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 kiss_the_sky03
Stranger
Registered: 07/28/12
Posts: 6
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
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 led lighting for 4x4 tent 
#643442 - 11/04/12 01:28 AM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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Hey guys,
This is my first post over here. Sorry for the lack of information. I'm in the infantile stages of planning my grow room and I also have the flu, so this won't be of the highest quality posts....
I just don't want you guys to think I'm lazy or haven't done any research of my own....
I plan on having a 4x4 tent for flowering and another 4x4 for vegging and clones. I'm wondering what the best way would be to light this up with leds (I've decided on leds and am not interested in this becoming a discussion of hps vs led)
Anyways..... I was thinking of having a (240 watt led panel in the center and having a 90 watt to the right and left of the 240 in the center) - Would this be enough to get decent results for a personal grow?
Or I was thinking about putting a 135 in the center and having 4 90 watts placed to the sides of the 135 (the 90s would sort of make the shape of a square around the 135)
Last question... Would a similar light setup work for the veg/clone tent?
Thanks a lot and hope the post wasn't too lazy!
(I would have drawn up some diagrams, but am really not feeling well)
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 phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly) 
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First off is that if you don't buy good lights your going to waste all your money essentially. There is a huge black hole of a market with at least 99% junk out there. LED is an investment that should be taken seriously, otherwise your going to try and save money and probably end up with underpowered fixtures. They will work, but the buds will not be as dense or penetration not very good. Many factors make an LED a good light, and because there are so many corners that can be cut its hard to find a quality fixture.
Basically all of these lights are made in China and you could get one right from the Chinese sent to your door for 1/3rd of the price of buying one from someone in the USA. My stand is that you need to deal with a USA based company at the moment for a few reasons. As MJ growers we need the highest quality lights, and most LED lights are more for lettuce. There is a certain configuration of the many variables that a local company can find and improve upon, whereas the Chinese and direct importers just rely on what the manufacturer thought is the most cost effective. But just because they're in the USA doesnt mean they're good, all you have to be able to do is build a website and they will just drop ship the same lights right from China (some even pretending like they're out of stock once you order.)
They take care of warranty issues as well, which can be a bitch shipping your light to China and finding out they pro-rate the warranty after the first year. I also suspect that they can cheat you as an individual since your not going to be inspecting quality like a business would--things like slightly cheaper parts inside. The LED market is changing rapidly and it might even be safe to order some of these fixtures, but I'm still skeptical of a lot of lights that have come out of China recently.
So far I've tried the Blackstar fixtures from Gotham Hydro (the 240w is really a 130w) and they don't have the flower power as the Diamond Series from Advanced LED does. They work but you can tell the buds could be doing better. To compare, the buds can be right up on the Blackstar, whereas if they are within 18" inches they will start to bleach under the Diamond Series. You can tell the Blackstar is built to lower standards. Advanced covers warranty issues quickly with overnight shipping, sometimes even before they get the broken unit. Gotham needs to verify the issue, and take their sweet as time. It was about 3 weeks total without the light in the flower area when mine broke.
The cost is actually not that much more when you compare it to power draw, or $/watt(actual). The idea is that you want to make as even of a light canopy as possible. Spread the lights out evenly instead of a single source. The profile (light footprint) on those UFO's are round, and your working in a square. So 4 or 5 with one in the center.
I started with that size area and figured that two 400w Diamond Series from Advanced LED would be best @ $1000 each. After seeing what the one does I'm just waiting to replace a few Blackstars. I'm in a 4x8 now but plan on using just 4x6 with three 400w DS.
Your veg tent doesn't need to be as large as the flower area. The plants tend to grow much larger when placed into flower. About half the space is needed. And much less light is needed as well. Even the crappy lights can usually do alright in veg. The Diamond Series lights have 2 switches and you can use half power for veg if you want to use the same lights/area as flower.
You'll be able to get more help at the IC Mag LED forums.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
 Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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kiss_the_sky03
Stranger
Registered: 07/28/12
Posts: 6
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
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Re: led lighting for 4x4 tent [Re: phychotron]
#643824 - 11/05/12 04:47 AM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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Appreciate it! I had read good things about the blackstars. I'll look into the Diamond Series. I'll check out the led forum too 
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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The blackstar is the better of the cheap stuff, but still doesn't quite pump out the light as well as you'd want. It will work but I think the plants take longer under it. If you just need an LED at the cheapest price stick with the 240 (ask them for a $20 lower price also) and don't buy any more of them. They have no heat sink, so the larger the fixture the hotter it will run, and that reduces the life of LED's drastically. The life expectancy of 50,000 hours is only when its run at proper temp/specs. Just a few degree difference can cut the life of the diodes in half. Their short warranty should be an indication of their quality.
I had a '500' (240watt) that burned out a row of lights and had to send it back. I replaced it with two 240's so that heat concentration would be less of a problem, but they don't have a heat sink either.
Again, if you just need herb and LED is the only practical solution and don't care that it's not going to be the best, most productive light then sure, it will probably cover the herb costs on the first grow or two. But if your going to want to get the most out of it, you'll be disappointed that you spent so much on them.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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Re: led lighting for 4x4 tent [Re: phychotron]
#644460 - 11/06/12 11:12 PM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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chemdog day 36 in the foreground, afgoo behind it (cant see very well), back row of lemon ice, grapegod (from seed, 7 wk veg) to the right day 36, and front right grapegod (clones, 2wk veg) day ~17.
Closeup of the Grapegod.
Over the lemon ice i have 2 blackstars, then the 400w DS, 2 more blackstars, then a 300w fixture running with half the lights out next to the 180Extreme Flower. They can do the job, but the areas under the 400DS is showing the most prolific growth.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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owngrown
cultivator of herb
 
Registered: 08/02/11
Posts: 277
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
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Re: led lighting for 4x4 tent [Re: phychotron]
#644663 - 11/07/12 08:04 PM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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