I have them about 25-30ish inches away and I'm actually making a whole outdoor venting system, but when its set up and I can get a good open intake to my tent besides the big intake i have for my cooltube I want to spread and angle the leds and use my MH as well as the HPS during flower. And actually my tv,xbox,fridge,ac,grow setup is only 200 a month and for the 13-15 plants I'm going to shove in that 8x5 will pay it off well Sent from my LGMP450 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
They all grow quality bud. They all work. What light/s you use comes down to a few things but the main ones would be size of the grow area, headroom and budget. Medium again is going to cause debate. I would suggest that more people would say that soil has more flavor and is easier to use as it buffers. Soil growing is slower so problems creep up on you. Soil can have more bug issues. Hydro is faster but because its faster things can go wrong- fast. Less bug issues. Lots of different variables in hydro systems. And then you have SIP's and maybe other variations to. My Q to you is: How much do you want to harvest and how often in what size space/s?
For anyone interested in an all LED grow off check this out. All LED Indoor Grow- Quantum Boards vs AutoCob's
What I'm after is the best possible buds period. I don't care if it's 10 grams...I just want it to be quality smoke. I'm growing mainly for myself but recently found out a friend has cancer and I plan to help him anyway I can.
Use both!! The LED I got on amazon for less than a hundred bucks; picked up the hood & ballast for a hundred used, and I think the bulb was like $75 bucks - seems to be working well!!
I have a t5 mounted in the corner behind my plant and cfls all around with the led hanging over the top and one on the side....it's completely surrounded with lights! Fem Auto (Amnesia Haze) Come on in and share your auto grow! This is my first Bag seed grow journal (Flowering)
The autos are outside during the day and I have a 300w varspectra led for the night time hours! I did a little experiment and left 2 outside only...they got about 8 inches tall and started to flower already. Little fuckers!! Fem Auto (Amnesia Haze) Come on in and share your auto grow! This is my first Bag seed grow journal (Flowering)
depends lot on space ,and heat for cabinet grows hid is too hot during summer . but if you have space and heat is not a issue why not use both? right now i use cheap led t5's for side lighting 6 on the wall one on top 2 reg t5's and 5 cfl's on top when cold weather hits the hps will be placed back in for flowering the cfls will be replaced for led bulbs (low watt) nice thing about the low watt side lighting is the plant can touch them without harm.
Quality is genetics and grower talent. If your only after 10g a harvest then your much better off just buying it. Will save you heaps of money.
You can't just say "LEDs" they are by no means created equal. There is a vast array of quality of build and output. The lowest end leds I would say probably aren't better then hps for anything larger then a 2x2 area. We are actually on the cusp of the newest generation of leds taking over the market. If you've seen what a 270 watt quantum board can do you would not say a watt is a watt. There's no other 270 watt light in the world that can look like that thing. It's blinding. For all of you who think that a cree cob light isn't worth it here's a pdf series of tests from cree where they match the performance of a 1100 watt gavita with 553 watts. http://www.cree.com/led-components/media/documents/HorticultureReferenceDesign.pdf The newest leds are even better then that. Whats more they are getting cheaper. Did you guys miss the debut of the new 24 volt 120 quantum boards that are $29 and don't need a heat sink? They're made with some of the highest performance leds on the market. I didn't. I have two boards in the mail. The meanwell drivers arrived today. $18.50 each for the drivers. Plug one driver into one board and put a cord on it. It doesn't get more simple or cheap. HLG releases new quantum 120 board for DIY projects. $29 I bet you these two boards I'll be running at 120 watts total could outperform a 250 watt hps. I know it could because 250hps fixtures are actually very low in lumen output. HPS's don't get good until 400. The quantum boards and bridgelux leds are changing the game. I don't think you guys are smart enough shoppers. Cob kit lights are not out of your price range either. You're buying viparspectra panels when you could get top end parts. These vero29 3 cob kits from rapidled are $220 and I know that driver is capable of about 285 watts. It's the same one I run with my QB260 quantum fixture. Why would you go to timber? Rapidled also has 3 cob kits in cree for $299. VERO29 Triple COB Array Kit
At the prices of DIY setting up an led fixture that replaces a top end 1000 watt hps is actually getting very comparable in price. Most 1000 watt hps full on working high end fixtures with hood and everything are in the 4-$500 range. You can completely replace that with 500-575 watts of quantum boards for about $625. That's not even considering using the new $29 120 boards, which may be better able to have a more even spread footprint and be ran cooler at 24volts. The quality of the light is just better as well. HPS is way too stacked in yellow and green areas for minimal reason to the plants.
Sounds good. Maybe I'll switch some day. Right now I'll stick with my hps and cmh Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
VERO29 Triple COB Array Kit IMO if you want a kit that you can click the order button on right now that comes with everything this is the best led kit you can get for the price on a low budget. I can't believe it's only $220. You get a 10% discount on your first order. That puts it really close to $200. It says right in the specs if you order the 2100a driver it's 265 watts with a built in dimmer. Bloom coverage area is 2x3 so $400 to cover a 3x3 with 530 watts. They're completely dimmable and unlike hps lights the spectrum doesn't degrade when they are ran dimmed. The difference is my QB260 quantum board light can cover 2x4 with 265 watts but you have to spend $325 for each one. With $650 you can cover a 4x4. Parts coming back in soon. Just slightly more money then the vero kits but more coverage area for the same power. I do believe that the quantum board's coverage area per watt is the best. It's better then cobs it takes less watts to fill a space proper then any other light I've seen. HLG recommends 25-35 watts per square foot for bloom. That's the lowest recommended coverage power level of any light I've seen besides spectrum king.
Yep you nailed it with that post BUT the satisfaction of the grow is nice too and being involved with your product is of great immeasurable value.
solid post IMHO. I agree with the follow up posts you made too. Man, you almost got me pumped to get those boards and a couple of drivers but this CLWorks 220 that pulls 165 watts from the wall is a consistent, all ready paid for, performer. I am noticing that the Cree 3590 is requiring different protocols for feeding than the Blurple LEDs. Time will tell for sure on this though.
HID vs LED....Its like Harleys and sport bikes. Both will get you where you want to go but each has its own way of getting you there.
My 315 watt cmh covers my 4x4 pretty well 267$ shipped. Awesome spectrum and bulb lasts almost 2years. I'm happy without it and so are the plants. Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum