LED recommendation for 1'x3'x3' early veg

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spinelessthug

Member
Hey y'all, I've got a tent that has a 3x3 main tent and two 1x3 compartments on the side. I'd love for some recs for strip-style LEDs for early vegging (aka post seedling but before they get beefy) in the side compartments. I currently have an older Mars Hydro model in there (blurple + white, 135w actual), and it works decent, but it's actively cooled and exactly as wide as the space, so I have to leave the flap open in order to avoid blocking the vents. Besides, it doesn't cover nearly as evenly as I'd like.

So here's what I'm looking for:
  • Cheap (DIY is fine, but my EE knowledge is rusty so I'd need driver recs)
  • Runs cool
  • Strip-style, ideally 30-ish inches long, but whatever will cover the space evenly
  • Low-profile enough to maximize growing height
What I'm considering:
  • mars hydro sp150 (overkill/too hot?)
  • cheap amazon led t5s (too shitty?)
  • any decent 301h/301b strips? I've seen plenty of stuff, but I'm not sure what's good and what isn't
  • a pair of QB96 elites (not strip style, but might work?)
Thanks!!
 
Last edited:
S

spinelessthug

Member
I ended up scoring a deal on some 4000k Samsung F-series strips and after a shit-ton of research (thanks LEDgardener!!) paired 3 of the double-row 2 ft strips with an HLG-120H-48B. They're working great - plants seem to love em and the coverage is soooo much more even. I've had em hung naked to test it out, but I'm building an aluminum frame for them which should be finished tomorrow. I can post pics if you're interested.

As far as temps, they're a little warmer than ideal, but better than the mars and still not too hot to touch. Should be even better once they're mounted to the frame.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
spinelessthug said:
I ended up scoring a deal on some 4000k Samsung F-series strips and after a shit-ton of research (thanks LEDgardener!!) paired 3 of the double-row 2 ft strips with an HLG-120H-48B. They're working great - plants seem to love em and the coverage is soooo much more even. I've had em hung naked to test it out, but I'm building an aluminum frame for them which should be finished tomorrow. I can post pics if you're interested.

As far as temps, they're a little warmer than ideal, but better than the mars and still not too hot to touch. Should be even better once they're mounted to the frame.
Click to expand...
Nice. I'm interested and wanna see pics. Sounds awesome.
 
Gtjoker420

Gtjoker420

Well-Known Member
Ho
spinelessthug said:
I ended up scoring a deal on some 4000k Samsung F-series strips and after a shit-ton of research (thanks LEDgardener!!) paired 3 of the double-row 2 ft strips with an HLG-120H-48B. They're working great - plants seem to love em and the coverage is soooo much more even. I've had em hung naked to test it out, but I'm building an aluminum frame for them which should be finished tomorrow. I can post pics if you're interested.

As far as temps, they're a little warmer than ideal, but better than the mars and still not too hot to touch. Should be even better once they're mounted to the frame.
Click to expand...
How much did the whole setup costs
 
S

spinelessthug

Member
It's def overkill for early veg, but until I can get the timing of my perpetual grow down, I'm probably going to have to do more than just early veg in there, lol. The nice thing is that they'll dim down to next to nothing, but even with a relatively underpowered driver (the 2ft double row strips have a max rating of 54w each!), running it at 60-70% is more than enough for more mature plants. My original plan was to use h-series single-row strips (which are way less powerful, ~11w each max i think?) since I missed the first round of deals on the f-series, and the h-series were like $0.60 each. But then the day after they showed up the f-series went on sale again so now I have 30 h-series strips I gotta figure out what to do with lol.

As far as cost, it's hard to be exact since I'm building a few lights and I bought a lot of stuff in bulk, but it works out to be somewhere around $100, maybe a little less. Which feels like such an insane bang for buck to me, haha
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
spinelessthug said:
Hey y'all, I've got a tent that has a 3x3 main tent and two 1x3 compartments on the side. I'd love for some recs for strip-style LEDs for early vegging (aka post seedling but before they get beefy) in the side compartments. I currently have an older Mars Hydro model in there (blurple + white, 135w actual), and it works decent, but it's actively cooled and exactly as wide as the space, so I have to leave the flap open in order to avoid blocking the vents. Besides, it doesn't cover nearly as evenly as I'd like.

So here's what I'm looking for:
  • Cheap (DIY is fine, but my EE knowledge is rusty so I'd need driver recs)
  • Runs cool
  • Strip-style, ideally 30-ish inches long, but whatever will cover the space evenly
  • Low-profile enough to maximize growing height
What I'm considering:
  • mars hydro sp150 (overkill/too hot?)
  • cheap amazon led t5s (too shitty?)
  • any decent 301h/301b strips? I've seen plenty of stuff, but I'm not sure what's good and what isn't
  • a pair of QB96 elites (not strip style, but might work?)
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
have you considered these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZJLWXFR/ref=emc_b_5_t they are availale in white (6500k) yellow (3500k) and pink 450nm/660nm) and they have good reviews. I am considering using the 4ft pink bulbs as pontoons on my T5s to replace the 660nm bloom bulbs I'm currently using. plant bulbs only last 9 month so hopefully these will last a little longer
 
S

spinelessthug

Member
mauricem00 said:
have you considered these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZJLWXFR/ref=emc_b_5_t they are availale in white (6500k) yellow (3500k) and pink 450nm/660nm) and they have good reviews. I am considering using the 4ft pink bulbs as pontoons on my T5s to replace the 660nm bloom bulbs I'm currently using. plant bulbs only last 9 month so hopefully these will last a little longer
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I know the person who runs growlightinfo.com says they're decent as far as amazon led strips go, at least the 6500k and 3500k ones. I wouldn't use them for anything more than supplementary light though, or maybe for seedlings. Also i dunno if you missed my previous posts in this thread, but I ended up building some lights.
 
S

spinelessthug

Member
Gtjoker420 said:
This looks sweet!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I noticed that you also have the same (or similar) tent. I highly recommend going the DIY route. Once you have a basic grasp of the electrical aspects, it’s surprisingly easy to design a circuit. The physical building aspect is obv easier if you have tools but you could def use 80/20 and thermal epoxy and you’d need pretty much just wire cutters, maybe a screwdriver.

I dunno, after spending tons of time trying to find a fixture that would give me what I wanted, it was so much cheaper to just make it.
 
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