Discussion - Best Budget LED for Small Grow?

[BlazedBadger]

Hi guys, how's it going?

I am in the process of turning a chest of drawers into a small grow box as I no longer have the space for a larger grow tent. The internal diameters are: Width 25", Depth 12", Height 28".

Depending on strain size, I plan to grow 2/4 autoflowers (probably fastbuds genetics) in 5/10l pots using biobizz lightmix and nutrients. I will be topping and mainlining from the third node to keep them short and maximise top sites in such a small grow area.

Ventilation will be a 6" extraction fan connected to a varispeed controller as the oversized fan slowed down will be much quieter than a smaller fan on full power.

The problem I'm having is finding a suitable light for such a short grow box. I would like to go with LED's but of course they have to be a good distance from the canopy to avoid burning. I could dim the LED to counteract this problem but that will minimise the spread from the light so in order to counteract this second problem I would have to have either one big light or multiple smaller ones to fill the entire top of the grow box...

I have came up with two options for this, either: 2x Viparspectra P600's or 1 Viparspectra P2000.

I am trying to keep costs down and would appreciate any advice you guys may have on cheaper/better value options.

I will continue to document the process of the grow in this thread.

Thanks in advance guys.
All the best and happy growing!

 

[VincenzioVonHook]

With that size, there is no way you will get any more than a single, heavily defoliated, auto in that space. This is a single trained, topped, heavily defoliated auto in a 100x50x160cm (40x20x63) tent, only week three of flower under 85w for veg and 130w for flower. Still has around five weeks to go.


Just don't want you getting your hopes up expecting 4 autos in a shoebox.

In that space id grow a single auto under a CFL with reflector. A 6400k for growth and 2700k for flower. With that little height, 6" for pot, 10-12" minimum for the leds you mentioned, you simply haven't got the space for a plant at all.

 

[BlazedBadger]

Hi thankyou for your reply.

You have a nice plant on its way there!
What genetics, pot size, medium, nutrients etc. are you using?

While I appreciate your advice, I beg to differ... I have grown many autos in the past and do have an idea of plant size (remembering pot size and available nutrients are massive factors in overall plant size and the things people do in solo cups).

In a grow box with the same floor plan and double the height (not that the height was needed) using a 300w CFL and 10l pots, this was the results:

Whilst the quality was there, the quantity was significantly lacking. They didn't even fill out the area, nevermind grow any height (which was probably a blessing given the poor penetration of CFL's). Nearly 4 months growing plus drying and curing time to get 2x 1/2 Oz plants is simply not worth my time...

Although CFL's can be placed exceptionally close to the canopy, they simply do not have the necessary PAR ratings to grow flowering plants and as such, plants take much longer to flower and never reach their full potential.

People have done great things with CFL's but when trying to maximise quality and yeild, they don't compare to LED/HID. Even in small spaces LED's IMO are far superior to CFL, just look at the results of LED Vs CFL PC grow boxes...

There are definitely suitable LED's for a grow of this size and I am definitely still looking for better options. Any suggestions you guys have are greatly appreciated.

Another benefit of using this light on a dimmed setting (it goes down to 5%) is that when space permits me to get the bigger tent back out of storage, I will be able to place it in the tent and crank up the power.

 

[VincenzioVonHook]

I'd say a 23w e27 bulb for each plant, would do the job and they are cheap and run cool. If you could recess them into the top you could save some space as well.

You can get them in warm white, cool white, or a mix of white, warm white, red and IR. They are cheap, and I have had no problem running them a few inches above plants.

Here's a plant under 20w of E27 LED (warm white 3000k, white 6500k, red 630nm and IR. Im pretty sure it's around 25 days old, topped, no training or nutes so far. Is growing far better than I expected for 20w.



But if you could fit the viparspectra light Into the roof, and dim it, your set, especially if you move to a bigger space. The P600s are nice lights...I'm using a mars TS 600 (very similar to the p600) and two 23w e27 bulbs for the gorilla glue #4 auto in the post above.

