Light Upgrade for 2x2, need help.

[maxlev]

AS others have said, you'll need about 150 watts of high quality led lighting in your space to really max it out. The 135 watt board from HLG is an excellent choice.

To assist you with some perspective on these lights, my most recent harvest was 12 zips with a 260xl (in a 2x4)

I have 2 135V2 kits in a 2x4 = perfect fit
Being able to dim each between 60-150 watts is very handy, have seen nearly 170 fully cranked
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/kits/products/135w-qb-v2-led-kit

 

[Medicated Bonsai]

i recommend building yourself a DIY fixture with quantum boards or cobs and making sure its 400w max for the 3x3 and dimmable for the 2x2.

for example:

you could buy 2 packs of
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/quantum-boards/products/qb288-with-slate-2-heatsink
and one of the
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-480h-c2100b/mean-well-enterprises

make sure to get a B type driver so you can dim it. wire the boards in series. if you ran all 4 at full power you'd be at around ~400w. wire a potentiometer to the driver you could run them at half power in your 2x2.

if you don't want to DIY you could buy
http://timbergrowlights.com/model-3cqs/
or
http://timbergrowlights.com/model-4vs/ (this is what i have in my 3x3 and it works great)

they are dimmable so you could run them at half power in your 2x2 and crank them up to full when you get a 3x3. imo, the pre-built QB fixtures don't really lend themselves as well to working in both spaces because of their bigger form factor but you could make something work if you get creative.

AS others have said, you'll need about 150 watts of high quality led lighting in your space to really max it out. The 135 watt board from HLG is an excellent choice.

To assist you with some perspective on these lights, my most recent harvest was 12 zips with a 260xl (in a 2x4)

Thank you for all the help guys! I would go with the 260w XW QB V2 Led Kit from HLG but I don't have anything to solder wires... I think I might go with the Quantum Boards from Timber Grow Lights instead. Its just a simple plug and play but has anyone used these before? I'm still pretty new to all of this and don't know much about quality of lights. I just want to verify that this would be a proper purchase.

http://timbergrowlights.com/model-24sams/

 

[1212ham]

Timber is a very respected company here and that's an excellent light. Some recent comments and pictures from a well known member....
https://www.rollitup.org/t/oh-snap-look-what-showed-up-last-night.974553/page-2

 

[giantsfan24]

I've got that exact space and am running a 200w Timber citizen clu048 rig I got from @RainDan. My growth over the last 3 weeks from seed has been awesome! Way better than my first grow with it. Way less than $500 and he custom built it to my measurements. The pic is from this morning. 3 weeks on Monday from seed.

 

[GBAUTO]

Thank you for all the help guys! I would go with the 260w XW QB V2 Led Kit from HLG but I don't have anything to solder wires... I think I might go with the Quantum Boards from Timber Grow Lights instead. Its just a simple plug and play but has anyone used these before? I'm still pretty new to all of this and don't know much about quality of lights. I just want to verify that this would be a proper purchase.

http://timbergrowlights.com/model-24sams/

The HLG and Timber use the same design. Both have push-in connectors-no soldering is needed.

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

Thank you for all the help guys! I would go with the 260w XW QB V2 Led Kit from HLG but I don't have anything to solder wires... I think I might go with the Quantum Boards from Timber Grow Lights instead. Its just a simple plug and play but has anyone used these before? I'm still pretty new to all of this and don't know much about quality of lights. I just want to verify that this would be a proper purchase.

http://timbergrowlights.com/model-24sams/

No soldering needed, just maybe some wire strippers (or a pocket knife) and a screwdriver.

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

Lol here, she isn't looking very well kept atm, I need to do a 2 week defol in a few days. 260xl!
Ps. The bottom of the red cap is 20 inches from the diodes. This is the first time I've filled a tent this big with a single plant, so I'm sure it'll be a learning experience.

 

[Medicated Bonsai]

Just curious but are none of the blurple lights even good? Even the high end ones? Kind, Platinum, BlackDog, etc.

Lol here, she isn't looking very well kept atm, I need to do a 2 week defol in a few days. 260xl! View attachment 4195547
Ps. The bottom of the red cap is 20 inches from the diodes. This is the first time I've filled a tent this big with a single plant, so I'm sure it'll be a learning experience.

What a Monster . This is what i'd like to get to in the future but I think I messed up on the height of my tent(4 foot). Could I mainline and just grow the two tops until the tent/canopy fills? Thats what i'm currently doing. I tied the two main tops down into a T. I'm keeping them tied low until I have about 8 branches on either side but the canopy is already 18 inches from the light at day 29.

Also, I ordered some nutrients today along with an inline fan, 6" exhaust fan, and carbon filter. I know a 4" would've been fine but I wanted to move this into a 3x3 or 2x4 after this first grow. I don't have much knowledge in nutrients so could someone tell me if I ordered the right ones?

Remo Nutrients : Micro, Grow, Bloom
Advanced Nutrients : Big Bud
Botanicare : CalMag Plus

I also have House Garden's "Amino Treatment" and "Roots Excelurator" already.

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

Just curious but are none of the blurple lights even good? Even the high end ones? Kind, Platinum, BlackDog, etc.

