Help Me Choose: DIY COB or Quantum Boards - 4x4 Flower Tent

Hi All,

Long time lurker here. Wanted to gather some opinions from the knowledgeable folks here, if you might kindly oblige.

Background:


Recent Upgrade:
My Dilemma:

So it begs the question, which setup would you recommended for this 4 x 4 tent? The COBs with their focused intensity or the Quantum boards with the full blanket PAR coverage?

Would appreciate any insight, suggestions, or recommendations you might be able to provide. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

which veros?

coverage will be similar in either case.

boards are bigger but not that much bigger. once youre at a 12-18" distance its pretty similar to cobs without reflectors

CobKits said:

which veros?

coverage will be similar in either case.

boards are bigger but not that much bigger. once youre at a 12-18" distance its pretty similar to cobs without reflectors

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Hi CobKits. Thanks for your comment. I have been considering these Veros: Bridgelux Vero29 V7 Type B .

if running 100W is your goal id choose Cs

if you want apples for apples to compare costs, 3 veros at 50W each should be about equal to a QB run at 150W

so compare 6 veros with 2 QB, or 12 veros with 4 QBs

in this case cobs would prob give better coverage in a 4x4 just by sheer number

CobKits said:

if running 100W is your goal id choose Cs

if you want apples for apples to compare costs, 3 veros at 50W each should be about equal to a QB run at 150W

so compare 6 veros with 2 QB, or 12 veros with 4 QBs

in this case cobs would prob give better coverage in a 4x4 just by sheer number

Click to expand...

This is helpful information. Thanks again!

So, if I were to purchase the already assembled HLG 550 that uses has 4 QBs it would be equivalent to 12 veros?

Provided I am interpreting all this correctly, the HLG 550 (cost = $1049) would likely be way more affordable than the DIY route of 12 veros, w/ drivers, etc. ?

SensibleSensimilla said:

So, if I were to purchase the already assembled HLG 550 that uses has 4 QBs it would be equivalent to 12 veros?

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on a gross efficiency level, yes

SensibleSensimilla said:

Provided I am interpreting all this correctly, the HLG 550 (cost = $1049) would likely be way more affordable than the DIY route of 12 veros, w/ drivers, etc. ?

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probably the opposite if you DIY

you could also build a version of he 550 for less if you DIY

in a 4x4 if my understanding is right you would want ideally 600 watts of LED you could just get 2 QB at 150 watts each and 6 veros (b) at 50 watts each and see what side has better coverage and healthier plants for you.

I just purchased an HLG 550 for $900. May have been able to build it for slightly less, but ain't nobody got time for that! Time to focus on growing again. I'll report back and update how it goes for others that may have the same questions I did. A sincere "thank you" to those of you who responded, you certainly helped in my decision process.

First of all, you can't make a bad decision regardless of which light system you choose.

Here's what I just bought for my 4'x6' tent.
Instead of QB's I decided to go with strips. Bridgelux EB's and Samsung F-series are both basically the same and use diodes almost identical to QB's but they are spread out more. I bought twelve 44" EB's, 6 each of 3000k and 4000k. Each 6 will have their own HLG-320H-C1050 or 600w+.
I also bought 6 Vero 29 1750K that will run on a HLG-320H-C1400 and drive them at about 50w each.
I also purchased 2 of the far red pucks from rapidled to put them to sleep.

Over 900w of mixed spectrum with the purpose of flowering donkey dicks.

This build is not easy like a QB build would be but I think the results are better. Time will tell.

If you want easy, go for the timber pre-built or buy the 600w QB kit when they are back in stock. Or just dive in head first like me...diy is fun and addicting. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Danielson999 said:

First of all, you can't make a bad decision regardless of which light system you choose.

Here's what I just bought for my 4'x6' tent.
Instead of QB's I decided to go with strips. Bridgelux EB's and Samsung F-series are both basically the same and use diodes almost identical to QB's but they are spread out more. I bought twelve 44" EB's, 6 each of 3000k and 4000k. Each 6 will have their own HLG-320H-C1050 or 600w+.
I also bought 6 Vero 29 1750K that will run on a HLG-320H-C1400 and drive them at about 50w each.
I also purchased 2 of the far red pucks from rapidled to put them to sleep.

Over 900w of mixed spectrum with the purpose of flowering donkey dicks.

This build is not easy like a QB build would be but I think the results are better. Time will tell.

If you want easy, go for the timber pre-built or buy the 600w QB kit when they are back in stock. Or just dive in head first like me...diy is fun and addicting. Good luck with whatever you choose.

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"Donkey Dicks" Love it! I use that term too, have the same goal! But, wow. Your build is impressive. I also like the idea of the far red pucks, curious to know how much added benefit they provide. I saw Timber had kits with OSRAM Oslon SSL80 Hyper Reds (100W = $349, 200W = $599) those piqued my interest, but was unsure if the cost would be justified. Thanks for your advice and for sharing the details of your build.

