Lighting advice 2x4x7

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Seriousbuds

Active Member
I'm currently struggling with the decision of what to buy. I know I want to go with the CXB3950 however I'm not sure which configuration is best. I'd like to go for max efficiency in a 2x4x7 tent, however I will at some point likely upgrade to a 4x4x7 tent after a while..

Originally I was going to go with realstyles 8x CXB3950 build on a single 10x24" heatsink, however after reading that it would possibly cause an uneven light distribution, I want something that I would be able to scale into a 4x4x7 tent eventually, and somethign that would fill my current 2x4x7 tent nicely right now.

Additionally I'd like to setup a vegging tent right next to this tent, and it'll be about 2.5x 2.5 x 5. All the advice I've seen is that I won't need that much wattage (maybe 60w?) but that seems crazy when you consider I'm vegging with 600w HPS, how on earth could I expect similar yields/growth? How many do you guys think I would need it I wanted to veg 2 plants in there?

Any advice would be awesome!
 
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GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
For your veg tent it's easy, go for about 30-35w per square foot with almost any LED light, I've been using some for almost 3 years with no issues, they were sold by TOP LED at one point and I think they go as MARS now. Those suck for flowering but for vegging they're quite good. So in your veg tent somewhere around 200w actual output you'll be good (that can mean a "400 to 500w" in Chinese LED speak).

For your flowering with COBs you'll need about the same 30-35w/sq. ft., maybe for some flexibility you can make multiple smaller 2-COB units. Then make a couple more when you expand to fill whatever space you end up in later.
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Leaving 3 inches on either side, a 24" sink will leave you with 18" from first cob to last, which is a little short for a 2x4 but could work with the lights raised up a bit. Realstyles seems to keep his lights high so it works for him. Having said that, I think 2 of them in a 4x4 would be pretty nice, 18"x18" raised up enough would provide a good footprint. Personally I would lean towards 30-36" sinks but there's more than one way to go about it.
 
bassman999

bassman999

Well-Known Member
Seriousbuds said:
I'm currently struggling with the decision of what to buy. I know I want to go with the CXB3950 however I'm not sure which configuration is best. I'd like to go for max efficiency in a 2x4x7 tent, however I will at some point likely upgrade to a 4x4x7 tent after a while..

Originally I was going to go with realstyles 8x CXB3950 build on a single 10x24" heatsink, however after reading that it would possibly cause an uneven light distribution, I want something that I would be able to scale into a 4x4x7 tent eventually, and somethign that would fill my current 2x4x7 tent nicely right now.

Additionally I'd like to setup a vegging tent right next to this tent, and it'll be about 2.5x 2.5 x 5. All the advice I've seen is that I won't need that much wattage (maybe 60w?) but that seems crazy when you consider I'm vegging with 600w HPS, how on earth could I expect similar yields/growth? How many do you guys think I would need it I wanted to veg 2 plants in there?

Any advice would be awesome!
Click to expand...
If you want to use CXB3590s for veg and currently veg with 600HPS, 60 watts isnt gonna be the same even with it being maybe the most efficient.
At least 150 draw maybe 200.
But veg in that small of a tent with 600HPS seems just crazy, so maybe I am misunderstanding?
 
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Seriousbuds

Active Member
Rahz said:
Leaving 3 inches on either side, a 24" sink will leave you with 18" from first cob to last, which is a little short for a 2x4 but could work with the lights raised up a bit. Realstyles seems to keep his lights high so it works for him. Having said that, I think 2 of them in a 4x4 would be pretty nice, 18"x18" raised up enough would provide a good footprint. Personally I would lean towards 30-36" sinks but there's more than one way to go about it.
Click to expand...
So maybe I save the 24 inch heatsink for the vegging tent.. buy 4-6 3950s for vegging and just get a few 36" heatsinks for the main tent..?

bassman999 said:
If you want to use CXB3590s for veg and currently veg with 600HPS, 60 watts isnt gonna be the same even with it being maybe the most efficient.
At least 150 draw maybe 200.
But veg in that small of a tent with 600HPS seems just crazy, so maybe I am misunderstanding?
Click to expand...
Haha no you heard me right! It's working out right now because it's so fuckin cold - keeps my plants warm as temps are dropping to 29 degrees overnight, but in the tent I'm holding strong at 70-72.
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Seriousbuds said:
So maybe I save the 24 inch heatsink for the vegging tent.. buy 4-6 3950s for vegging and just get a few 36" heatsinks for the main tent..?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a plan. I've been vegging with about 450 PPFD getting really nice results... depending on your space you might get by with fewer cobs in the veg area.
 
S

Seriousbuds

Active Member
Rahz said:
Sounds like a plan. I've been vegging with about 450 PPFD getting really nice results... depending on your space you might get by with fewer cobs in the veg area.
Click to expand...
Space will be about 2.5x2.5x6? Hows that sound what do you think
Rahz said:
Sounds like a plan. I've been vegging with about 450 PPFD getting really nice results... depending on your space you might get by with fewer cobs in the veg area.
Click to expand...
That's actually pretty expensive now that I think about it. What do you think? How would you configure a small 2.5x2.5 vegging tent? I'm looking at 3590s and driver configurations for really good efficiency
 
S

Seriousbuds

Active Member
Anyone have a good "budget build"? I'm looking at all my options.. I'm not opposed to running say 4x Vero10 on an ebay driver, for example. (Bad example though because efficiency would be low)

I'd LIKE to get a COB that's cheap enough to buy over here vs. buying from China and waiting a month.

If you guys can think of a good cheaper build for a small vegging cab (only needs to veg 2 plants), that I can soure without going through China.. that would be good.
 
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P

PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
Seriousbuds said:
Anyone have a good "budget build"? I'm looking at all my options.. I'm not opposed to running say 4x Vero10 on an ebay driver, for example. (Bad example though because efficiency would be low)

I'd LIKE to get a COB that's cheap enough to buy over here vs. buying from China and waiting a month.

If you guys can think of a good cheaper build for a small vegging cab (only needs to veg 2 plants), that I can soure without going through China.. that would be good.
Click to expand...
a couple of suggestions for a 2x4 area....

vero18s + hlg-185-1050a + 36" heatsink
veros 18s are cheap I order from digikey, 5000K would be great for vegging

cxb3070 + hlg-185-1050a + 36" heatsink
cxb3070 more costly, but more efficient, I just noticed that pacificlightconcepts is making cxb3070's available at a very reasonable price.

with one 120mm fan you can run either of these on the 4.85 heatsinkusa

for the 2.5 x 2.5 area just use two 20" heatsinks instead of one for even distribution.
 
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