Looking for best posible veg lights

[nomofatum]

I am not with them in any way sir, and I did start off by saying I know nothing and am no one, lol, I am sure, and I mean that, you are way more qualified to answer, I was just pulling from the info that sold me on that system, I am new though, they just seem to be everything I will need for some time, when I am in some kind of experimental grower expert status I will try new shit, but then again, why would I change anything with what is not broken, who's too say....seems legit enough stat sheet too me, I own 2 of them and they seem as though I will not need anything for lighting for a long time, no bulbs, no bs, and a low bill....

I didn't mean to insinuate that you were, I was commenting on the quote of their marketing that you posted. Just saying it's deceitful of them to say it compares favorably with HID.

That said, some of the best growers use T5HO exclusively. It works well, very well, any balanced lighting option will work very well. T5 has the awesome advantage of great light distribution and many spectrum options available to mix for optimal spectrum. They have two main disadvantages, size/number required, and lower efficiency. HID can deliver a more compact package with much more light output, making it more economical to setup and run, but leaving a big disadvantage, less than ideal spectrum, even when mixing HPS/MH or running CMH or specialty HPS/MH bulbs.

It takes at least 3 different types of bulbs or LEDs to get close to an ideal spectrum, one cool advantage for T5 is you can get them all for those fixtures.

I recommend HPS + 6500k (LED or T5/T8 or MH) + UVB 10% (T5/T8/Tanning/CFL)

It's the best of three worlds, efficency, spectrum, and cost of investment. That said I'm using LED (3500k and 6500k) + CMH + Tanning bulbs myself.

 

[ArthritisPain]

I didn't mean to insinuate that you were, I was commenting on the quote of their marketing that you posted. Just saying it's deceitful of them to say it compares favorably with HID.

That said, some of the best growers use T5HO exclusively. It works well, very well, any balanced lighting option will work very well. T5 has the awesome advantage of great light distribution and many spectrum options available to mix for optimal spectrum. They have two main disadvantages, size/number required, and lower efficiency. HID can deliver a more compact package with much more light output, making it more economical to setup and run, but leaving a big disadvantage, less than ideal spectrum, even when mixing HPS/MH or running CMH or specialty HPS/MH bulbs.

It takes at least 3 different types of bulbs or LEDs to get close to an ideal spectrum, one cool advantage for T5 is you can get them all for those fixtures.

I recommend HPS + 6500k (LED or T5/T8 or MH) + UVB 10% (T5/T8/Tanning/CFL)

It's the best of three worlds, efficency, spectrum, and cost of investment. That said I'm using LED (3500k and 6500k) + CMH + Tanning bulbs myself.

Wow, that seems like one hell of a veg room eh, I hope to god I get there some day....I have 2 - 600 watt Apollo HPS for my flower room, I have run them to check them, and they are the brightest damned lights I have seen ever, lol...

 

[nomofatum]

Wow, that seems like one hell of a veg room eh, I hope to god I get there some day....I have 2 - 600 watt Apollo HPS for my flower room, I have run them to check them, and they are the brightest damned lights I have seen ever, lol...

That is the flower room, just setup my veg room, just a mix of 3500k, 6500k, and red and blue LEDs in there. First run of the flower rooms were both veg/flower.

 

[legallyflying]

Jesus freaking Christmas Look AT THOSE TREEEES!!!!!!!!! Who has 20 foot ceilings in their gosh damned flower room though, lmao!

10 foot ceilings, 7.5 feet tall plants. 2# per bulb.

And that does a happy grower make

 

[legallyflying]

And I agree that T5 can rock. Especially when you throw in a few atinic aquarium buLbs.

Problem with them though.. very poor penetration. We use T5 for clones and little girls but once they get about a foot tall it's time to enter the harsh world of 1k MH.

A little word of advice, good lighting is great but proper training in veg is far more important

 

[ArthritisPain]

That is the flower room, just setup my veg room, just a mix of 3500k, 6500k, and red and blue LEDs in there. First run of the flower rooms were both veg/flower.

I cannot wait for the day that LED's have become the new norm a new day for us, power, money, and efficiency~~!!!

 

[legallyflying]

Yeah. That would be nice. But until then... hps up beotch

 

[Knott Collective]

We have used all the different lights mentioned in this thread over the past several years. Then we picked up one of the Sunlight Systems 315w Light Emitting Ceramic (LEC) to experiment with. Set it in a small veg room and threw a few Super Lemon Haze mothers under it. Over the next several weeks we were amazed at the results. Some of our trimmers who were away for a few weeks actually thought we had changed plants. They couldn't believe they were looking at a bushy, four foot plant that was knee-high a few weeks back.

Experiment over. We threw every other veg light away and moved over 100% to the LEC's. Never looked back. We have even started cloning under the damn things. One of our budtenders stuck a half dozen trays under one and I gotta say, same type results, the clones rooted a bit earlier than normal and were extremely vigorous. Now we clone under the LEC exclusively.