So UV and infrared spectrum are missing from these full spectrum lights, right? Wonder if a couple of T5's of each would provide enough supplemental to full these deficiencies.

I'm certainly not adverse to DIYing, and I can definitely understand the appeal. As a custom PC builder and car audio enthusiast, I saw the possibilities to go deep down the rabbit hole! Honestly, it was the time required to research, then price/source the parts that dissuaded me from doing a full DIY build, not the assembly process. A Timber kit would have been absolute cake. What also helped convince me to go with a ready-made solution was pricing the cost of kits vs the assembled unit. This YouTube reviewer did a pretty thorough review of the HLG lights and he specifically mentioned how difficult sourcing heatsinks was, though perhaps that has changed now.


Coming from the blurple Mars light, I'm hoping I see a huge difference in bud weight and quality with these full spectrum lights. This was a huge step up ($1K was my budget) for me in this hobby, so I hope I did OK. Hell, just a few weeks ago I was following the down the path of Kind and Black Dog, but then discovered the "White Light Revolution" and started really looking into the full spectrum lights. I was actually dangerously close to purchasing an Amare Solar Eclipse 450 UV, but then found a post with actual user PAR measurements and was not impressed, especially for a 4 x 4 tent and the unit cost. Though I have seen user grows that look great under that light, so I'm not hating on it.

When I get the 550, I'll throw it in my current 4' x 2' tent to finish off a plant I have that is ~5 weeks into flower under the Mars 900. Will see how it pushes the plant over the finish line. Will snap a few pics for the hell of it and post here.

SensibleSensimilla said:

I just purchased an HLG 550 for $900. May have been able to build it for slightly less, but ain't nobody got time for that! Time to focus on growing again. I'll report back and update how it goes for others that may have the same questions I did. A sincere "thank you" to those of you who responded, you certainly helped in my decision process.

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"more is lost by indecision than wrong decision"

congrats!

SensibleSensimilla said:

So UV and infrared spectrum are missing from these full spectrum lights, right? Wonder if a couple of T5's of each would provide enough supplemental to full these deficiencies.

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90 cri has plenty of far red

people do supplement with uv, you can use agromax t5s or reptile bulbs. (former is a lot more powerful)

you dont need much uv.....less is more if you experiment start at 15 min a day and ramp up. its purpose is literally to stress the plants so make sure everything else is dialed in. there are some that say that strong 450 nm in late flower is just as good for resin production as uv

I'm also a custom PC builder and car/home audio builder also who has designed and built my own speakers and more importantly SUBS because Bass I Love You (that's a song that gets used alot to test subs!).

I bought the far red pucks (designed by Growmau5) solely for the purpose of putting the girls to sleep (on for 10-15min after lights out only), which has well documented benefits. I also would have been interested in adding far red, deep red mono's like the oslon kit you mentioned but decided it was easier to just add the 1750K cobs which seem to cover the deep/far red spectrum well.

For UV I will likely add an agromax pure uv T5 to get those short 10-15 min bursts of uvb that plants benefit from but it's not high on my priority list since the actual benefits seem pretty negligible at best.

CobKits said:

"more is lost by indecision than wrong decision"

congrats!

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Haha. So true. Thanks CobKits!

CobKits said:

90 cri has plenty of far red

people do supplement with uv, you can use agromax t5s or reptile bulbs. (former is a lot more powerful)

you dont need much uv.....less is more if you experiment start at 15 min a day and ramp up. its purpose is literally to stress the plants so make sure everything else is dialed in. there are some that say that strong 450 nm in late flower is just as good for resin production as uv

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Awesome! Good to hear that the far red levels are sufficient. You certainly are a fountain of knowledge, and again, I really appreciate your insight!

A few questions if I may... When you say that not much is needed, I understand the ramping duration aspect you outlined, how about "quantity" of light? i.e. Would 2ft AgroMax T5 in the 4 x 4 be sufficient to provide adequate stressing UV levels? Or is a 4 ft bulb a better choice? Single bulb or double bulb fixture? Would multiple fixtures be required for sufficient coverage? When you ramp the duration of exposure up, what would be the max "time-on" value it eventually achieves and what are the typical incremental time step sizes/periods (i.e. increase by 15 minutes each week of flower until you reach a max value of 1 hour on)?

When you say "there are some that say that strong 450 nm in late flower is just as good for resin production as uv", it appears that full spectrum lights provide a good dose of that wavelength. Would additional 450 nm specific lights be required to achieve a"strong" level?

Danielson999 said:

I'm also a custom PC builder and car/home audio builder also who has designed and built my own speakers and more importantly SUBS because Bass I Love You (that's a song that gets used alot to test subs!).

I bought the far red pucks (designed by Growmau5) solely for the purpose of putting the girls to sleep (on for 10-15min after lights out only), which has well documented benefits. I also would have been interested in adding far red, deep red mono's like the oslon kit you mentioned but decided it was easier to just add the 1750K cobs which seem to cover the deep/far red spectrum well.

For UV I will likely add an agromax pure uv T5 to get those short 10-15 min bursts of uvb that plants benefit from but it's not high on my priority list since the actual benefits seem pretty negligible at best.

Click to expand...

Custom-built subs? That sounds awesome! (forgive the pun).
I'll have to check out "Bass I Love You". Back in the day, tracks by 95 South and DJ Magic Mike were my go-to for bass testing.

Interesting about the far red and putting the plant to sleep. I've never heard of that before. Did you purchase the Far Red Initiator Pucks from RapidLED?

From a cursory search, it appears to be related to the Emerson Effect. A thread on another forum suggested running the far red for the entirety of lights-on and then continuing for 15 minutes after lights off. Is that identical to the manner in which you will be employing these?

Sorry that I interfere unasked.

You can google or search the forum with catchword: "flower initiation" or "far-red EOD treatment" (EndOfDay treatment).
It has nothing to do with the emerson effect but it puts the plant faster(~2h) into its "dark mode" because it switches
phytocrome red(PhyR) into it's active state(or was it the inactive state, I forgot it).
But what you need to know is, you need only about 2000-4000μΜols per square meter (not μMol/s/m²), therefor you need only a few minutes.
10w of IR for 5+5min is plenty for 1,5m².
This ~2 hours can be used to either increase the daylength to 14/10h or, if you stay on with 12/12h circle, to shorten the grow for up to a week.
A common method is to start at 12/12h, go to 14/10h after 1-2 weeks and return back to 12/12h two weeks before its finished.
This way you get the best of both, more hours with light and a faster finish as without far-red.

As stated above, the far red is to put them to sleep faster. Yes there is plenty of far red in the 1750K but I needed something on its own channel that I can turn on/off seperately. The growmau5 far red pucks are only 7w each and good for a 3'x3' area each. And yes, from rapidled.

Danielson999 said:

I'm also a custom PC builder and car/home audio builder also who has designed and built my own speakers and more importantly SUBS because Bass I Love You (that's a song that gets used alot to test subs!).

I bought the far red pucks (designed by Growmau5) solely for the purpose of putting the girls to sleep (on for 10-15min after lights out only), which has well documented benefits. I also would have been interested in adding far red, deep red mono's like the oslon kit you mentioned but decided it was easier to just add the 1750K cobs which seem to cover the deep/far red spectrum well.

For UV I will likely add an agromax pure uv T5 to get those short 10-15 min bursts of uvb that plants benefit from but it's not high on my priority list since the actual benefits seem pretty negligible at best.

Click to expand...

I, too, am a speaker builder. What type subs and ht speakers do you build? I have built a butt load of Bill Fitzmaurice speakers for my personal use: Horn loaded subs and line array speakers FTW!

Back on topic -- the Growmau5 puck, how do you trigger it to come on when the other lights go out? Is it connected and recognizes when the main lights power down, or do you have to have it on a timer?

Big Green Thumb said:

I, too, am a speaker builder. What type subs and ht speakers do you build? I have built a butt load of Bill Fitzmaurice speakers for my personal use: Horn loaded subs and line array speakers FTW!

Back on topic -- the Growmau5 puck, how do you trigger it to come on when the other lights go out? Is it connected and recognizes when the main lights power down, or do you have to have it on a timer?

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Right now I'm using a 20cft offset driver, front loaded horn which is pretty amazing for the cost. I've built others previously, loved my 3.5cft sealed subs. I am very familiar with Bill and his designs. He's a true speaker guru, super knowledgeable. I would have built something else but I've been hooked on building grow lights and it's hard funding and finding time for both.

The Growmau5 pucks are just turned on by timer. Lots of guys have theirs start a bit before lights out simply because it's hard to make it exact using manual timers. I'm thinking about getting into arduino's since it's definitely the way to go....just takes time to learn it. Right now I'm working 12-14hr days, sometimes more so it's hard getting shit done. Looking forward to work slowing down come Sep/Oct.

Big Green Thumb said:

I, too, am a speaker builder. What type subs and ht speakers do you build? I have built a butt load of Bill Fitzmaurice speakers for my personal use: Horn loaded subs and line array speakers FTW!

Back on topic -- the Growmau5 puck, how do you trigger it to come on when the other lights go out? Is it connected and recognizes when the main lights power down, or do you have to have it on a timer?

Click to expand...

I bought a Growmau5 puck for a 2x3 scrog, not impressed, I have been using far red for over a year and this puck is just too small, better to make your own... I have a digital timer that turns on my far red 15 minutes before my dark period starts for 30 minutes. It takes a few days off my finish (I run my light for 13 hours on for veg).