Light selection

[Daddio68]

Hi all

Second post as a newbie here..

Looking for some help on light selection
Looking at a 3’x3’x6’ grow tent

3 light I’m looking at are:

1. Phlizon newest 1200w (~252w draw) 199$
2. Aglex 2000w full spectrum (~408w draw) 299$
3. Mars TS quantum 1000w (draw ~150w) 180$

Which would be my best go to? Or is the more preferred in this price range!

Input appreciated!

Cheers
Daddio

 

[No Pain]

i recommend spectrum king cc140 ...spectrum king is all I use ..3x3 is its recommended flowering space ...I just finished one plant in a 19x33x48 text yielding 150.2 grams …. in my main I use their 402's and 602 models .

 

[Stunned]

Mars TS is NOT a Quantum

 

[farside05]

Mars TS is NOT a Quantum

True, but they use Quantum on Mars website so he's just repeating what is written.

@Daddio68 I don't think the TS 1000 is gonna be enough light in bloom. I'd consider the TSW 2000 instead. You want about 300 true watts in a 3x3 (assuming mid power diodes and full spectrum/white LEDs). I built my own using strips before there were an abundance of offerings. It cost me $400 at the time. Now you can get something similar for a little over half that (the Mars TSW 2000 is $249). If you're gonna spend any extra cash anywhere, spend it on lights. It will have the biggest effect on yield.

The other 2 choices are "blurple" lights and not what I'd call full spectrum. The sun has sailed on that style of LEDs.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hi Daddio68, if budget is enough, TSW-2000 will be better for you option, it can cover 4x4 area during veg and 3x3 during flowering perfectly. TS 1000 is good for 3x3 during veg and 2x2 during flowering.
Compare to the other brand quantum board, we add the reflector circle, which will ensure the par output even stronger. If you have the normal ones, you can do some compare, I am sure your plants will love the design.

ts 2000

• Mars Hydro
• May 30, 2019

 

[Berulakide]

My advice is get as quality as possible. If going amazon i went with phlizon cree cobs. I have pics and videos if you search the 3000w cree cob i am cannabisconcentration great price for what they are. It is 630w actual power. They have 0ne with only 4 cobs that is lower to mid 400w range I think.

 

[Skunks]

Hecendia 16+

 

[Kicknitup1]

Hi, What would be a good choice for a 2x4 tent? Anybody like phlizon cree cobs 2000w or
BESTVA DC Series 2000W? or are there better choices? Gee whiz, I didn't expect this much drama.

 

[multiVortex]

Hi, What would be a good choice for a 2x4 tent? Anybody like phlizon cree cobs 2000w or
BESTVA DC Series 2000W? or are there better choices? Gee whiz, I didn't expect this much drama.

The Phlizon aren't terrible, although with a 4x2 you are kind of in between models.

That "2000w" light would probably rock a 4x2's socks a bit with 450w from the wall, but that's not a bad thing.

However, at a $299 price tag, for that same amount of money you could get a @BudgetLED quantum board setup that would do the space extremely well and draw less juice.

Series 2+ Full Spec 250 Watt Dimmable Grow Light

Our Series 2+ Full Spec 250 Watt Indoor LED grow light is designed to be the ultimate full cycle light. Each kit utilizes 2 of our custom designed & truly full spectrum LED boards with Samsung LM301B, LG UV, Osram Blue 450nm, Osram Deep Red LED 660nm, and Osram Far Red 730nm. This unit is...

www.budgetgrowlights.com

Or you could get two of these:

Series 2+ Heatsink Free Full Spec 120 Watt Grow Light

Our Series 2+ Heatsink Free Full Spec 120 Watt Indoor LED grow light is designed to be the ultimate full cycle light. Each kit utilizes 1 of our custom designed & truly full spectrum LED boards with Samsung LM301B, LG UV, Osram Blue 450nm, Osram Deep Red LED 660nm, and Osram Far Red 730nm. This...

www.budgetgrowlights.com

With two separate lights, you have the ability to move them as far apart as you need to ensure you get as uniform coverage as possible. That's really the key goal overall. A PPF of 800-900 from corner to corner, and side to side. (Without CO2 supplementation.)


