i really hope I‘m not de-railing your thread tooo hard but trying to give a good led input/review since I 100% switched from hps/hid to led’s, gradually from 25% led’s and gradually to 100% in flower room and also compared many tech of led’s. never could go back and than some
leds for veg?
%100 yes but like everything the light strengeth's and how you run ur environment make or break ya
For me i currently use quantum boards and also cob vero 29 led’s for even seedlings and clipping and also use in my flower room 100%.The key is proper ppfd aka proper light stengeth and what the plant needs at its cycle.
reason I still use cmh for “2nd stage” of veg sometimes ( once in party cups/1 gal) is mainly for additional heat in winter cause without cmh I would have to use electric heat and the watts vs that light would def be costly. otherwise I would be 100% led’s even in veg room too ( exp since I can dim and no replacements ) . in my flower room when they are still under veg stage, is key is like everything mentioned above that the plants can’t Intake anymore than their limits. So point is u need to know by dim % what ppfd/strengeth light is presenting. It’s worth dimming them gradually down ( vs fixed watt and no dimmer) and also know when the plants want that and also when to add co2 but also adjust such.
the tech and everything about led’s as long as you get good brands and are depending on ur grow no matter what size. I recommend making sure you get right brand and make sure it’s what u want at the end of the day. For example I thought price makes a huge part and since they were so popular they must be a winner for me ( a lot love em)….. but I made a huge mistake not realizing led strips for my growing method of wanting to work (so many hrs, like de-leafing, hermie scanning, Ipm) under the led’s but also foliar spraying. having strip versions was a horrible way for me but would be great for a tent grow or if they were doing multi level short plants and wasn’t doing their grow like me. i liked over lapping led’s and higher canopy ( 24-30 inches on my leds vs strips 6-10 inches ). If your not depending on being under the canopy and also the led’s aren’t in ur way, strips are nice for a perfect 4x4 or w/e but since I use so many led’s to over lap that issue wasn’t a problem once I choose that route vs having strips ( sold my 4 spydrx and replaced with qb’s)
just like hid , I liked that aspect of overlap lighting but the pro’s of led made it better for true spectrum intake per watt ( huge % of a hps is waste and not intaked) , heat reduction. Plants def less stressed form the heat and also major environment control was at least for me way easier to dial down. For me that’s a game changer! I can’t imagine if you didn’t have really tall ceilings and fans everywhere plus hvac to really get those non air cooled or de’s to be worthy vs this current nice branded led’s. shit a round or two paid for mine and even for safety I love knowing the led’s def have a step behind having a fire vs a open bulb hid.
just saying before buying pick the best brand for ya and what ur enviroment demands cause worst thing I did was buy a 1,500 (4) and I hated em whole time, but I also think if people don’t kind stri[s it would of worked fine. All about seeing those mistakes before it happens, reason why I didn’t is because I saw so many commerical and growers using em at 20-30 inches where it really needs to be at 6-10 for most strips.
brand suggestion! Option1
HLG= I love their quality .. plain and simple , A+ Built product and costumer service is prime and I would back the, anyday. use promo code “dude” for 10% off any led on there. Look at refurbished if you want a huge discount and they also back their led even if used for 1 year. all my qb’s I got from hlg were refurbished and even thou 1 was u mounted they without even checking it sent me a new one and a shipping coce to sent the “broken ” back without making me pay for the shipping. go hlg!
Premiere high end indoor gardening LED grow lights for hobbyists & professionals looking to remove HPS & lower electricity costs by 60% while increasing yields.
horticulturelightinggroup.com
option 2 led brand and also same level of costumer support and A+ products quality all around! back em anyday and know anyone using the, will be super happy and if something has issue these companies both will back but also make sure they are satisfied .
Timber LEDS
High quality LED Grow Lights built in the USA using top quality components. 3 Year Warranty, high PAR/PPF output, low heat, close canopy operation, silent no fans, dimmable operation.
timbergrowlights.com
ppfd , spectrum and plant demands via light related:
How much PAR does my marijuana or vegetable plant need to maximize harvest? Find out the minimum PAR value you plants need before you buy a grow light.
420expertguide.com
goal for most plants in flower at highest ppfd is 800-1000 (500 ppfd in veg max) around whole map of SOG , before investing in expensive meter look up on ur phone for a app called Photone . Cheap and free for non led meter and it def can tell ya a good estimate if your way off or need more light ( remeber a lot of spectrum u can’t see vs plants )
The grow light meter app to measure PAR / PPFD, DLI, lux / fc, or Kelvin with your iOS or Android phone. Including PPFD meter and DLI conversion for plants.
growlightmeter.com