Which led grow light to choose for a 5x5?

[zooolcsi]

Hi guys,

it’s been a while but I’m planning to have a few runs in near future.
I used to use hps and small cob lights before.
I want a led fixture for a 5x5 area.

can you please suggest?
Please, I’m not looking for the cheapest option, I want a led that penetrates well and produces nice flowers. (Dense, rich in terps)

I looked up a few relatively cheap 720w fixtures, any experience with them?
I know even a cheap Chinese knockoff will produce something. I’m not necessarily looking for bigger yields, but better overall quality.

share your suggestions, if you have pictures that would be even better.
Thanks

 

[Mr.DS-420]

I'm running a Photo bio MX2 in a 4x4 space, it's overkill for the space. It's a 680 watt fixture and would probably do well for a 5x5 space. Great light penetration. I attached a pic, only one I have that kinda shows the light.

 

[Trap Star]

Ebay black dog led PhytoMAX - 2 1000
$600 + $73 shipping.
You can youtube black dog LED 1000 an watch them grow 2.51 lbs of blue dream bud

 

[zooolcsi]

Ebay black dog led PhytoMAX - 2 1000
$600 + $73 shipping.
You can youtube black dog LED 1000 an watch them grow 2.51 lbs of blue dream bud

Hey thanks,

to be honest I’m not sold on this one. The videos are 7-8years old, I’m sure there was improvement on led light since.

I’m not after weight, but quality. They might have cropped over a box but I doubt the quality was top notch.
Have you used this light yourself? Have you got any result figures / pictures? Thank you

 

[zooolcsi]

Just for reference, these are the lights I had a Quick Look at. They all look the same to me (more or less)

any opinion? Or anything similar with proven better quality result?

 

[zooolcsi]

I'm running a Photo bio MX2 in a 4x4 space, it's overkill for the space. It's a 680 watt fixture and would probably do well for a 5x5 space. Great light penetration. I attached a pic, only one I have that kinda shows the light. View attachment 5436081

Yes that looks decent, just watched a few vids about it. I really like their light controller (does it come with it or it’s a separate purchase?)
I was looking at very similar ones but uk based.
how was your results? In terms of quality.
what would you say, how deep is the properly penetrated canopy? So no popcorn bits.
thank you

 

[Rocket Soul]

Do you really need a light or do you need 4 lights? If you have the vertical space one easy approach would be doing 4x 240w double board kits of whatever provider you prefer and think of them as each covering a 3x2' section: put one in each corner with a "windmill" orientation: there is only one way to fit in 4x 3x2s in a 5x5: you get one ft2 emoty in the middle but it will be lit by cross lighting. This way you can accommodate variation in cannopy height and you have extra power if needed. And if one breaks down its not your whole light out of action. Drawback is separate hanging for each light but in the end i dont really find that much of a factor

 

[Rocket Soul]

Hey thanks,

to be honest I’m not sold on this one. The videos are 7-8years old, I’m sure there was improvement on led light since.

I’m not after weight, but quality. They might have cropped over a box but I doubt the quality was top notch.
Have you used this light yourself? Have you got any result figures / pictures? Thank you

Black dog should likely do the best quality but its a bit lacking in output. Id go for their latest version though, and use 4 separate smaller lights as described above. But thats going to be pricey obviously. Penetration and quality: they depend on opposite and exclusive things in the spectrum; you may have to chose one and not the other: more green, more light down cannopy, but also (imho) less quality terps. In any case you should add some violet or uva for quality.

Also fluffy lowers tend to happen when you flower too much depth; do some lolipopping and clear out any sucker growth and you get bigger tops and better density mid cannopy depth

Ymmv

 

[coreywebster]

PHLIZON FD9600 1000W Full-Spectrum+UV/IR Daisy Chain Dimmable Cost-eff

SPECIFICATION PPE: 2.9 µmol/JWattage: 1000w±5%@100V-277VYield: 3g/wattDimensions: 42.5x41.7x3.7inches/108x106x9.3cmWeight: 17.1kg/37.7lbsCoverage: Flower Coverage: 5X5ft/150cmX150cm,Veg Coverage:6X6ft/180cmX180cmGrow Tent Compatible: 5X5ft/150cmX150cmLifetime: 50,000 HrsPower Driver: UL Listed...

www.phlizon.co.uk

 

[coreywebster]

On this occasion I'm not recommending based on price point, but on the output.

I don't personally think 720w generic units are enough for a 5x5, I'd be looking at 800w or above

 

[Mr.DS-420]

Yes that looks decent, just watched a few vids about it. I really like their light controller (does it come with it or it’s a separate purchase?)
I was looking at very similar ones but uk based.
how was your results? In terms of quality.
what would you say, how deep is the properly penetrated canopy? So no popcorn bits.
thank you

It comes with the driver which has a knob for power output. You can set it to 40, 55, 70,85, or 100%. Thr dimmer/controller is sold separate, you can run multiple light off it.

Had an amazing run with it, currently on my 2nd. The quality of the flower was top notch.

Towards the end

Chopped some colas and let the lowers go, even they were chunky.

Here is some of the dried product

 

[420AD]

Hi guys,

it’s been a while but I’m planning to have a few runs in near future.
I used to use hps and small cob lights before.
I want a led fixture for a 5x5 area.

can you please suggest?
Please, I’m not looking for the cheapest option, I want a led that penetrates well and produces nice flowers. (Dense, rich in terps)

I looked up a few relatively cheap 720w fixtures, any experience with them?
I know even a cheap Chinese knockoff will produce something. I’m not necessarily looking for bigger yields, but better overall quality.

share your suggestions, if you have pictures that would be even better.
Thanks

Depends on what market you're buying from.

I can only speak about the EU market.
Here in Europe most people vouch for Lumatek (Photontek in the US) and Sanlight as they are top quality, but also rather expensive.
Migro Lights, Viparspectra, SpiderFarmer and Marshydro would be a little cheaper.
I wouldn't buy in china - unless you got a good source confirming the product or it's so cheap you don't care.
regards, herby

 

[Rocket Soul]

Id argue that buying mars or apiderfarmer is the same as buying china. But at a slight premium price.

 

[420AD]

Id argue that buying mars or apiderfarmer is the same as buying china. But at a slight premium price.

Alot of chinese sellers put other diodes in their fixtures and sell it as LM301B's.
If you can get 2 fixtures for the price of one spiderfarmer, I'd say go for it and push 'em if you have to.
I bought mine in china but they have put a heavy fee on imports so it's not worth it for me anymore.
Gonna get me some Lumatek ones next if I can afford them and save me the hassle with warranty and all dat.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Alot of chinese sellers put other diodes in their fixtures and sell it as LM301B's.
If you can get 2 fixtures for the price of one spiderfarmer, I'd say go for it and push 'em if you have to.
I bought mine in china but they have put a heavy fee on imports so it's not worth it for me anymore.
Gonna get me some Lumatek ones next if I can afford them and save me the hassle with warranty and all dat.

Yes but what diodes are going into mars and spiderfarmer? They test 10% lower than spec when going into a gonio, test are here on the forum. Ive seen customers complain that they got a broken on arrival unit and where told to shipp it back to china on own dime in order to get another new one: price would be about half the unit.
The one thing i can say positive about Mars is that they engage on the forum and problems like these seem to be chased up quickly when a client makes a big fuzz on the forum. They seem to want to do better and engage directly with customers which can only make them better.
But the whole deal being that as a customer youre important if you make bad PR is a bit shitty. If any type of fault or problem means you have to self fit replacement parts id just aswell try to build and set it up myself.
Theres a lot of small things you can skimp on (connections, cheap soldering) which i find more important than diodes cause its the type of thing that makes smoke and fire if it breaks down. But im diy til die it seems like, cant bring myself to buy any lights but if i did, it would likely be lumatek (eu) or hlg (us).

 

[420AD]

Yes but what diodes are going into mars and spiderfarmer? They test 10% lower than spec when going into a gonio, test are here on the forum. Ive seen customers complain that they got a broken on arrival unit and where told to shipp it back to china on own dime in order to get another new one: price would be about half the unit.
The one thing i can say positive about Mars is that they engage on the forum and problems like these seem to be chased up quickly when a client makes a big fuzz on the forum. They seem to want to do better and engage directly with customers which can only make them better.
But the whole deal being that as a customer youre important if you make bad PR is a bit shitty. If any type of fault or problem means you have to self fit replacement parts id just aswell try to build and set it up myself.
Theres a lot of small things you can skimp on (connections, cheap soldering) which i find more important than diodes cause its the type of thing that makes smoke and fire if it breaks down. But im diy til die it seems like, cant bring myself to buy any lights but if i did, it would likely be lumatek (eu) or hlg (us).

Go Migro then, I think Shane's integrity is unquestionable considering his build quality, and his lights are pretty dope for the price.
Well if you can build them on your own... ofc you don't have to deal with all of this.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Depends on what market you're buying from.

