Thank you!!!!! I can't believe the amount of info & options u gave me! That's exactly what I needed!!!!! Thank u so much for taking the time to help me out!!!ok so here's the general way I would look at it and how I would utilize that space. most light fixtures cover a 2x2, 2x4, or 4x4 area for flowering. what i would do is think of your space as one long hallway. use 2foot wide rows for plants, and leave yourself a 1 foot aisle to walk down so u can take care of them.
each 2x2 area will fit one decent size plant if you want to scrog. you want approx 30 w per sf so 120W for each square. so you could start out with a 2x4 footprint and start with 2 plants and about 240W of light. (then could keep expanding til you fill all 17 ft lol.)
this is a prebuilt fixture that will cover a 3x3 for $300
- prebuilt fixtures @ $1.50-$2 per watt.
- DIY kits @ $1 per watt
- DIY everything @ $0.50+ per watt
HLG 225
HLG ELITE is 225W LED lamp is powered with our custom designed high efficiency Full Spectrum White LED with boosted Red and Deep Red LED. HLG 225 is equivalent to 315W CMH.horticulturelightinggroup.com
here's a simple complete diy kit that will cover a 2x4 which i think is a better fit for your space for $350
260W QB® V2 Rspec LED Kit
Ultra High Efficiency LED Boards for DIY. QB288 has 288pcs Samsung 301H or 561C LED
you could also buy just the light part from the first fixture. these can run up to 225W each but if you bought 2 and ran each at 120W each they would be very efficient light. you would also need a driver (and possibly a frame but u can also just hang these). so 240W for @ $200
QB96 Elite V2 Engine
QB96 Elite V2 is a white LED Board with boosted red spectrum. Each Board is powered by 64 high power white LED, 16 630nm Red LED and 16 660nm Deep Red LED.horticulturelightinggroup.com
other option is a 4pack of QB120 boards. u would need to build a frame + get a 240W driver. so @ $200 total for this as well
QB120 V2 Quantum Boards
High Efficiency LED Light Engines. 120pcs Samsung LM301H LED per board
any of those HLG products use code RIU10 to get 10% off.
finally you could do a super cheap 320W build using strips like @GrassBurner did here for under $200.
this would give you the best spread altho these diodes are a little older.
Bare Bones Samsung L09 strip build.
Shout out to @ilovereggae for all of his advice and information, couldn't have built this light without him. I wanted to build something to go along with my 4 qb120's, in a 4x4 tent, and I wanted to do it as cheap as possible. Cost me $190 to build this light. I had some steel left over from a...www.rollitup.org
theres lots of other options these are just a few.
good luck with everything!
Picking lights 4 newbie
- Thread starter Kim Tyler
- Start date
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
actually i just re-read. is that correct, your ceilings are 17' high? if so I would probably just go for the QB96's since you have the room for them. again tons of ppl on here use them just do a search. they will be pretty easy to wire up. we can help you find drivers.
The space I have is 3 ft wide, 7 feet high, & it's actually 20 feet long, however, if u take the space out for the doorway and the water pump, it's about 12 or 13 feet of length. I can adjust that length as needed, I have matte white material to hang up on the sides that don't have white matte walls. I was also thinking of using light tight material to hang up so as not to lose any light.
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
I love my QB96's, but I'm actually not using them right now, because it's the cold months. I just put up my 600watt HPS for this cycle, and will keep it up until around mid-March, once it warms up and then run my QB96's for the following 10-months. So that said, choice of light has a lot of do with growing environment, IMO.
Given the right conditions, QB96's would rock in that space, but I wouldn't want just a single one with that limited headroom. Also you need a bigger heatsink than the standard SSTX to run QB96's past 200watts. I think a good bet would 4 QB96's in that space, each run somewhere between 75 and 100 watts, for a total of 300 to 400watts. The OP could almost do it on his $300 budget with two XLG-150's powering them.
Ty, i appreciate the info. I would rather do it well & be a little flexible on my budget instead of cheap. But I would rather do it well and cost less if I DIY.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
You could start with two QB96's and two drivers, then you would just need to buy two more QB96's later(added in parallel to the existing drivers) to improve the spread and decrease the necessary headroom.
From ur info I've narrowed it to 3 options. I would rather do it well than cheap. I can b a little flexible on the budget if needed. But I would also rathe DIY if I can to lower the cost. So the options...the 260w QB V2, or buy the lights from the first option-two 225w running at 120w each, or QB96 Elite v2 engine. So options 2 & 3 are the same but the second option is more expensive than the third as well as DIY. The 4th option u mentioned is of lower wattage do I would toss that out if it's here only as a cheaper option.
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
the qb288 v2 rspec 260W would be an awesome option and would be the easier DIY since you get everything you need in the kit.
i actually like PJs suggestion of the qb96's. this would be more flexible for different layouts and get you 50% more light for same price.
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
300$ light??
