3x3 LED - Best

Has a consensus been generally reached on the best LED grow light money can buy for a 3x3 tent?

Saw someone mention the dimlux series which gets released sometime soon, looks awesome. (Their xtreme 500w).

I’m currently running an old school multi fixture 340 watt LED and while the grow is going well, I’m doing this mostly for the pleasure of growing top tier plants and am angling for an upgrade.

Also - I don’t care about energy efficiency beyond what a typical LED provides. I do care about color spectrum and I do care about being able to keep the lights close to the plant since I’m in a confined grow space (6’), which is why something like the dimlux is compelling (6” distance requirement instead of 18” like some other setups).

Supra98x said:

Has a consensus been generally reached on the best LED grow light money can buy for a 3x3 tent?

Saw someone mention the dimlux series which gets released sometime soon, looks awesome. (Their xtreme 500w).

I’m currently running an old school multi fixture 340 watt LED and while the grow is going well, I’m doing this mostly for the pleasure of growing top tier plants and am angling for an upgrade.

Also - I don’t care about energy efficiency beyond what a typical LED provides. I do care about color spectrum and I do care about being able to keep the lights close to the plant since I’m in a confined grow space (6’), which is why something like the dimlux is compelling (6” distance requirement instead of 18” like some other setups).

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Photontek SQ300

verticalgrow said:

Photontek SQ300

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read it over - not fully convinced as the corner wells really drop. I’m willing to spend 2x that if I can get uniform 1000 PAR coverage across the entire 3x3 tent, preferably at 8” or so in height.

the answer may be that I need to stick with multiple fixtures but in short - I’m currently at 340 watts across my 5 lights and I’m not sure this is much of an upgrade.

to do what I’m thinking in my head likely requires the light be oversized? Which is why I was thinking of buying a light designed for a 4x4 tent but that fits in a 3x3. Is this a bad idea?

Supra98x said:

Has a consensus been generally reached on the best LED grow light money can buy for a 3x3 tent?

Saw someone mention the dimlux series which gets released sometime soon, looks awesome. (Their xtreme 500w).

I’m currently running an old school multi fixture 340 watt LED and while the grow is going well, I’m doing this mostly for the pleasure of growing top tier plants and am angling for an upgrade.

Also - I don’t care about energy efficiency beyond what a typical LED provides. I do care about color spectrum and I do care about being able to keep the lights close to the plant since I’m in a confined grow space (6’), which is why something like the dimlux is compelling (6” distance requirement instead of 18” like some other setups).

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There will never be a consensus on the best light. Best in what way? Best at what price?
As I often say, the best light is the one that best fits your situation. BTW, it's not always led!

To get good spread at 6" I think you need a light with several bars or boards at less than max power. I've never seen uniform PAR, there's always drop off at the edges and corners. 3 x 3 isn't a real well supported tent size, it seems like most led are intended for 2x2, 2x4, 4x4 and 5x5.

I run a DIY light with 3500k strips but I'm very interested in getting GLH strips or boards. I think they have a great spectrum along with very high quality and efficiency. For a 3 x 3 I'd make a light with their soon to be released strips or use two of the 420 boards. For a plug and play light this would be good. Be sure to select US Dollars in the top right corner if needed and order today for 20% off.

Supra98x said:

Has a consensus been generally reached on the best LED grow light money can buy for a 3x3 tent?

Saw someone mention the dimlux series which gets released sometime soon, looks awesome. (Their xtreme 500w).

I’m currently running an old school multi fixture 340 watt LED and while the grow is going well, I’m doing this mostly for the pleasure of growing top tier plants and am angling for an upgrade.

Also - I don’t care about energy efficiency beyond what a typical LED provides. I do care about color spectrum and I do care about being able to keep the lights close to the plant since I’m in a confined grow space (6’), which is why something like the dimlux is compelling (6” distance requirement instead of 18” like some other setups).

