Light Upgrade for 2x2, need help.

Medicated Bonsai

Medicated Bonsai

Well-Known Member
Hello, I'm currently using an HLG 100 3000k in a 2x2x4 grow tent. I'm planning to upgrade my light but I'm not sure which to get. My budget is around $500. I think the optic 4 would be a perfect fit but since the tent is only 4 foot, the distant from the canopy would be around 15", maybe even less.. I might upgrade to a taller 2x2 or a 3x3 later on. Also, this light will probably be used as a full cycle grow...I might turn my current tent into a veg. tent but it will take some time because of the costs. I would like to grow anywhere from 1-4 plants and end with a harvest of atleast a few ounces..a Pound+ is the end goal but i'm sure there's a lot of learning to be done...I just want to make sure i have the right equipment first!

My current interests in lights are :

Optic 4

Plantinum 450

4x DIY Mau5 Pucks from RapidLed (I'm not sure if I want this one. Wouldn't it be better to get a light with a broader spectrum?

Kind k3 300


I'm open to ideas on the DIY LEDs but they seem to be more for veg.
 
Humple

Humple

Well-Known Member
Medicated Bonsai said:
Hello, I'm currently using an HLG 100 3000k in a 2x2x4 grow tent. I'm planning to upgrade my light but I'm not sure which to get. My budget is around $500. I think the optic 4 would be a perfect fit but since the tent is only 4 foot, the distant from the canopy would be around 15", maybe even less.. I might upgrade to a taller 2x2 or a 3x3 later on. Also, this light will probably be used as a full cycle grow...I might turn my current tent into a veg. tent but it will take some time because of the costs. I would like to grow anywhere from 1-4 plants and end with a harvest of atleast a few ounces..a Pound+ is the end goal but i'm sure there's a lot of learning to be done...I just want to make sure i have the right equipment first!

My current interests in lights are :

Optic 4

Plantinum 450

4x DIY Mau5 Pucks from RapidLed (I'm not sure if I want this one. Wouldn't it be better to get a light with a broader spectrum?

Kind k3 300


I'm open to ideas on the DIY LEDs but they seem to be more for veg.
Click to expand...
A $500 budget will cover a 3x3 and the LEDs to light it. As GBAUTO said, you don't need more than 150w to maximize yield in a 2x2. And since you already have the HLG100, you're already set up for a solid veg space.
 
Medicated Bonsai

Medicated Bonsai

Well-Known Member
Humple said:
A $500 budget will cover a 3x3 and the LEDs to light it. As GBAUTO said, you don't need more than 150w to maximize yield in a 2x2. And since you already have the HLG100, you're already set up for a solid veg space.
Click to expand...
Would a single optic 4 be enough for a 3x3x60? This seems like a high quality light and the yields seem pretty impressive(from the ones i've seen on youtube anyways).

I guess the main question here is, what would be considered some high quality lights for a 3x3.
 
diyled

diyled

Well-Known Member
Medicated Bonsai said:
My current interests in lights are :

Optic 4

Plantinum 450

4x DIY Mau5 Pucks from RapidLed (I'm not sure if I want this one. Wouldn't it be better to get a light with a broader spectrum?

Kind k3 300
Click to expand...
The growmau5 pucks are the only option out of them imo.

The other have lens'. And you really don't want that anyway, never mind with little clearence.
 
Medicated Bonsai

Medicated Bonsai

Well-Known Member
diyled said:
The growmau5 pucks are the only option out of them imo.

The other have lens'. And you really don't want that anyway, never mind with little clearence.
Click to expand...
Just curious but why are Len's bad? Results from Optic 4 seem pretty impressive..
Also, would it be possible to yield a 1/2 to 1 pound in a 2x2x4 tent? And would something like the HLG 260 3k QB work produce nearly that much?
 
GBAUTO

GBAUTO

Well-Known Member
Medicated Bonsai said:
Just curious but why are Len's bad? Results from Optic 4 seem pretty impressive..
Also, would it be possible to yield a 1/2 to 1 pound in a 2x2x4 tent? And would something like the HLG 260 3k QB work produce nearly that much?
Click to expand...
I'd say that it would be really challenging to produce that yield from an area that small. That pic of the cookie light is a 2x2.5 closet space and a single plant will almost use all of it. She has run two buckets but unless you want to keep small shrubs, 4-8 oz/run would be do-able.
Lens focus light output and create hotspots unless you have some distance between the source and the plant, something that your height restrictions prevent.
 
