Led Users Unite!

Thanks for the suggestion of Black Dog, I had initially discredited them because they have the highest prices.
However after I had gotten some sleep and was able to do some research refreshed, this is my comparison between the largest light the 3 companies provide from the info on their websites:

Area 51's AF-600:-------300 3 watt LEDs ------------ $1,228 - Warranty is Lifetime.
CLW's Solarstorm 800W: 160 5 watt LEDs w/ 2 UVB ----$1,799 - Warranty is 3 years.
Black Dog Platinum XLU: 300 5 Watt LEDs ------------- $1,949 - Warranty is Lifetime

So your suggestion is correct, Black Dog does appear to be the best light for the type of grow space I was referring to. Their light seems to cover the biggest footprint w/ highest quality. The lifetime warranty is also nice. Good to hear their customer service is great. My friend better start saving all their $$ Would love to know how to get a coupon code for the site.
Thanks again for the input!

Hey everyone, for all you LED pros out here,how do the LED fare in regard to canopy penetration? Can you achieve good lateral growth with a god LED set? Any info would help guys, thank for your time.

For a 5'x5' I would use about 1000 watts of actual draw. This should be split up with 4 fixtures such as;

(4) Area 51-135 (250watts) (2012 models are discounted at the moment)
(4) Blackstar FSF 405 Chrome (240watts)
(4) progrow 400 (250watts)
(4) Advance DS300 (274watts)

BlackDog does not have anything between the Micro (135watt)* and the BD-u 360(340watt). They need something in this gap.

*I own; BS405s, PG260s, Adv.ds200s, Growblu/Apollo 12, Rihnogrow400, assorted UFOs and the BD Micros.

The 5watt LEDs should have plenty of penitration

$1,949 for a LED to me is absolutely crazy .. I use Led and their cool but if had to spend even $1,000 for led I'd go HID.... For sure...

EllyDee, thanks for your suggestion. I looked up all those lights and came up with pricing for all 4 and also the total number of LED bulbs I'd have in that mix. Price would be $2318 and the total number of LED's would be 480 with all lamps combined.
So I can see what you mean, and I could also see how angling and such could work out better with multiple lights instead of just one large light.

Downinit, it does seem crazy lol. The reason I started looking into LED's is because it eliminates the heat/venting/energy bill issue. Those things alone are huge to me. I also thought in the end it would pay itself off without having to install so much duct work and fans and also on the energy consumption side of things. Also, the lifetime warranty is pretty nice I think, but I agree it is a astonishing investment.

I am thinking maybe they just need to start smaller, and not try to cover such a large area. My friend wants to buy the 5x5 tent but they don't have to fill it up with plants. They could just put maybe one to two plants in it and focus a smaller LED in their area? Any thoughts on this? Or should they just go with the smaller tent to get maximum reflectivity? The thought on buying the larger tent is for future upgrades.

Down, what space are you growing in and what light do you have? This may have been mentioned before but I can't remember.

Still working out the kinks and I feel so thankful to have a sounding board for this!

EuphoricMojito said:

Area 51's AF-600:-------300 3 watt LEDs ------------ $1,228 - 90 days for returns.
CLW's Solarstorm 800W: 160 5 watt LEDs w/ 2 UVB ----$1,799 - Warranty is 3 years.
Black Dog Platinum XLU: 300 5 Watt LEDs ------------- $1,949 - Warranty is Lifetime

Click to expand...

My Brother Area-51 Has A 90 Day No Questions Asked For A Full Refund And Their Leds Carry A Lifetime Warranty.Also If Your Unit Does Have Issues You Simiply Call Them Trouble Shoot Over The Phone And They Will Send You The Replacement Part.Thus Cutting Down The Down Time Of Your Unit

I posted about this in my own thread but this one seems to have a fair bit of traffic so Ill ponder here as well...

Im about to purchase x2 Apollo 8s with a custom LED spectrum. if you were to make a custom spectrum for flowering and had a 200W 6400k CFL already... what LEDs would you put into the 15 diode pods?

Custom pattern I found here somewhere:
7 660nm
4 630nm
1 610nm
2 460nm
1 2700k

re worked custom pattern by Bumping Spheda:
7 660
4 630
1 460
1 440
2 2700k

what would you change, if anything? ~knowing I have the 200W CFL and that I can have nearly any pattern of LEDS~

thanx very much

+1 to what bredren The Dawg said. After my initial research led me here, I recently bought 2x Area-51 AF51-90s (currently inbound). I'll report back once I get some girls under them.