We took a tray of SFV OG clones and a tray of Super Lemon Haze clones and ran them at the same time, one under T-5 and one under the LEC. We probably should have had the same strain but we'd filled up two clone rooms and had a few trays left over, so we just used what we had. Both the SFV and Lemon are comparably strong rooters in our experience so we thought it was ok. We said we'd do it again with the same strain, just to be sure. But after we saw the difference we said "heck with anything but what works best" and moved on with the LEC. Here's what we got:

 

[legallyflying]

Good info Knott. We will look into them. Can I ask what kind of usable footprint they throw?

 

[ArthritisPain]

I have too say though, that T5 still did just fine eh...that lady looks fanfreakintastic too....

 

[dbkick]

We have used all the different lights mentioned in this thread over the past several years. Then we picked up one of the Sunlight Systems 315w Light Emitting Ceramic (LEC) to experiment with. Set it in a small veg room and threw a few Super Lemon Haze mothers under it. Over the next several weeks we were amazed at the results. Some of our trimmers who were away for a few weeks actually thought we had changed plants. They couldn't believe they were looking at a bushy, four foot plant that was knee-high a few weeks back.

Experiment over. We threw every other veg light away and moved over 100% to the LEC's. Never looked back. We have even started cloning under the damn things. One of our budtenders stuck a half dozen trays under one and I gotta say, same type results, the clones rooted a bit earlier than normal and were extremely vigorous. Now we clone under the LEC exclusively.

We took a tray of SFV OG clones and a tray of Super Lemon Haze clones and ran them at the same time, one under T-5 and one under the LEC. We probably should have had the same strain but we'd filled up two clone rooms and had a few trays left over, so we just used what we had. Both the SFV and Lemon are comparably strong rooters in our experience so we thought it was ok. We said we'd do it again with the same strain, just to be sure. But after we saw the difference we said "heck with anything but what works best" and moved on with the LEC. Here's what we got:
View attachment 3380960

You are running the 4200k lamps for veg aren't you?
The LEC is my favorite light atm but then I haven't got the DE up yet.

 

[Knott Collective]

Good info Knott. We will look into them. Can I ask what kind of usable footprint they throw?

Footprint is smaller than a 1000w HPS. We try not to exceed 4' x 4' with the LEC's. Remember we're cloning and vegging so the dense light saturation is not quite as necessary as when powering through flower. Important still, particularly for strong vegetative growth, but foot print has not been a limiting factor so far.

 

[Knott Collective]

You are running the 4200k lamps for veg aren't you?
The LEC is my favorite light atm but then I haven't got the DE up yet.

No, we run 3100k full-spectrum Phillips bulbs. The 4100k bulbs did not perform as well for us. The plants seem to love that full spectrum of the 3100k, it's the most like Ma Nature. Also heard the DE (which is actually not a double-ended LEC but a twin bulb unit) has problems with hot spots, but I have not confirmed this assertion.

Another benefit of the LEC's is no need to air cool them. Fans & ducting not required. Also ballast is built in; so hang it, plug it and turn on the sunlight!

 

[dbkick]

No, we run 3100k full-spectrum Phillips bulbs. The 4100k bulbs did not perform as well for us. The plants seem to love that full spectrum of the 3100k, it's the most like Ma Nature. Also heard the DE (which is actually not a double-ended LEC but a twin bulb unit) has problems with hot spots, but I have not confirmed this assertion.

Another benefit of the LEC's is no need to air cool them. Fans & ducting not required. Also ballast is built in; so hang it, plug it and turn on the sunlight!

DE not double ended? We must be talking about two different things.You must be talking about the lec 630 , I see no point in those myself and would/did buy two 315s. With the 630 the lamps are horizontal too which makes for a spectrum shift.
That's too bad to hear about tht 4200k lamp , I just bought one BUT I'll be adding some 6500k onyx grow led fixtures to the mix so maybe it will work out better for me.

 

[rkymtnman]

10 foot ceilings, 7.5 feet tall plants. 2# per bulb.

And that does a happy grower make

hey LF,
loved the pix. 3 questions please: looked like growstones on the floor. is that your medium? i just finished a hempy grow with them as my medium. i really liked them. have yet to wash them for the next grow though.

2. just the bulbs on the outer edges of the room have batwing reflectors? rest are bare bulb?

3. mind sharing what your nute regimen is?
i've been following the cage match post as well. really like that setup.

thanks, RKY

 

[legallyflying]

Hey rkymtan..

That is just perlite. We clone in plugs, then transfer to 50 50 coco and perlite one gallons for initial veg, then transfer to net pots for final veg and flower.

Yeah bat wings for the edges. They are cheap, we just bend them by hand to provide 240 degrees of light.

Nutes are straightforward. We tried all the additives and boosters and all that happy crap and our vest run ever... was simple heavy 16 flower a and b.

specifically....
about 800-900 ppm of veg nutes until week 2, with about 2-3 ml/gal cal ma.
week 3-4 about 1200 and 5 ml call mag.
Week 5..1400 2 ml call mag
week 6.. 1100
week 7 800 or so
week 8.. 600 ppm, 500 ppm co2, day and night around 70, heavy fan leaf plucking

last couple days... rez water about 60, nutes around 400, turn the lights off.

We also do weekly beneficial teas through week 7 and foliar spray with liquid gold about 3x a week until about week 6-7.

Cheers