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Will you DIY? Its hard to get a one driver light that is absolutely totally even in a square space but you can do strip solutions with a separate driver for the perifery and centre, that way you can power your perifery a little higher than your centre.
I did this little light for a friend with that design:




It also incorporates 3 separate spectrums using bridgelux vesta strips for veg/stretch control-full cycle/efficiency - full flower mode.
It doesn't have the best efficiency, i dont think it would do even 1000ppfd unless you power it harder, but it seems like it doesnt matter too much. My client did +300g with autos using only 100w. The spectrum of the vesta strip is 90 cri= heavy red leaning spectrum which seems to work really fine even with lower wattage.

Supra98x said:

Which is why I was thinking of buying a light designed for a 4x4 tent but that fits in a 3x3. Is this a bad idea?

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That's what I did, I'm on the last 2 weeks of my first led grow and pretty happy with it. It's certainly very uniform growth across the whole scrog screen. Light is a Mars fc-4800 and it's physical dimensions are pretty close to 3x3 so it also helps a little to stop the tent walls sucking in so much.

Rocket Soul said:

Will you DIY? Its hard to get a one driver light that is absolutely totally even in a square space but you can do strip solutions with a separate driver for the perifery and centre, that way you can power your perifery a little higher than your centre.
I did this little light for a friend with that design:
View attachment 5122043
View attachment 5122044
View attachment 5122045

It also incorporates 3 separate spectrums using bridgelux vesta strips for veg/stretch control-full cycle/efficiency - full flower mode.
It doesn't have the best efficiency, i dont think it would do even 1000ppfd unless you power it harder, but it seems like it doesnt matter too much. My client did +300g with autos using only 100w. The spectrum of the vesta strip is 90 cri= heavy red leaning spectrum which seems to work really fine even with lower wattage.

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I’m honestly a little nervous to attempt my own build but… I do think it’s a good idea. I’m not an experienced with wiring but I am a generally very handy person. Is there an idiots guide to it?

Supra98x said:

read it over - not fully convinced as the corner wells really drop. I’m willing to spend 2x that if I can get uniform 1000 PAR coverage across the entire 3x3 tent, preferably at 8” or so in height.

the answer may be that I need to stick with multiple fixtures but in short - I’m currently at 340 watts across my 5 lights and I’m not sure this is much of an upgrade.

to do what I’m thinking in my head likely requires the light be oversized? Which is why I was thinking of buying a light designed for a 4x4 tent but that fits in a 3x3. Is this a bad idea?

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The Viparspectra KS3000 has a good PAR map, uniform coverage at 12" using LM301H diodes. Pretty much designed for 3x3 tent growing, may be worth looking into

I just bought this 420w light from amazon to upgrade my 250w led: https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Diodes-Dimmable-Spectrum-Indoor/dp/B09G66W73D. I have it in my 3x3. It had a coupon for 70% off (previously 40% off). Not sure if the coupon is still active.

I've only had it about a week, but so far so good. It does put out a little bit of heat, but it's not an issue for where my plants are located-- in fact, I kinda needed a little extra heat. I don't have a PAR meter to measure the output claims, but I did use one of those phone apps and could confirm that the measurements are about 67% higher than the measurements from the 250w light (that's more or less consistent with what I would expect going from 250 to 420).

Supra98x said:

I’m honestly a little nervous to attempt my own build but… I do think it’s a good idea. I’m not an experienced with wiring but I am a generally very handy person. Is there an idiots guide to it?

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If you wanna wet your beak with diy you can check out growmaus diy introduction on youtube. Somewhat dated in chips selection though, its from the time of COBs. But it gives you an idea. But its really as easy as pushing a peeled wire into a pushin connector, at least the practical part. Designing can be more difficult and sourcing the components well. If you feel serious about it you can always hit me up on dm.

The vipar ks3000 mentioned above has a nice feature for spread: the diode density on the sides is higher so you get extra light where you need it. 840 diodes in comparison to almost 2800 in my diy though, so each diode will run with more power on the vipar.

The 420 highlight is probably the highest performing suggestion mentioned but will need some more height, 6' is not a lot.

Bishop12 said:

I just bought this 420w light from amazon to upgrade my 250w led: https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Diodes-Dimmable-Spectrum-Indoor/dp/B09G66W73D. I have it in my 3x3. It had a coupon for 70% off (previously 40% off). Not sure if the coupon is still active.

