joecanna17
Well-Known Member
Hey, @KlosetKush good luck with your first LED build, if you head in that direction...
DIY LED lights really aren't tough to do, and once you do build one, that may likely be your preferred way of lighting from then on.
To clarify, and hopefully help with your final choice, I had some questions about your setup:
I know you said 1.5x2x4ft, I presume 4ft tall? Of that 4ft, how much will be plant material? How much will be head room, and how much container / root room? What grow style and medium? How many plants? Any training? I ask because it seems like a tall, narrow space, so you'll probably want a light with the most penetration, to make the most of all your available foliage.
The QBs are great for even coverage over flat gardens, but my only concern would be whether they can effectively penetrate say, 2ft of plant growth space between canopy and diodes. I'm sure someone who runs them over a horizontal canopy can chime in and let us know what kind of light they get down deep.
If QBs aren't good for 2-3ft, I'd probably look more toward a couple of the condensed COB style LED kits, using diode brands like Vero, Citizen, etc. 2 COBs with 60* lenses should be the most you would need, from what I've seen in others setups. That would give you 1+ COB per sqft, and should reach through your foliage no problem. These condensed COBs do need more headroom for their heat sinks, and more room between foliage though, because the light is so condensed, and more so with focusing lenses, so keep that in mind.
Unfortunately, I can't really give as many experiential specifics with the condensed style COBs, or QBs as I've only personally built fixtures with rigid strips, but they use the same diode as the QBs, and they are nice lights!
You're in a great forum for LED tech here. There's a ton of info, and new stuff every day. Some other places are downright dead compared to RIU for LED info!
If you get into doing these things DIY, you can customize your lights to just about any configuration for your canopy, using the rigid LED strips from companies like Bridgelux or Samsung.
I hope that whole post didn't throw a monkey wrench in your plans for a QB specifically, but I want you to get the best light for your situation, and with all the activity in here already, I'm sure you'll find the answer for your setup soon.
Good luck again!
**I see you just posted, and you can get within a couple inches for sure. I've only seen burn when leaves were lying directly on the diodes for a bit...then, they had little diode sized bleach spots.
DIY LED lights really aren't tough to do, and once you do build one, that may likely be your preferred way of lighting from then on.
To clarify, and hopefully help with your final choice, I had some questions about your setup:
I know you said 1.5x2x4ft, I presume 4ft tall? Of that 4ft, how much will be plant material? How much will be head room, and how much container / root room? What grow style and medium? How many plants? Any training? I ask because it seems like a tall, narrow space, so you'll probably want a light with the most penetration, to make the most of all your available foliage.
The QBs are great for even coverage over flat gardens, but my only concern would be whether they can effectively penetrate say, 2ft of plant growth space between canopy and diodes. I'm sure someone who runs them over a horizontal canopy can chime in and let us know what kind of light they get down deep.
If QBs aren't good for 2-3ft, I'd probably look more toward a couple of the condensed COB style LED kits, using diode brands like Vero, Citizen, etc. 2 COBs with 60* lenses should be the most you would need, from what I've seen in others setups. That would give you 1+ COB per sqft, and should reach through your foliage no problem. These condensed COBs do need more headroom for their heat sinks, and more room between foliage though, because the light is so condensed, and more so with focusing lenses, so keep that in mind.
Unfortunately, I can't really give as many experiential specifics with the condensed style COBs, or QBs as I've only personally built fixtures with rigid strips, but they use the same diode as the QBs, and they are nice lights!
You're in a great forum for LED tech here. There's a ton of info, and new stuff every day. Some other places are downright dead compared to RIU for LED info!
If you get into doing these things DIY, you can customize your lights to just about any configuration for your canopy, using the rigid LED strips from companies like Bridgelux or Samsung.
I hope that whole post didn't throw a monkey wrench in your plans for a QB specifically, but I want you to get the best light for your situation, and with all the activity in here already, I'm sure you'll find the answer for your setup soon.
Good luck again!
**I see you just posted, and you can get within a couple inches for sure. I've only seen burn when leaves were lying directly on the diodes for a bit...then, they had little diode sized bleach spots.
