Lighting questions

Hey there, I’m just getting started in the grow show world and I’m looking for some lighting advice. I’m going to be stepping up from a 30"x30" tent to a 10’x10’ room. a “friend” of mine who is a little head of me is pushing hard for me to buy the iluminar il9x 1000w LED’s… now these are not cheap lights and i don’t mind paying the sticker price if they are the “best of the BEST” like he is saying.

How ever like i said I’m relatively new to this so i have some concerns and questions:

  1. how good are these light actually? (I’ve been unable to find much in the way of reviews)
  2. as a “novice” grower is there a better option or will these light help compensate for my inexperience?
  3. is there a more cost effective LED solution that i should go with? (I’m aware a $50.00 1000w LED light off amazon is not going to be as advertised but i can buy 4 decent 250w lights for less then this one at 1000w)

i guess at this point i should also mention i am an electrical contractor so the wiring and setup portion doesn’t really effect my decision.

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Welcome to the forum.

Let me say first off that there is no one set solution. There are a hundred plus threads on here that discuss lighting.
We normally have one thread that we journal our grows in and others comment. We do have chit chat areas. you have to look at the subtitle of the section to know.

And with that, a quick education in weed grow lighting. By the time you absorb this, you will have the understanding of how the light affects the plant and what you need for best results.
You will need a quantum light meter.

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so as im researching this more and more, ive narrowed my choices down to either the HLG-650R or the ROI-E720. any input or advice on which way i should go or is it all subjective?

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650r is a superior light. @automatik and @pptrsha1. Both use them and have great grows.

U would need 4 for a 10x10

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Hlg seem to be the top market lamp now. There are discount places like alibaba that sell similar setups.

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Take any one of these top end lights and reverse engineer. They pretty much all use the same parts, just assemble and cool differently.

This is one reason DIY is a great option. You can build an awesome rig for much less money.

For commercial pre-built, Fluence Spydr 2P is a great light :+1:t2:

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Let’s not forget the under canopy. That’s more surface area to put mols on for more THC production.

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Are you dead set on LEDs, or do you want to get the most bang for your buck? 1000 watt HIDs are dirt cheap and grow great plants.

For LED it really comes down to your long term break even point; invest a bunch of money up front and enjoy lower maintenance and save on operation and maintenance costs for the fixtures’ 5-7 year lifespan. To get a light to last that long and still grow great buds it needs to be a very robust fixture; glass lenses, IP rated, adequately cooled etc.

If you’ve got the time and skillset you might want to build your own LEDs to cover your space. There are lots of manufacturers who follow the same formula of a mixture of cool/warm white diodes with a few percent of red diodes. Get an appropriate driver, connect the LED boards/strips in series and hang it in your 10’x10’. The great thing about custom is that you can make sure it fits exactly what you need. I’d recommend about 40 watts from the wall of LED per square foot or canopy space.

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Just watched the video from Apogee instruments.
This guy does a great explanation in easy to understand analogies.
Wow, he debunks some myths, and introduces some new stuff I never thought about.

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@devjyarn hey guy! I always feel like no one wants the hps now. Lol. I love it. Energy consumption is high but output is amazing. Makes kill! Crazy terps profiles. There’s amazing growth with chm in veg. All the commercial i know run hids.

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I’m definitely not against hps, its just my buddy is telling me I will get very similar yields per/watt in wieght but leds produce nicer nugs , then of course come the much cheaper power bill.

A DIY light isn’t something I really thought of until it was suggested here. I’m quite capable of building one I’m just very new to this and worry that It wouldn’t be “optimal” for the plants

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Funny part is a quantum light meter costs as much as the light lol

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I can almost justify buying one given my profession.

I may take a look at building some custom lights… any suggestions on a supplier for the boards and drivers?

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A search for DIY LED grow light bars or boards should get you started. DIY LED Strip Build Designs for Samsung H-Series, F-Series, Q-Series, and Bridgelux EB Gen.2 - LED Gardener This site has some good designs and materials lists to get you started. I always wondered if something like suspended-ceiling metal bars would work to support the strips in a custom-designed room.

Lights are a huge part of growing top-shelf nugs, but so is everything else in the environment. Have you started to consider your cooling and dehumidification needs?

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Considered yes made a decisions on no where close yet… I live in a very dry climate so im hoping dehums won’t be as nessisary.

my plan was to build the room and get some clones going and see how it went from there, in terms of humidity.

As for cooling after im done choosing lights i was going to start into climate controls a little deeper

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I use RapidLED and Digl-Key to source all of my parts :v:t2:

Growerslights.com sells great Sammy board DIY kits.

My main grow zone is 4x4 and I use two 300 watt rigs I built. Can easily pull 1 gram per watt with a good photoflower :+1:t2:

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How do those lights stack up against Migro Aray, or Fluence?

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Dont know that one, but home built is almost always better.
Lets ask someone that should have a better idea.
@Slym3r, @MrBlue, @LoCoRocK, @pptrsha1

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These guys are already out of my wheelhouse. I rely on them in times like these. I just sit back and pretend like I am absorbing it. Lol. Some times I get way lost. Lol. For real I do try to soak up as much as these guys are willing to share.

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Isn’t @dbrn32 over here to? He’s a diy lighting guru. Been building his own for quite a while now.

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