I've only had it about a week, but so far so good. It does put out a little bit of heat, but it's not an issue for where my plants are located-- in fact, I kinda needed a little extra heat. I don't have a PAR meter to measure the output claims, but I did use one of those phone apps and could confirm that the measurements are about 67% higher than the measurements from the 250w light (that's more or less consistent with what I would expect going from 250 to 420).

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Dude - that light looks amazing. Not super efficient from what I’m reading but given I’m looking for a light to hang 12” (or less) I’d be able to keep it at 50% power and still cover my whole tent pretty evenly. Should also help with heat. Looks like the coupon is still active.

Supra98x said:

Dude - that light looks amazing. Not super efficient from what I’m reading but given I’m looking for a light to hang 12” (or less) I’d be able to keep it at 50% power and still cover my whole tent pretty evenly. Should also help with heat. Looks like the coupon is still active.

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Yeah, man! My thinking was that while it's probably not the most efficient, it's hard to beat 70% off! Heck, even if it goes kaput in a few months, lesson learned and I'm only out $160. I definitely had to dial it down to about 70-75%. Like the complete noob I am, I cranked that sucker up on my white widow grow that is nearing week 9 of flower. By the next morning I started to see some signs of light stress on tips of the colas, so I backed the lights down to what I am assuming is around 300-330w. The plants seem to love it.

2x Sanlight Evo 3 has pretty nice par map in littlebit bigger 1x1m space

W

Bishop12 said:

Yeah, man! My thinking was that while it's probably not the most efficient, it's hard to beat 70% off! Heck, even if it goes kaput in a few months, lesson learned and I'm only out $160. I definitely had to dial it down to about 70-75%. Like the complete noob I am, I cranked that sucker up on my white widow grow that is nearing week 9 of flower. By the next morning I started to see some signs of light stress on tips of the colas, so I backed the lights down to what I am assuming is around 300-330w. The plants seem to love it.

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Whats the assembled dimensions?

Supra98x said:

W

Whats the assembled dimensions?

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assembled, 23.1''x 19.3''. Fits great in a 3x3. I'll post a picture at 11am when the light turns on.

edit: had a photo

If you want to DIY, have a look at LEDGardener he has fairly straightforward tutorials, and DIY build plans. There are guides and plans for 2x2 to 5x5 areas using 1,2, and 4 foot strips. You just follow the wiring diagrams, use whatever size strips you need to, and arrange them as you see fit. You could buy the parts listed for a 2x2 using 2 ft strips, and the parts for a 2x2 using 1 ft strips. That should be enough for a 3x3 (9 sq.ft) hung at low height, and a 2ft and 1ft strip on the same bar will give just under 3ft strip length.

I am in my 4th cycle using a 64-strip budget DIY build that is wall to wall in a 4x4 hung at about 6-8" from canopy over a scrog. Hung at a normal height there is still stronger light in the center, but as I lowered it I found less of the light had room to overlap between strips and it evened out very nicely.

If you don't want to DIY and want maximum spread I would suggest the biggest bar-light you can fit in there.

verticalgrow said:

Photontek SQ300

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So after spending a ton of time trying to understand the global LED providers, their lights, and recent research, I think for a 3x3 tent, that light you mentioned (SQ300W Pro) is actually a pretty amazing light. The substantial commitment to far red is actually really important. While I think the Australian Highlight 420 is probably a slightly better light, it’s also 2.5x the cost and requires higher hanging heights. I don’t think I’ll be able to get the SQ anywhere near 6” either but it’s still a pretty amazing light for a 3x3 space.

I would suggest a Growers Choice roi-420. That is one of the lights I run and It fits real tight in there but it does fit. Growers Choice will not disappoint you.

Supra98x said:

So after spending a ton of time trying to understand the global LED providers, their lights, and recent research, I think for a 3x3 tent, that light you mentioned (SQ300W Pro) is actually a pretty amazing light. The substantial commitment to far red is actually really important. While I think the Australian Highlight 420 is probably a slightly better light, it’s also 2.5x the cost and requires higher hanging heights. I don’t think I’ll be able to get the SQ anywhere near 6” either but it’s still a pretty amazing light for a 3x3 space.

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4 x HLG100(rspec), 1 Light for each corner @ 6" should be 900 -1000