LED Grow Light - First Time Grow

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olly2

New Member
I'm going to be starting my first hydroponic grow soon; have been researching different types of lights and want to select LED lights for my first option and was wondering if anyone could recommend a suitable example or brand to go by. Have a few ideas already, and I will enclose a link to give you an example of a model I'm interested in. If anyone could also provide a reasonable assumption of an attainable yield growing 4 plants under a 600w LED light for a first time grower that would be great thank you. Here is the link

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/507054668/LightHouse_Hydro_Blackstar_Led_Grow_Lights.html
 
iblazetoomuch

iblazetoomuch

Active Member
Blackstar is ok, however they have been known to actually pull lower wattage then advertised according to the second thread linked where it was tested side by side with another LED setup.

Check https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/486179-led-companies-w-links.html


Also this thread compared a blackstar 240w to a Grow LED Hydro 240w.
http://bubbleponics.com/forum/showthread.php?2690-My-first-LED-grow!-Lighthouse-Blackstar-240W-side-by-side-with-Grow-LED-Hydro-240W

I think you can find yields per setup with google search or forum search in grow journals perhaps, unless someone more experienced to forums or personal experience growing has ability to answer the question.
 
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olly2

New Member
thank you that link is very helpful, do you have any recommendations for a decent LED grow light? I'm not entirely sure what voltage yet, but between 300w and 600w; I'm intending to grow between 4 and 6 plants in a tent and still researching all the information such as how strong lights need to be for a decent yield (or just a competent one for now lol)
 
iblazetoomuch

iblazetoomuch

Active Member
olly2 said:
thank you that link is very helpful, do you have any recommendations for a decent LED grow light? I'm not entirely sure what voltage yet, but between 300w and 600w; I'm intending to grow between 4 and 6 plants in a tent and still researching all the information such as how strong lights need to be for a decent yield (or just a competent one for now lol)
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Welcome, no rush really. Its better to read and be sure of what your buying, google the products your thinking of like "blackstar 240w yield" and you can probably find examples of diff watt yields, or check the "grow journal" section of the forums here, which includes LED, CFL, and HPS/CMH grows.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/

I have not purchased any decent light myself yet only cheap ufo for holdoff, and I probably won't beable to throw 400-500$ into one right off, so I will be going with lower watt hps myself but for yourself I would recommend reading and seek some more advice/yields from other owners of the products your interested in, I'm sure there is quite a few threads if you google or forum search it, the search is top right of the forum site with a magnifying glass next to it, type in the light in question you probably will find some threads about it, possibly some grows and pics ect.

Yield is gonna varry depending on strain/growing conditions in each persons setup ect, but I get the average idea your looking for. 4 to 6 plants would go nice under a 1,000w hps I'm sure but I know this isn't practical for everybody for a number of reasons, pretty much why I didn't pick up higher quality HPS as opposed to cheaper LED ufo for first grow.
 
hbbum

hbbum

Well-Known Member
I started my grow with a 90W UFO and a couple of CFLs and can just stay I did not have great success. I ended up switching to HID and in about 3-4 days, my plant doubled in size. you can see in my journal here the difference
 
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olly2

New Member
again thank you, I have been doing so quite a lot of research the last few weeks and have narrowed my options down. LED is most appealing for saving money in the future, and don't mind investing in more expensive bulbs at first for long term gain with bills. Oddly enough I already have a 400w hps which might become part of the equation anyway. Can't wait to just get everything set up, should be ready to do so in about a month and funnily enough can't wait to start making mistakes and learn from them lol. I have researched this before and haven't been able to quite get a clear answer yet so maybe I can on here. Is there a difference between the watts emitted from a say a HPS light compared to an LED? Like would 300w on HPS be the same as 300w LED?
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
I use HPS, VHO t5's and LED lights in my 2 rooms for different reasons. The LED is a nice fixture, but dollar for dollar the VHO t5 is better. What size area are you going to light? The fixture you want is only 20"x12" which means it will do one plant, no more. LED's have a narrow throw, so don't count on spread to help much. Seeing that you have money to spend I would choose either a Sunburst 4 or 8 bulb VHO(Very High Output) t5 4' fixture. They are low heat, high lumen output and low power consumption, which is what you also get with LED's, but at close to half the cost. You can effectively grow 4 medium to large with the 4 bulb and double that with the 8 lamp. If you grow small plants, double that again. That is hard to do with 1 LED, if not impossible. The t5 fixture comes with a 5 year warrenty and is made in the USA. Cheak it out on Awazon. Hope that I have been of help. Peace and Happy 420.
 
