Help w selecting my LED grow lights

ok, so im new to the forum(first post actually), but in no way new to the indoor growing scene. Ive got experience with florescent and HID lights, but absolutely 0 in LED. last time i was growing indoors there weren't any LED lights capable of doing such. im in no way new to the concept of LEDs either, or in wavelenths and NM. i know the ideal nm LEDs for growing are the 670nm(red for flowering) and the 430 nm(blue for vegetating), but these paticular LEDs are few and far between, not to mention quite expensive(havnt seen 430nm for less than $12.95 a bulb ea). the main reason im going LED as opposed to HID this time round is it will be far easier to conceal and maintain, not to mention the rare need for replacement lights.

ive got a 3'x4' area that im growing in. the max height i can raise the light to is about 6 feet for the very top of the light housing. mostly be growing medium to short stature plants(c99, thc bomb etc) with a short life cycle. im going to focus on 2-6 plants(depending on the size) at a time all being the same breed(start to finish one breed at a time, completely harvested before the next batch is prepped). ive got a budget of about $1500(just for lights), give or take a few hundo, i am ordering "the final decision" within the next few months and would like some additional input. ive already got a few ideas selected but would like to have some more educated information from the community.

general consensus is 50w per square foot, but not overly sure of that being a wide spread opinion, or a scientific fact accrued over the course of several tests with multiple variables. anyways heres what ive come up with so far.

these are in no way ordered by price/priority/my selection. just listed as options, if theres a better combination or better LED light available im open to all suggestions



Option 1
2x 300w MotherShip Tri-Band LED Grow Light
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-300-Watt-High-Powered-Tri-Band-LED-Grow-Light.asp



Option 2
3x 135w LED UFO Grow Booster
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-135-Watt-LED-UFO-Grow.asp

3x 135w LED UFO Bloom Booster
www.htgsupply.com/Product-135-Watt-LED-UFO-Red-Booster.asp




Option 3
2x 180w Illuminator Jumbo UFO
http://store.prosourceworldwide.com/Illuminator-180W-UFO-LED-Grow-Lights-p/illuminator jumbo ufo 180w.htm




Option 4
2x 90w Accelerator
http://store.prosourceworldwide.com/Illuminator-Flower-Accelerator-LED-Grow-Lights-p/illuminator flower accelerator.htm

2x 90w Illuminator Mother Keeper
http://store.prosourceworldwide.com/Illuminator-Mother-Keeper-Grow-Lights-p/illuminator mother keeper.htm




Option 5
2x 90w LED Grow Light UV
http://www.lighthousehydro.com/90-watt-led-grow-light-uv.html

2x 90w LED Grow Light HO
http://www.lighthousehydro.com/90w-led-grow-light-ho.html






the majority of these were thanks to this thread
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/486179-led-companies-w-links.html

these are all very general based per price etc. just not sure if i should go with separate sets( grow and bloom lights) or a few of the multi band sets. most of them seem pretty legit, but would still like some input from the community.

thanks for all the help


EDIT: this is more about efficiency per dollar for my paticular grow area. id like to keep spending reasonable. im only allotting $1500 due to my ability to do so, less would allow for a better climate controller etc. if there are better options by all means speak out.

Additional Options

Pointed out by Supchaka
Option 6
3x Blackstar Chrome 180w LED Grow Light FSF
http://www.lighthousehydro.com/led-grow-lights/blackstar-chrome-180-watt-led-grow-light-fsf.html
Option 7
2x Blackstar Chrome 270w LED Grow Light FSF
http://www.lighthousehydro.com/led-grow-lights/blackstar-chrome-270w-led-grow-light-fsf.html

I'd like to try the new chrome blackstars. They seem pretty pimp. I was very happy with my original style blackstar 240

supchaka said:

I'd like to try the new chrome blackstars. They seem pretty pimp. I was very happy with my original style blackstar 240

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lol just realized the site nav to the left on their site. got a lil irritated when i hit "products" earlier. ill add those to the list. what are the specs for your led grow? size/number of lights.

I'd also say go for the two 270w chromes of those listed, I've had great results with older models. I like how you seem to want multiple smaller wattage lights instead of one massive one also. It might not hurt if you checked out some newer brands too. Lumigrow, Area 51 and FERO have sparked my interests recently just to name a few.

trevronious said:

I'd also say go for the two 270w chromes of those listed, I've had great results with older models. I like how you seem to want multiple smaller wattage lights instead of one massive one also. It might not hurt if you checked out some newer brands too. Lumigrow, Area 51 and FERO have sparked my interests recently just to name a few.

Click to expand...

yea i only recently learned that they had gotten LEDs right(no offense to Lefties)

like i said. lil irritated when i hit the "products" link, lol. the idea is to get equal coverage across the same area, 2-3 large plants, or 5-6 small ones makes no difference, i just want equal coverage. got a link for the Area 51 lights? hadnt looked at them, due to the lack of a link... or at least a working link at the time. Fero i remember being a disapointing site, either lack of info on the products page, or high prices dont remember which.

i dont like looking at LED grow lights wo knowing the nm LEDs they are using/the ratio of the LEDs based per nm/watt put into the housing.

