Switching to LED need some advice

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mrjamestown93

Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #1

I just bought some LED lights after noticing how cheap they were.
They are low wattage LED lights so i'm aware that they probably won't be enough.
I just read some guides about growing with LED but my questions is how many of these LED lights will be enough
They are
Pro 900 Led Four 14 watt Hydroponic Plant Hydro Grow Light Panels 14w Tri Band

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[TH="class: style120 style19"][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Specifications:[/FONT][/TH]
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[TD="class: style18"][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Number of panels: 4
LEDs per panel: 225
Total LEDs: 900
Color: Red/blue/orange mix
Power per panel: 14w
Panel size: 12.25" x 12.25"
Panel height: 1.5"
Frame: Composite
ed wavelength: 660 nm
Blue wavelength: 455 nm
Orange wavelength: 610 nm
Rec. coverage: 4 sq. ft.[/FONT]
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Totaling at only 54 watts, how many of these panels would i need for a 4x4x6 grow tent?

 

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mrjamestown93

Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #2

OR just enough light for 4 plants, i'm thinking you would need at least 300-400 watts? which might not even be possible in the grow space, so if these won't work, what could these lights work with maybe a single plant in a compact grow space?

 

Adjorr

Well-Known Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #3

Im sorry but these lights probably wont give you very good results. For LED lights you want them to use 3w bulbs or better or else they just don't have enough penetration to effectively grow plants. For LED you want to have roughly 100w of light per plant and you want to use LED units with at least a 6 band spectrum to get all light types plants require for there various biological processes.

 

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pizzapuffer

Active Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #4

sorry but im not liking the sounds of that at all. you still will draw a good amount of watts from a proper LED grow setup. It's just easier to keep cool. if your going LEDs you really want something more like this http://htgsupply.com/Product-7-Band-864w-LED-Grow-Light.asp over $900 and uses 864 watts. one of these ought to cover your space. even has an ir an uv band. the Leds are 3 watts a piece. most junk LEDs are only 1 watt a piece.

personally i think it's better to stick with the old HPS for now. The LEDs that work very well like the one i mentioned above are overpriced. in time they will come down and the tech will be even better. keep an eye on the new plasma tech though as well. the cheap low watt leds just dont cut it. on the positive side they work well as supplemental lighting. a lot of these cheap LEDs also lack the proper spectrum. it may look like the right color, but on older and cheaper LEDs the the nm of the wavelengths are not optimal.

 

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lax123

Well-Known Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #5

dont buy more of that ...get something made out of 3watters, also there is something about a lack of light Penetration with those "small led" panels

 

sedberrytaurus

Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #6

yeah i just learned my lesson with Leds the hardway lol.
i might pick them up again in the future when the technology improves. it'll work but your plants would really love some higher wattage ya know

 

Adjorr

Well-Known Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #7

sedberrytaurus said:

yeah i just learned my lesson with Leds the hardway lol.
i might pick them up again in the future when the technology improves. it'll work but your plants would really love some higher wattage ya know

Click to expand...

The technology has improved but that dosent help anyone unless they buy the proper units. fantastic grows are done with LED everyday. I grow with LED myself and have great results. The important thing is to know what to look for in an LED light. You need at least 3 watt bulbs, at least 6 spectrums, and at least 100w of light per plant. You also want to make sure your LED unit is geared towards the flowering spectrum as veg lights wont preform very well during flower, but flower lights will perform adequately in veg. And no those 14w 225 led panels will not work, they do not have the penetration power that you need for growing a plant.

 

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Metro 99

New Member

• Aug 12, 2013

• #8

I bought a 734W actual draw LED array that is about a meter long.

It is very bright. I have to have it 1 meter above my plants.

 

prosperian

Well-Known Member

• Aug 13, 2013

• #9

Do yourself a favor. Return those LEDs.

Stick to cfl for a cheap investment; plenty of growers make do with these. HID is also an option and will produce big plants and buds at a higher cost. (600w)

See my links below for a LED fixture that can get the job done.

 

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jcmjrt

Well-Known Member

• Aug 13, 2013

• #10

I recommend that you go to the LED lighting section. There's a sticky there for newbs wondering what fixture(s) to buy.

 

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mrjamestown93

Member

• Aug 13, 2013

• #11

Thanks for the info guys I think i'm going to return them

 

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mrjamestown93

Member

• Aug 13, 2013

• #12

I already read the LED forum posts thats why i was asking about the low wattage lights since they are being marketed as grow lights... I'm returning the item it hasn't even been shipped yet, and i think i might just do 400 watt hps....I'm so sick of the heat my first 2 grows were completely ruined by heat stress and mites, i got an AC but still was getting mites the last time i ran my 600 watt light...

 

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lax123

Well-Known Member

• Aug 14, 2013

• #13

nothing wrong with leds, just look for actual wattage and dont expect to solve the Problem with like 15$...
there r plenty of grow reports with a lot of different led Panels. You also could go DIY, not very hard and u save a lot of $$$....no more heat issues, less water consumption, smaller electric bill
e.g. http://www.ebay.de/itm/321178175407...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_3691wt_1431
11$ for 2 quality Cree , 4 Emitters in one also 24W @1A and its even cheaper and much better. I guess u can get them even cheaper...
Just need a heatsink, some thermo paste, Little glue, some cables, a fan and a constant current source and voila
also check this:
http://www.ledgrow.eu/

also maybe look at the Forums more carefully:
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/706569-led-spotlight.html
there r plenty of Posts like that one.