IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

[Damaen]

I just completed reading this thread back to front. Some of you seem to have a pretty good grasp on the LED's so I am going to put out a couple of questions here for you. I have been growing under MH/HPS for years but want to make the transition to LED. I have several different tents but will be using a 4 x 8 x 7 as a primary. I need LED's that will run the grow from start to finish. I grow aero style in 7 foot rails made of 5 inch square fence post. I scrog out 6 plants in the tent so the LED must be able to veg as well as flower. I have been in talks with Cidly about purchasing 4 of their Apollo 10 series lights. I chose the 10's over the 12's because of a graph I saw somewhere that the 10's have more PAR than the 12's and therefore should be more efficient. Cidly gave me a quote of 275 each and shipping of 240 dollars for a total investment of around 1350 dollars for the 4 units. The Cidly people have told me I can choose the individual LED's that go into the units and they will build them to spec per my requirements.

1) Do you think 4 of the Apollo 10's will be enough to cover the 4 x 8 area of the scrog?

2) What would be the best choice of LED's to have them build out for the units to perform at an optimum from start to finish?

3) I currently pull about 1,400 grams per harvest under twin 600's, will the LED's be able to meet this same production level? This is actually very important as I will be increasing my wattage to almost 1500 watts with 4 of these units.

Thanks ahead of time to everyone who can offer something constructive to my questions.

this is similar to the space i am growing in, after a bit of a hit and miss, i recommend led, but not the panels unless they are used only as side lighting, i am now using 50w cool white LED spotlights, 1 per plant, i only have 4 in my space, could fit 8 but would have no room to get to them properly, lol, i used 20w spotlights and they worked but gave me buds that were a bit too light and airy, nice smoke though, now using the 50w, have not finished the grow but so far the improvement is vastly noticeable, i still think i may need 1 more 50w per plant, maybe just a 20w per plant side mounted might work, but i need the 20w's i have for trying to make seeds, lol, to me this time reminds me of the days i used to use CFL's but i can actually let my plants hit the lights before raising them, they do not burn, but the brightness is similar, and my meter shows over 5,000 lmns per 50w light (my meter peaks out at 5,000 so i can not say how much more they are) so far i have spent $350 on lights, i am on a pension so can not afford big sums, will buy more lights when i am saving money on buying weed, lol, but i will definatly be sticking with LED, my power bills have not noticeably gone up at all either, so another advantage

 

[PSUAGRO.]

I would keep the T5s up top over the plants and during flowering, introduce the LED Panel on the side, as side lighting.

Are they lying about their lumens? what is actual lumens? I wanna get something with a really good warranty, as I hear alot of these break easily.

Yeah their is NO pl-l 55w that puts out 5000 initial lumens (4100-4200 is the actual)............for led side lighting one panel stands out IMO

http://growershouse.com/neosol-50w-led-plant-grow-light It's got wall mounting brackets and can be tilted up/down.....passively cooled so no worries about blocking air intakes against the wall..............seem well built too

 

[Motleyhead]

Sorry for the repost but it was suggested i should post this here to get more and better answers so....here it goes: I'm putting together my grow tent and am stuck between 2 LED panels. I have to choose between a Blackstar 500w(500$) or a DiamondBrite6 200w (470$) panel. If it were only about wattage i'd go Blackstar but the DiamondBrite6 seems to have spectral superiority. My grow area is 4ftx2ft. What do you guys think? Links: https://greenlamp.ca/shop/greenlamp-...00-watt-detail and https://greenlamp.ca/diamondbrite-info VS
http://ledgrowlightsreview.org/?s=500w+blackstar​

 

[dictate]

Yeah their is NO pl-l 55w that puts out 5000 initial lumens (4100-4200 is the actual)............for led side lighting one panel stands out IMO

http://growershouse.com/neosol-50w-led-plant-grow-light It's got wall mounting brackets and can be tilted up/down.....passively cooled so no worries about blocking air intakes against the wall..............seem well built too

Thanks for that info, however, I pick up my BlackStar 500 Watter this evening, from a guy on craigslist for 350. I am going to try to use it in conjunction with my PLLs, if not, it's good to know I can use this as a stand-alone for 5-6 plants in a 3x3

 

[RainerRocks]

Before I start laying down the LED's on heatsink what should I clean the heatsink with ?


Thanks

 

[dochickory]

i know it should be wax free, what is the sync material? alum, copper, ceramic, diamond, glass??

 

[RainerRocks]

i know it should be wax free, what is the sync material? alum, copper, ceramic, diamond, glass??

Aluminum

Thanks

 

[RainerRocks]

Before I start laying down the LED's on heatsink what should I clean the heatsink with ?


Thanks

Aluminum

Thanks

Isopropyl Alcohol High Purity

 

[RainerRocks]

Isopropyl Alcohol High Purity

Thanks

 

[SnotBoogie]

LOL

I lap it them with fine grain emery paper, water and washing up liquid, then rinse/clean, bake in the oven to get all moisture off, then isopropyl alchohol.

 

[RainerRocks]

I was being a smart ass..not my nature but hey we all pop out of our own box every once in awhile .


SB

You think I should use some fine sand paper even tho the heatsinks are brand new ?

They are in great shape and very surprised how nice they look and smooth...I do have to clean them..I was eating a fresh hot sliced
pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard (Yummie) when UPS arrived so they are smudged for sure...lol

LOL

I lap it them with fine grain emery paper, water and washing up liquid, then rinse/clean, bake in the oven to get all moisture off, then isopropyl alchohol.

