Looking to upgrade my light

MDBuds · October 3, 2020, 4:15pm

Alright, so I have more seeds coming that require more light than what I have for a decent yield. I am looking for recommendations for a good LED light for a 4x4 grow tent. I won’t need to upgrade for another few months so I’m looking now.

I need full spectrum with ir and uv and need a good coverage area at least 5x5 for veg and 4x4 for flower so I can utilize my entire grow space.

My max budget is around $500.

So far I have been looking at high end brands like photontek or related but they’re a bit pricey. I hear spider farmer, hlg, mars hydro, and other brands have comparable lights but I have never used them. I really like the detachable light bars of the photontek and would like to find another brand with the same kind of features.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Kronic · October 3, 2020, 5:25pm

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5y0eKaSiYQve3eVfIFBBZi?si=weamgwhBTLSMpUpuSvwqSA @MDBuds I did a whole Potcast on this topic actually and I go over the brands you mentioned! Much love and happy growing!

CoolBubs · October 3, 2020, 5:27pm

@MDBuds I have a 4x4 tent and I’m running a spider farmer 1000 and viparspectra 1500 in it and the plants seem to dig them. I think they like the spider farmer a bit more. I’ll have to let you know how the yields are though in a couple weeks

MDBuds · October 3, 2020, 5:28pm

@Kronic I’ll check it out. Do you break down the light wavelength of their spectrums? If not I can just look up your recommendations and figure it myself. The UVA and IR are pretty important to me and I noticed a lot of brands don’t say they have UVA UVB or IR but if you look at their light wavelengths they have it in the spectrum.

MDBuds · October 3, 2020, 5:28pm

@CoolBubs thanks man. I look forward to seeing your harvest.

Kronic · October 3, 2020, 5:45pm

@MDBuds yea all the brands I recommend utilize IR, UV and UVB - HTG 4.0 full spectrums are the top tier in my opinion - I name my top 5 I recommend for true wattage / full spectrum compared to pull from wall and efficiency / PAR

Rye · October 3, 2020, 7:27pm

The hlg 550r meet the vast majority of your requirements, but it is quantum boards and not bars. Their Sabers dont have the UV, but meet those other requirements and are individual bars but can be wired together to run off 1 power supply remotely. 4 of them would blow out 4×4 and do amazing for a 5×5. At 125$ each, but you would still need a power supply, probably around 120$ for a good meanwell dimmable.

I have around 600$ in mine, 3 QB and 2 Sabers, 2 power supply’s, wiring. Already had a heatsink laying around. It pulls just under 600w at the wall and approx 470w at the lights. At 24 inches it reads 36k lumens. Par/ppfd is a little harder to figure as I’m using a combination of lights but from the results its obviously fairly high.

MDBuds · October 3, 2020, 7:47pm

@Rye That’s a lot of light. Roughly 925 umols/s ppf. There’s a way to convert lumens to ppf if you know your spectrum. I used the conversion assuming you had blue at 450 red at 680 and white at 3500k.

I’ll have to look into HLG. Sounds like those bars might be something worth while.

Rye · October 3, 2020, 10:07pm

That’s pretty much exactly what I have. The 3 QB are 3500k with heavy red additions, the Sabres are either 4k or 5k, can’t remember now, but with heavy red added. I plan to add supplemental about 120w of side lighting in the future when I redo the grow room.

Right now it’s in a 3×4×7, after I remodel it will be a 5×5×8 but only grow in a 4.5×4×8. Even in the smaller space heat has not been bad at all, no air exchange and it stays stable at about 82dg with lights full blast.

MDBuds · October 7, 2020, 4:37am

@Kronic @Rye so I did a lot (and I mean a lot) of digging around and found two cost efficient brands that on paper have amazing quality and wanted to know if you guys have heard of these brands or know anyone that has used them.

The first has removable and upgradable light bars like I wanted and has an option to add more UV and IR supplements later.

The second is one of the best quantum board lights i have seen at an amazing price (at least on paper).

You guys have any knowledge about these?

MDBuds · October 7, 2020, 6:12am

Man shipping on those is insane though. I might just have to go with the Mars Hydro TS 3000 until I can save up some more cash to be able to drop $700 to $1k on a light.

Rye · October 7, 2020, 3:04pm

Never heard of the brands, but the chips (lm301b and lm561c) they use are good chips. Both top of the line and built by Samsung in their factories using good QC. And that makes a difference. Some chips are designed by company A then built by company B. Those 2 are Flagship chips built onsite with strict controls.

