help choosing QB kit

New to growing. Have 4 plants about 4 weeks along in a 2x4x5 tent. Need help to decide between the HLG QB 260 kit and the 320 kit. Is the 260 enough to flower that tent well or should I step up and get the 320?
Thanks!

mansion said:

New to growing. Have 4 plants about 4 weeks along in a 2x4x5 tent. Need help to decide between the HLG QB 260 kit and the 320 kit. Is the 260 enough to flower that tent well or should I step up and get the 320?
Thanks!

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Either would serve you well, but if you can afford it, get the 320. An extra board means better light-spread, even if you don't turn it all the way up.

Humple said:

Either would serve you well, but if you can afford it, get the 320. An extra board means better light-spread, even if you don't turn it all the way up.

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Thats great thanks!
As a rule would I want to dial the 320 back a bit in that size tent? Maybe run fully open at first but as the plants grow closer to the light then dial it back?

mansion said:

Thats great thanks!
As a rule would I want to dial the 320 back a bit in that size tent? Maybe run fully open at first but as the plants grow closer to the light then dial it back?

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I'd suggest starting lower and then dialing it up if the plants can take it.

With only 5 feet height you may wanna look into strips or the qb120/132 or whatever the ones that spread the diodes more and doent need heatsink. With 5 feet of height you will probably never be able to use the full 320w as it will bleach plants near to it. Get a taller tent or get something that spreads the light out. Qb320 + hanginghheight and aprox 1 foot of height of your pots (just guessing) will eat up about 3 foot of height leavingbyou only 2 foot for the plants to grow.

Rocket Soul said:

With only 5 feet height you may wanna look into strips or the qb120/132 or whatever the ones that spread the diodes more and doent need heatsink. With 5 feet of height you will probably never be able to use the full 320w as it will bleach plants near to it. Get a taller tent or get something that spreads the light out. Qb320 + hanginghheight and aprox 1 foot of height of your pots (just guessing) will eat up about 3 foot of height leavingbyou only 2 foot for the plants to grow.

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But even at a power well under its max - say 30w/sq ft - with 864 diodes, running more efficiently than your average fixture, due to being run further below the diodes' limit, the 320 will kick ass in that space.

But a strip build would be cheaper, and would also kick ass in that space.

Humple said:

But even at a power well under its max - say 30w/sq ft - with 864 diodes, running more efficiently than your average fixture, due to being run further below the diodes' limit, the 320 will kick ass in that space.

But a strip build would be cheaper, and would also kick ass in that space.

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Diode count and wattage is on point, but i i thjnk OP would be better served going the same route as you: qb120 covering the whole ceiling of the tent. Its probably cheaper aswell.

Rocket Soul said:

Diode count and wattage is on point, but i i thjnk OP would be better served going the same route as you: qb120 covering the whole ceiling of the tent. Its probably cheaper aswell.

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Yeah, that would be a great option, provided he can keep the boards cool. My only concern would be that in a 2' wide space, the 120s would have to be placed right next to each other, so there wouldn't be airflow between the boards. But a couple of small, well-placed fans above the fixture could probably take care of that.

I’m in the same boat as I’m adding a 3rd tent which is a 2x4x5. I was thinking of the 280. I’m running 300w of Vero 29’s in my 3x3x6.

260 XL is perfect. i do a 120 in a 2x2x60 just top them and dont let them veg too long without training. I get a 120gram harvest. You could get more than 240, maybe 275 because youre not losing as much corner space and light reflected off the one wall. I would try to find some rigid wire like a coat hanger to mount it as high as possible. positive air pressure would be better to lift the tent off of the heatsink but then youre going to have smell issues. Beating the hell out of your seedling with some 4000k gets you a good headstart. My veg tent is actually probably twice the ppfd of my flower tent. mount it all the way to the top cranked all the way up and dont touch it. The plants will grow up to meet it just fine. the 320 at that height would fucking roast your plants.

Also, somebody correct me of im wrong but i believe you will gain efficiency at the board by dimming but youre going to lose efficiency at the driver. The difference after the trade off is probably negligible. Yoire just going to pay 150$ more for the 320 and youre going to dim it to a 260. get the 260 save the cash and get a solid HLG low watt light for vegging ORRR even a taller tent.

Thanks for all the info guys!
I think I am going to go with the 260xl. Just seems like the easiest solution for a new grower like me!
I definitely think a bigger tent is in my future tho.

Jqwerty1 said:

Also, somebody correct me of im wrong but i believe you will gain efficiency at the board by dimming but youre going to lose efficiency at the driver. The difference after the trade off is probably negligible. Yoire just going to pay 150$ more for the 320 and youre going to dim it to a 260. get the 260 save the cash and get a solid HLG low watt light for vegging ORRR even a taller tent.

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The 320 wouldn't roast his plants at the appropriate power, but you do make a good point about the efficiency of the driver. It would be worth knowing how that trade-off turned out, overall fixture-efficiency-wise.

mansion said:

Thanks for all the info guys!
I think I am going to go with the 260xl. Just seems like the easiest solution for a new grower like me!
I definitely think a bigger tent is in my future tho.

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If you think you will upgrade the tent height then the 320 is the way to go imo. Better spread than a 260 kit and you can of course run it softer for now.

I have a 320 kit and 4 4ft brisgelux strips in mine. My tent is 2.5x4x5 with the extra half foot I didn’t like the coverage of just the 320 by itself. I would probably go with 4 120 or 132 qbs if I was you.

WeedSexWeightsShakes said:

I have a 320 kit and 4 4ft brisgelux strips in mine. My tent is 2.5x4x5 with the extra half foot I didn’t like the coverage of just the 320 by itself. I would probably go with 4 120 or 132 qbs if I was you.

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I would recommend the 132s over the 120s, for the extra juice (75w per board rather than 60w). My concern with that configuration would be the same as yours with the 320 in your 2.5' wide tent - getting sufficient light to the edges of the canopy. But it would still be a solid option.

Humple said:

I would recommend the 132s over the 120s, for the extra juice (75w per board rather than 60w). My concern with that configuration would be the same as yours with the 320 in your 2.5' wide tent - getting sufficient light to the edges of the canopy. But it would still be a solid option.

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Ya I’d go 132s.
But you could actually space them out unlike the 320. The 320 would probably be great in 2ft wide. I just found that extra half foot was lacking. Also only being 5ft high doesn’t leave much room lol. The 132s would be cheaper too

I utilize 2x 135w V2s in a small closet. If I moved stuff around perfectly, I could probably veg and flower 2-3 at a time under them.