2 colors? Really? I can't hear you all the way back there in 2007.I aint hating and I didnt say you couldnt grow with them, but basically the only tangible advantage to LED's is lower heat...thats the simple fact.
If you wanna grow weed without producing lots of heat, buy LED's...for any other scenario HID will do the same/outperform LED's...and the dude comparing a 145w panel to a 1000w HPS needs to put the bong down in fairness, they dont produce the same lumens, not even vaguely near it (even tho lumens is a stupid way of measuring light output for growing).
The different coloured diodes...most LED panels made by proper companies only have 2 colours of diodes...and arguibly considering we dont have an actual cannabis PAR scale the HID bulbs produce a more "full" spectrum between MH and HPS.
Changing bulbs...I can get 6-10 bulbs + ballast for less than the equivilent LED.
Come on guys, misrepresenting the facts damages LED's more than anyone bashing them...
Check out my two blackstar grows in my signature and you can see the proofhell i was just going to order one. I'm glad i didn't so what would you guys suggest. Im not looking for yield or a huge grow.
I want 5 or 6 plants this winter to do some breeding for next years outdoors. Would a blackstar work for these purposes.
Blackstars work well, the only thing to keep in mind is their advertised wattage is a good ways off from their actual wattage (about ~55%). This isn't any attempt to "scam" anyone or anything, they're very straight forward about it. It's just something to keep in mind when comparing to other brands. At first glance you might compare the blackstar 500w to another 500w light, and the other one might be much more expensive, but it may also be 500 actual watts. Like I said though, they are good lights.Check out my two blackstar grows in my signature and you can see the proof
Yeah, then a 500W would actually cover what a 500W HPS would cover, but on better PAR (compared to how many more lumens are absorbed by LED at a much lower Lumen level even tho it's still peaking a whopping 120,000 LUX which is actually too much. One is never to go past a LUX range of 90,000 LUX, and 25,000-50,000 LUX is what's needed for accelerated growth, but an LED is penetrating near 2X the LUX in the eyes of the plant compared to what the meter reads which is an insane number. Maybe the whole "Solorization" thing doesnt occur in an LED past 90,000 LUX? I dont have any idea, honestly on that matter.Blackstars work well, the only thing to keep in mind is their advertised wattage is a good ways off from their actual wattage (about ~55%). This isn't any attempt to "scam" anyone or anything, they're very straight forward about it. It's just something to keep in mind when comparing to other brands. At first glance you might compare the blackstar 500w to another 500w light, and the other one might be much more expensive, but it may also be 500 actual watts. Like I said though, they are good lights.
Edit: I apologize. Some of what I typed below doesnt matter since I ignored the fact of how many plants you were growing, but you can read on to see what expectations come from this strain. I asked in 1 part how many plants you were growing but it was my mistake by skipping over. So, you are only pulling a little over 0.583 Ounces per plant with all 4 LED panels, and 1.333 Ounces per plant runnning a 1,000W HPS, and 4 LED panels? On one man's first grow that he messed up with 2X Lemon Skunks yielded 45 Grams Dry (under 1 Ounce per plant). If he were running 6 Plants he would have gotten under 6 Ounces. Your grow is actually spot on for HPS alone and no need for extra lights when running 6 plants (I wouldnt think). I of course do not know much, but this is some to give you to think off of.I have found thorough real life growing experience and several successful harvest now that using HID and LED is the best way to go. My first harvest was 100% led (4x 600 blackstars 340 actual watts) and the yield was shit 3.5 oz's. So then I added a 1000 watt baddass bulb and ballast with a blockbuster hood along with the 4 blackstars, and I pulled down nearly 8 zip! All were the same strain lemon skunk from DNA genetics and this was 6 plants per run in Aero. So pretty much just adding a 1000 hps to the middle of the room bumped harvest weight up more than double. I feel like the HPS adds the intensity to get through the canopy and has a big footprint, and the leds are just there to fill in shady spots and of course frost them nugs up with the UVB.
No worries. You can send it to me and I'll break it in for youI got my advanced led diamond light today.I am super surprised how bright it is, it's gonna rock i think. Unfortunately i got a phone call to go to work and won't be able to run it for 3-4 months.
In my opinion......waiting a couple months couldn't hurt. LED's work, I love them, but in for the winter time I will be pulling out the CMH. A side note for you, when you DO decide to go LED; I have had more success with buying more, smaller sized panels and chaining them together rather than buying a couple of huge units. The AdvancedLED Diamonds are really really good, but their old model was good, and then they hit us with the Diamonds and they're awesome. What is 2012 going to offer us? Maybe something better, maybe not? Maybe they come out with a light utilizing 5w diodes or 6w diodes. Or maybe they come down in price. Either way, I'm using my CMH this winter regardless.So, I know there is much research involved in picking and LED or matching power of an HPS using LED's....
