Help with choosing a Blackstar panel

So before I lay out the cash for an a51 panel, I'd like to experiment a bit with Blackstar to see if LEDs are a good choice for my 4x2 tent setup and overall experience.

I'm using Lighthouse Hydro as a reference since they have good reviews and are within my price range:
http://www.lighthousehydro.com/led-grow-lights.html

Their panels only cover 6sq ft, wondering if that will be enough? I Also understand the actual wattage differs from what's on the label, I'd like to go with 180w but am unsure how that equates to HID and if I need two, one for veg/flower. Is a 180w Blackstar panel comparable to a 400w HID regarding lumens and intensity, and can they be used from seed to harvest? Thanks for your help.

Right On Brother Doing Your Research= Reps.Now I Like Your Style Brother However I Will Provide A Link Where You Can Save About 100.00 Usd On The 180 http://www.gothamhydroponics.com/led-grow-lights/lighthouse-hydro-blackstar-180w-led-grow-light-ho.html

Now the FootPrint Of This Panel Is Like 4 Sqft And Will Not Hold A Candel To The Area-51.However With That Said As Long As You Dont Expect To Much From This Light It Is A Cheap Way To Test Out Led's.I Wouldn't Compare it To A 400 Hid System It's More Like A 250 Watt Hid.Hope This Helps Ya Out.Oh And You Can Run This Panel From Veg To Flower

The Dawg said:

Right On Brother Doing Your Research= Reps.Now I Like Your Style Brother However I Will Provide A Link Where You Can Save About 100.00 Usd On The 180 http://www.gothamhydroponics.com/led-grow-lights/lighthouse-hydro-blackstar-180w-led-grow-light-ho.html

Now the FootPrint Of This Panel Is Like 4 Sqft And Will Not Hold A Candel To The Area-51.However With That Said As Long As You Dont Expect To Much From This Light It Is A Cheap Way To Test Out Led's.I Wouldn't Compare it To A 400 Hid System It's More Like A 250 Watt Hid.Hope This Helps Ya Out.Oh And You Can Run This Panel From Veg To Flower

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Thanks man but damn, guess I should look into 240w panels then. If I'm going to spend my entire budget on just the lighting, then I will definitely want it to perform. A51 is a little out of my price range ATM, any suggestions for something in the $300 range? Like I said before, just looking to test out a product, however If I'm going to be paying double, I'll be damn sure to make it work one way or another and I do understand it is an investment that pays itself off.

Thanks again!

Their's nothing In The 300.00 Price Range Thats Going To Light Up Your Tent Brother.Gotham And LightHouse Hydro Miss Lead Ya On The True Watts.The 180 Pull about 100 Watts And The 240 Pulls About 160 Watts Using Low Bin Leds Plus Cheap Drivers And Crappy Lens That Dont Penetrate Very Well.The Reason I Recommend These Lower End Led's Is Because Gotham Hydro Stands Behind Them And Their A Us Resaler.Neither 1 Of These Models Will Hold A Candel To A 400 Watt Hid

The Dawg said:

Their's nothing In The 300.00 Price Range Thats Going To Light Up Your Tent Brother.Gotham And LightHouse Hydro Miss Lead Ya On The True Watts.The 180 Pull about 100 Watts And The 240 Pulls About 160 Watts Using Low Bin Leds Plus Cheap Drivers And Crappy Lens That Dont Penetrate Very Well.The Reason I Recommend These Lower End Led's Is Because Gotham Hydro Stands Behind Them And Their A Us Resaler.Neither 1 Of These Models Will Hold A Candel To A 400 Watt Hid

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Thanks Dawg, I was going through LED Companies w/LINKS pg 149 post #1484 by puffenuff, he's got a list of reputable companies that seems to correlate with the rest of the thread. Out of that lineup, I found the following panels that I wont have to sell my left kidney for lol

California Light Works Solar Flare 200w LED Grow Light

VIPAR B3X3 LED Grow Light

Wondering which is better for my situation, not exactly sure what LEDs they use, the main differences at a glance are:

Total power
California Light Works - 200w
VIPAR - 225w

LED
California Light Works - 40 x 5w
VIPAR - 125 x 3w

They both cover 9sq ft and have a mixed spectrum of blue/red/white. At first I thought California Light Works since 5w burns brighter than 3w, then I did some research and found the lumens per watt is higher with lower watt LEDs, and running LEDs in higher wattage isn't necessary/inefficient. Not sure if that is correct, just wondering if these two can compare to higher end panels and if so which one is more suitable for a small 4x2 tent?

