What light should I use for a small grow tent?

PadawanWarrior · Oct 8, 2020

NukaKola said:
That’s $150 for 95w. Okay for vegging a 2x2 but not great for flowering.

Might want to consider a HLG 96, has added reds/deep reds and can push double the wattage ~$63 after code RIU10.

QB96 Elite V2 Engine

QB96 Elite V2 is a white LED Board with boosted red spectrum. Each Board is powered by 64 high power white LED, 16 630nm Red LED and 16 660nm Deep Red LED.

horticulturelightinggroup.com

Delta LNE-54V-185WDAA (needs external pot for dimming) is $20

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/lne-54v185wdaa/delta-electronics

OR

Delta LNE-54V-150WAAA (bit lower wattage but has internal pot for dimming) is $27

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/lne-54v150waaa/delta-electronics

All said in done you have an HLG light with great spectrum that will kill a 2x2 for ~$100

He only has 4 ft in height to work with.

farmingfisherman · Oct 8, 2020

farmingfisherman said:
HLG 135 or a 315 if you went with the 3 x 3 but I'd not be comfortable with anything less than 7 feet to handle the environmental needs..

35 watts per sq foot of a 3 x 3 would kill with the 315. Look on CL for a decent 2 foot fluorescent for veg and once the plant or plants outgrow its light pattern go to the 315.

Gwhiliker · Oct 8, 2020

My veg tents got an odd set up lol

HydroKid239 said:
took them from the 2x2 to finish in the 2x4 so I can germinate in the 2x2

HydroKid239 · Oct 8, 2020

Got the cups sitting in a waterproof pan I made from a section of my humidity dome and some cling wrap on the bottom for the cups to sit on. Heat mat under the makeshift pan. No wasted heat since the film is so thin.

Gwhiliker · Oct 8, 2020

but to the op if you have a 4 foot height something with a dimmer is gonna be needed unless you build something up with some spaced apart leds on a good heatsink and somehow manage to pull that heat out. but that probably would be a pretty good option here. I'm not sure though as I haven't gone the diy route yet

NukaKola · Oct 8, 2020

PadawanWarrior said:
He only has 4 ft in height to work with.

That’s going to be tough with any QB style LED & a $100 budget.

DIY with Samsung strips is the best option, just run the strips soft so they can be kept close to the canopy and still provide good coverage.

PadawanWarrior · Oct 8, 2020

NukaKola said:
That’s going to be tough with any QB style LED & a $100 budget.

DIY with Samsung strips is the best option, just run the strips soft so they can be kept close to the canopy.

Ya, that's what I was gonna say too. I've never built my own, but I'd be tempted to build one with strips for that space.

HydroKid239 · Oct 8, 2020

Maxisun PB1000 is less than 100 Built LIKE an ideal 2x2 light, but not using samsung LED's. This should be budget friendly enough for now.

https://www.amazon.com/Grow-Light-BP-1000-Hydroponics-Gardening/dp/B082Y1PMWF/ref=asc_df_B082Y1PMWF/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=&hvpos=&hvnetw=o&hvrand=&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583726548245189&psc=1

SpawnOfVader · Oct 8, 2020

SmoothCrim said:
Do you think the Mars Hydro ts1000 would be enough?

I'm running the TS2000, you can see my grow in my sig... no issues personally but I have seen the angry threads so *shrug*

SmoothCrim · Oct 8, 2020

Thanks for the replies looking into the spider farmer sf-1000 and the kingbrite 240w, also hopefully I can get at least a 2x2x5 and my budget can be higher than 100 since doesnt look like anything is worth it at that range. Since lights seem to be the biggest factor I'm trying to get the best that I can to make the most out of the small space.

NukaKola · Oct 8, 2020

PadawanWarrior said:
Ya, that's what I was gonna say too. I've never built my own, but I'd be tempted to build one with strips for that space.

The F/H series strips aren’t on sale anymore but the 2’ M series which are not quite as efficient are only $0.86/ea. They have 32 LM561B diodes.

Pair 10-12 of those strips with a Delta LNE-24V-120WAAA driver which is only $20 at Arrow and it should be a killer budget light for a 2x2.

SpawnOfVader · Oct 8, 2020

PadawanWarrior said:
Ya, that's what I was gonna say too. I've never built my own, but I'd be tempted to build one with strips for that space.

