IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

Vric85 said:

Hey everybody I'm looking to buy led I have about $300 right now could you guys point towards somethin I'm in the u.s. so some light on the shipping I want to grow 4-6 plants . In a cab I built while each week adding more light

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Best bet is to look at California Light Works. 4 to 6 plants is a tall order for 300 beans so I would start small, like 2 plants and a Solarflare 100, but a 200 would be better, then as you save up money just keep buying more panels, which I guess is George's plan . Good Luck

PSUAGRO. said:

Are they really selling you a phantom grow panel from cindly?I though that unit was not available for US customers due to the exclusivity clause/contract with BLU as their sole distributor here. I forgot which member here couldn't buy any of the new panels, but that's the response he got supposedly.

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I am not from USA... :/ i wish i was tho lol.

Lumigrow 650 Pro, nothing better IMHO

vaulttec said:

Phantom Grow LED Panel Light:
The warm white color temperature of 2650-3800K, the main wavelength for 3400Knm typical luminous flux of 1345lm. Blu-ray of a color temperature of 20000K, the dominant wavelength for 470K Typical luminous flux for 4.97lm.
This info i guess?Got it from Cidly site.

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What i was looking for mostly was the brand name of the warm whites. I just had a hunt for it on the cidly site myself, and can't find it. Can anyone shed some light on it? (kill me now )

I'm asking for advice here.I'm trying to decide between the Blackstar 405 and the Magnum plus. I'm starting from zero, I want a light that will take me from seed to harvest. If I can only grow 1 plant at a time good thats fine. Have plans to add another light in about a year. I just want start out on the right foot here. Can the Magnums be linked together? Thanks for any advice.

FranJan said:

Best bet is to look at California Light Works. 4 to 6 plants is a tall order for 300 beans so I would start small, like 2 plants and a Solarflare 100, but a 200 would be better, then as you save up money just keep buying more panels, which I guess is George's plan . Good Luck

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correct me if I'm wrong here, but the SF100's are not meant or optioned for full cycle, just "veg" or "bloom booster". The 200 is the first full cycle in their line up.

http://www.californialightworks.com/Products_SolarFlare.htm

Edit: added link above, 1x SF100 Veg + 1x SF100 Bloom > price of 1x SF200 Full Cycle and output will be the same.

Ok -This seems like the apt thread for newcomers to get help in LED choice!

i am at present looking at 2 options:

OPTION 1: VIPAR A100 £130
Wattage: 100 Watts (Actual Power Draw)
Voltage: AC85-264V
Light Spectrum: Blue 440/460nm, Red 630/660nm & Warm White 3000K
LED Quantity: 60
LED Type: 3 Watt High Output
LED Viewing Angle: 80°
3-Year Warranty (Serviced in the UK)


OPTION 2: EBAY UK PANEL £130
Wattage: 100 Watts (Actual Power Draw) (50 x 3w LED)
Voltage: AC85-264V
Light Spectrum: 380nm (UV) 430nm (deep blue) 450nm (blue) 460nm (blue) 610nm (orange) 630nm (red) 660nm (deep red) 670nm (deep red) 3000k (warm white) 6000k (day light White) 12000k (white)
LED Quantity: 50
LED Type: 3 Watt High Output Double Lens
LED Viewing Angle: UNKNOWN
18 month Warranty (Serviced in the UK)

I haven't a clue how to discern the best one?
The ebay unit has a considerable more extensive spectrum (9 band + UV versus 5 band) , but 10 less LED's and slightly less warranty? I am not sure if the vipar has a double lens type of LED or does this matter and how beneficial is the UV and extra bands anyway?

I would be leaning towards the ebay unit at present...? I want the panel for veg and flower (i will be getting 2 of whatever panels I decide on)

Any thoughts?

trunche0n said:

Any thoughts?

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Vipar makes LED grow panels. The guy on Ebay sells lotsa things. Have you seen anyone use that Ebay panel?. The short version is get the Vipar. Good Luck.

I'm with Fran on this one.

"broad spectrum" or not, if an LED panel is really supposed to last 50,000hrs+, a company would stand behind it for more than 18 months. The panel should last 7+ years at that rate, and they won't stand behind it for two? Just my opinion, you can make your own decision.

Also, if you buy the ebay panel, you're in your own canoe on your own river. Vipar's (and others) have a base of customers to draw knowledge and experience from. Being that they're the same price, I know I'd buy Vipar's. There are other options as well, but between those two my choice would be clear.

I know what you are saying
I have researched the hell out of sellers and it seems for my price range shoping in europe that the vipar may be the only option.
i cant see getting 100 (real watt) panel anywhere else this sideof the world of the same quality for the same or close price

I like the Astir's as well, but in order to equal 100W, you would need four of them... doubling the price of investment.