EuphoricMojito: Nice work with the research. Something to factor into Area 51 would be that they give quantity discounts, so with 2 smaller lights, it might actually come out cheaper to get a similar Wattage profile. Give them an email, they're really friendly to chat with. Really helped me get my entire first grow started with advice on gear, etc.

(disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Area 51)

The Dawg said:

My Brother Area-51 Has A 90 Day No Questions Asked For A Full Refund And Their Leds Carry A Lifetime Warranty.Also If Your Unit Does Have Issues You Simiply Call Them Trouble Shoot Over The Phone And They Will Send You The Replacement Part.Thus Cutting Down The Down Time Of Your Unit

Click to expand...

Downinit said:

$1,949 for a LED to me is absolutely crazy .. I use Led and their cool but if had to spend even $1,000 for led I'd go HID.... For sure...

Click to expand...

So what do you expect for less than $1,000? Just curious since there is no qualification as to what you expect for power or footprint.

Thanks for the warranty clarification on A51's lights. That does make a big difference. I didn't initially see that on the website in my research, I edited my post so it's now accurate for future readers. Also good to know that they to have good customer service.
Also noticed they have free shipping which is awesome and the discount on multiple lights is a plus.

Does everyone agree that multiple lights would be better in a 5x5 space instead of just one large light? In EllyDee's suggestion they mentioned a bunch of different brands to make up my 1000w footprint. What about like 2 A51-240's? My wattage would be 900 true watts and my LED watts would be 720 - number of actual 3w LED lights would be 480 (impressive) - and the cost would be $1502!? I can't seem to make a combination with that much wattage and footprint with anyone else for that price. Someone let me know if they can! BD's BD360 ($999) has 700 LED watts, but it wouldn't give me the giant footprint I could get with the 2 A51-240's. Right? Or am I thinking wrong?

Very curious to hear how you enjoy your A51's MojoSlim. I will email them before I buy and ask some questions for sure.
Thanks again guys.

Anyone ever hear of this company?
http://www.cidly.com/?page_id=61

I don't recall this company being brought up in this thread anywhere, just thought I'd throw it in.

Im ordering from them in the next day. custom and lowest price for that model. Im sold on the price point as a first timer wanting to use LED

Big Slick 420 said:

Im ordering from them in the next day. custom and lowest price for that model. Im sold on the price point as a first timer wanting to use LED

Click to expand...

What custom LED arrangement you going to get ?

. I did a 2 plant full cycle under them which is pretty well documented on the site. Im currently doing a 4 panel grow in a 5x5 tent. I can keep you posted on that too if your intrested. Anyways i would love to hear how the Rhino compares to other LED's. Intrested to see how cheaper LED's stack up. Hit me up whenever, happy growing.

RainerRocks said:

What custom LED arrangement you going to get ?

Click to expand...

I found a custom grouping that someone else listed here on RIU as:

Custom:
7 660nm
4 630nm
1 610nm
2 460nm
1 2700k

then someone said to change a couple things on it:
re worked custom
7 660
4 630
1 460
1 440
2 2700k


now Im unsure, but the money I have been waiting for is finally in my hands so the order is going to be made today.

any suggestions for my Apollo 8 spectrum? I already have a 200W 6400k CFL to use with the LEDs.

I know the Helios panels have:
2 740
4 660
7 630
2 640
2 470
1 460
2 440

but they also have 20 lights per pod. 5 more than the Apollos

It seems the new custom thing is to have excessive amounts of 660.

Now, I've run too much 660 and have experienced a moderate (to severe) prolonging of flowering. I had a plant that took 3 weeks after 12/12 to show me its sex.

EDIT: I thought this prolonged flowering could be useful in a 12/12 from seed setting but the spectrum layout still needed to be adjusted.

EDITEDIT: I assume filling in the rest of the spectrum (evening out the ratios of colors) would allow the plant to utilize all that 660. (That's if you want to )

respectfully.. why?


also ran into this spectrum.
1 730
6 660
4 630
1 460
1 435
1 2700k
1 12k

this is reminding of the very first tattoo scenario. "The first one has to mean something.. it has to be perfect" LOL. that how Im feeling with my first LED purchase. nearly unlimited options and everyone has their own take on it and figures their advice is best. I want not only a spectrum that more than one person agrees on, but also why that is the case. I practically have them on hold over there at Cidly waiting for me make up my mind on the final spectrum. yet here Im still hoping my first tattoo is perfect.