Cob and QB setup layout?

DrBlaze

Well-Known Member
I do not understand why people think mixing cobs and quantum boards makes any kind of sense. One of the pluses of qb's is that the light is very diffuse and you can run very close to your plants without harm... but if you have cobs you need to run them a bit further away to get good light spread. The phosphor technology is the same on each, so its not like you're missing out on anything if you go one way or the other.

I chose cobs because the price was a lot better and I have a lot of footage to cover, but if I'd been doing a smaller build I might well have chosen qb's. The one thing I would not have done would be to mix them. Instead of getting "the best of both worlds" as I've seen some put it, you're actually getting "the worst of both worlds" instead
 

Danielson999

Well-Known Member
Mixing cobs and QB's is a great idea. It allows you to introduce spectrums that aren't available with QB's such as 1750K or 5600K etc. But to know the best way to lay them out it would require knowing what your grow space is. If I was running a flowering 4'x4' tent I'd put 1750K cobs in a + sign shape with the QB's mounted in each corner. So many possibilities.
 

DrBlaze

Well-Known Member
Mixing cobs and QB's is a great idea. It allows you to introduce spectrums that aren't available with QB's such as 1750K or 5600K etc. But to know the best way to lay them out it would require knowing what your grow space is. If I was running a flowering 4'x4' tent I'd put 1750K cobs in a + sign shape with the QB's mounted in each corner. So many possibilities.
Not trying to be argumentative here, but you haven't actually given any good reasons for mixing them. If the spectrum you want is only avail in cob, then why use qb at all?

I'm not saying qb is bad, I'm just saying that people should choose one or the other. And I've not seen anyone yet on this site give a good reason for mixing them. I think most people doing so just think it looks "cool".
 

chakup

Well-Known Member
Maybe I am off base, and if so I'll readjust. Neither is perfect and it seemed a blend would give a better setup.
This will be a tent to start, eventually gonna be finishing out an 8x14 room.
 

Danielson999

Well-Known Member
Not trying to be argumentative here, but you haven't actually given any good reasons for mixing them. If the spectrum you want is only avail in cob, then why use qb at all?

QB's are efficient and offer simplicity in design. Easily added to your light system or built as a stand-alone setup. Excellent support and customer feedback. Proven to be great for scroggers especially. Check out the QB thread if you don't already know why people would "use qb at all".


I'm not saying qb is bad, I'm just saying that people should choose one or the other. And I've not seen anyone yet on this site give a good reason for mixing them. I think most people doing so just think it looks "cool".
Telling people they should choose only one or the other is silly. People in the DIY crowd tend to be eager to try new technology. Many QB owners already own cobs, hps etc and simply want to use the QB's and see how well they work. If they really like them they might even buy more or switch their entire grow space over to QB's. Telling them they should get rid of their cobs/hps and only run QB's is ridiculous. Oh...better not let that hps light overlap onto my QB section! lol

No, people should not choose one of the other. I would encourage people (especially DIY'ers) to try all different types of light. Try cobs, try strips, try QB's...make your own light using 1, 2 or even all 3 types if you want. Having hands on experience with different types of lights gives you better knowledge of how they work and function in your environment. It also gives you first hand experience to pass on to others.
 

DrBlaze

Well-Known Member
You missed the ENTIRE point.

I'm not saying people shouldn't try either. NOWHERE did I say that :) Experiment away, try every type of light on the market, fill your boots..

What I did actually say, is that these 2 specific implementations of phosphor technology don't mix well. They run best at different heights from your plants, so it makes no sense to mix them in the SAME fixture.

So again, I'm not trying to start a big argument with you, but you still have not given any reason why the two different techs would work well together.

And also, mixing them makes no sense for a different reason as well. If you want to experiment to find out which works best for your particular situation...how will you ever know which one is working best for you if they are mixed on the same fixture? You won't. Your last paragraph would make much more sense if you were advocating trying them out on different fixtures.

Imagine if you were testing 2 different nutrient lines, and instead of using them on separate plants and comparing results you just mixed them together in the same bucket. How would you ever come to any conclusions as to which line your plants preferred?
 

greg nr

Well-Known Member
I dunno, I found my QB's work just fine pinned to the top of the tent. As the plants grow into them, the light levels increase and they are happy. All I have to do is adjust the output at times depending on the age of the plants.

I don't bother trying to keep them a set distance over the plants.
 

chakup

Well-Known Member
DrBlaze- in regards to mixing; say I have two frames. One running QB and cob, one running just mixed cobs, or just QBs. I could compare those two to see if there is a benefit. This will be the goal as I have the funds to finish properly a roughly 8x14 room.
Mixing in LEC somewhere as supplement is still a possibility as well but I really wanna check out the QBs.
 
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