I have around 10 4in saucers & was wondering how many plants i could do under per light or what not .. Any suggestions?
So who can tell me all about the Cidly Apollo 4 LED grow light. Either users of it or LED light system builders let me know what you think please. If you haven't tried it or don't know much about LED's your response isn't going to help me. Thanks all.
The appolos look like decent LEDs, I've seen some good reviews about them. But they are chinese (like most LEDs out there) so quality might be something to consider. Not saying chinese = crap, but like in all chinese production, large scale production is prioritized over quality control, so you might end up with a very good light that will last you 5 yrs+ or you might end up with a lemon that will last half a grow and screw up everything... The other thing to keep in mind is Warranty and speed of replacement, if you buy a light from your local hydro shop it will be a lot quicker to replace than if you buy one directly from china. So if the light breaks in the middle of your grow, you'll be happy to have a replacement within a week. LED lights these days are mostly 3W diodes, so power shouldn't be an issue, yes some will be better than others but the difference in power shouldn't be all that important. Personnaly I decided to go with a Solarflare from california lightworks because of the 5W diodes and the great warranty and customer service. If my light breaks I know I will not have to deal with an idiot seller who will give me any stupid excuse to put the blame on me for the breakage and not want to replace the light. To me that's the most important part of buying a 400$ light. (P.S. I have no real experience with the Apollo LEDs, only seen reviews and grows on the forums) Apollos seem to be a generic chinese model, you can find very similar light on gothamhydroponics sold as Blackstar Chrome lights, and on a couple of other sites.
Hey Yomandude, thanks for the reply. I'll take a look at the light you mentioned. I'm new to this LED light stuff and it's almost impossible to get enough info from enough people to truly come up with a leader for a light to choose. Out of 60 or 70 different people that I've talked to about LED's I've yet to come up with a consensus between even 10 of them where they are all saying the same thing. And as expensive as the lights are I'm likely going to stick with my HID's and CFL's until the LED light world can get their shit together and decide if they are any good or not. I would prefer an LED with switchable colors that would be the one and only light to hang over my crop for an entire grow but have yet to have anyone tell me there is one. Everyone wants them for ust veg or just flower with a HID or both veg and flower with a HID. I've looked at a couple NASA journals where they grew lettuce, tomatos, and radishes with LED's but they are very light on information in their stories. At least in the ones I could find. I've got enough time into research on LED's and questions in forums like this and readng through website after website after website that I might end up an LED expert if it weren't for the fact that everyone is very vague, and everyone has half answers and not whole stories. If anyone out there has done a start to finish, ie: germination to harvest, complete grow with no lights other than an LED or LED's and in fact, you took notes and/or made a video so that you can give a compelling story on the topic I would sure like to hear, see, or read it. Or if anyone knows where I can find such a story please send me the web link to it. Thanks again!!!
I'm still new to the world of LED but I've been reading A LOT for the past 6 months, I started off with CFLs to see how I would do, then I bought my Solarflare, but I am only using it for flower in my perpetual grow. I believe the general consensus is that if you can go with HPS, do it. If for any factor (Heat, electricity costs or if you are an environmental nut ) you cannot use HID then LED is the next best choice. I went with LED because my cabinet is too small to handle the heat of a decent HPS lamp and I don't want to buy an AC and all. Also, I've been somewhat burnt in the past so I have trouble trusting a 400*F heat source in my apartment bedroom for the 10 hours a day I'm not home. I certainly wouldn't leave my oven on when I'm not home . LEDs are still a relatively new technology for growing plants, and I truly believe that we will see some affordable lights that can beat a 600W-1000W HPS light in the near future. This is a very interesting video with good comparison using instruments: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAw13w9eFxY]LED Grow Light Testing GrowLight Versus a 400 & 600 Watt HPS LED Grow Lights Lamps LED Garden - YouTube[/ame] we are slowly starting to see some 5W and 10W diodes on the market that are promising, but still not comparable to good HPS lamps. you have a couple of reputable companies out there with good reviews. Try these brands and read on them : Blackstar LED Grow Lights Advanced LED Grow Lights LED Grow Lights | Indoor Grow Lights | Plasma Grow Lights | Hydroponics Hut (also plasma on hydro hut which is another technology that is interesting) California Lightworks (I own a 200W full cycle and like it very much up to now) LED Grow Lights | Black Dog LED | Plant Light Advanced LEDs and Pro-Grow LEDs have a switch for veg and full power.
Thanks a lot man, I appreciate all the help. Stay in touch and keep me posted on anything you learn new in the world of LED's and I'll do the same.