New grow setup.

[flaiks]

I have been growing with HIDs indoor for almost a year now, and have no problem with them besides heat. Unfortunatly im moving into a new apartment building, which monitors the power usage more closely, so i will have to scale things down a bit. There is ample closet space in the new apartment, so that will not be an issue. What i would like to get is a 2x4x5/6/7 tent, and get the mars ii 700w led to put in there, will use a 6' fan with carbon scrubber for smell/ventilation, and a speed controller.

Was wondering if the mars ii 700 will cover the 2x4 well enough.

And a side question, I plan on mainlining my plants next time around, wondering how many i could put in the 2x4, under that light.

 

[JavaCo]

The specs on the mars 2 700 say it has a coverage area of 3.5 feet x 3.5 feet. link to specs http://www.topledgrowlight.com/catalog/product/view/id/55/s/mars-ii-led-grow-light-700w/category/16/#.UyldGvldX8I

They sell a reflector 3 watt version that would fit a 2x4 better. Link http://www.topledgrowlight.com/weddings-events/reflector-led-grow-light-96x3w-60.html#.Uyld3_ldX8I

As far as how many plants that really depends on the size of pots you use. You might be able to get three 5 gallon smart pots in there if you squish them a bit.

 

[flaiks]

hmm do you think it would be better to go with 2 of the mars ii 400's, each will cover a 2x2 space, versus the reflector version ?

 

[flaiks]

any thought on this anyone? How many plants could i do in say 3 gallon pots in a 2x4 space, will be main lining them to 4 or 8 colas.
And, should i go with 2 400w mars ii lights(200w draw), or 2 of the growblue apollo 250w actuall draw light? For the extra $500 ill spend is it worth it ?

 

[hyroot]

any thought on this anyone? How many plants could i do in say 3 gallon pots in a 2x4 space, will be main lining them to 4 or 8 colas.
And, should i go with 2 400w mars ii lights(200w draw), or 2 of the growblue apollo 250w actuall draw light? For the extra $500 ill spend is it worth it ?

first those lights suck. mars is rebranded from lg. and gro blu is a rebranded apollo from cidly.. 2 area 51 rw150 or hans led would be much better choices

mainlining. you are going to need 5-7 gals. 10 gals would be better.

 

[flaiks]

first those lights suck. mars is rebranded from lg. and gro blu is a rebranded apollo from cidly.. 2 area 51 rw150 or hans led would be much better choices

mainlining. you are going to need 5-7 gals. 10 gals would be better.

Would i get a better yield using 2 area 51 rw150's vs the mars or the growblu lights?
Also, how many plants you reccomend i put in the 2x4 under those lights in 5-7 gal containers ?

 

[hyroot]

Would i get a better yield using 2 area 51 rw150's vs the mars or the growblu lights?
Also, how many plants you reccomend i put in the 2x4 under those lights in 5-7 gal containers ?

yes area 51 will out perform those others and you could fit about 2-4 plants depending on how big they get. With mainlining its a 2 month veg time. Anything vegging longer than 30 days, you want at least a 5 gal

 

[flaiks]

yes area 51 will out perform those others and you could fit about 2-4 plants depending on how big they get. With mainlining its a 2 month veg time. Anything vegging longer than 30 days, you want at least a 5 gal

hmm okay, the rw-150 seems kind of small TBH, 150 watts is nothing, how about the xgs-190, is it a better LED grow light ? I could go with 2 of those for about $50 more.

 

[flaiks]

Another light i was checking out was the HGL sol 9, its 450w, which is kind of high for an all inclusive apartment, but, im pretty sure my computer uses more. However, with the price tag, I want to be sure im getting an amazing f***** light.

 

[hyroot]

hmm okay, the rw-150 seems kind of small TBH, 150 watts is nothing, how about the xgs-190, is it a better LED grow light ? I could go with 2 of those for about $50 more.

its 155 w. That will probably out perform the 190. Not all watts are the same. Its about efficiency, par, cri, efficacy. For example an hps is 30% efficient at most. So a 1000 w creates 300w of usable light and 700w of heat (wasted energy). a51 is far more efficient. A 600w Ushio is 1100 umole/s at 12 inches. The rw 150 has higher par at same distance. Due to intensity a51's need to be 18-24 inches away from canopy. Each one will cover a 3x3 at most. 4 rw 150's should match a 1000w hps in yield and definitely coverage.

the rw 150 should have an over all higher cri than 190. Cri - color rendering index . Higher cri more even the spectral distribution and better the results. Cree leds are about 80 cri, inda gro 90 cri, CMH 93 cri. Hps 30 cri. Hps have poor cri and spectrum because they use aluminum arcs. Very susceptable to degrading. CMH uses a ceramic arc. Which distributes a more even spectrum last 3 times longer than hps with far less spectral degrading.

the 190 does work well. Multipass just ran his and harvested dh short bluesberry.

