To LED or not to LED?

[illFamosi]

Hello everyone,

I am new to these forums, although have been reading 420 for years. This seems to be by far the best community on the web and i am verry happy/exited to now be a part of it.

I am planning a larger grow than i am used to using the SOG Ebb and flow technique for 10 plants (2 different strains)

My question is..... should i use LED lights? I have been advised by one manufacturer to use 6 lights for the 10 plants. they also advised me that to replace a 1000w HPS HID would take 8 LED's.
I have been looking for up to date reviews for weeks but cant find any that are trustworthy thats why im putting it out on here to professional growers.

I do really want to use these LED's but i also want Big yeilding, Fast growing healthy Buds.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hosebomber]

Re: To LED or not to LED ?

It is really hard to give advise on such a vague statement. What company is advising 6 lights to replace 1000 watts of HID? What is the power of the LED's they are advising? What size area are you using for these 10 plants?

I personally suggest 2/3rds the led power to HID in most cases, but there are a lot of other factors to consider. If the panel that company is selling is 120 watts then 6 would be about right. I have yet to see any new panels perform and better than the DS 200 from Advance LED at this point. There are some new versions out there that look like they may have potential tho.

 

[illFamosi]

Re: To LED or not to LED ?

Thanks for your reply,

The company was Super grow led. I am going to look into the DS 200 from Advance as i read on here that they are leading at the moment. I am planning the grow to be in 2 rows of 5 in 10sq ft box with a maximum growing height of 4ft (obove the grow pot line and under the light line)
All the info i am reading on LED Vs HID just seems a vaque. In your opinion do you think that LED lighting is up to the standard of HID for quality and quantity?

 

[Hosebomber]

After a quick review of their site and product, I believe I would stay away from that company. They give almost zero information about their lights, make outrageous claims about energy.conservation. They are also using 1 watt diodes. Look through the threads here and you will see a pattern of 1 watt diodes not being able to penetrate beyond the first 12" or so of foliage.

 

[illFamosi]

Haha..... Thanks i will stay away! and on your recomendation i am now looking into the Advance LED's on paper they are by far the best.

Im still just worried that the performance of LED's isn't worth the financial investment?

 

[Hosebomber]

Take a look at SteveHman's grows. He uses Advance DS lights and gets great results... He's also one of the newer Mod's on the site. His post have a wealth of information and great stats on all of his grows. There are a few others here using DS lights as well as some of the other sponsors.

 

[BayAreaDrofessional]

i am considering getting a ds200 after reviewing both magicbeans and stevehmans grow journals. i have heat issues and don't want to use a huge ventilation system (no more than an osculating fan anyway) so i am going to get one. i'm not sure if i should get a ds300 (with cfls) or a ds200 though (and save and get another after harvest), for my 2.5x3.5x7 area.

there's a tons of savings in the long run, and much less hassle too.

 

[NCDude]

I'm no expert, but I use them in rooms/closets where the HPS and MH bulbs are too hot. I'm in an apartment, I've got folks on the other side of the wall, so I need to keep noise and vibrations down....its like growing, there is no wrong way, but what works best for you....

 

[Hosebomber]

austin, If I were you, I'd go with 2 DS 200's for that size of an area. If you are filling 100% of that area with plants (ie no room to move around) go with 2 DS 300's

 

[Halfbreed]

hey, I went through the same process when I considered my lighting options, and I have a 600w Advanced Diamond series LED. Very happy with it, getting good production, and I was concerned about heat and noise too and was pleased to find that in my basement the heat is no issue at all, and I actually need to run a heater every once in a while because the heat output is so low off the lights. The noise level is exactly like what you get from a computer fan, as this is basically what the lights have built into them. My plants are healthy, the light was safe and mild enough to do veg though I now use 8 HO 64w t5s in a Hydrofarm ballast for my veg and flower under my 600w led. I plan on continuing with LEDs and I might try some GSL (Grow Stealth Lighting) next just to see if there is any difference. When you factor in the cost of the fans to cool the HIDs or HPSs, the electronic ballasts, the energy cost, and the replacement bulbs (the LED lights last around 10 years), you're actually not spending any more for an LED light and you're room ends up a lot cleaner looking with less noise. I find that I need to have a regular white light in there though if I'm going to hang out and smoke in my grow room though, because the ultraviolet and infrared lights alone make my girlfriend and I a little dizzy and disoriented.

 

[Buckshot]

It is tough to get good information. Go to the journals here Journals in Progress check out some of the thread titles to find folks doing the same thing you are.

PS check out some of the "longer" journals even if they are not what you are doing as there are some great reads

Good Luck

 

[ChesterC]

Are there any discount codes for LED lights thru the sponsors ...

 

[2001vettez06]

All things being equal I would go HID. However, I had heat concerns and ended up going full LED setup with about 930W of LED(true draw) with 4 fixtures. I'm happy and think I'm doing ok for a new grower. I'd say there are advantages to each type of light with cost, temps, results etc... HID is hard to argue against with proven results and fairly cheap up front costs. LED's can have as good(or some argue better) THC/effect. Bud density with LED and Floro for that matter don't seem to be quite as good as HID from what I gather, but what I'm getting is damm good so I won't complain about it.

I'd love to have a large area to do some comparison grows with LED, HID, vs T5 with tailored bulbs(LED without LED journal is awesome IMO). I'm going to try that T5 setup with a bulb mix of certain spectrums. I have a feeling it will do quite well based off of what I've read. HID just isn't in the cards for me now though due to space/heat issues