Most home growers don't need 1500 PPF in the middle that backs off to 500 in the corner of a 4x4 tent. I have yet to see very many lights that can create such an even spread. There are a few of course, I have one in my 4x4 tent. I'm low to mid 900's in the very center, but only drop to just under 800 in the very absolute corner. Within a couple inches from that corner, I'm up over 800 again.


I really wish that same light was available as a 4x2 size. Wouldn't take much. The light is hinged in the middle so they could probably save on some cost there.


Back on topic, for a 4x2 and looking at spending $300 you have some nice options. If you can/want to bump it up to maybe $500-ish, you have some extremely nice options. However, I don't think you necessarily have to do that.

Take a look at the Budget LED's, or also a look through LED Grow Lights Depot (look at their 3x3 or about 9sqft section) and see what's what.

If it were me, I'd probably look for a 3-board quantum board layout. A tick much at full power for a 4x2, but turning down the juice a tad isn't a bad thing. With 3 boards you should get more even coverage, and dialing it down a notch should let you keep it fairly close to the canopy as well.

 

[Elevated Lighting Company]

We offer some excellent grow lights that are very comparable to HLG. We do not use the term "Quantum boards" though. HLG owns the trademark to that and we do not want to infringe on patent laws.

As Multivortex pointed out, our kits are great and feature Samsung and osram diodes. For the money and components, it is really hard to bet them for the price.

We are also based out of Michigan and our lights come with a three year warranty. If you have any specific questions please let us know.

 

[Kicknitup1]

The Phlizon aren't terrible, although with a 4x2 you are kind of in between models.

That "2000w" light would probably rock a 4x2's socks a bit with 450w from the wall, but that's not a bad thing.

However, at a $299 price tag, for that same amount of money you could get a @BudgetLED quantum board setup that would do the space extremely well and draw less juice.

Series 2+ Full Spec 250 Watt Dimmable Grow Light

Our Series 2+ Full Spec 250 Watt Indoor LED grow light is designed to be the ultimate full cycle light. Each kit utilizes 2 of our custom designed & truly full spectrum LED boards with Samsung LM301B, LG UV, Osram Blue 450nm, Osram Deep Red LED 660nm, and Osram Far Red 730nm. This unit is...

www.budgetgrowlights.com

Or you could get two of these:

Series 2+ Heatsink Free Full Spec 120 Watt Grow Light

Our Series 2+ Heatsink Free Full Spec 120 Watt Indoor LED grow light is designed to be the ultimate full cycle light. Each kit utilizes 1 of our custom designed & truly full spectrum LED boards with Samsung LM301B, LG UV, Osram Blue 450nm, Osram Deep Red LED 660nm, and Osram Far Red 730nm. This...

www.budgetgrowlights.com

With two separate lights, you have the ability to move them as far apart as you need to ensure you get as uniform coverage as possible. That's really the key goal overall. A PPF of 800-900 from corner to corner, and side to side. (Without CO2 supplementation.)


Most home growers don't need 1500 PPF in the middle that backs off to 500 in the corner of a 4x4 tent. I have yet to see very many lights that can create such an even spread. There are a few of course, I have one in my 4x4 tent. I'm low to mid 900's in the very center, but only drop to just under 800 in the very absolute corner. Within a couple inches from that corner, I'm up over 800 again.


I really wish that same light was available as a 4x2 size. Wouldn't take much. The light is hinged in the middle so they could probably save on some cost there.


Back on topic, for a 4x2 and looking at spending $300 you have some nice options. If you can/want to bump it up to maybe $500-ish, you have some extremely nice options. However, I don't think you necessarily have to do that.

Take a look at the Budget LED's, or also a look through LED Grow Lights Depot (look at their 3x3 or about 9sqft section) and see what's what.

If it were me, I'd probably look for a 3-board quantum board layout. A tick much at full power for a 4x2, but turning down the juice a tad isn't a bad thing. With 3 boards you should get more even coverage, and dialing it down a notch should let you keep it fairly close to the canopy as well.

