Howdy there, nice to meet everyone. I have a few questions and I'd be appreciative of any feedback you can provide! I've done quite a bit of searching and it seems like the QB96's are a lot of peoples go to light as of lately. Obviously I'm newbie and this is my first time. The plan is 4x plants in maybe 3 gallon fabric pots inside a 4x4 tent. I was pretty set on doing something like no-technique training, possibly LST, but with even more looking I'm considering scrOG. Anyway, I was considering a VIPARSPECTRA 1200W from Amazon..but it seems like this may not be the "best" option? More searching led me to QB96 Elites along with a driver. Would 2x QB96 Elites be sufficient for my plan? Would I be able to / Should I add a third? I see QB96's are compatible with this driver - HLG-240H-C2100 Would that suit this, or should the driver be more powerful? I could possibly just be on the completely wrong track with everything? Thank you so much.
For that footprint I would personally run 4 qb96 boards, one over the middle of each 2 x 2 section, and power them with either 2 of the 240 drivers or one 480 driver. I think you can push those boards harder than 120w looking at the information on the hlg site but I am not 100% sure. What I do know is that 480w of qb132’s over a 4 x 4 worked quite well for me and the 96’s are supposedly better boards.
Also, you might get more answers and information on building an led setup in the lighting and diy subsections of the grow room design / setup area. Grow Room Design/Setup
I have been doing a ton more reading since I posted. Running 4x QB96 along with x2 240 Drivers is exactly the information I was coming to! Thank you! I also see QB288's are kind of popular. I was thinking about 2x of the Double Heatsink QB288 (essentially I think this would be x4 QB288's?). If I bought any of these boards I would go with HLG as that is really the only place I know and they seem to be held in high regard. I see there are a ton of "opinions" on whether to use these lights for Veg or not (QB96 and QB288's)? If my tent is 48x48x80 and I have 4x QB96's should I just put them really high in the tent turned up to full for the early stages of veg or should I make a plan to dim them and put them lower? I know there are better options for Veg, but I would really like to use these lights for the full grow... I also want to grow some killer bud but I do understand I can't expect everything to be perfect using this one light, on top of everything this will be my first time. Currently I'm a little tweaky about buying everything. I pretty much plan on buying almost every single thing I need online... Tent, some filter stuff, fans, ph testers, lux meter, fabric pots, driver, all that stuff all at once on amazon. Lights from HLG. Seeds from North Atlantic Seed Co. payed through my Venmo...I plan on getting x5 of Triple Cheese Fems. I'm on a vpn, but that doesn't really do all to much good especially when buying stuff lol. Should I be worried about having all this stuff just shipped to my front door? Thank you a ton for the help! Wish I saw that subsection .
If you go with the 96's, you'll want one of these per driver. Also, if you can afford it, it wouldn't hurt to have 6 qb96's per 4x4 rather than just 4. Currently I'm running 2 in a 2x4, vegging at around 155 watts, but I'm setting up 12 96's in a 4x8 tent soon. You can start them off at full blast, but it's a waste of electricity. Better to run them dimmed for veg.
I'm glad I typed this all out and thought about it along with feedback before I bought anything! haha... I'm now considering just doing a 2x4 tent with x2 QB96's. x2 plants, 5 gal pots. A large consideration for changing my plans is cost of electricity for the setup. Can I ask what driver are you using gxxire? Those meters are a good idea as to tell what the dimmer is doing I suppose? Great advice!
I'm using a hlg-320h-54a in the 2x4, though I never use it at full power. I think a hlg-240h-54a would be a good match for 2 qb96's in a 2x4. Starting small is wise for your first grow. Learn to grow, get everything dialed in, then scale up. You'll feel a lot better about spending money on equipment and electricity when you're confident you can use them to produce high quality flower.
The price difference between the 320h-54a and the 240h-54a really isn't that big so I think I'll still probably get the 320 just to ensure I can get 150~+ watts to each light. Would a Cloudline S4 (4'') Fan and Filter from AC Infinity be good for a 2x4 or would I need to go up to a 6? I'm also thinking about putting this fan inside on a timer, possibly 24/7 -
The 4" fan will be fine. With the clip on fans, you want to generate enough wind so that the leaves are gently moving. That 320h-54a driver can output almost 350 watts. With each 96 running at 175 watts, the boards get pretty hot. It would be better for the longevity of the boards to either add a third 96, or active cooling with pc fans, if you plan on running them near max.