I can only speak about the EU market.
Here in Europe most people vouch for Lumatek (Photontek in the US) and Sanlight as they are top quality, but also rather expensive.
Migro Lights, Viparspectra, SpiderFarmer and Marshydro would be a little cheaper.
I wouldn't buy in china - unless you got a good source confirming the product or it's so cheap you don't care.
regards, herby

Vipar spectra has some features to it which makes me think they really put some thought into their engineering ,- and ive never seen them mentioned in any catastrophic adjacent mishaps posted here on riu. It makes me favor them slightly. The p1500 pro seems to be an easy nr 1 for a 2x2.

Go Migro then, I think Shane's integrity is unquestionable considering his build quality, and his lights are pretty dope for the price.
Well if you can build them on your own... ofc you don't have to deal with all of this.

Migro in general seems really clued up but i dont rate absolutely everything that he says; especially put into context of time. Ive heard "theres no good affordable uv led solution available" umpteen times online repeating his uvb bulb sales spiel while you can fairly easily get modern, though, not top performance but good enough, diodes for very cheap nowadays when covid market pressure on uv really made it affordable. There are a couple other tests where i feel he had some small obfuscations, but his general approach of ppfd / w seems really valid as it takes spread into account. Id happily go for his lights rather than MH and Hydro farmer.
He is really good but it's important to note he also sells a product...

 

[420AD]

Vipar spectra has some features to it which makes me think they really put some thought into their engineering ,- and ive never seen them mentioned in any catastrophic adjacent mishaps posted here on riu. It makes me favor them slightly. The p1500 pro seems to be an easy nr 1 for a 2x2.

Migro in general seems really clued up but i dont rate absolutely everything that he says; especially put into context of time. Ive heard "theres no good affordable uv led solution available" umpteen times online repeating his uvb bulb sales spiel while you can fairly easily get modern, though, not top performance but good enough, diodes for very cheap nowadays when covid market pressure on uv really made it affordable. There are a couple other tests where i feel he had some small obfuscations, but his general approach of ppfd / w seems really valid as it takes spread into account. Id happily go for his lights rather than MH and Hydro farmer.
He is really good but it's important to note he also sells a product...

Well, you can see things from whatever view you like, but in general the guy is dedicated not only to his business, but to the customers also.
He invested alot of his personal time in videos that are not about selling his stuff. He's really interested in the matter, he takes on brilliant guests and he still replies himself to alot of people wo aren't customers. So I give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Well, you can see things from whatever view you like, but in general the guy is dedicated not only to his business, but to the customers also.
He invested alot of his personal time in videos that are not about selling his stuff. He's really interested in the matter, he takes on brilliant guests and he still replies himself to alot of people wo aren't customers. So I give him the benefit of the doubt.

I take no issue with any of that world is better with migro than without.

All im saying is to contrast what he says with other sources, like science papers, check the date of the video and see if it still applies a few years later and ask yourself how much of a complete picture you get out of growing watching youtube videos of a comercial vendor. Same thing could be said of Bugbee; the videos seem great but when you read some of his papers you really wonder about what he thought when he was setting up his experiment.

Migro does answer question but the one time i asked a question which challenged his method somewhat i got zero response. Do with this what you please and rather than giving the benefit of a doubt just give everything a slight doubt, check up on it nothing more, thats the whole point of scientific method: its never finished, its always updating and getting closer to the truth. The world is not black or white, its grey and the trick is to figure out exactly which shade of grey

 

[chuckeye]

Hi guys,
it’s been a while but I’m planning to have a few runs in near future.
I used to use hps and small cob lights before.
I want a led fixture for a 5x5 area.

Early days for me but I just switched from HID to LED...

Did a Lot of comparing lights/par maps, etc. and the best value and light spread was the ViparSpectra KS5000 500w.
Sold out in Canada and their US store doesn't ship cross border.

Next choice was Mars Hydro. Again, sold out in Canada and the FC4800 480w looked a little weak on the edges....
FC6500 730w crazy expensive

Ended up with the Phlizon FD6000 640w on sale for $389 Cdn.

I will have to see what the results are but so far I am pleased !

Day 6 of 12/12 for a total of 47 days..

Clockwise from back left > Mau Wowie, Columbian Gold, Hawaiian Snow (5 days younger) and Acapulco Gold.
5 gallon pails with GroBucket inserts, ProMix HP, Mega Crop one part. Hawaiian Snow is in coco, same feed.



Maui Wowie knuckle



Acapulco Gold knuckle



Cheers