieve the same or better performance with LED boards. I think in 5 years it will be hard to find a T5 anymore. Anyone else use 5000k for veg growth? My T5 uses 6500K lamps, but such a thing doesn't exist in LED chips that I've seen. Am I on the right track here?

Edited: corrected 110W to 120W. Typo.

 

[NukaKola]

3000k - Flower
3500k - Full cycle
4000k - Veg

5000k is going to give you super tight internodes which will slow growth down. I think it would work well for keeping moms from getting out of hand but 3500k-4000k will veg quicker.

 

[jonnynobody]

3000k - Flower
3500k - Full cycle
4000k - Veg

5000k is going to give you super tight internodes which will slow growth down. I think it would work well for keeping moms from getting out of hand but 3500k-4000k will veg quicker.

No shit eh? You kinda just blew my mind here. I've always been under the impression that 5000-6500k is preferred for vegetative growth. I got fantastic veg results with my mixed spectrum 3000k/5000k spider farmer board. I just had to dial down the power. Would you think it best to simply order the standard 3000k/5000k mix of chips? I had no issue with that spectrum. The vendor offered customization and my mind just started wandering.

 

[NukaKola]

No shit eh? You kinda just blew my mind here. I've always been under the impression that 5000-6500k is preferred for vegetative growth. I got fantastic veg results with my mixed spectrum 3000k/5000k spider farmer board. I just had to dial down the power. Would you think it best to simply order the standard 3000k/5000k mix of chips? I had no issue with that spectrum. The vendor offered customization and my mind just started wandering.

That’s the common spectrum for fluorescents since that’s what was available.

Why not just go with all 3500k or 4000k instead of mixing?

 

[Rocket Soul]

5000k flourecent is not the same thing as 5000k led. Similar blanace in RBG but different spectrum. Some plants veg poorly under 5000k, no vertical growth. Not sure how the UV/IR (which is going to be far red in the end, not IR) affects things. Id love to see how you go.

 

[jonnynobody]

That’s the common spectrum for fluorescents since that’s what was available.

Why not just go with all 3500k or 4000k instead of mixing?

That makes sense regarding the fluorescent's. I never even considered doing that with the 3500k or 4000k chips. Now you got my wheels turning again : )

 

[jonnynobody]

5000k flourecent is not the same thing as 5000k led. Similar blanace in RBG but different spectrum. Some plants veg poorly under 5000k, no vertical growth. Not sure how the UV/IR (which is going to be far red in the end, not IR) affects things. Id love to see how you go.

I might fire off a couple emails to some of the LED sales reps to get some industry opinions straight from some of the manufacturer's. Just for fun I'll report back their responses.

 

[jonnynobody]

My invoice won't be ready for payment until tomorrow on 'baba, so I'll wait to hear back from 2 of the vendors I emailed. I'm fairly certain I want to try straight 5000k just for fun. Unless both vendors trash my suggestion of 5000k for veg that is

 

[NukaKola]

My invoice won't be ready for payment until tomorrow on 'baba, so I'll wait to hear back from 2 of the vendors I emailed. I'm fairly certain I want to try straight 5000k just for fun. Unless both vendors trash my suggestion of 5000k for veg that is

I think for mother plants it would be good just to keep them manageable if you don’t need clones very frequently but for vegging plants before flower I think it would take way too long. I have strains that barely grow vertically under 3500k so I cant imagine under 5000k. Don’t want to spend 2-3 months vegging a 12-18” plant lol.

 

[GBAUTO]

I use one of my old V1 QB288's in 4000k in my mother/clone tent and the plants love it.
I have to agree that 5000k is going to have a bit too much blue in the spectrum.

 

[jonnynobody]

I think for mother plants it would be good just to keep them manageable if you don’t need clones very frequently but for vegging plants before flower I think it would take way too long. I have strains that barely grow vertically under 3500k so I cant imagine under 5000k. Don’t want to spend 2-3 months vegging a 12-18” plant lol.