EDIT: yea just went back to Fero. not sure if their selection in 2 bulbs is the right idea, at $1500 for the single panel. seems a bit steep considering most of the proven LED manufacturers use a combination of 4-6 dif bulbs at a reasonable ration. although i will give them props for having a pretty awsome warranty(if they back it, xfx can burn in hell). at the same price point i feel i can get more wattage or more even distibution of light for my grow environment

Check out area 51, the 135 is a great size and 2 of them would be plenty for the 3x4 space and at $575 ea you would be saving money on your initial expendiature and still have plenty of light. In fact Jeff may give you a discount for multiple panels, you can say you were reccommended by the riu community.

Edit: 2x 400W pro grows would kick ass as well, to be honest I think you are better off looking elswhere to blackstar and prosource etc...

I'll be using 2 Blackstar 240's in a 3 x 1.75 x 5 tent on 3 plants. More light the better right? Go for 3

Deceptaclesteve said:

yea i only recently learned that they had gotten LEDs right(no offense to Lefties)

like i said. lil irritated when i hit the "products" link, lol. the idea is to get equal coverage across the same area, 2-3 large plants, or 5-6 small ones makes no difference, i just want equal coverage. got a link for the Area 51 lights? hadnt looked at them, due to the lack of a link... or at least a working link at the time. Fero i remember being a disapointing site, either lack of info on the products page, or high prices dont remember which.

i dont like looking at LED grow lights wo knowing the nm LEDs they are using/the ratio of the LEDs based per nm/watt put into the housing.

EDIT: yea just went back to Fero. not sure if their selection in 2 bulbs is the right idea, at $1500 for the single panel. seems a bit steep considering most of the proven LED manufacturers use a combination of 4-6 dif bulbs at a reasonable ration. although i will give them props for having a pretty awsome warranty(if they back it, xfx can burn in hell). at the same price point i feel i can get more wattage or more even distibution of light for my grow environment

Click to expand...

It seems to me like you have your head on the right way when it comes to making a large purchase like this, awesome to see. As for Area 51 check http://area51lighting.com//index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2 they break everything down pretty well and have a lifetime warranty.

In terms of specifics, I've talked to Mr. Lee over at Cidly (which I've read makes most of the newer lights for other companies including the chrome series, please correct me if I'm wrong) numerous times and this company has their shit together. Albeit their sketchy, almost stereotypical 'made in China-esque' website leaves a bit more to be desired... they have some solid products and everything is broken down wonderfully. Fully customizable in every aspect, even down to the color of the housing itself. Built to order. They used to have an option to speak directly with someone through their old website, I haven't looked around the new one enough to know if they still do though. Their Apollo series seems the most promising thus far http://www.cidly.com/?page_id=61 and has been my topic of discussion with Mr. Lee. He e-mailed me pages of spreadsheets and other information showing his recommendations for my grow in every aspect. Even followed up with e-mails a few days afterwards. Good stuff.

The only downfall, being as each custom light is built to order and shipped directly from China, the shipping time and cost is pretty nuts. However it's mildly offset by the cost of the actual unit being less than most companies for what you get. I was quoted $260 shipped to the eastern U.S. for their 210 actual watts Apollo 6. From all the research I've done, they have had the best bang for your buck. Hope this helps.

0 canopy penetration,you'll have to tailor your growing style to that. I run a couple blackstar 500 in veg but as for flower it's back under the HID.

HIDs are out of the question for my situation. im going full LED this time around, hoping to save some money on the electricity and keep it off the block. im also minimizing the paper trail, or at least attempting to. if i were to flower w HID id be making more purchases per year as oposed to a few over the next several years. typically more than 5 years on an LED as oposed to 9 months on an HID. which wouldnt be so bad but 4 month cycles back to back will still end up being a bulb a year. also the minimal heat assists in allowing me to spend less on my climate control for the cabinet(or so i hope).

the blackstar chrome seem nice but they also seem fairly pricey for the output they produce. the area 51s would be a pretty sweet deal but seems they need more room above the plants than i have alloted (2-4 feet of headroom in a 6ft ceiling is a little hard to achieve), given i shouldnt have to worry about burning the plants w LEDs there is still a hazzard of bleaching and degrading the final product.

i retract my previous statement about the blackstar chromes being over priced. with that being said. would anyone object to the thought of 2 (270w) of these being enough for the vegging and flowering all together, or will i need to add a bloom or veg booster. and if thats the case, which booster should i get(cycle/brand/watts/etc)?

That will work just fine. get bloom one. You can veg with that too. I have an apollo 8. Same or similar light as the chrome and area 51. It covers a 2x4 and ut pulls 276 watts and 120 x 3w . 270w to lights 6w to fans. Im grabbing another one. So with 2 of them I can cover 4x4. From what gotham told me they have same dimensions , modular design, and footprint as mine. You should be good vegging and flowering with the bloom chrome and cover a 4x4 sith 2. Yes it can cause light bleaching. Just don't have it too cose to.the canopy. About 20 to 24 in away from canopy. Make sure to have good airflow. Hid light bleaches so much more.


Happy growing

Have you looked in Advanced LED lights?
http://www.advancedledlights.com/categories/3W-LED-Grow-Lights/

I heard a lot of good reviews about them. Pretty good bang for the buck also. PLUS a 3 year warranty and a 90 days return policy if your not happy.

Area 51 - AF-240 - 439W good for 4x4 area. Less than $900.

Bam.

I would go with 2 Apollo 10's... they will run you about 600-800 dollars total shipped from Cidly.com
looking at around 720 actual watts...

Have you looked at Black Dog? You didn't mention them. You should definitely be able to get an awesome panel for the area you're covering well under your 1500$ budget. I've had great results.