I don't know if you'd even get a sufficient DIY strip build for that price. If you went like bare bones maybe?

So $220 (from LED Gardener figures)... if you already have ratchet hangers that's 20 off and another 15 off if you don't opt to have a potentiometer for dimming (would make sure your driver isn't overpowered for the strips if you went that route)...

Not $100 but still not terrible, if you watch Arrow random deals on those Samsung strips pop up and you could do it for cheaper. How much of a rush are you in?

SpawnOfVader · Oct 8, 2020

NukaKola said:
The F/H series strips aren’t on sale anymore but the 2’ M series which are not quite as efficient are only $0.86/ea. They have 32 LM561B diodes.

Pair 10-12 of those strips with a Delta LNE-24V-100WAAA driver which is only $20 at Arrow and it should be a killer budget light for a 2x2.

Damn I was too late with my advice lol. Nice finds!

NukaKola · Oct 8, 2020

SmoothCrim said:
Thanks for the replies looking into the spider farmer sf-1000 and the kingbrite 240w, also hopefully I can get at least a 2x2x5 and my budget can be higher than 100 since doesnt look like anything is worth it at that range. Since lights seem to be the biggest factor I'm trying to get the best that I can to make the most out of the small space.

If you get the Kingbrite 240w, make sure you get the “240w double” version listed. It comes with each of the 120w boards on separate heat sinks.

The regular 240w version has both 120w boards mounted on one long heatsink which is 25”L and might not fit in a 2x2 tent.

Oldreefer · Oct 8, 2020

I was gifted a mars ts1000 a year ago to replace blurples and hps, run alongside 2 autocobs, totals 45+watts per sq ft, and it has proven itself worthy in my flower 2x3 tent where plants are finishing ever 3 weeks. Good small light that gets the job done. May not be samsungs lites but I never told the plants.

420burn420 · Oct 8, 2020

SpawnOfVader said:
I'm running the TS2000, you can see my grow in my sig... no issues personally but I have seen the angry threads so *shrug*

I think they are complaining about the older model blurpe lights. I started an autoflower under the ts1000 and it seemed to perform fine.. just my opinion. Either way I upgraded mines to fc3000 so far she is growing really tight nodes but it's out of your budget.

SpawnOfVader · Oct 8, 2020

420burn420 said:
I think they are complaining about the older model blurpe lights. I started an autoflower under the ts1000 and it seemed to perform fine.. just my opinion. Either way I upgraded mines to fc3000 so far she is growing really tight nodes but it's out of your budget.

(out of mine too but I'm hoping to get one in ~6 weeks for free)

SpawnOfVader · Oct 8, 2020

NukaKola said:
If you get the Kingbrite 240w, make sure you get the “240w double” version listed. It comes with each of the 120w boards on separate heat sinks.

The regular 240w version has both 120w boards mounted on one long heatsink which is 25”L and might not fit in a 2x2 tent.

Would it be possible to remove the heatsink and mount outside the tent then hang each board individually?

NukaKola · Oct 8, 2020

SpawnOfVader said:
I don't know if you'd even get a sufficient DIY strip build for that price. If you went like bare bones maybe?

So $220 (from LED Gardener figures)... if you already have ratchet hangers that's 20 off and another 15 off if you don't opt to have a potentiometer for dimming (would make sure your driver isn't overpowered for the strips if you went that route)...

Not $100 but still not terrible, if you watch Arrow random deals on those Samsung strips pop up and you could do it for cheaper. How much of a rush are you in?

LED Gardner’s builds use higher powered strips running pretty hot so they require the use of heat sinks which is where it gets expensive.

For instance the F series build uses $25+ 2’ strips with $8 worth of heatsink per strip and comes out to ~$33 per 2’ strip running 50-65w/ea

When the strips are on sale for $0.60-$2/ea it makes sense to just buy more strips and run them softer ~10w/ea, that way they run cooler and don’t need heat sinks.

NukaKola · Oct 8, 2020

SpawnOfVader said:
Would it be possible to remove the heatsink and mount outside the tent then hang each board individually?

Do you mean remove the driver? If so yes. The heatsinks need to be mounted to the boards to dissipate the heat.

The 240w double heat sink arrives like this.

I chose to mount my driver in between the boards, but you could certainly remote mount it outside the grow space. You could also hang the boards separately. They come with eye hooks and hangers to mount each board separately.

What light should I use for a small grow tent?

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