I am a new grower and need LED help
- Thread starter bsinger
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Yes. That "1500w" light is, in reality, only a 260-watt one. That works out to only 16¼ watts (of blurple light) per square foot. That's not even adequate for autoflowering plants (IMHO).
Lights are the #1 issue that newer growers face. Any light will grow cannabis but it's not going to flower well. The current light I am running in a 4x4 is the 500 watt Budget LED. It is the least power consumption light I have tried. I would save your money for a decent light while your plants are veging.
By the dimensions on that light you would need about 4 of them in that space, as you would get decent coverage of a 2 ft x 2 ft footprint with one of those in my experience with blurples.
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- #5
I appreciate everyones advise My budget would be about 400 dollars. Is that enough? i want to invest in something that will last a good long time and be 100% sufficient for a 4x4 tent if 400 dollars is not enough money please let me know. also feel free to give me advise for more expensive lights. I deffinetly should have done more research before i bought the one i have.
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- #6
Budget LED is more than your price range but here is the link
If heat isn't an issue the other lights that a lot of new growers gloss over is CMH. You would need a two bulb system to adequately cover that space.
MH/HPS are the least efficient of the modern day lighting but they work. They can be had for your budget or less like the CMH but the heat will be significantly higher.
Lighting for Large-Sized Grow Spaces (4' x 4' or Larger)
Budget LED designs & builds the highest quality, budget friendly, indoor gardening LED grow lights for beginners & commercial growers. Growers can maximize yield while saving energy over traditional HPS with Budget LED grow lights. Budget LED grow lights are built in the USA and feature an...
www.budgetgrowlights.com
If heat isn't an issue the other lights that a lot of new growers gloss over is CMH. You would need a two bulb system to adequately cover that space.
MH/HPS are the least efficient of the modern day lighting but they work. They can be had for your budget or less like the CMH but the heat will be significantly higher.
Here is a great option from one of our sponsors, @Budget LED.
Series 3+ Red Spec 250 Watt Dimmable Grow Light
Our Series 3+ Red Spec 250 Watt Indoor LED grow light is designed to be the ultimate flowering unit while also being our highest PPE unit available. Each kit utilizes 2 of our custom designed & full spectrum LED boards with Samsung LM301H, UVA, Samsung LH351H v2 Deep Red 660nm, and Samsung...
www.budgetgrowlights.com
You would need two of these lights for a 4x4 tent, and with the forum discount applied it comes out to about $722.
Another option would be this one:
Series 3+ Red Spec 500 Watt Dimmable Grow Light
Our Series 3+ Red Spec 500 Watt Indoor LED grow light is designed to be the ultimate flowering unit. Each kit utilizes 4 of our custom designed & full spectrum LED boards with Samsung LM301H, UVA, Samsung LH351H Deep Red 660nm, and Samsung LH351H Far Red 730nm. Samsung most notably highlights...
www.budgetgrowlights.com
You would only need one of these (it's basically 2 of the above units in a single one), and would come out to about $665 with the forum discount.
The end result isn't any different between these options. Myself, I prefer two individual panels for exact arrangement and spacing as I need/see fit. It also give me some circulation space between the units, and a place to hang my UVB light when I need it.
Both are very, very capable lights. Highly efficient, and the best bang for your buck out there really.
You can save maybe 15% with a brand like Mars Hydro (another forum sponsor), and they're ok. They will do a decent job, but their components are of a lesser quality, where the Budget lights use Samsung, LG, and OSRAM diodes.
Considering a proper light (or lights) from Mars would be $500-$600 or so (2x SP250's, a TSW3000, or 2x TSL2000), and honestly the better quality diodes (Mars uses epistar, just sayin) are well worth the minor price bump. The Budget's are going to be better in efficiency (more light for less watts), a little less heat, and they are a US company that is veteran owned. They also happen to be a great bunch of people.
Mars lights can be good in a pinch, and they're better than most (for some lights, some are still ebay level), but the improvement in quality (build and components) is definitely something to consider.
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- #9
Both that I linked above say “pre-order”, but if you ordered today, I’d guess you would have them by the end of the week.
I can’t personally guarantee that of course, but I ordered one of the 250W series 3 like I linked a couple weeks ago (on a saturday, IIRC) and had it by the end of that week.
Worst thing that happens is you end up with the King as a spare light in case of an emergency.
I can’t personally guarantee that of course, but I ordered one of the 250W series 3 like I linked a couple weeks ago (on a saturday, IIRC) and had it by the end of that week.
Worst thing that happens is you end up with the King as a spare light in case of an emergency.
I'll be the first to admit that, when it comes to "the pyramid of LEDs," Samsung (right now) would be considered to be that little pointy bit right at the top, lol. However... The Epistar 3030 series of diodes seem to be pretty good. And... Here's a funny thing: Samsung also sells televisions. And five or six years ago, they were selling so many that they couldn't keep up with demand. When they needed another LED supplier to produce LED components for their televisions, what company did they contract with? Yeah... Epistar.
Things that make a person say, "Huh."
I agree with that. Plenty of good results around here with Mars stuff.
But if you're spending that much already, a few bucks more for the top end is definitely something to consider.
But if you're spending that much already, a few bucks more for the top end is definitely something to consider.
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- #13
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- #14
The “k” in what you're asking is the light “temperature” expressed in Kelvin units. 3500k is what you want so you can veg and flower under the light.
The XL heatsink is a little wider than standard, and spaces the board out just a tick. It will provide more even coverage. If you ran 4 plants in the 4x4, each spot would end up under a board. (Two of the 250w units, two boards each.)
The full size is good too, I just (personally) like the ability to move each pair individually.
The XL heatsink is a little wider than standard, and spaces the board out just a tick. It will provide more even coverage. If you ran 4 plants in the 4x4, each spot would end up under a board. (Two of the 250w units, two boards each.)
The full size is good too, I just (personally) like the ability to move each pair individually.
Horticultural Lighting Group, lol?
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- #17
Would you not plant 6 plants in the 4x4 tent? i have 6 right now.
Gardener's choice - I've seen cannabis gardens that had as few as one plant per eight square feet to as many as nine per square foot. They were all successful. In theory, there's nothing stopping you from growing a plant large enough that, by harvest day, it fills an entire 4'x4' tent. Be a long growth phase, though.
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- #19
A bump to those wouldn’t be in my cards. If price were equal with budget, maybe. I really like the addition of the LG diodes with budget’s series 3 though. As tortured mentioned, gardener’s choice. I wouldn’t, but that’s me. I finished a run with 5 recently, and really needed more room. You’ll just have to flip them sooner than if you were running 4. Dutch runs 6 at a time, but he has his rigs down to an art form. I like having 2sqft per plant. End results are about the same though. A 4x4 canopy is a 4x4 canopy. More plants means smaller per plant. Just be sure you know your genetics and how much they stretch. If they double, flip as they get to half the size you want in the end. If they triple (sativas likely, some hybrids too) then veg them until only 1/3 of the final size you want.
That’s why I like 2sqft/plant. Easy for me to see when they are where I want them, knowing I’ll train out about half of the stretch before letting the rest go vertical.
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