What a Monster . This is what i'd like to get to in the future but I think I messed up on the height of my tent(4 foot). Could I mainline and just grow the two tops until the tent/canopy fills? Thats what i'm currently doing. I tied the two main tops down into a T. I'm keeping them tied low until I have about 8 branches on either side but the canopy is already 18 inches from the light at day 29.

Also, I ordered some nutrients today along with an inline fan, 6" exhaust fan, and carbon filter. I know a 4" would've been fine but I wanted to move this into a 3x3 or 2x4 after this first grow. I don't have much knowledge in nutrients so could someone tell me if I ordered the right ones?

Remo Nutrients : Micro, Grow, Bloom
Advanced Nutrients : Big Bud
Botanicare : CalMag Plus

I also have House Garden's "Amino Treatment" and "Roots Excelurator" already.

Personally, for my 2x2x4, and my 2x4x6, which you see above, both use a 4 inch fan. One is around 100cfm for the 2x2, a Solier & Palau I think it is. The other in the 2x4 is a 200 cfm from TerraBloom I think. I just recently moved up to a 6 inch from AC INFINITY in my new 2.5x5, but that is right on the edge of overkill, which I wanted. That fan will pu 350 cfm but I'll probably have it turned halfway until maybe late in flower.

Those nutrients seem fine, I've never used AN or Remo, I've tried some Botanicare Sweet Raw but I'm too inexperienced to tell the difference lol. I'm switching to Masterblend soon. I may try Jack's as well. I have a sample pack from house and garden. Go pick up a sample of Megacrop, that's what my girl is eating. Seedsman White Widow btw.

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

Oh and sorry, about your first question, no, I would not buy lights from those companies (that doesn't mean they aren't good or won't grow plants - they will. For my money and my needs, I like HLG).

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

In case you were interested, here she is after a massive haircut. You can see I thinned that huge dark mass in the middle, along with most tertiary branches (mains>secondaries>tertiaries). I try to keep it all mains and secondaries because the buds will be tiny and there will be tons of suckers otherwise. Full speed ahead!

 

[giantsfan24]

View attachment 4197268

In case you were interested, here she is after a massive haircut. You can see I thinned that huge dark mass in the middle, along with most tertiary branches (mains>secondaries>tertiaries). I try to keep it all mains and secondaries because the buds will be tiny and there will be tons of suckers otherwise. Full speed ahead!

What size pot is that? Looks small.

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

What size pot is that? Looks small.

5 gallon

 

[Medicated Bonsai]

View attachment 4197268

In case you were interested, here she is after a massive haircut. You can see I thinned that huge dark mass in the middle, along with most tertiary branches (mains>secondaries>tertiaries). I try to keep it all mains and secondaries because the buds will be tiny and there will be tons of suckers otherwise. Full speed ahead!

Dang I feel like I may end up with a lot of popcorn buds haha. I only topped once and I just let the branches grow off the two mains.

 

[coreywebster]

Dang I feel like I may end up with a lot of popcorn buds haha. I only topped once and I just let the branches grow off the two mains.

You will be fine. Let it fill out your space. (assuming its not an auto)

 

[Mafiaal]

I just recently upgraded from CFL's to Vero 29 SE Cobs for my 2x3 space. I'm using two 22" rapid led rail, 4 Vero 29SE B series (52V) cobs with a HLG320H-1400B driver, that puts me at about 291w for 6sqft area and let me tell you its plenty of light.

Either way hit up Rapid led, great guys.

 

[Mafiaal]

Just noticed your space is a 2x2 or 4sqft ....

Here are some ideas for you...
3 (36v cobs) with one 22" rail with an HLG-185H-1400c for 151.2TW
or 3 (52V cobs) same rail with a HLG-240H-C1400 for 218.4 total watts

How hard you push COB's makes a big difference just remember that when you push them above 75-80w you may want to consider active cooling.

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

Looks good

Dang I feel like I may end up with a lot of popcorn buds haha. I only topped once and I just let the branches grow off the two mains.

 

[Medicated Bonsai]

Just noticed your space is a 2x2 or 4sqft ....

Here are some ideas for you...
3 (36v cobs) with one 22" rail with an HLG-185H-1400c for 151.2TW
or 3 (52V cobs) same rail with a HLG-240H-C1400 for 218.4 total watts

How hard you push COB's makes a big difference just remember that when you push them above 75-80w you may want to consider active cooling.

I decided to say screw the tent and just grow in my closet. The grow area will be about 26"x48"x80". I'm pretty set on getting this light but its pretty pricey. I don't mind dishin out the money as long as the fixture itself is worth the cost.

https://chilledgrowlights.com/product-category/diy-led-grow-light-kits

Is it worth getting or should I just save my money and go with the HLG or Timber boards?

 

[HitemwiththeHine]

I decided to say screw the tent and just grow in my closet. The grow area will be about 26"x48"x80". I'm pretty set on getting this light but its pretty pricey. I don't mind dishin out the money as long as the fixture itself is worth the cost.

https://chilledgrowlights.com/product-category/diy-led-grow-light-kits

Is it worth getting or should I just save my money and go with the HLG or Timber boards?

Wow, I didn't know chilled had a 100w kit priced like that. Honestly you could do ChilLED OR HLG. The chilled board will have some extras out of the box, but either of those companies would be great. Timber is great too but kinda redundant for anything but cobs. If you go HLG buy from HLG, imo, but they get your money either way.