Was wondering whats the best light I can get for around $300? I currently have 2 photos in a tent along with 4 autoflowers. Gonna take the 2 photos put them in my closet & flower them, so thats what the light will be used for. After that it will probably just be my veg light. Really wanting most...
www.rollitup.org
this isn't a bad choice either, I like HLG better but just to give you another plug and play option
Ur awesome! I'm thinking of doing the 2 QB's & drivers like u suggested. Versatile & double the light convinced me. Just gonna let it sit a few days then I'll make final decision (hopefully).... thank u guys again. I'm also gonna keep an eye on this thread like u suggested
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
awesome! just make sure you post here so we can get u the full parts list before you buy anything.
also just to be clear, his 4 qb96 suggestion would be the optimum one. but starting w 2 of them will give you enough wattage to start then u can add 2 more later and crank the drivers up.
the other thing I like about those vs the qb288 is you could hang the qb96 at different heights if u have different types of strains going.
Oldreefer
Well-Known Member
Appears you've made some strides in your new hobby. Addiction will soon follow but you can burn the evidence. Funny, you have the exact space I use....germ/Vegging in a separate area, I move all to the flower room...kinda in one end, out the other. Mine happens to be part of a large bathroom so humidity can be somewhat controlled and a gas heater flue for a hidden exhaust. Inkbird/ac infinity controls all the details. Input/output ya know.
Your area shape sure has potential.....height has been a real plus as I do run several lights of different spectrums at different heights. My first grow room was 16x20 and I though it had to be bushy at all times...I may be retired but damn, that got old... but I love growing dat shit.... like an old Ford model A but I keep it rollin'.
You've garnered some great suggestions and I agree with those who say buy the newest tech...even though all grow weed to some degree, some would be better at some stage...Let me add something that has benefitted me....I veg everything, autos and photos, maters, parsley and an occasional
bonzai orchid....under a simple T5HO 6500k...96w...for 3 weeks, then move to the flower area where, as mentioned previously, several lights varying from 6000k to 3000k finish up.......I've upgraded everything I have except for the simple T5 germ light....
Over these years, a separate veg area has been the best system I've used, allowing ya to focus more dollars toward getting the beef fat for slaughter.
Your area shape sure has potential.....height has been a real plus as I do run several lights of different spectrums at different heights. My first grow room was 16x20 and I though it had to be bushy at all times...I may be retired but damn, that got old... but I love growing dat shit.... like an old Ford model A but I keep it rollin'.
You've garnered some great suggestions and I agree with those who say buy the newest tech...even though all grow weed to some degree, some would be better at some stage...Let me add something that has benefitted me....I veg everything, autos and photos, maters, parsley and an occasional
bonzai orchid....under a simple T5HO 6500k...96w...for 3 weeks, then move to the flower area where, as mentioned previously, several lights varying from 6000k to 3000k finish up.......I've upgraded everything I have except for the simple T5 germ light....
Over these years, a separate veg area has been the best system I've used, allowing ya to focus more dollars toward getting the beef fat for slaughter.
I've had great success germinating just using several damp towels with warm water put in a dark place for a few days and no doubt there will b sprouts when u come back! Honestly I need to start slow but want to grow quality. The separate veg room may b just a step ahead of me at this point. But I'm open to the challenge I think I can get away without an expensive exhaust system with the 2 QB 96 boards. The root cellar is 65 degrees all the time. I was gonna put an extraction fan and a swivel fan and possibly an air purifier (cause I have one & it swivels). If I put in the cmh for the growing stage I'm not sure if I'll need a better exhaust setup. I have a floor ac unit if needed. Would u suggest a 5' space for growing & a 12' space for flowering for a final space? That's awesome that u have a similar space. It saved a lot of trouble having the bathroom near ur grow room so u have that ready exhaust already there!!! & ur right, I've gotten some great advice here, everyone has been so open with their knowledge & time....I told my friend about this site & he wants to check it out now I'm gonna check out the t5h0 & c if I can manage it now or if I should wait till I get a grow under my corset
P.S. I would love to c the bonsai orchid u grew!!!
Taking ur advice and have decided on 2QB96 boards & HLG 240h 54a driver. I believe 'oldreefer' suggested a separate room for germinating and growing, then a different room for flowering. He suggested the T5HO 96w for the veg room. I might consider going over budget for this, if I didn't think I would need to get a better exhaust system in the 65 degree root cellar in the basement. I'm leaning towards keeping it simple to start & just get the 2QB's.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
You might consider the XLG-150-H-A driver instead. You can get two of those for around the same price as one HLG-240-H-54A.
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Cool. I will. TY
wandrew640
Member
I have 6 qb96v2's and just ordered two more. I'm still working my way through my first indoor grow but the light have been amazing so far, so bright! I have all my lights set up in pairs on hlg320h 54a dimmable divers. And they are All wired modularly meaning I can plug unplug move around rearrange however. No complaints so far, and the plants love em