**ULTIMATE LED TEST** *GLH Spectra 290* VS *Blackstar 500* VS *Hydro Grow LED 336X*

[WeJuana]

The only lights I would recommend in the $300 price range that I have personally had experience with is a Blackstar 240 High Output.

I started out in the LED world by buying 2 UFOs for around $300 and a Blackstar 240 for around $300. The UFOs were the biggest mistake ever. The growth was so much slower and noticeably less healthy looking. Luckily I purchased a Blackstar @ the same time and saw the difference between LEDs.. otherwise I could have been another one of these total anti-led nuts! haha

 

[Endur0xX]

I wish I didnt buy those 2 UFOs ... they are a better version that the orignal but are still 1 watter...at least I didnt pay 300$

 

[coolj]

The only lights I would recommend in the $300 price range that I have personally had experience with is a Blackstar 240 High Output.

I started out in the LED world by buying 2 UFOs for around $300 and a Blackstar 240 for around $300. The UFOs were the biggest mistake ever. The growth was so much slower and noticeably less healthy looking. Luckily I purchased a Blackstar @ the same time and saw the difference between LEDs.. otherwise I could have been another one of these total anti-led nuts! haha

ok cool so knowing what i want to do should i get some 240s or step my game up to a pair of stronger led lights? Im looking to blind my plants, LOL in my dr150, and when i get my next tent i dont want to add more than 2 or 3 new lights im thinking 4 lights for an 8x8 space but i could do 6.. just not sure what company i wanna pull the trigger with or what size to go with. I hate spending twice because i didnt do my homework..

 

[WeJuana]

@Endur0 - No kidding! UFO's are a joke in my opinion, but I want to clarify when I say UFO I mean the generic chinese junk ones found on ebay. I know a lot of companies have their own UFO style light and im not passing any judgements because I have not yet myself tested them.

@coolj- Well if the $300 isn't your budget per light, I would say sit back and watch the grow and see how things start to develop. You get to see it on my dime and don't have to spend twice lol.

 

[coolj]

lol bro, i can do 300 a light, im just watching to find out if i should do 500/800 per light and buy less lights...Also whats up with "trugrolights.com"

 

[WeJuana]

lol bro, i can do 300 a light, im just watching to find out if i should do 500/800 per light and buy less lights...Also whats up with "trugrolights.com"

Smart thinkin! I was not trying to say you could not afford $300 lights or anything like that. I just thought you were budgeting for a light around the $300 mark because you added up your HPS and figured that was about your cost you were trying to stay within.

I'm not familiar with "trugrolights.com" I just checked their site and they don't show prices with specifics or have any form online store. Any idea where you can actually buy them?

 

[coolj]

Smart thinkin! I was not trying to say you could not afford $300 lights or anything like that. I just thought you were budgeting for a light around the $300 mark because you added up your HPS and figured that was about your cost you were trying to stay within.

I'm not familiar with "trugrolights.com" I just checked their site and they don't show prices with specifics or have any form online store. Any idea where you can actually buy them?

LOL, but i would rather spend less, my goal is to gro 8/16 plants stealth,in a stagg harvest in the same flower room and get a zip or 2 per plant, im going to use my dr80 as a clone veg room or get a dp90. I bought two bubbleponics kits but i think i want to just stay soil and use the moonshine mix, dont have time to micro manage plants.
I chex'd out those lighthouse tents and i like the 6.5x6.5 i think that would be cool . also i was looking at htgsupply and their tents seem pretty impressive. I cant wait to find out why u chose lighthouse other than the price. any input would be most needed.. thanks Bro

 

[Scrogreen]

Everything is lookn good juana! Keep up the good work!

 

[Kaptain Kron]

2 blackstar 500's man same price actually a bit less as a single 300 watt draw GLH, and you get more coverage area, and 2 300 watt draw lights blackstars are business man, If you got the coin and mike at GLH doesnt strike you as shady the day you talk to him go with GLH i would say. The penetrator just seems like too much $ for that wattage draw. If you wait to see the results of this lovely test im sure you will see what i talk about, the GLH panel is probably a bit better than the blackstar 500 panel but not by much and not for how much they want for it IMO, waiting for mike to lower prices a bit over there and ill probably bounce over and start usin their panels if i havent completely switched up to kessil by then.

LOL, but i would rather spend less, my goal is to gro 8/16 plants stealth,in a stagg harvest in the same flower room and get a zip or 2 per plant, im going to use my dr80 as a clone veg room or get a dp90. I bought two bubbleponics kits but i think i want to just stay soil and use the moonshine mix, dont have time to micro manage plants.
I chex'd out those lighthouse tents and i like the 6.5x6.5 i think that would be cool . also i was looking at htgsupply and their tents seem pretty impressive. I cant wait to find out why u chose lighthouse other than the price. any input would be most needed.. thanks Bro

 

[spicoli129]

Subbed for this one! Nice to see a good comparison on LED's since most people won't give them a chance. I've had good success with Blackstar 240w's. I've always wanted to get some penetrator's to run with my HPS's.

Look forward to your progress! Good luck man!

 

[davoswavos]

It's crazy how purple the penetrator is I haven't seen any grows with them yet should be interesting to see these lights battle.

 

[WeJuana]

LOL, but i would rather spend less, my goal is to gro 8/16 plants stealth,in a stagg harvest in the same flower room and get a zip or 2 per plant, im going to use my dr80 as a clone veg room or get a dp90. I bought two bubbleponics kits but i think i want to just stay soil and use the moonshine mix, dont have time to micro manage plants.
I chex'd out those lighthouse tents and i like the 6.5x6.5 i think that would be cool . also i was looking at htgsupply and their tents seem pretty impressive. I cant wait to find out why u chose lighthouse other than the price. any input would be most needed.. thanks Bro

I like the tents so much because they have real wide side panels that unzip so I can transfer plants in a limited space! If I didn't have tents that had opening side panels, I would not physically be able to transfer the plants from tent to tent, because there is only about an 8 inch gap between tents to work with. Ill get some pics of the setup so you all can see what I am talking about.