 

[flaiks]

its 155 w. That will probably out perform the 190. Not all watts are the same. Its about efficiency, par, cri, efficacy. For example an hps is 30% efficient at most. So a 1000 w creates 300w of usable light and 700w of heat (wasted energy). a51 is far more efficient. A 600w Ushio is 1100 umole/s at 12 inches. The rw 150 has higher par at same distance. Due to intensity a51's need to be 18-24 inches away from canopy. Each one will cover a 3x3 at most. 4 rw 150's should match a 1000w hps in yield and definitely coverage.

the rw 150 should have an over all higher cri than 190. Cri - color rendering index . Higher cri more even the spectral distribution and better the results. Cree leds are about 80 cri, inda gro 90 cri, CMH 93 cri. Hps 30 cri. Hps have poor cri and spectrum because they use aluminum arcs. Very susceptable to degrading. CMH uses a ceramic arc. Which distributes a more even spectrum last 3 times longer than hps with far less spectral degrading.

the 190 does work well. Multipass just ran his and harvested dh short bluesberry.

Essentially I want to pull the most yield i can in a 2x4-ish tent, ill probably get the hydrohut 2x4, which is actually 28x55x72, using as many plants as necesary, i want to veg about 4 weeks. I have the basics down(medium, ph, etc). I have just been using HID up until now. Im moving into a big building which is all inclusive, so I want to keep things to 400-450w or under in terms of lighting, but i want to max that out if possible, and get into some more advanced techniques to increase my yield. As this is the LED forum i will stay on topic though, so you think that 2 of the rw150's could rival 500w of HPS power ?

Essentially, im looking to pull just under 16 zips in the space im limited too, if its not possible at all, stop me where I am, if it is, would 2 RW150's be my best bet here ? I can fork out the $1000 for 2 of them, no problem, and ofc, ill never pull that on my first run as I need to get my more advanced techniques down first, but that's my ultimate goal.

 

[GroErr]

If you have the budget for 2x xgs-190's, they'd cover that space beautifully. RE: number of plants, in a 2x4x5.5' area I've found 3 plants tight but fills the space wall-to-wall, any more you'd have to keep them small'sh...

 

[flaiks]

If you have the budget for 2x xgs-190's, they'd cover that space beautifully. RE: number of plants, in a 2x4x5.5' area I've found 3 plants tight but fills the space wall-to-wall, any more you'd have to keep them small'sh...

The xgs-190 does look appealing, my only concern is the light spectrum, it says they are only in 3750k, which, correct me if im wrong, is not very good for flowering.

 

[GroErr]

The xgs-190 does look appealing, my only concern is the light spectrum, it says they are only in 3750k, which, correct me if im wrong, is not very good for flowering.

Will let the guys running the xgs-190's comment on that, from what I've seen here they perform well. Personally, if I had to make the choice right now, I'd probably wait for 2x RW-150's, just the fact they're newer tech, wider spectrum and 300W+ actual draw (for 2 of them), in a 2x4 they'd rock that space. Let's put it this way, if you couldn't pull what you're looking for with those, it wouldn't be the lights holding you back... I think your numbers are doable, after a run or two, right strain, environment, techniques and all that of course.

 

[flaiks]

Will let the guys running the xgs-190's comment on that, from what I've seen here they perform well. Personally, if I had to make the choice right now, I'd probably wait for 2x RW-150's, just the fact they're newer tech, wider spectrum and 300W+ actual draw (for 2 of them), in a 2x4 they'd rock that space. Let's put it this way, if you couldn't pull what you're looking for with those, it wouldn't be the lights holding you back... I think your numbers are doable, after a run or two, right strain, environment, techniques and all that of course.

Okay well, i am not starting this until may, so I can wait for the rw-150's, just taking my time to plan it out and ensure that if im spending $1000 on led's its going to be worth it, effectively im looking to replace a 400-600w HID, Not sure if 2 rw-150's will come close to that, but those are my hopes and dreams.