I use that California Lightworks light in a Dr60 which is 2x2x5. I'm happy with the purchase thusfar.You can usually get the light on growershouse for 10% off.

I have purchased grow lights from this manufacturer after emailing the saleswoman Sarah. I am happy with them in a 4v4 tent it is lit up so bright that I have to wear a UV goggles.

get two of these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300W-LED-Grow-Light-Full-Spectrum-IR-For-Indoor-Grow-Greenhouse-Hydroponic-Plant-/291003115391?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item43c123277f

even if they put out say 150 watts, thats 300 watts for 300 dollars not bad at all for 1 dollar a watt.

Or you could go for 1 panel at 600w and pay less than for two

http://www.ebay.com/itm/600W-LED-Grow-Light-Full-Spectrum-Flower-3W-LEDs-Hydroponic-Pro-Grow-Lamp-Panel/290950075690?_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985&_trkparms=aid=444000&algo=SOI.DEFAULT&ao=1&asc=20131230161411&meid=4865811426264323664&pid=100012&prg=20131230161411&rk=5&rkt=10&sd=271054428832

travisw said:

I use that California Lightworks light in a Dr60 which is 2x2x5. I'm happy with the purchase thusfar.You can usually get the light on growershouse for 10% off.

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Thx man, I do hear good things about California Lightworks, seems like they're pretty reputable. Does 10% off include a warranty by chance?

Thecouchlock said:

I have purchased grow lights from this manufacturer after emailing the saleswoman Sarah. I am happy with them in a 4v4 tent it is lit up so bright that I have to wear a UV goggles.

get two of these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300W-LED-Grow-Light-Full-Spectrum-IR-For-Indoor-Grow-Greenhouse-Hydroponic-Plant-/291003115391?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item43c123277f

even if they put out say 150 watts, thats 300 watts for 300 dollars not bad at all for 1 dollar a watt.

Or you could go for 1 panel at 600w and pay less than for two

http://www.ebay.com/itm/600W-LED-Grow-Light-Full-Spectrum-Flower-3W-LEDs-Hydroponic-Pro-Grow-Lamp-Panel/290950075690?_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985&_trkparms=aid=444000&algo=SOI.DEFAULT&ao=1&asc=20131230161411&meid=4865811426264323664&pid=100012&prg=20131230161411&rk=5&rkt=10&sd=271054428832

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Hey Thecouchlock, how's your yield with these and do you happen to know what brand LEDs they use?.. 3 year warranty is pretty sweet.

It says they use "epistar" brand led and Opto brand "IR", I am testing these chinese panels against some expensive advancedledlights 300w panels. I am having regular yields, I haven't weighed anything just yet because I smoke it lolol and jar it up. I was growing with 1 1000w hps before and I would say that the yields are very similar but the leds give a lot more trichomes in my experience.

That solarflare will cover the 2x2 so you would need 2.

Thecouchlock said:

It says they use "epistar" brand led and Opto brand "IR", I am testing these chinese panels against some expensive advancedledlights 300w panels. I am having regular yields, I haven't weighed anything just yet because I smoke it lolol and jar it up. I was growing with 1 1000w hps before and I would say that the yields are very similar but the leds give a lot more trichomes in my experience.

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Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in lol.. I need to check these out.

blowincherrypie said:

That solarflare will cover the 2x2 so you would need 2.

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The specs say 3x3 however I've read CLW exaggerates their coverage.. this guy is getting decent results with 2 autos under 1 solarflare, I wonder how it would fare with 2 short indica photoperiods.