 

[LEDTonic - Daniel]

Hey!

I'd like to invite you to take a look at our LEDTonic Q2 LED grow light. This model is essentially a QB with the driver fitted into the plastic housing. The lamp draws 36W, is fitted with Samsung diodes and a single lamp covers a 1.5x1.5' space well. Two of them would definitely cover your space and I'm guessing at $99 for a 2-pack they are cheaper than your alternatives.

Would be happy to answer any questions or explain the lamps in more detail if you think it could be a good choice for you. Email or PM.
Good luck!

 

[bodderz]

Talking about how close you can get with LED lights - I was really surprised to find my large propogator grow allowed me to plonk my (2 old tent lights) 2 SF1000's which sit nicely on the rectangle lid and give untold brightness beyond what i need, but the point is i could have the buds pressing against the clear prop roof with about just 1cm btwn them and no sign of degredation at the tips.. Obviously the small heat the led's make is for the most part stopped by the clear plastic barrier. Not ideal for everyone but light penetration was excellent in the mid and lower sections of the plant as the clear roof allows me to max up as far as I dare with no damage i've seen yet.

 

[bodderz]

The problem I'm having is finding a suitable light for such a short grow box. I would like to go with LED's but of course they have to be a good distance from the canopy to avoid burning.

This is not a problem i have with my LED's in a setup with same dimensions as yours.. My clear plastic canopy roof (propogaor lid) is definitely enabling me to turn up my LED (panel light) with the tops of the gilrs just 3 or 4cm away from the lid/ light and get stronger bright light into the middle of the plant. There is definitely zero damage/baking going on in the canopy. I have gone extremelybright using this setup, defintely a weraring glasses event!.

 

[Master Keif]

6” extractor seems like a lot for that space.

Sea of Green is King.

 

[agare$969]

Hi guys, how's it going?

I am in the process of turning a chest of drawers into a small grow box as I no longer have the space for a larger grow tent. The internal diameters are: Width 25", Depth 12", Height 28".

Depending on strain size, I plan to grow 2/4 autoflowers (probably fastbuds genetics) in 5/10l pots using biobizz lightmix and nutrients. I will be topping and mainlining from the third node to keep them short and maximise top sites in such a small grow area.

Ventilation will be a 6" extraction fan connected to a varispeed controller as the oversized fan slowed down will be much quieter than a smaller fan on full power.

The problem I'm having is finding a suitable light for such a short grow box. I would like to go with LED's but of course they have to be a good distance from the canopy to avoid burning. I could dim the LED to counteract this problem but that will minimise the spread from the light so in order to counteract this second problem I would have to have either one big light or multiple smaller ones to fill the entire top of the grow box...

I have came up with two options for this, either: 2x Viparspectra P600's or 1 Viparspectra P2000.

I am trying to keep costs down and would appreciate any advice you guys may have on cheaper/better value options.

I will continue to document the process of the grow in this thread.

Thanks in advance guys.
All the best and happy growing!

I can say with complete certainty that bloomspect makes some awesome lights. They advertise using Samsung diodes. Also advertised at 600w model although they both pull 85-90w from the wall at 100%. They are also dimmable. These along with a lux meter (I'm using 2 at 100% so 170w) is all you really need. They advertise one light for a 2x2' space which may work. I just was over cautious I guess and went for 2 lights just to make sure. This is also my first grow. 3 plants in this tent. 2 I brought back from a few mistakes which is why they're small. I'd feel comfortable growing one photo or a few autos in here maybe 3-4? I supercropped the big girl a few times to make sure all her buds are sitting under the lights and she was getting too big in veg and after the stretch in the 1st week of flower. This is also my first grow and I have a lot to learn as well so this is just my experience. The lights stay pretty cool as well with proper ventilation so does the tent. I'm currently only using 3 fans to ventilate. I don't have a proper system but this worked as well. Hope it helps. These girls are going on week 3 of flower. Texas butter (banana og X Stardawg)

 

[agare$969]