With that in mind, I'm setting up a NEW room and would really like to use LED if I can get the equivalent of 2 x 1000w HPS. I will have 1-2 flower rooms (either 1 big or 2 small). Which brand/model LED's would it take to best accomplish this? Right now I'm looking at Blackstar, Diamond, Black Dog, etc... What about 2 of the Diamond 600's ? Or 2 of the Diamond 800's? Or maybe 4 x 400's??
Sorry for the newb question I've been reseaching like a mofo but keep finding contradicting arguments. I really want to get LED for energy saving / heat issues. Not to mention, if I get 2x 1000w HPS, that also probably would require me to mess with the electric panels/wiring.
I don't mind spending extra money for the time being for something that equates to 1000w HPS in yield. I have an entire room to work with so I'm really open to ideas on the flowering room!!! Right now I just have a DR80 with 400w CMH! The 400w CMH alone almost requires me to buy a separate ac... another reason to buy LED instead of ac!!!!
The OTHER option is to use the cold of winter to cool off a 1000w HPS and then after winter on my next grow, switch to LED. By that time...maybe price would come down? Maybe there will be newer technology? Is it a good time to buy these panels or is there any indication that it might be better to wait a couple months?
Any suggestions?
I have a diamond panel and one of advanced's 3w extreme flowers and I love them. So naturally I'd recommend them. I have a link to a grow with a 800w diamond and it's very nice. I am also interested in the black dog leds, and I'd like to see how the platinum xl, 700, and 1300 models fair as potential 1,000w hps replacements.So, I know there is much research involved in picking and LED or matching power of an HPS using LED's....
With that in mind, I'm setting up a NEW room and would really like to use LED if I can get the equivalent of 2 x 1000w HPS. I will have 1-2 flower rooms (either 1 big or 2 small). Which brand/model LED's would it take to best accomplish this? Right now I'm looking at Blackstar, Diamond, Black Dog, etc... What about 2 of the Diamond 600's ? Or 2 of the Diamond 800's? Or maybe 4 x 400's??
Sorry for the newb question I've been reseaching like a mofo but keep finding contradicting arguments. I really want to get LED for energy saving / heat issues. Not to mention, if I get 2x 1000w HPS, that also probably would require me to mess with the electric panels/wiring.
I don't mind spending extra money for the time being for something that equates to 1000w HPS in yield. I have an entire room to work with so I'm really open to ideas on the flowering room!!! Right now I just have a DR80 with 400w CMH! The 400w CMH alone almost requires me to buy a separate ac... another reason to buy LED instead of ac!!!!
The OTHER option is to use the cold of winter to cool off a 1000w HPS and then after winter on my next grow, switch to LED. By that time...maybe price would come down? Maybe there will be newer technology? Is it a good time to buy these panels or is there any indication that it might be better to wait a couple months?
Any suggestions?
Are you exhausting in the same room or attic / somewhere else? The thing is... I want to get another light so I will be able to take clones and start a separate flower area and keep mothers. With an extra 400w CMH or 600w HPS, I'm thinking I may still need to vent all that heatNah, you miss the point of running the CMH. In the winter time the LED's can't keep the room warm enough, so you would have to run heat. CMH warms your room, you use a fan controller blowing the outside air through your fixture connected to a thermostat. You need no outside cooling/heating in the winter time if your growing inside your home and have your central heat on so that it's not freezing balls throughout your house.
I exhaust all the time, and keep my oscillating fans going all the time, and I have my intake fan put on a fan controller/thermostat, so when it gets too hot it pushes the cold air from outside, inside. Then when it gets too cold it stops doing so. It keeps the room supplied with fresh air, cools the room, and doesn't heed my exhaust/air movement within the room. I don't change this setup during the summer, I just add cooling and switch to LED, and it saves electricity/keeps my cooling from kicking on as much. But in the winter time, instead of adding an outside heat source, I find my CMH will heat my room for me, so in my case its beneficial to use during the winter months. For my climate....that setup works out pretty well.Are you exhausting in the same room or attic / somewhere else? The thing is... I want to get another light so I will be able to take clones and start a separate flower area and keep mothers. With an extra 400w CMH or 600w HPS, I'm thinking I may still need to vent all that heat