 

[Lucius Vorenus]

WeJuana- how are these doing in comparison to the Blackstar 240's??

 

[WeJuana]

WeJuana- how are these doing in comparison to the Blackstar 240's??

It's hard to say at this point because usually the first week or 2 of flower aren't too fast paced and I have not yet done a grow using only 240's, so I couldn't fairly compare them.

I have the 240s hanging over the clones right now, which are doing awesome; all the other lights are on flower so at this stage it would be like trying to compare apples to oranges.

 

[hoss12781]

lol bro, i can do 300 a light, im just watching to find out if i should do 500/800 per light and buy less lights...Also whats up with "trugrolights.com"

I'm of the opinion that getting more smaller wattage panels in my garden has been more beneficial than having one massive light. Gives you a modular set up. I'm running 560w of actual led output (790w of chipset capacity) broken up into four different panels. Here is the one's I'm using - www.hydroponicshut.com for 300 a pop the PG 180 actually puts out more output power (155w) than the Blackstar 240 (140ish watts). Also has 14 spectrum including IR and UV. They've served me well. Whatever brand you get if you have a small garden heed this advice. You can do a lot more with a bunch of smaller panels as opposed to one large panel. They are super easy to mount as you see fit given the current state of any grow allowing maximum light exposure for every plant.

 

[WeJuana]

Day 5

Blackstar 500

Penetrator 336x

Spectra 300

GROW SETUP

Red dots represent the carbon filters I just added to upgrade garden.

I put the carbon filter cans between the small 9" gap in the back tents to maximize space.

Showing the 9" gap I have to work with.

If it was not for the side pockets on the tents, I would be unable to transfer plants from tent to tent (especially ones the size of the LA con moms).

EZ Clone machine fits perfectly in the 30" gap with 2 240s over top.





​

 

[coolj]

I'm of the opinion that getting more smaller wattage panels in my garden has been more beneficial than having one massive light. Gives you a modular set up. I'm running 560w of actual led output (790w of chipset capacity) broken up into four different panels. Here is the one's I'm using - www.hydroponicshut.com for 300 a pop the PG 180 actually puts out more output power (155w) than the Blackstar 240 (140ish watts). Also has 14 spectrum including IR and UV. They've served me well. Whatever brand you get if you have a small garden heed this advice. You can do a lot more with a bunch of smaller panels as opposed to one large panel. They are super easy to mount as you see fit given the current state of any grow allowing maximum light exposure for every plant.

Wow funny u should mention hydroponic hut, its a dude on craigslist in my area selling a 190 w led light he purchased from them in 2009 for $399 he is asking $180 should i buy it?

 

[coolj]

I love how small and hi tech looking those lights are, ive been looking into getting either a turbo klone t24 or a botanicare clone25 just not sure which one yet.

 

[hoss12781]

Wow funny u should mention hydroponic hut, its a dude on craigslist in my area selling a 190 w led light he purchased from them in 2009 for $399 he is asking $180 should i buy it?

I have no idea what model that would be. The first light I bought from them was in 2011 when they had the 180,260, & 550 chipset models. I'm happy with the 2011 model lights I bought but can't speak from first hand experience on the older models so I won't. I will say a big part of the appeal for me was buying lights that come with a 3 year usa based warranty. I wanted to know I wouldn't have to spend any more money on lighting for the next three years - you won't get that from a craigslist deal. If I were in your shoes, I'd drop a bit more on a new model I think all led companies have really stepped up their games in the last three years.

Edit - I do have a 2010 model PG 250 that I got on Ebay, it was refurbed but still had the three year warranty on it. It only has a 1w veg chipset but a full 3w flowering chipset so I'd wager to say the 2009 models also had the same lower wattage diodes. It's probably not the best bang for your buck.

WeJuana - sorry to interrupt the experiment - again kudos and very interesting. Looks like the GLH is bleaching a tad, eh?

 

[WeJuana]

I have no idea what model that would be. The first light I bought from them was in 2011 when they had the 180,260, & 550 chipset models. I'm happy with the 2011 model lights I bought but can't speak from first hand experience on the older models so I won't. I will say a big part of the appeal for me was buying lights that come with a 3 year usa based warranty. I wanted to know I wouldn't have to spend any more money on lighting for the next three years - you won't get that from a craigslist deal. If I were in your shoes, I'd drop a bit more on a new model I think all led companies have really stepped up their games in the last three years.

Edit - I do have a 2010 model PG 250 that I got on Ebay, it was refurbed but still had the three year warranty on it. It only has a 1w veg chipset but a full 3w flowering chipset so I'd wager to say the 2009 models also had the same lower wattage diodes. It's probably not the best bang for your buck.

WeJuana - sorry to interrupt the experiment - again kudos and very interesting. Looks like the GLH is bleaching a tad, eh?

Not a problem I appreciate you adding some knowledge to the thread and giving your input on the brand since your familiar with it!

The GLH shows it a little bit better because the whiter light, but all 3 plants are showing starting symptoms of Magnesium deficiency. I think it could be due to the smaller 3 gal pots, hence a smaller root structure not able to take up Mg fast enough. Ill be feeding with 2 tsp of epsom salt per gallon for the next 2 waterings and I think we should see the green start to rush back nicely