HELP....I Have New Light Fever

race winslow

race winslow

Well-Known Member
Greetings,

I'd like to pose a question to all of you well informed LED advocates out their:

If you had up to $1500 to spend on a light what you buy and why?

Before answering, let me state that I intend to use the light in a 5x5 area of a 12 x 15 room. I'm looking for maximum effective coverage and it should be equally effective in both flower and veg.

Yes, I understand light efficiency and would like it to be greater than 2.3

Do I go quantum, COB, light strips? Brands? Wattage? CRI and color temp?

Growing in ProMix

Thanks in advance for your input
 
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Norml56

Norml56

Well-Known Member
Humple said:
Unnecessary and a waste of money, in my opinion. That whole separate light for veg and flower idea is rightly being left behind, along with the HID bulbs that featured in them.
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Agreed. although with that space and budget I might think of setting up 2 4x4 areas and do veg/flower sides and still buying 2 lights. I personally don't believe that spending more money will really get you a better light. I would go 3500k and since I like the ability to move lights around and up and down and having the ability to dim some and not others I've found to be a great benefit, esp when my plants come from the veg tent where the light source isn't even close to as intense as the flower side. I would build individual QB 288 boards from HLG
 
4

4ftRoots

Well-Known Member
For 1000 bucks you can buy 100 EB gen 3 3500k 90cri strips (NOT SLIM) and 8 HLG-240-1050B drivers. That would be more than enough to light 2 4x4 spaces. Most people run scrog nowadays for better yield and the strips are perfectly suited for it. Cheapest and best efficiency you can get. You'll also get a bulk discount for the lights and drivers, can't go wrong. Additionally, you could buy 100 of 3000k and 100 of 4000k and make 16 bitchin fixtures to get your through grow and flower. The lights are forever modular to your design because they do not require a heatsink up to 1050mA.

I run 12 strips per 2x2. I have them mounted on a modular fixture so I can light my 4x4 area. I have them hung at the very top of my tent and get 1000 par 24 inches away at 65% power so 180w or 45w/sqft. It's honestly perfect, as the plants grow they are exposed to more intense light, no work on my part. AND the best part about this setup is the coverage is excellent. If you want to mimic light outdoors, I have found nothing better than mimicking the dispersion effect of sunlight. Plants are extremely happy and heat is minimal.

EDIT:
I wanted to say I recommended buying in bulk because you can get the 90CRI strips. I don't have them, I could have bought in bulk but I'm an idiot with money. You can run with 80CRI it works great and just buy the strips you need.

If you do decide to buy in bulk and have leftovers, hit me up. I will totally buy the leftover 90CRIs at regular price!
 
race winslow

race winslow

Well-Known Member
4ftRoots said:
For 1000 bucks you can buy 100 EB gen 3 3500k 90cri strips (NOT SLIM) and 8 HLG-240-1050B drivers. That would be more than enough to light 2 4x4 spaces. Most people run scrog nowadays for better yield and the strips are perfectly suited for it. Cheapest and best efficiency you can get. You'll also get a bulk discount for the lights and drivers, can't go wrong. Additionally, you could buy 100 of 3000k and 100 of 4000k and make 16 bitchin fixtures to get your through grow and flower. The lights are forever modular to your design because they do not require a heatsink up to 1050mA.

I run 12 strips per 2x2. I have them mounted on a modular fixture so I can light my 4x4 area. I have them hung at the very top of my tent and get 1000 par 24 inches away at 65% power so 180w or 45w/sqft. It's honestly perfect, as the plants grow they are exposed to more intense light, no work on my part. AND the best part about this setup is the coverage is excellent. If you want to mimic light outdoors, I have found nothing better than mimicking the dispersion effect of sunlight. Plants are extremely happy and heat is minimal.

EDIT:
I wanted to say I recommended buying in bulk because you can get the 90CRI strips. I don't have them, I could have bought in bulk but I'm an idiot with money. You can run with 80CRI it works great and just buy the strips you need.

If you do decide to buy in bulk and have leftovers, hit me up. I will totally buy the leftover 90CRIs at regular price!
Click to expand...
Thanks, Man. Nice detailed response. It sounds like the way to go. But, I'm limited in my electrical/electronics skills. I'm most likely going to go with a turnkey solution to avoid getting myself in over my head.
 
4

4ftRoots

Well-Known Member
race winslow said:
Thanks, Man. Nice detailed response. It sounds like the way to go. But, I'm limited in my electrical/electronics skills. I'm most likely going to go with a turnkey solution to avoid getting myself in over my head.
Click to expand...
Good to know. For turnkey, I heard Aussie high lights are killer. I'll let someone with experience chime in. They also have a thread, see if they will hook you up.
 
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