Led?

Looking into buying a LED light for veg been looking into a brand called sunshine systems http://www.sunshine-systems.com/GrowUFO-LED-Grow-Light-p/gu-93635.htm there is the link to the website. not looking to spend much and don't need a huge one just wondering if anyone has one of these or know anything about it. have heard a few bad things about them and some good things. hope to get some responds thanks in advance

Hey jblaze, looked at the light you posted, not sure that`ll give you what you need. For that kind of money I could get a 125w HPS basic system (for me $135 in Canada) that would probably quad up your lumenage for cheaper.

I would check out htgsupply.com if you`re from the US, they`ve got a good rep and tons of good priced lighting options, especially if you want the one light for vegging a single plants or two or keeping moms for cuts.

Happy growing,

KC

jblaze28 said:

Looking into buying a LED light for veg been looking into a brand called sunshine systems http://www.sunshine-systems.com/GrowUFO-LED-Grow-Light-p/gu-93635.htm there is the link to the website. not looking to spend much and don't need a huge one just wondering if anyone has one of these or know anything about it. have heard a few bad things about them and some good things. hope to get some responds thanks in advance

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Listen more closely to the bad you have heard rather than selectively hearing the good. Not just with this light either. Not saying believe it all - just listen more carefully.

Look at smaller T5 fixtures as well. Very cheap to run, reliable (something LED is not presently in affordable form) and make plants nice and bushy, ready for that stretch under HPS.

thanks kush and hot appreciate it was thinking going with t5s as well

LOL leds not reliable. Hilarious joke bro

OP there is a subforum for LED where you will not be given advice by the hilariously misinformed. LED is definitely not the cheapest option but it has huge benefits (e.g the lack of heat blasted into your canopy). Check it out here (indoor growing-->LED and other lighting)

Not saying LED is easy either. But it is definitely rewarding seeing better results for half the power bill. One thing I will say is you definitely learn a hell of a lot about how plants work when you get into the LED game.

There are also vast differences between different panels/generations. Make sure you do your research if you go this route.

Thanks snotboogie I've read tons of information the past few days still reading actually. I will just be vegging with the led, 1000w mh 18hrs on gets expensive. and leds are starting to get a better rep nowa days just don't want to go cheap but also need to stay in a decent price range. have heard bad things about most jap/Chinese brands of leds, its kinda a hard task thanks for the link to the led section really appreciate it ill be spending a few hours in this thread plus rep

Hi, another newbie here. I have had one successful grow, so far, but still feel I am just learning. I used a 400 watt hid and ended up with nearly a quarter lb. It was a strain called Priviledge, and it had nice buds and a pretty good, but not overpowering buzz. I was using a homemade cabinent that measured 3 by 3 and was about 4 ft high.
I wanted to grow more, and, like you, wanted to check out the LED's.
I ended up buying two 180 watt led's from Ebay. One is a prototype Blackstar, and the other came from China. I also bought a 4 by 4 grow tent. I want to hang my 400 watt HPS and those two Led lights in my grow tent. I tried using them for vegging in the home made cabinent as I was setting up my grow tent, and I think My lights are too intense for that small a place, or I can't get the lights far enough away......
Anyway, peruse Ebay and check out Gotham Hydro, they sometimes have one of their lights on auction for the highest bidder. And they carry the Blackstar Led's.

And, does anyone have an idea how far to have the lights from the plant?

slitherlygrow said:

And, does anyone have an idea how far to have the lights from the plant?

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Play the hand test, if your hand feels intensely hot at a given distance to the plants, it`s too close. For my HPS lights, I usually use a 9 inch to 1 Ft gap, but if it`s keeping cooler up top I`ll lower but never closer than 5 in. LED`s I have NO experience with so your perception of heat will be your judge most likely. Happy growing,

KC

And in my opinion, for the lumens that HID provides (i.e HPS, MH), there is no substitute for that power other than Mother Sun of course. Bud density will pay off as well as stem structure and vigor and nutrient uptake

KC

jblaze28 said:

Thanks snotboogie I've read tons of information the past few days still reading actually. I will just be vegging with the led,

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That 90 watts UFO is not worth 200 dollars.