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spek9

Well-Known Member
hbbum said:
I started my grow with a 90W UFO and a couple of CFLs and can just stay I did not have great success. I ended up switching to HID and in about 3-4 days, my plant doubled in size. you can see in my journal here the difference
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This is rather useful info. I'm growing under a UFO w/ 6 x 23w 6500k CFLs (~2 weeks). I have a 400w MH/HPS switchable on the way. Instead of changing though, I'm going to run through my first grow with my current setup, then change it up to the 400w next run (start from seed again, leaving all other variables the same) so I can compare the difference throughout the process.

-spek
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
olly2 said:
again thank you, I have been doing so quite a lot of research the last few weeks and have narrowed my options down. LED is most appealing for saving money in the future, and don't mind investing in more expensive bulbs at first for long term gain with bills. Oddly enough I already have a 400w hps which might become part of the equation anyway. Can't wait to just get everything set up, should be ready to do so in about a month and funnily enough can't wait to start making mistakes and learn from them lol. I have researched this before and haven't been able to quite get a clear answer yet so maybe I can on here. Is there a difference between the watts emitted from a say a HPS light compared to an LED? Like would 300w on HPS be the same as 300w LED?
Click to expand...
What you need to know is the lumen output per watt, and that is the difference. The LED has more lumens with a wider spectrum than the HPS.
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
spek9 said:
This is rather useful info. I'm growing under a UFO w/ 6 x 23w 6500k CFLs (~2 weeks). I have a 400w MH/HPS switchable on the way. Instead of changing though, I'm going to run through my first grow with my current setup, then change it up to the 400w next run (start from seed again, leaving all other variables the same) so I can compare the difference throughout the process.
Don't change the fixtures mid grow. The change in lights could shock the plants and produce hermi's. Been there, done that.
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olly2

New Member
I've been trying to look up the lumens per watt, but some sites say it doesn't need to be known when it comes to grow lights (which I'm pretty is wrong but then again I don't know), so would LEDs be stronger overall? Btw could your response about vho lights, which I haven't done as much research into, would you say they are as cheap as LEDS overall? Or say does the quality produced by VHO lights make up for the cheapness of LED?
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
olly2 said:
I've been trying to look up the lumens per watt, but some sites say it doesn't need to be known when it comes to grow lights (which I'm pretty is wrong but then again I don't know), so would LEDs be stronger overall? Btw could your response about vho lights, which I haven't done as much research into, would you say they are as cheap as LEDS overall? Or say does the quality produced by VHO lights make up for the cheapness of LED?
Click to expand...
Lumens are the whole ball game along with spectrum as to plant growth. My Advanced 740 watt LED cost almost $2000. It's made in the USA, 5 year warranty and has great wavelengths and works very well. My 8 lamp VHO produces almost 58000 lumens which is equal to a 400w HPS, and cost $380 with lamps is outstanding. Plant growth is a least double that of the LED at the same wattage. They buds are denser with the LED, but the VHO wins with yield. I bought the LED for a particular situation, but speaking fom experiance the VHO a better light, even if they cost the same, which they don't. The VHO t5's are on Amazon. Check them out. Peace
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
Olly2, what you need is a copy of George Cervantes "Marijuna Horticulture, The Medical Growers Bible". It has a ton of useful information on lighting, and is on Amazon for$20. I strongly recommend it. Peace
 
hbbum

hbbum

Well-Known Member
I am currently in the middle of 24hours of dark before my switch to flowering. I was chugging along with the LED and switched when I got my ventilation situation resolved. I literally have no choice but to switch since my Jedi OG Kush has gotten so bushy she is scrapping all 4 sides of my grow room and I needed to put her on a bucket to raise the leaves above my fan.

LED +2X 42W 6500K CFL on 4/15
IMG_20130410_135003_921_zps40595a5f.jpg

Switched to HPS on 4/11 and this is a shot on 4/15:
IMG_20130415_094032_822_zps37b68f8d.jpg

And a top shot on 4/17
IMG_20130417_090835_123_zps913711ed.jpg
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
Your probably ok. I switched my plants from LED to HPS after 6 weeks and I had a few herms. I had read this might be a issue and when I got the herms I just blamed the lighting. I will never know really what caused it, because I am never going to do it again. Peace
 
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olly2

New Member
thank you everybody everything that has been said is helping a lot, and I am taking the advice I'm being given. VHO lights do seem better, but still having trouble finding suitable models, could you recommend one for the 6 plant grow I was planning? And is the energy consumption of a VHO T5 light less than LED?
 
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