I can say with complete certainty that bloomspect makes some awesome lights. They advertise using Samsung diodes. Also advertised at 600w model although they both pull 85-90w from the wall at 100%. They are also dimmable. These along with a lux meter (I'm using 2 at 100% so 170w) is all you really need. They advertise one light for a 2x2' space which may work. I just was over cautious I guess and went for 2 lights just to make sure. This is also my first grow. 3 plants in this tent. 2 I brought back from a few mistakes which is why they're small. I'd feel comfortable growing one photo or a few autos in here maybe 3-4? I supercropped the big girl a few times to make sure all her buds are sitting under the lights and she was getting too big in veg and after the stretch in the 1st week of flower. This is also my first grow and I have a lot to learn as well so this is just my experience. The lights stay pretty cool as well with proper ventilation so does the tent. I'm currently only using 3 fans to ventilate. I don't have a proper system but this worked as well. Hope it helps. These girls are going on week 3 of flower. Texas butter (banana og X Stardawg) the price is $45 per light.

 

[coreywebster]

I can say with complete certainty that bloomspect makes some awesome lights. They advertise using Samsung diodes. Also advertised at 600w model although they both pull 85-90w from the wall at 100%. They are also dimmable. These along with a lux meter (I'm using 2 at 100% so 170w) is all you really need. They advertise one light for a 2x2' space which may work. I just was over cautious I guess and went for 2 lights just to make sure. This is also my first grow. 3 plants in this tent. 2 I brought back from a few mistakes which is why they're small. I'd feel comfortable growing one photo or a few autos in here maybe 3-4? I supercropped the big girl a few times to make sure all her buds are sitting under the lights and she was getting too big in veg and after the stretch in the 1st week of flower. This is also my first grow and I have a lot to learn as well so this is just my experience. The lights stay pretty cool as well with proper ventilation so does the tent. I'm currently only using 3 fans to ventilate. I don't have a proper system but this worked as well. Hope it helps. These girls are going on week 3 of flower. Texas butter (banana og X Stardawg)

I'd bend those branches 90 degree about half way up and lower that light.

 

[agare$969]

I'd bend those branches 90 degree about half way up and lower that light.

This may be a dumb question but Bend all of em?

 

[coreywebster]

This may be a dumb question but Bend all of em?

Yeah, probably more top 3rd of each branch.

Supercrop it, pinch the stem in your finger n thumb and gently put a bend in.
Aiming each into a more open space to fill out your area better.

 

[amneziaHaze]

I hada grow in 30x30x80 60wled 90g gain you can see diary in description.last grow failed but one before was good. You just have to train daily and pray for a small strech

 

[Psyphish]

With that size, there is no way you will get any more than a single, heavily defoliated, auto in that space. This is a single trained, topped, heavily defoliated auto in a 100x50x160cm (40x20x63) tent, only week three of flower under 85w for veg and 130w for flower. Still has around five weeks to go.
View attachment 4884744

Just don't want you getting your hopes up expecting 4 autos in a shoebox.

In that space id grow a single auto under a CFL with reflector. A 6400k for growth and 2700k for flower. With that little height, 6" for pot, 10-12" minimum for the leds you mentioned, you simply haven't got the space for a plant at all.

I use a 80(W)x60(D)x70(H) tent and run 200W of LED. The only thing limiting OP is the depth. I wouldn't grow more than two plants in OP's cabinet.

Here's a picture of 4 plants maxing out my tent, and yes I'm aware I should've trimmed the bottom, but didn't.



And a bonus pic, 30x30x60cm tent with regular supermarket LED bulbs. Using a better light that takes up less vertical space would make for a very fun setup.



Also I've just realized that this is one old-ass thread lol. OP is long gone.

 

[agare$969]

Yeah, probably more top 3rd of each branch.

Supercrop it, pinch the stem in your finger n thumb and gently put a bend in.
Aiming each into a more open space to fill out your area better.

I got ya. I actually already supercropped twice and got a few stragglers tied down yesterday. Got a few more weeks on these. They're not as even as id like em to be but ya live and learn. Next grow will be better.