Medicated Bonsai

Medicated Bonsai

Well-Known Member
GBAUTO said:
I'd say that it would be really challenging to produce that yield from an area that small. That pic of the cookie light is a 2x2.5 closet space and a single plant will almost use all of it. She has run two buckets but unless you want to keep small shrubs, 4-8 oz/run would be do-able.
Lens focus light output and create hotspots unless you have some distance between the source and the plant, something that your height restrictions prevent.
Click to expand...
Would these lights be considered high quality lights? And what kind of yield potential would these 260w boards have? Most people seem to say I'd need more power to flower effectively.

http://timbergrowlights.com/model-24sams/

https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group-quantum-board-led-kits/products/horticulture-lighting-group-260-watt-xw-quantum-board-led-kit
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
Medicated Bonsai said:
Would these lights be considered high quality lights? And what kind of yield potential would these 260w boards have? Most people seem to say I'd need more power to flower effectively.

http://timbergrowlights.com/model-24sams/

https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group-quantum-board-led-kits/products/horticulture-lighting-group-260-watt-xw-quantum-board-led-kit
Click to expand...
yes those are high quality lights. 260w should get you 260g at least with QB.

for 2x2 you want 150w, for 3x3 you want 350w. kind of a big difference.
 
Medicated Bonsai

Medicated Bonsai

Well-Known Member
pulpoinspace said:
yes those are high quality lights. 260w should get you 260g at least with QB.

for 2x2 you want 150w, for 3x3 you want 350w. kind of a big difference.
Click to expand...
Is there a quantum board thats more than 260w? That could fit in a 2x2 that is! I would like to buy a more powerful light in case I upgrade to a 3x3 later on
 
N

Nutria

Well-Known Member
If you're thinking of running a 260w kit at full power in a 2x2 tent you will probably face some problems. The 135w kit is a good choice for a 2x2

For a 3x3 you could get the 260 xl kit and add some strips to top at 360w and get a better coverage
 
Medicated Bonsai

Medicated Bonsai

Well-Known Member
Nutria said:
If you're thinking of running a 260w kit at full power in a 2x2 tent you will probably face some problems. The 135w kit is a good choice for a 2x2

For a 3x3 you could get the 260 xl kit and add some strips to top at 360w and get a better coverage
Click to expand...
from just 260w? and the xl doesn't fit in a 2x2.
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
Medicated Bonsai said:
Is there a quantum board thats more than 260w? That could fit in a 2x2 that is! I would like to buy a more powerful light in case I upgrade to a 3x3 later on
Click to expand...
i recommend building yourself a DIY fixture with quantum boards or cobs and making sure its 400w max for the 3x3 and dimmable for the 2x2.

for example:

you could buy 2 packs of
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/quantum-boards/products/qb288-with-slate-2-heatsink
and one of the
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-480h-c2100b/mean-well-enterprises

make sure to get a B type driver so you can dim it. wire the boards in series. if you ran all 4 at full power you'd be at around ~400w. wire a potentiometer to the driver you could run them at half power in your 2x2.

if you don't want to DIY you could buy
http://timbergrowlights.com/model-3cqs/
or
http://timbergrowlights.com/model-4vs/ (this is what i have in my 3x3 and it works great)

they are dimmable so you could run them at half power in your 2x2 and crank them up to full when you get a 3x3. imo, the pre-built QB fixtures don't really lend themselves as well to working in both spaces because of their bigger form factor but you could make something work if you get creative.
 
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D

Dave455

Well-Known Member
pulpoinspace said:
i recommend building yourself a DIY fixture with quantum boards or cobs and making sure its 400w max for the 3x3 and dimmable for the 2x2.

for example:

you could buy 2 packs of
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/quantum-boards/products/qb288-with-slate-2-heatsink
and one of the
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-480h-c2100b/mean-well-enterprises

make sure to get a B type driver so you can dim it. wire the boards in series. if you ran all 4 at full power you'd be at around ~400w. wire a potentiometer to the driver you could run them at half power in your 2x2.

if you don't want to DIY you could buy
http://timbergrowlights.com/model-3cqs/
or
http://timbergrowlights.com/model-4vs/ (this is what i have in my 3x3 and it works great)

they are dimmable so you could run them at half power in your 2x2 and crank them up to full when you get a 3x3. imo, the pre-built QB fixtures don't really lend themselves as well to working in both spaces because of their bigger form factor but you could make something work if you get creative.
Click to expand...
DIY at 1.00 per watt or less !!
 
maxlev

maxlev

Well-Known Member
Medicated Bonsai said:
Just curious but why are Len's bad? Results from Optic 4 seem pretty impressive..
Also, would it be possible to yield a 1/2 to 1 pound in a 2x2x4 tent? And would something like the HLG 260 3k QB work produce nearly that much?
Click to expand...
Optic has a clear lens which makes the light more like a torch light, spot light

comparison with Migro diffused lens
 
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