10x10 Grow Room - Blank Slate - Need Input

I just finished moving into my new house and there is a spare 10x10 room so I figured why not make it a grow room. My last grow was 5+ years ago so I’ve been out of the loop and a lot has changed since then. LEDs have been making huge strides and CMH looks promising. However my past experience is with HPS.


I am hoping to get some input on what kind of lighting system I should use for max potency and yield for an organic soil indoor SCROG grow.


The room is exactly 10x10. I figured I should put a path down the middle of 2ft for easy access so that would leave two 4x10 areas for the plants (which I may turn to 4x8s to match the footprints of the lighting system) I don’t know if I should stick with HPS or try LED or CMH which sounds promising or even a combination. I am not trying to break the bank going all out but I’m not trying to go dirt cheap either. I figured in that space I could drop 4 1000w HPS (2 on each side) or 6 600w HPS (3 on each side). Also I thought of doing 2 315CMH and 4 600HPS on light rails but I threw the light rail idea out the window (for now)


I want the communities input here. What would you guys do with this space / what have you guys done with this space already ? What kind of lights/reflectors would be best for this setup ?


Thanks for any input !

What budget?

PrometheanLeaf said:

What budget?

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Hey thanks for the response. I don’t really have a set budget. I have been looking at LEDs recently. Many people are raving about quantum boards so that’s always an option.
I also looked further into DIY and contemplated 4x4 lights using strips for max coverage. For example
(4x4 fixture)
14x Samsung LT-QB22A 4ft strips (same diodes as a qb96elite
x1 HLG-480H-48A Driver

They would run about 500 a piece and I would use 4 of them.

However I am completely new to LED so I don’t know too much about them if I was to go that route (I have electrical experience though)

My only INDOOR grow experiences are with HPS.

But anyway in short to answer you question lol

I don’t have a budget but I don’t like to overpay for things if that makes sense

Welcome, Dub
Looks like you have a pretty good grasp of how much light you'll need. HID is always a good option, just factor in cooling load as a cost. If you're comfortable DIY'ing, building your own fixtures allows you to get top-shelf components for much less $. 500w/4x4 would crush that space using the strips you listed.

I have 16x 304 boards from china seller (they use same overall design and the same diodes as HLG) in my 10x10 tent run at 75% it cost me around $1400 for the whole lighting setup. Calculated electric cost was half of the HPS i would have put in there.
If youre interested in using LED id suggest checking out stuff like http://ledgardener.com/ and the LED section of this forum. There's a lot of BS and over opinionated fan boys to wade through when it comes to LEDs so be prepared to do your own reading and research. You wont get a very straight answer other than dont buy cheap amazon LEDs.

GBAUTO said:

Welcome, Dub
Looks like you have a pretty good grasp of how much light you'll need. HID is always a good option, just factor in cooling load as a cost. If you're comfortable DIY'ing, building your own fixtures allows you to get top-shelf components for much less $. 500w/4x4 would crush that space using the strips you listed.

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Thanks! I think I will be DIY’n using strips. I just don’t know which strips I should use. I could go with the F series or with the ones I posted above that the newer QBs are using now. What do u guys think ?

https://www.pacificlightconcepts.com/product/photo-boost-strip-light-engine/

Should be back In stock next week.

DubJ said:

Thanks! I think I will be DIY’n using strips. I just don’t know which strips I should use. I could go with the F series or with the ones I posted above that the newer QBs are using now. What do u guys think ?

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This is just my opinion but I feel the new qb are great for upgrading cobs. Yet if just getting into led lm561c or lm301b would be my pick. I say that bc the new qb style needs such a large heatsink. Also the lm's have a better light pattern. I bought lm561c boards from China n am very happy with them. Here's the driver I have that's 1800w (can go higher) n can be bought for 80$ on eBay. https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=66169&p=995128#p995128
Besides lights what's your plan on method of growing. Soil hydro media size of pots nutrients etc?

Skiball said:

This is just my opinion but I feel the new qb are great for upgrading cobs. Yet if just getting into led lm561c or lm301b would be my pick. I say that bc the new qb style needs such a large heatsink. Also the lm's have a better light pattern. I bought lm561c boards from China n am very happy with them. Here's the driver I have that's 1800w (can go higher) n can be bought for 80$ on eBay.
Besides lights what's your plan on method of growing. Soil hydro media size of pots nutrients etc?

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Hey thanks for the input
I’ll be using SCROG and using 7gal fabric pots with my own soil mix. I’m used to using all organic nutrients but I may opt out of that - not sure yet.

I am just trying to learn and figure things out with LED as they are new to me. I’m trying to get a grasp on the differences in lights here.


The QB96elites have 96 301B diodes. For a 4x4 I think I would use 4 of them which would be 384 diodes.


The Q series strips have the same 301B diodes, if I were to build using these I would use 14 4ft strips which equal 1120 301b diodes. These would also be in a 4ft x 4ft fixture for max coverage.


The 4ft x 4ft fixture with 14 4ft strips and 1120 diodes should have more coverage than 15in x 11in of total lighting in the 4 QBs combined. Correct me if I’m wrong please.


As for penetration why would the Qb96elites have more penetration than the strips with the same 301b leds in them aside from the extra deep red?


And as far as wattage goes, I know it doesn’t always convert to the PPFD given; but why would I be able to run about 800 Watts with 4x Qb96elites for a total of 384 301b diodes when I can only run about 480w when using strips with a total of 1120 of the same 301b diodes ? Unless I can run the Q series strip lights at a much higher wattage? As per QB96elites they are taking 2w per each 301b LED. Does that mean on the Q series strip build with 1120 of the same diodes I can run them at 2240w (the same 2w each that Qb96elites consume) ? Please help me wrap my head around this before I rip my hair out lol

DubJ said:

Hey thanks for the input
I’ll be using SCROG and using 7gal fabric pots with my own soil mix. I’m used to using all organic nutrients but I may opt out of that - not sure yet.

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Put them on plastic trays and use a 30 gal rez with spaghetti lines running off 3/4" tubing, you'll thank me. Fabric pots need tons of water. If you're going soil my biggest tip is in summer stock up. Bc you can sterize soil so easy by keeping in a locked hot car .

Skiball said:

Put them on plastic trays and use a 30 gal rez with spaghetti lines running off 3/4" tubing, you'll thank me. Fabric pots need tons of water. If you're going soil my biggest tip is in summer stock up. Bc you can sterize soil so easy by keeping in a locked hot car .

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Thanks bro. Appreciate the advice