California Lightworks 200W Solarflare - Stealth 60 day Lemon Autoflower

Gonna start looking into Chinese..

Just make sure to get the squares or rectangles, you don't want anything circular because they only have 3 prongs which makes it a total pain in the ass to get as high to the ceiling as possible. With the squares you can just take one of the connectors off of each side and connect it to itself to cut the length in half. I have 2 tents that are only 5 feet tall so I need all the room I can get!

Thecouchlock said:

Just make sure to get the squares or rectangles, you don't want anything circular because they only have 3 prongs which makes it a total pain in the ass to get as high to the ceiling as possible. With the squares you can just take one of the connectors off of each side and connect it to itself to cut the length in half. I have 2 tents that are only 5 feet tall so I need all the room I can get!

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Haha thanks man, I think I'm going with two of the 300w panels. I couldn't find much on ledgrowlightmanufacturers, but what I did find was mostly positive minus the typical static about Chinese manufacturers being lairs, actually found a few successful autoflower grows using them. How far do you keep them form the canopy? The general consensus seems to be around 16-20in although I've seen a few ppl that use them like CFLs and keep them only a few inches... I'm also sick of CFLs and the shitty yields they produce, looking forward to giving this a go. If all works out, I'll probably upgrade to a51 or hans.. for now though, I think these Chinese LEDs will work well.

Dutchy018 said:

Haha thanks man, I think I'm going with two of the 300w panels. I couldn't find much on ledgrowlightmanufacturers, but what I did find was mostly positive minus the typical static about Chinese manufacturers being lairs, actually found a few successful autoflower grows using them. How far do you keep them form the canopy? The general consensus seems to be around 16-20in although I've seen a few ppl that use them like CFLs and keep them only a few inches... I'm also sick of CFLs and the shitty yields they produce, looking forward to giving this a go. If all works out, I'll probably upgrade to a51 or hans.. for now though, I think these Chinese LEDs will work well.

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Right On Brother Dutchy018.Let Me Be The First To Welcome You To The Wonderful World Of Led Growing.Peace And Let The Game's Begin

Get the ion 8 426w it is insane for flowering, bet they are sold out still tho.

I have 3 blackstar LEDs and they work great(2 240w panels(2014 model), 1 426w ion , the ion 8 is super powerful my buds are dank my plant under it is a 4 headed kush plant looking to get at least 4 oz from this one plant. I use HO t5's for veg.

The Dawg said:

Right On Brother Dutchy018.Let Me Be The First To Welcome You To The Wonderful World Of Led Growing.Peace And Let The Game's Begin

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Yeah Dawg, thanks for your input man, helped me out a lot.

Yodaweed said:

I have 3 blackstar LEDs and they work great(2 240w panels(2014 model), 1 426w ion , the ion 8 is super powerful my buds are dank my plant under it is a 4 headed kush plant looking to get at least 4 oz from this one plant. I use HO t5's for veg.

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Idk now, looking at these Chinese wholesale panels, I'm more inclined to give them a shot. Some offer 3 year warranties but who knows what your gonna get I guess.. I've seen a few successful grows with one ebay wholesaler, what worries me is "a few" as in like 3 grows, a lot of growers seem to stay clear of overseas manufacturers which makes it difficult to judge any panel other than whats already well known like Hans, Apache, A51 etc..

A51 IMO isn't the greatest, the all white spectrum isn't great for flowering, if I could afford it I would go with the apache AT600 but its like 2500$

Yodaweed said:

A51 IMO isn't the greatest, the all white spectrum isn't great for flowering, if I could afford it I would go with the apache AT600 but its like 2500$

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You could get 4 130 models for less than the apache or even a CLW light

I have been using the Blackstar Chrome 180s in my (2) 2x4 tents. One tent has 2 180s and the other has a 270 and a 180. All are Chromes from Gotham. 2 180s is a great setup. They have done a great job for me. I started with the 270 in a 30"x30" tent and changed to the 2 - 2x4s. I have grown at least a dozen varieties including some autos. I have even added some autos at 12/12 just to fill the space. If you have bad results with these lights, it is your fault. The lights are excellent.