Lighting for my 4x4 tent

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by GasMaskGang, Aug 26, 2018.

  1. Hi I am a first grower (soil) and im in need of help adding more lighting I have read many threads with different suggestions but I’m now leaning toward QB’s (DIY) any help or pointers on what’s needed, best product or best prices would be gladly appreciated .. grow we be 3/4 plants in a 4x4 tent with 5gal fabric post!
     
  2. Get 4x qb 132s in 4000k and 4x qb 132s in 3000k and stagger then in the tent so that your spectrum is even. To save on energy costs you can probably just veg with your 4000k boards. Run all of them during flower.

    If you’re on a budget, 4x qb 132s in 4000k will get it done.


    “Tyranny anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.” — someone awesome
     
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  3. Thanks for taking the time to reply appreciated! .. what driver should I be running ?
     
  4. I like the way you think. If I had to limit to just one I would choose 3000k, But the 3500k is really nice. The 3000k seems to me to be almost identical to hps and the 4000k seems almost identical to a 4000k cfl. The thing about these qbs is you don't have to make a lifetime commitment. They can easily be swapped out or moved around.
     
  5. Talkative is right. QB lights are probably the most versatile LED grow lights.

    I have an HLG-260 in 3000k and it does a great job but I prefer more blue in the spectrum for veg. I personally believe that 4000k is the best all-around spectrum to use from seed to harvest.


    “Tyranny anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.” — someone awesome
     
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  6. You think the 3000k is better start to finish ?
     
  7. It’s all personal preference I think. No matter what you go with, you’re going to be happy with it. QBs were a game changer for me. I’m really glad I started growing again after they were just becoming popular.


    “Tyranny anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.” — someone awesome
     
  8. Ok well think ima go with the 4000k .. I always currently have a Led (blurple) should I leave it or kick it the the curb ?
     
  9. I dont know anyone who uses qb we all go mh hps old school lol im curious though do they produce heat are they like leds ? Id like to switch up my 400 mh/hps dont get me wrong it gives off killer light in my space but gets too warm. I can control the heat with my a.c. n the door open.
     
  10. I veg with 4k, flower with 3k.
    You can contact growers lights to get a custom build ( switching up K on a single fixture )
    I had a blurple led and the second I got my first quantum I kicked it and got more. It's like night and day .
     
  11. Might be the case here too once I order these boards lol been seeing nothing but good reviews an praises ... are the 288 or 132 better?
     
  12. They're both great just depends on what you want. With the 132 you wont need a heat sink but you'll need twice the amount of boards. With the 288 you'll only need 4 boards but you will need a heat sink.
    You can also hook more 132 boards up in series .
     
  13. If I could choose only one spectrum I would go 3000k, and you can always pick up a 4000k for veg. I grow autos and the first 30 days are really critical to me for the way I grow so I bought the 4000k also, but I personally would not want 4000k for the flower, but a lot of us ended up with a mixture of 3500k by accident and it is a really sweet spectrum. But I am really overthinking it all. Plenty grow under nothing but hps or 3000k qb and have nice pictures of their plants. Most of these differences are just personality differences.
     
  14. I struggled with temps at first, but then I rewired my HLG-260 QB light so I could mount my LED driver on the outside of my tent, and then temps became a non-issue. The driver is what puts out the most heat. Over about 75 watts is when you need to use a heatsink with your qb lights. Most LED lights that are manufactured that come inside of a case...usually these incorporate some type of fan system or well thought out exhaust so that the light stays relatively cool. I have two other types of LED lights that are enclosed in a case with very good fans in them and they run a bit cooler than my qb lights.
     
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  15. I have 2x 288 boards that are attached to a long, single heatsink. I love this light, but if I had to do it again, I would go with 4x qb 132's and use that in the same space (32" x 32") because it would give me a better (more equal) light spread in that tent. You'd have to get a large LED driver to equal the kind of output that 2x 288's emit. 2x 288's would be 576 diodes, and 4x 132s would be 528 diodes, so you're talking about 48 less diodes with the 4x 132's, but I think that's a fair tradeoff to get a more equal light spread across your plant's canopy. Overall, I think I would like that better. Like I said earlier, there is some preference involved in these lights. Lots of different ways to go.
     
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  16. For qb132's I've recently discovered the ELG 150-36a for each two boards. That's if you want high efficiency and dimmer control.

    If you want a great cheap driver that will push 4 qb132's to max output with not really dimming control the LRS-350-36 is about $30 and will power 3 qb132's great.
     
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  17. To really fill a 4x4 well you want 8 boards if you go with the qb132 or qb120. That puts you in the 500-600 watt range. You also get much more even coverage with 8 boards that are larger boards compared to 4 qb288 boards.
    [​IMG]

    This is 8 qb132s in a 4x4.
     
  18. Yep. Agreed. 4 would be ideal. I want to go there lol


    “Tyranny anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.” — someone awesome
     
  19. Thanks Tbone i was leaning towards the 288 but it sound like 132 is the way to go for light spread purposes. I see your the go to guy for this type of stuff all over the forum , what driver and how many (driver) should I be running with 8 boards ?
     
  20. Lol that’s an understatement.


    “Tyranny anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.” — someone awesome
     

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