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Hey, I'd like to start a grow tent that could house 6 mother plants. Nothing major, Just want to make these ladies comfortable. Looking for a light with a warranty and preference for US made.
 

borbor

Well-Known Member
Looking at stuff to put next to my sun system lec 315 CMH fixture for a boost in veg and flower, and possibly in the future to use as a standalone light in a veg tent. the most I wanna spend is 400, maybe a little more.
I was thinking of either an area 51 rw-75 or rw-150, or a california lightworks solarflare 110, or a 150 watt hans panel.
Which would help the most right now, especially as a secondary light in a 4x4 tent for flowering?



How come people don't talk about hans panels that much, except that they're always on the list of decent reputable leds?
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Looking at stuff to put next to my sun system lec 315 CMH fixture for a boost in veg and flower,
I'd recommend 18w 3k Cree PAR38 spots from Home Depot ($24 ea). For supplementing around the perimeter, I think this would work better than concentrating 100 watts into one fixture. More work however mounting them (setting up sockets, etc.).

You mentioned that it might become your standalone light. Individual spots aren't as easy to do that. But, you'd always have them to use as supplemental light. A handy thing to have in your toolbox.

I've been flowering this plant under Cree PAR38 spots:

IMG_20150215_111129.jpg

IMG_20150215_110716.jpg IMG_20150215_111519.jpg

It's larger (3x3) than I expected. It's been getting a little less light than if it had been 2x2 like I expected. It's been 18-20w/sq ft. If it had been 2x2 it would have been closer to 30. Instead of adding light I'm letting it go to see how it does.

They definitely flower. I'm sure it would have been better if up around 35w/sq ft. (Just not easy to get that much light using individual bulbs. They're good for supplemental though.).
 

smowstack

Active Member
Looking at stuff to put next to my sun system lec 315 CMH fixture for a boost in veg and flower, and possibly in the future to use as a standalone light in a veg tent. the most I wanna spend is 400, maybe a little more.
I was thinking of either an area 51 rw-75 or rw-150, or a california lightworks solarflare 110, or a 150 watt hans panel.
Which would help the most right now, especially as a secondary light in a 4x4 tent for flowering?



How come people don't talk about hans panels that much, except that they're always on the list of decent reputable leds?
see, I don't get that. Anybody and everybody knows you can grow top shelf with 600hps in a 4 x 4 flowering tent. Personally, I use led and am all for arguing a point, but why look for something else that all agree works really well?
 

KolaBear

New Member
Ok guys I am looking to start a grow indoors and need some help deciding on the setup. Originally I was sold on the idea of a 4x8 tent with 2 - 1000w HPS.

My goal is to yield 2 pounds every cycle ( 8 - 10 weeks )

I have now come across PLATINUM LED lights. Due to the significant decrease in energy usage, heat, and the use of an AC. I think I am convinced to go with the Led setup. Since its a lot more money for initial setup I might have to start with a 4x4 area and work up to a 4x8 depending on what you guys think I can yield in half that size?

Here are some options I priced out.

4x4 Tent
P300 LED X 2 = $738.00

4x4 Tent
P450 LED X 2 = $1000.00

8x4 Tent
P300 x 4 = $1,404.00 ( discount for buying more )

8x4 Tent
P450 x 4 = $1,896.00 ( discount for buying more )

Obviously the p300s are a cheaper option but are those lights going to have enough wattage and coverage?

Also.. How many plants would you recommend I put in those areas? Keeping in mine I would like to yield 2 pounds in the 8x4.
 

borbor

Well-Known Member
see, I don't get that. Anybody and everybody knows you can grow top shelf with 600hps in a 4 x 4 flowering tent. Personally, I use led and am all for arguing a point, but why look for something else that all agree works really well?
I don't have a 600 watt hps but even if I did, from my research 600 watts of cmh/led gets more PAR with less heat. I don't really get what you're saying here
I'd recommend 18w 3k Cree PAR38 spots from Home Depot ($24 ea). For supplementing around the perimeter, I think this would work better than concentrating 100 watts into one fixture. More work however mounting them (setting up sockets, etc.).

You mentioned that it might become your standalone light. Individual spots aren't as easy to do that. But, you'd always have them to use as supplemental light. A handy thing to have in your toolbox.

I've been flowering this plant under Cree PAR38 spots:


It's larger (3x3) than I expected. It's been getting a little less light than if it had been 2x2 like I expected. It's been 18-20w/sq ft. If it had been 2x2 it would have been closer to 30. Instead of adding light I'm letting it go to see how it does.

They definitely flower. I'm sure it would have been better if up around 35w/sq ft. (Just not easy to get that much light using individual bulbs. They're good for supplemental though.).
thanks man big help. I've seen a few people using these led spotlights on here, was a little curious/skeptical but I hadn't looked into it yet, partly because I keep thinking that using led effectively is gonna be expensive as fuck, but also, looking at the grow in my signature from a few years ago, it was an absolute mess of cfls hanging everywhere.

What kind of range would you keep those lights from your canopy?
 

AllDayToker

Well-Known Member
So I could use some help with getting some LEDs.

I thought I knew enough about LEDs, but looked over an obvious problem with my recent purchase.

I bought two UFO style panels, each rated at 180w, actual draw 108-110w each. I bought these for vegging to replace my T5s I had. The problem is that I have a long, short, and skinny veg cab. It is 48in long, 16in deep, and 36in for height.

When I installed the lights as high as I could get them, which is a few inches from the top, my plants were still pretty close to the lights, but unlike the long stretched T5s, the LEDs are grouped and not reflected out as well for coverage. So this landed me with two out of my three plants with actual light.

Now I am open to any ideas, but the only restriction I have is the space I am in, and the amount of wattage being used. I do not want to go over the 200-230w range.