 

[SnotBoogie]

They should be almost mirror smooth, but yeah if they are brand new i would assume they are ready to rock dawg

 

[RainbowNugz]

What about these? They claim to be up to 400w and only use 90 watts for $149.
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Gen3-UFO-LED-Grow-Light.asp


There are dozens of YouTube videos using these things. Here is one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGrpkf4uNdo

I used to be a CFL and T5 grower. Now I want to dab in a smaller area with these LEDs.

I want to use 2 or 3 of these in a small 4ft wide x 3ft wide area with reflectors along the walls and all with 3 or 4 plants.

Think it will work?

 

[djwimbo]

What about these? They claim to be up to 400w and only use 90 watts for $149.
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Gen3-UFO-LED-Grow-Light.asp


There are dozens of YouTube videos using these things. Here is one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGrpkf4uNdo

I used to be a CFL and T5 grower. Now I want to dab in a smaller area with these LEDs.

I want to use 2 or 3 of these in a small 4ft wide x 3ft wide area with reflectors along the walls and all with 3 or 4 plants.

Think it will work?

You would want one of those per plant.

Or get a better/bigger LED panel/s.

 

[The Dawg]

What about these? They claim to be up to 400w and only use 90 watts for $149.
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Gen3-UFO-LED-Grow-Light.asp


There are dozens of YouTube videos using these things. Here is one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGrpkf4uNdo

I used to be a CFL and T5 grower. Now I want to dab in a smaller area with these LEDs.

I want to use 2 or 3 of these in a small 4ft wide x 3ft wide area with reflectors along the walls and all with 3 or 4 plants.

Think it will work?

Yes Brother They Will Grow But They Are Not Very Good Too Many Problems I Hear.If I Was You I And it Sounds Like Moneys An Issue I Would Go With 2 BlackStars 240's.They Are Alot Better Than The Htgs And BS Is A Great Led to Start With.Oh And No 90 Watt Led Can Compete With A 400 Watt Hid System


http://www.lighthousehydro.com/beta/gothamhydroponics/featured-products/lighthouse-hydro-blackstar-240w-led-grow-light-uv.html

 

[Eraserhead]

If a 90w UFO for 150 clams will truly beat out a 400w HPS, many more people would be using them all over the place.

They equal about 1/2 of a 150w HPS.

What about these? They claim to be up to 400w and only use 90 watts for $149.
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Gen3-UFO-LED-Grow-Light.asp


There are dozens of YouTube videos using these things. Here is one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGrpkf4uNdo

I used to be a CFL and T5 grower. Now I want to dab in a smaller area with these LEDs.

I want to use 2 or 3 of these in a small 4ft wide x 3ft wide area with reflectors along the walls and all with 3 or 4 plants.

Think it will work?

 

[Scotch089]

They equal about 1/2 of a 150w HPS.

with half the "core" footprint of any other 75w options..

ah.. now I just feel like we're teaming up on you Op, no, I had a UFO myself... I had to learn the hard way, look for better options.

Don't rule R/B combo panels out, but the latest tech is takin a turn to full spectrum panels, less worries about stunting or bleaching.

Keep rollin with that T5 idea, i had bought like 8 of those things for the same concept.. make a BOG!! :O

 

[Eraserhead]

I've used that UFO, they are okay for an 18" x 18" grow, for one 12" plant, they are a decent low heat alternative to HPS, like a 70w HPS.

I've been growing since 1992, and I spent a lot of those years with T12's, and T5's, they are a much better option than that UFO.

1/3 of a 12pk of 23w CFLs for $27 from Home Depot is better option, and you have 8 spare bulbs for later.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Electric-23-Watt-100W-Twist-CFL-Light-Bulb-12-Pack-ESL23TM-12/202306298?N=bmat#.UYNmebXU-So

with half the "core" footprint of any other 75w options..

ah.. now I just feel like we're teaming up on you Op, no, I had a UFO myself... I had to learn the hard way, look for better options.

Don't rule R/B combo panels out, but the latest tech is takin a turn to full spectrum panels, less worries about stunting or bleaching.

Keep rollin with that T5 idea, i had bought like 8 of those things for the same concept.. make a BOG!! :O

 

[sk12]

Planning to grow 9 plants in a 3x3x5 cabinet would this work? My friend has used one but for vegetables etc not for this purpose.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008A698KO/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

I do have access to 2 full size grow lamps but thought this would be the best method with summer coming around keep the heat nice and low and save on electricity.

Any advice would be helpful! Thanks.

So after I saw about this being a bad light I cancelled my order. However amazon still sent it to me. Can I use this for the germinating phase to seedling phase or does it not provide enough light?

 

[djwimbo]

So after I saw about this being a bad light I cancelled my order. However amazon still sent it to me. Can I use this for the germinating phase to seedling phase or does it not provide enough light?

Pulls 14W @ 12V, but connects to 110-220v... I dare say you would have greater results with CFL's than that, even at the same 14W.

For 3ft X 3ft I wouldn't run less than 240-300 watts of actual draw(in one unit), and that would be less than ideal for 9 plants, more appropriate for 4-6. For that range and quality, you're talking $500-700 LED vs $225-300 for 400W HID. 40-50watts per square foot during flowering is the goal, or how I see it.