Add More LEDs?

ryikk

ryikk

Member
I’m about halfway through my first grow and noticing some areas of improvement. I run a 4x4 RDWC setup circulating roughly 35 gal of water. I currently run 2 x Viparspectra 600W LED. The center of the grow is rock solid but the corners seem weak.

To maximize this space, my thought is to add 2 additional LED, mostly for the additional coverage not necessarily the wattage.

I guess I’m more asking if suring up the corners is worth the $325 that would run me
 

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Merlin1147

Merlin1147

Well-Known Member
Are you handy with electrical? Running the Vipars lengthwise, You could easily throw in 2 or even 4 Samsung LT-FB22B strips on a separate dimmable driver. 2 strip set up +/-$160. 4 strip +/- $250.
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
At 269 true watts per "600w vipar" you defo want more light. What that is is your choice.

There are lots of options from a third vipar to good LEDs or traditional HPS.

A 600w HPS is cheaper than a 3rd vipar and will result in less watts been used overall to light a 4x4.
 
ryikk

ryikk

Member
Now I know Viparspectra are not end game Lights, I knew that going into this. I balanced budget with output. Now yes there are tons of great options out there and I did a little research on the HLG and found this would likely be the light I would need, so instead of $325 I would be looking at almost 3 times that to swap out new lights. Now I get that those are superior lights and would likely make a difference, but how much of a difference? Would it give me a 10% output boost? I don’t do this for $ so there is no return on investment (unless we are talking significant electricity savings where it would pay for itself in a year or less.

Could anyone expand further on why it would be better to ditch $325 worth of lights and replace with $900 worth.

Digger47 said:
HLG has most of their quantam boards on sale right now. No reason not to buy a good light.
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TacoMac

TacoMac

Well-Known Member
ryikk said:
Now I know Viparspectra are not end game Lights, I knew that going into this.
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At best, they're lights you can use to clone with and start a grow with and that's it. They are completely and totally worthless in flowering, which is where it really counts.
 
ryikk

ryikk

Member
One of the main reasons I chose LED was heat. The 2 x 600W Vipar with an exhaust fan keep this tent right where I want it with no additional cooling. My goal is to run year round with no additional cooling. HPS etc generate a lot of heat.

50FDFB43-4891-4616-AFA1-4E830EF89DFB.png
 
ryikk

ryikk

Member
I’m not debating that the others are better. Are you saying these don’t look healthy? I get this is my first grow and I’m not discounting people with experience, I just see bud sights growing and I see the sugar leaves frosting up. If someone says they are worthless than I would expect none of that.

I do appreciate everyone’s comments and it does give me something to think about, and more research to do.

TacoMac said:
At best, they're lights you can use to clone with and start a grow with and that's it. They are completely and totally worthless in flowering, which is where it really counts.
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63FDF706-89B9-4C63-9F23-AE9077C8EFD6.jpeg
 
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1212ham

Well-Known Member
ryikk said:
I’m about halfway through my first grow and noticing some areas of improvement. I run a 4x4 RDWC setup circulating roughly 35 gal of water. I currently run 2 x Viparspectra 600W LED. The center of the grow is rock solid but the corners seem weak.

To maximize this space, my thought is to add 2 additional LED, mostly for the additional coverage not necessarily the wattage.

I guess I’m more asking if suring up the corners is worth the $325 that would run me
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You need more watts, or better watts. Around 50 watts/foot is recommended with blurples like the viparspectra, and 30w/ft with the efficient strips, boards and cobs.

I like the idea @Merlin1147 posted, adding strips. Consider it an investment that can be used for many years to come, long after the vipar is trashed.
http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

And check out the LED section.
https://www.rollitup.org/f/led-and-other-lighting.124/

I bet someone there has used COBs they'd sell, 4 or 6 could really help.
 
Merlin1147

Merlin1147

Well-Known Member
I total hear you about the$. I think guys can learn to grow good yield and quality with all sorts of lights. No question the Vipars are missing some spectrums One thing I like about them though is the IR chips. You’re not going to get that with qbs or strips so by adding some strips or cobs you’re going to fill in some missing wavelengths and still have the IR. Just my humble opinion.
 
ryikk

ryikk

Member
Merlin1147 said:
I total hear you about the$. I think guys can learn to grow good yield and quality with all sorts of lights. No question the Vipars are missing some spectrums One thing I like about them though is the IR chips. You’re not going to get that with qbs or strips so by adding some strips or cobs you’re going to fill in some missing wavelengths and still have the IR. Just my humble opinion.
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Thank you for the honest post. It’s not that I don’t realize that Lexus are better than Chevys but sometimes you have to consider your budget and get what you can. That being said I have a couple months until I would make the switch (don’t want to go through trying to swap out lights mid grow when I’m already maxed on head space).

This would all be for my next grow, always looking to improve, etc.

In reference to your comment about if I was good with electrical work, the answer is no...BUT I had never done ANY plumbing before setting up my RDWC yet that is working like a champ. So I’ll do a bit more research on the board and possibly some cobs (been seeing those pop up a lot in my feeds), and see what those strips run and see what the best option is. I would hate to throw away $325 in lights, granted I could sell them locally, but I would probably feel safer to keep them boxed up as a backup in case the new light failed and at least I could keep the tent alive while I dealt with that.
 
eyderbuddy

eyderbuddy

Well-Known Member
  • Vipars will grow bud.
  • Enough vipars will grow decent bud.
  • No amount of vipars will substitute the spectrum and efficiency found on CMH lamps or high end LEDs
I'm no HLG fanboy, but their stuff really is great. Rather than buying the 550V2, aim for the 550V1 refurbished, which actually has a good price on their site.

IF! you're not ready to ditch your old lights, then i recommend you look up grow lights similar to the vipar, and add an additional 300-400 (TRUE WATTS) of WHITE LEDS to your grow tent. as you yourself have suggested... 2 of your lights would suffice, but they're really not recommended.

https://smile.amazon.com/YGROW-Spectrum-Reflector-Lights-Heatproof/dp/B078XHHVKZ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1546198764&sr=8-6&keywords=grow+light+white

2 of those would really fill out your needs imo, there's also a roleadro one that goes for 80-90.
 
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a mongo frog

a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
ryikk said:
I’m about halfway through my first grow and noticing some areas of improvement. I run a 4x4 RDWC setup circulating roughly 35 gal of water. I currently run 2 x Viparspectra 600W LED. The center of the grow is rock solid but the corners seem weak.

To maximize this space, my thought is to add 2 additional LED, mostly for the additional coverage not necessarily the wattage.

I guess I’m more asking if suring up the corners is worth the $325 that would run me
Click to expand...
Maybe a 600 watt hps?
 
Thegermling

Thegermling

Well-Known Member
ryikk said:
Now I know Viparspectra are not end game Lights, I knew that going into this. I balanced budget with output. Now yes there are tons of great options out there and I did a little research on the HLG and found this would likely be the light I would need, so instead of $325 I would be looking at almost 3 times that to swap out new lights. Now I get that those are superior lights and would likely make a difference, but how much of a difference? Would it give me a 10% output boost? I don’t do this for $ so there is no return on investment (unless we are talking significant electricity savings where it would pay for itself in a year or less.

Could anyone expand further on why it would be better to ditch $325 worth of lights and replace with $900 worth.
Click to expand...
No need to buy a $900 dollar (excluding shipping and taxes). Do a little studying over at led gardener, watch green gene and grow maus' vids on youtube and look up info on here and you can build it for about $500. Im glad I did...
IMG_1554.JPG
 
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