To get any higher quality you have to get down to WHEN in the manufacturing process the individual chip was made, and how it tested out A.K.A. the bin number of the individual chip.

Once made and tested they are sorted by their test results. The better the chip the higher the price they can get. The best chips (highest bin rating) get contracted to premium buyers (HLG, Spider, Mars in our price range), the rest go by price.

Some lighting companys assemble the lights themselves, typically higher priced (Chill, Timber). Some have a 3rd party assemble them (cheapo amazon style). And then theres a few that have their products mostly built in the same manufacturing facilities as the chips are made. Then finish up in house for shipment (HLG, Spider). This is the group we want, high bin numbers, good quality control, good price and good warranty.

These brands I listed are certainly not the only ones in their respective categories, they are the ones I know of.

Kronic · October 9, 2020, 10:12pm

@MDBuds Hey man after taking a look at both - they’re fairly even except that ECO Farm light might be brighter in lumens. PAR they sit on point with Mars, spider farmer, HLG, aggromax, and any number of Samsung diodes. Like @Rye said it really depends on the quality control of the company and which bin numbers are on those chips. However they seem quality. I haven’t heard anything personally but that doesn’t mean they’re bad. Samsung diodes are great!

Mrb53004 · October 10, 2020, 3:02pm

OK, been here long enough to want to add a small tent 2x3x5. This is going to be for my autos for the winter. What is a cheap light setup anyone can recommend. I can supplement with sunlight if desired by placing tent in my yard. We do not get very cold here in Vegas and I can easily move indoors for cold spells. Also, MDBuds - did you decide / pull the trigger? Any USED lights to sell? Maybe we should put a USED / TRADE section

Mrb53004 · October 10, 2020, 3:08pm

Found these cheapo on Amazon - Aceple Full Spectrum Sunlike White LED Grow Light 600W Equal, Waterproof Plant Growing Lamp, 2x2ft Coverage Plant Light for Gardening, Grow Tent, Houseplant, Seedling Veg Flowering ● Spectrum of Light: 6000K, 3000K, 660nm ● Power Draw: 85W $40.00,

SPIDER FARMER LED Grow Light Dimmable SF-1000 Grow Lights $160

Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA 2020 Pro Series P1500 LED Light with Upgraded SMD LEDs(Includes IR) and Dimmable Function Full Spectrum Plant Grow Lights for Indoor Plants Seeding Veg and Bloom $120

Phlizon 2020 Newest 1000W Plant LED Grow Light Used with Samsung LM301B LEDs Dimmable Full Spectrum Grow Lamp for Indoor Plants Led Growing Light for 2x4ft Coverage $130

CoolBubs · October 10, 2020, 4:04pm

@Mrb53004 I have the top two you listed, the spider farmer 1000 and 2020 vivarspectra 1500 in my 4’x4’x7’ and one spider farmer 1000 in a 32"x32"x63"

The plant doing the very best (I think, still in progress) is getting a fair amount from the vivarspectra and spider farmer. I definitely like the samsung Lm301b diodes the most right now on the spider farmer, but the smd diodes seem very bright as well (a bit brighter as it uses a bit more wattage) and the plants seem to dig the combo.

Though the startup was a bit pricey on the lights hoping it will return pretty decent yields

Mrb53004 · October 11, 2020, 12:22am

Let me know if you want to sell off any of the old stuff. Maybe I can help defer cost of new lighting

Veganbudz · October 20, 2020, 5:53am

Did you decide on a light? I have a Spider Farmer SF4000 covering 4x4 in my 4x8 tent. It absolutely kills in a 4x4. I have mine dimmed to 75%. No heat issues. I paid a little over $500.

MDBuds · October 20, 2020, 8:11am

@Veganbudz I’m still comparing lights and price points. I’ve looked into the Spider Farmer SF4000 and it’s on my list. I really want something with UV and IR but there isn’t a whole lot in my price range that isn’t a blurple.

I like growing colorful and exotic buds and giant sativas with a lot of resin. Terpines and the smell of the bud are what I focus on and UV assists a lot with that. I’m thinking I might have to just give up the UV though and settle with red and IR for the Emerson effect. At least I’ll still get the better growth and yields I want.

Rye · October 20, 2020, 2:15pm

@MDBuds I ended up buying a 40 watt 36in t5ho, my local grow shop has UV bulbs for it.