 

[hillbilly86]

I would definitely go with 3 plants in a 2'x4' space, that's what I'm running right now. I'm running one of the reflector 600 watt led panels from todledgrowlight right now just to see how they do flowering wise. I switched the plants over to flowering while they were still kinda small which I'm pretty sure is gonna affect my yield some but I'm gonna run a 2nd flowering cycle under the panel just to make sure. If it doesn't perform like I want then I'll likely switch to a higher end led panel but for the price I figured I'd give 'em a chance

 

[GroErr]

Okay well, i am not starting this until may, so I can wait for the rw-150's, just taking my time to plan it out and ensure that if im spending $1000 on led's its going to be worth it, effectively im looking to replace a 400-600w HID, Not sure if 2 rw-150's will come close to that, but those are my hopes and dreams.

Sounds like a plan, don't think you'll be disappointed at all. I love growing with LED's. After a year of experimentation, learning, trolling sites/threads and some comparisons against my son's lighting (T5HO, HPS, HID) I'd say they do better than traditional lighting and in a small space like that they're much easier/cheaper to manage the environment. Not trashing older technology but when you consider everything in, the lights are part of the environment, if you maintain a good environment (light, air/exchange, water/nutes etc) I don't think you'd get any better. And so far that's using cheaper chinese panels to get my feet wet, upping that to some of the better quality lighting you should be able to produce good yields of grade A bud, at a much lower overall eco footprint and cost. I'd put money on comparing what you're looking at with 400 HID no question, probably in the 500 range if there were such a thing.

 

[flaiks]

Sounds like a plan, don't think you'll be disappointed at all. I love growing with LED's. After a year of experimentation, learning, trolling sites/threads and some comparisons against my son's lighting (T5HO, HPS, HID) I'd say they do better than traditional lighting and in a small space like that they're much easier/cheaper to manage the environment. Not trashing older technology but when you consider everything in, the lights are part of the environment, if you maintain a good environment (light, air/exchange, water/nutes etc) I don't think you'd get any better. And so far that's using cheaper chinese panels to get my feet wet, upping that to some of the better quality lighting you should be able to produce good yields of grade A bud, at a much lower overall eco footprint and cost. I'd put money on comparing what you're looking at with 400 HID no question, probably in the 500 range if there were such a thing.

Yes, im looking forward to taking a shot with LED's. I have a year of experience with HID's, but my only problem is the heat they generate, it's almost unmanagably, especially in the summer. I am however torn between 2xrw-150's, or 2x xgs-190's, 400w of power usage isnt very major at all, now this will be a closet tent, in an all inclusive apartment, so i want to keep it low as possible, but after some number crunching of electricity costs in my town, 400w is small, especially since my PC draws about 550 and its almost always on.

 

[GroErr]

Yes, im looking forward to taking a shot with LED's. I have a year of experience with HID's, but my only problem is the heat they generate, it's almost unmanagably, especially in the summer. I am however torn between 2xrw-150's, or 2x xgs-190's, 400w of power usage isnt very major at all, now this will be a closet tent, in an all inclusive apartment, so i want to keep it low as possible, but after some number crunching of electricity costs in my town, 400w is small, especially since my PC draws about 550 and its almost always on.

Yeah, either way I don't think you'll have anything to worry about (300 or 400W). My whole op, including fans, lights, exhaust etc. in that 2x4x5.5' cabinet runs $30-$50 a month over and above any normal usage, running it at best rate hours, and the peak being in the middle of a brutal summer last year (mid 90's for July/August). For the last 2 months it averaged $40/month running 200W actual draw in the cabinet, 125W actual draw in a 2x2 tent (most of that time 24/0), and another 60W (now 100W in bloom mode) for the last 4 weeks in a 12/12 box.

Decisions, decisions Good luck!

 

[flaiks]

Yeah, either way I don't think you'll have anything to worry about (300 or 400W). My whole op, including fans, lights, exhaust etc. in that 2x4x5.5' cabinet runs $30-$50 a month over and above any normal usage, running it at best rate hours, and the peak being in the middle of a brutal summer last year (mid 90's for July/August). For the last 2 months it averaged $40/month running 200W actual draw in the cabinet, 125W actual draw in a 2x2 tent (most of that time 24/0), and another 60W (now 100W in bloom mode) for the last 4 weeks in a 12/12 box.

Decisions, decisions Good luck!

Dayum, that's expensive, according to my math, if I run the lights during off-peak times (7-7), itll be about $12/month for 400w of lights, that doesnt include the fan, but it's a 6' stealth f6 with a carbon filter, and speed controller, cause 450cfm is wayyy too high for that tent. Like i said though, my only concern is my electricity is included in rent, so I dont want it high enough that my landlord will overly notice.