For vegging from seed to preflowers T5 HOs really rock consider a 4 bulb unit, and mix in PAR bulbs for more blue (420nm, 450nm actinics).
You can also supplement the T5s with cheap fleabay leds in the less than 100 dollar range. LEDs think a dollar a watt.

Good LEDs are awesome. Just expensive. Cheaper to run, and good for veg and flowering. My LED IS A 330W with a flowering spectrum in it. I think the sticker price was 1300 dollars but I got them down to 900. For a main over head LED light I would not go smaller than the 330w I have. In fact I am looking into some LEDs now that have 600 true watts in them. But they are like 2400 dollars.

for veg you'll want a more blue/white spectrum panel. The one you've listed is predominately red and geared for flower.

Canna Connoiseur said:

Good LEDs are awesome. Just expensive. Cheaper to run, and good for veg and flowering. My LED IS A 330W with a flowering spectrum in it. I think the sticker price was 1300 dollars but I got them down to 900. For a main over head LED light I would not go smaller than the 330w I have. In fact I am looking into some LEDs now that have 600 true watts in them. But they are like 2400 dollars.

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Holy F !!! $2400 sticker price !!?? I could buy all my equipment for a separate flower room including the HPS, ventilation and my first 6 months of hydro for that ... I would hope those LED`s are both energy efficient and surpass the results I get from a 600W HPS

KC

hell I'd recommend a diy kit before I'd suggest throwing thousands on new gen panels. rapidled.com
they've even got solderless kits.

KushCanuck said:

Holy F !!! $2400 sticker price !!?? I could buy all my equipment for a separate flower room including the HPS, ventilation and my first 6 months of hydro for that ... I would hope those LED`s are both energy efficient and surpass the results I get from a 600W HPS

KC

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led are looking better but to surpass even a cheap 600 watt hid system you'd be dropping a fuckload on expensive panels. I've actually been seeing some led grows that makes me think I'll be getting back into led someday. right now I use a led panel here and there but my main lighting will be hid for quite some time.

I've read some interesting things about LED in this thread that I have yet to witness personally from a grow op I help with.

If you have the right spectrum, LEDs are perfect. They cut your energy bill almost in half and the heat isn't an issue so you won't need to run as many fans. It pays it self off just from the money you save in a few months, totally worth it in my opinion.

I just don`t think I could ever rationalize it. Seeing the results something like HPS produces (having also run CFL grows) really has me searching no further. The energy bill savings might be better, but if you have a large garden where you NEED the savings any way you can, you`ll end up spending so much to just drop your power bill.

Personally I`m prepared to suck up the bill if it means I`m getting the best possible light, lumens, etc. Period. Just me though, don`t want to sound like I`m bashing LED`s because like previously stated, they HAVE had results. I`ll leave them alone though thank you

KC

StevenSD420 said:

I've read some interesting things about LED in this thread that I have yet to witness personally from a grow op I help with.

If you have the right spectrum, LEDs are perfect. They cut your energy bill almost in half and the heat isn't an issue so you won't need to run as many fans. It pays it self off just from the money you save in a few months, totally worth it in my opinion.

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yes fully agree if you can get the right specturm and distribution it will save lots of $$. Problem is LEDs are notoriously pricey and unless you get to test with a spectrophotometer, voltmeter and lumen meter its really hard to differentiate the junk.

My strategy has been to shop for cheap ebay chinese leds looking for the cheapest lumens per watt and hopefully basic 660 heavy red spectrum and then mix them with PAR T5 HOs where I can get very well tested and reliable spectrums thanks to the aquarium industry. Right now I am using a lot of wavepoints actinics (420nm), Blue bulbs (450 nm), Coral Waves (actinics + far red) and Ultra Growth Waves (660 red enhanced plant bulbs).

i found some decent prices on led's through a wholesaler. Could be worth calling up about. They seem pretty legit and I will more than likely be ordering from them since they are close to me.
http://www.gothamhydroponics.com/