Nukakola, I appreciate your advice. After doing a good amount of reading and asking some more experienced LED users like yourself who have a better understanding of the technology it appears you are 100% correct. The industry standard universally accepts 3000k-4000k as the ideal color temperature for vibrant growth under LED lighting for veg and flower. It just took me a minute to get my brain to understand that color temperature kelvin ratings mean different things when comparing light emitted from flourescant tubes versus LED chips. There isn't a soul on the planet that's promoting 5000k or above for LED lighting. I almost screwed the pooch on that one. I have modified my order with the vendor on Alibaba and requested the same mixture of 3000k+5000k+UV+IR chips as I received on my last board. That was a close call. Thanks for setting me straight

 

[Rocket Soul]

Nukakola, I appreciate your advice. After doing a good amount of reading and asking some more experienced LED users like yourself who have a better understanding of the technology it appears you are 100% correct. The industry standard universally accepts 3000k-4000k as the ideal color temperature for vibrant growth under LED lighting for veg and flower. It just took me a minute to get my brain to understand that color temperature kelvin ratings mean different things when comparing light emitted from flourescant tubes versus LED chips. There isn't a soul on the planet that's promoting 5000k or above for LED lighting. I almost screwed the pooch on that one. I have modified my order with the vendor on Alibaba and requested the same mixture of 3000k+5000k+UV+IR chips as I received on my last board. That was a close call. Thanks for setting me straight

Its all a bit strain dependent but i know some strains dont like 5000k veg. However with far red and uv its anyones guess.
Also a point of mentioning 3000/5000k in equal parts is the same as 4000k, its reall mostly a gimmick to use 2 kinds, dont pay extra for it.

My personal advice on a growlight is to start with a full on flower spectrum with only very little blue and have one channel with blue/uv/violet and add this on a separate dimmer in extent you need it during veg.

 

[jonnynobody]

Its all a bit strain dependent but i know some strains dont like 5000k veg. However with far red and uv its anyones guess.
Also a point of mentioning 3000/5000k in equal parts is the same as 4000k, its reall mostly a gimmick to use 2 kinds, dont pay extra for it.

My personal advice on a growlight is to start with a full on flower spectrum with only very little blue and have one channel with blue/uv/violet and add this on a separate dimmer in extent you need it during veg.

Thank you for the tips Rocket Soul. I think they just use the 3000k/5000k combo to achieve an average of 4000k. My suspicion is they are trying to mimic the over manufacturer's who seem to be doing the same thing. God forbid they take the shortcut and just use 4000k chips. That would be too simple

 

[Rocket Soul]

Maybe they have access to warm and cold white, mainly.

 

[jonnynobody]

Maybe they have access to warm and cold white, mainly.

Makes sense to me. Use what you have. I remember working for a Ford dealer a few years back managing their quick lube. I got to learn some of the quirks of how automobiles are manufactured. Sometimes in the same production year parts would change. Same car, same year, same exact model, but different parts. I finally asked one of the gray haired service managers that had been there since dirt was dirt what the deal was with the parts changing mid year. His explanation was simple and concise. Ford uses what they have until the parts are gone. If they have an abundance of leftover parts from one model year to the next they will use those parts until they're depleted, and then start using a newly designed part that serves the same function mid model year, whereas most manufacturer's wait until the following model year to implement changes (unless recall related). The part maybe cheaper in design or improve functionality. The short answer basically was, "They use what they got until it's gone. They don't like to waste. Welcome to Ford."

I just paid the invoice for 2 of the 110W boards for the 5'x5'x6.5' nursery in 3000k+5000k+UV+IR like the last board I ordered in 660W. If I had it to do over again I would have opted for 6 of the 110W board instead of a single 660W board. It works great. Don't get me wrong. But I feel the light spread is poor, and focuses too much light on a rather small foot print. HLG really did a fantastic job addressing this issue with their Scorpion board. The panels are spread out, and that's the right way to do it. Packing the boards all close together like my 660W unit is too much light concentrated on too small an area. Is it effective? Yes. Highly effective. However spreading the panels out would produce a superior result and be a better value to the consumer. The way HLG spaced out the panels on the Scorpion board looks like an excellent design that addresses the diode crowding. If their lights weren't so dramatically over priced I'd give them a shot, but overpaying for products has never been my thing I'd imagine the same folks that buy their gear also buy Michelin tires instead of Goodyear or Cooper, because higher price must mean a better product. I was looking at another company called "Black Dog" that makes HLG look like the good guys. I looked at their lights and I laughed when I looked at the specs, and then I laughed some more when I saw their suggested retail price for their lights. There was actually a thread on RIU of "Black Dog LED light" users. I was and continue to be convinced it was the company making dummy accounts to promote their products. They put their crappy lights on Amazon, and the reviews speak for themselves. Several reviewers had 1/4 of the light panel go out in under 3 months. No support from the manufacturer. If I remember correctly their 1000W LED light is something like $2300. I'm literally smiling just typing that. $2300 for a single 1000w light. Who are the people that actually buy that shit? Not me. That's who