I would greatly appreciate help, need to get started on this soon, new girls will be going into veg soon.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
What kind of range would you keep those lights from your canopy?
It depends on whether you use 27-degree spot or 47-degree flood, then how focused/intense (w/sq ft) you want it to be. Pointing each at a wall: the flood has the best spread at 7-8" distance.The spot at 16".

If your CMH covers 3x3 at 315w that's 35w/sq ft. If you add 3 spots on each side of your tent, that would be 31w/sq ft around that 1 ft perimeter. If I were going to do that, I'd probably use 4' lengths of 1x4" wood. Drill three holes in each board for floodlight sockets. Hang it using eye bolts. (Maybe attach 8" pieces of wood to each end perpendicular to this "light rail" so you have a little leverage to tilt the rail. But, the sockets are adjustable too. So, it might not be useful to hang the rail tilted. If you attach the sockets right, you'd have some left/right adjustment by being able to twist the socket.).

If you were happy with those results, you could move the CMH to a corner and re-arrange your "light rails" to fill the 2' perimeter around two sides. Just drill more holes, attach more sockets to maintain 30-35w/sq ft.

If you were happy with the results of that, you could replace the CMH by adding more 4' boards. If you had five boards with six lights on each, that would be 540w, or 33.75w/sq ft. (I might cut the boards in half, three lights on each, for flexible hanging/positioning. But, I'd weigh that against the tediousness of hanging 10 "fixtures" instead of 5.).

These LEDs are far more efficient than the CFLs you had experience with. But, it can still be a little hairy hanging 30 lights on 5-10 "fixtures." But, if you started with 3 lights on each side, that would let you get a feel for it. If it isn't your cup of tea, you'd have a dozen lights for supplemental use.

I don't know if these lights use XBD or the more efficient XTE. To replace your CMH, a higher-efficiency panel like A51 is probably a better choice. But even then, you'd always benefit from some supplemental light. I've been playing with different a LED "lightbulbs" as supplemental light, and this is my first flowering under such light exclusively. That link might give you some ideas.

I like this more flexible, distributed form of lighting. But, it can be tedious at a large 4x4 scale. It's a little expensive up front buying sockets. But, I like the simplicity of buying standardized bulbs instead of a monolithic fixture using proprietary modules. I'm playing with this kind of lighting because I know people who'd grow a plant if it wasn't too complicated. Using lights that are a commodity would be a big appeal to them.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
It is 48in long, 16in deep, and 36in for height.
That's 5.3 sq ft. With efficient LED in that short space you'd need about 25-30w/sq ft. With inefficient (chinese import, which I suspect you have), you'd need ~35w/sq ft.

Your problem is that you already have 220w. That's 41w/sq ft. The depth of your space is wasting a lot of that light.

I think you need to find a new home for those fixtures and pick something more appropriate for your space. You could add light using LED "lightbulbs" from Home Depot. But, you're going to push yourself above 50w/sq ft which is insane in such a short space. You'll have a lot of heat.

I think those two UFOs have to go.
 

bigPOTbelly

Active Member
I ordered some lights from area51 now I'm hearing all this talk about new lights......would it have been better to wait........or will the current led lights they offer be easily upgraded with the new LEDs
 

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
So I could use some help with getting some LEDs.

I thought I knew enough about LEDs, but looked over an obvious problem with my recent purchase.

I bought two UFO style panels, each rated at 180w, actual draw 108-110w each. I bought these for vegging to replace my T5s I had. The problem is that I have a long, short, and skinny veg cab. It is 48in long, 16in deep, and 36in for height.

When I installed the lights as high as I could get them, which is a few inches from the top, my plants were still pretty close to the lights, but unlike the long stretched T5s, the LEDs are grouped and not reflected out as well for coverage. So this landed me with two out of my three plants with actual light.

Now I am open to any ideas, but the only restriction I have is the space I am in, and the amount of wattage being used. I do not want to go over the 200-230w range.

I would greatly appreciate help, need to get started on this soon, new girls will be going into veg soon.
IMO replace the t5 with Cree tubes. They look like flouro tubes but they are led. Good #s on them in the data sheets too for what they are.

I've been vegging w generic tubes like this. Up to 18 1gl smart pots w 60watts.
 

AllDayToker

Well-Known Member
That's 5.3 sq ft. With efficient LED in that short space you'd need about 25-30w/sq ft. With inefficient (chinese import, which I suspect you have), you'd need ~35w/sq ft.

Your problem is that you already have 220w. That's 41w/sq ft. The depth of your space is wasting a lot of that light.

I think you need to find a new home for those fixtures and pick something more appropriate for your space. You could add light using LED "lightbulbs" from Home Depot. But, you're going to push yourself above 50w/sq ft which is insane in such a short space. You'll have a lot of heat.

I think those two UFOs have to go.
So 25-30w/sqft with quality, 35w/sqft for the lower quality. Which you are correct, they are just Apollo brand LEDs. I've had good success with there HID lights, and their newer COB LED panel they have. All of their stuff also have long warranties, and they have great customer service.

Yeah the depth and height is a pain, and heat is pretty high. Wasting some light isn't a big deal to me right now, because I only have so much space so I just got to make it work with that space.

The UFOs are defiantly getting pulled out anyway, I have no problem putting them right back in the box and storing them for future projects. Right after I setup them up and saw how they were working that it was going to work for what I needed.

So you pretty much recommend just getting those Cree light bulbs and making a fixture? I don't need to be at 50w/sqft. I simply replaced my T5s with LEDs by wattage, figuring the LEDs will blow the T5s out of the water watt for watt and with all the added color, but also lower the heat. Honestly I want less heat, so running less watts as long as I'm getting the same benefits, I'll be fine. It's only for veg.
 
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