You guys think 180w Chrome Blackstar is sufficient for 2'x2' secret jardin grow tent? How many plants max you think I could flower in there? Currently topping/LSTing in veg.

Kyanite393 said:

You guys think 180w Chrome Blackstar is sufficient for 2'x2' secret jardin grow tent? How many plants max you think I could flower in there? Currently topping/LSTing in veg.

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Yup should be fine for flower....Don't let that panel get too close, make sure you have enough height. Four indica dom plants in 2 gallon pots is the max for your area; even in hydro I wouldn't go over four. good luck grower

So I'm looking to make a grow closet in a 3' x 1.5' x 5.5' space, and so far I keep getting drawn back to the Solar Storm 400w. Love the look of the product, and the lighting options. Any thoughts on this choice for this size space? Also I think whatever LED I opt for I'm going to need some additional lighting on the bottom half of the closet as from the reviews I read growth suffers from the lack of penetration blah blah etc, so any suggestions for a cheaper led for the bottom would be appreciated also, cheers!

SS400w would be perfect for that space. They do run hot though. You will need to evacuate the heat above the light. Some led spotlights or cfl/pll would be all you need down low, if any at all.

lazyjackson said:

So I'm looking to make a grow closet in a 3' x 1.5' x 5.5' space, and so far I keep getting drawn back to the Solar Storm 400w. Love the look of the product, and the lighting options. Any thoughts on this choice for this size space? Also I think whatever LED I opt for I'm going to need some additional lighting on the bottom half of the closet as from the reviews I read growth suffers from the lack of penetration blah blah etc, so any suggestions for a cheaper led for the bottom would be appreciated also, cheers!

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ellydee said:

SS400w would be perfect for that space. They do run hot though. You will need to evacuate the heat above the light. Some led spotlights or cfl/pll would be all you need down low, if any at all.

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Agreed, a Solar Storm 400 should rock an area that size.
With the 5W diodes they use, you should not need any extra lighting for the lower growth.
I'm using a 3W diode, 180W, Area 51 light, and it gets more than adequate penetration from 2'-3' away (depending on if I'm in veg or flower).
If you do pick up the Solar Storm, I think you'll be impressed at how powerful it is, and see that LED's are for real.
Good luck.

Alright...it seems like i am going with this.
90 degree lens / multifunction
380 2 PURPLE
430 3 BLUE
460 8 BLUE
610 7 ORANGE
630 22 RED
660 28 DEEP RED
730 4 FAR RED
10k 4 WHITE
---78--- Phantom 150w 90 degree lens / multifunction..Kinda like the ZA series also.
I couldnt find the white brands of Cidly.(its gonna take too long to ask and wait for answers , that i dont have...)
Tried to balance the whites/blues by looking at the american distributor of cidly(growblu)They use 10k whites on full specturm apollos.
I am scared of the far red , purple...i hope they dont kill the plant or help with the bleach. All looks good?

vaulttec said:

Alright...it seems like i am going with this.
90 degree lens / multifunction
380 2 PURPLE
430 3 BLUE
460 8 BLUE
610 7 ORANGE
630 22 RED
660 28 DEEP RED
730 4 FAR RED
10k 4 WHITE
---78--- Phantom 150w 90 degree lens / multifunction..Kinda like the ZA series also.
I couldnt find the white brands of Cidly.(its gonna take too long to ask and wait for answers , that i dont have...)
Tried to balance the whites/blues by looking at the american distributor of cidly(growblu)They use 10k whites on full specturm apollos.
I am scared of the far red , purple...i hope they dont kill the plant or help with the bleach. All looks good?

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Ditch the purple. Like i said before, Its a marketing ploy.

You want more 630nm red (at least equal with deep red or more) maybe a touch less blue (maybe), and if you dont know the data on the whites, you may as well ditch them for more 630nm red.

Really though, a quick email should tell you exactly which brand diodes they are using.

WHY RANDOM WHITES ARE SHIT:

The old-fashioned way of making White LED is to take a blue LED and put a yellow phosphor coating on it. So what you have is a "blue and yellow" LED, not a "white" one. The benefits of modern white LED come from the nicely distributed spectra which make up the white - a little blue, and then a wide distribution of color from yellow all the way to red.

I think EllyD got it really. I mean we can argue what you should or shouldn't have all day, but I think everyone would agree it's too much blue for flowering. Have you got the spectral data or any other info about the diodes to work with? Those 10Ks may cover enough spectra to ditch the 430s and possibly most of the 460s. I don't know if there is any limitations to the amount of specific diodes you can have, but I'd go with something like this; 10x730, 34x660, 16x630, 6x610, 4x460, 4x5000K, 4x10000K but without data this is all speculation really. And I'm not a fan of cheap 380 diodes plus you can always add UVA/UVB later. At the end of the day it's your grow so do what you want. Good Luck!