Thanks for the input. Which lights have the 3 board set up? Is 2x4 an odd size to work with? Not stuck on that. I thought that would be an easy configuration to work with. Still would like this under 300.

 

[multiVortex]

Thanks for the input. Which lights have the 3 board set up? Is 2x4 an odd size to work with? Not stuck on that. I thought that would be an easy configuration to work with. Still would like this under 300.

I wouldn't say 4x2 is an odd size, no. BUT, and I cannot stress this enough, there are 2 places you shouldn't skimp on your budget, IMO. a) Lighting. b) Tent.

Now, I say this because if you start off down the wrong path it can cost you much more in the long run. I'm a firm believer in doing it right from the start, and if it's a hair more to start, but cheaper in the long run, then going ahead and making the investment/commitment.

Back to the tent.

You can get an $80 tent off of amazon. It will work, but it also has a lot of drawbacks for that price point.

a) in a 4x2 they are usually only 5ft tall. And honestly, 60" isn't a lot of room to work with. You may think, "well 5ft is a pretty tall plant!" Yes, but think this through. Your plants roots won't be under the floor. So starting with 60", subtract the height of your growing container. Typically those are 8"-12". So now you're at 48". Next, the distance of the light from the canopy. Typically for LED's it's 24", so may be a tick lower. Now we are down to 24" of growing space. See how quick that 5' gets ate up?

b) Canvas strength/durability. The cheap tents use much thinner material (600D or less) and will wear much quicker as you move it about.

c) Lower quality reflective material. It still reflects well enough, but not what the good stuff will. Probably 20% less, give or take.

d) Strength of poles is significantly less.


I just ran into this problem myself while building a new 4x4 grow space, or almost did anyway. Why? I thought I could scrape by with a tent that was 1/3 the price of what I should have bought. (Narrator Morgan Freeman: "He couldn't.") By the time I add the weight of my lights, the fan, and the carbon filter, plus extra gear, it was just about to the weight capacity of the tent ceiling. Not something I wanted to trust, and another member that is building a very similar setup actually did get his stuff hung and the poles were bending slightly. This is before adding to the issue with negative pressure from running the exhaust. So what did I do? Bit the bullet and bought the right tent. What's the end result? I wasted $110, kind of. I have it, so I won't let it go to waste. However, I didn't need a second 4x4 tent, and could have done just fine without it. However, now I'm going to try and make it work in some sort of fashion so I'm not completely wasting the money. Lesson learned.

I also have a 4x2 that is.... yep, 5ft tall. However, It's for short stuff and the likes, and for that it's fine. It will probably become my mother space, and I'll put in just enough light to maintain them in a healthy state.


Right now, LED Grow Lights Depot just started a 10% off sale on Gorilla tents. With their already low prices, that brings it down to about:

- 4x2: $220
- 3x3: $235
- 4x4: $290

Too bad I ordered Monday night, and it was only 5%. Go figure!


All of those tents are going to be 6' 11" out of the box, AND they come with a 1' height extension. You can also buy a second 1' extension if you're lucky enough to have the ceiling space where you're growing.

With the numbers above in the 5ft example, we ended up with about 24"-30" of available plant height. With the Gorilla, you would have at minimum 47" of vertical space for the plants height. Much easier to work with.

Their poles are also much stronger (I've personally watched a 180lb guy do pull-ups from the ceiling bars), and the material is almost 3x as thick/strong at 1600D.


So which of those tents would be best for you? This is where you fine tune things to get to that number.

With your light budget being around $300, you will want the 4x2 or 3x3. You would need to get into the $500 range for the 4x4. You could in theory get the 4x4 and just use half the space, but you will lose some PAR value from the reflective wall being farther away. Not as much as no reflection, but still a sizeable loss.

The goal here is to match the space to your light. As for which one is better overall, it depends. You will probably get (on average, depending on grow style/method/blah blah) 2-4 plants in either one. Bigger = less. If you ran a SOG method, you could fit more, for example. If you do a long veg SCROG, then 2 would be it, or maybe just one in a 3x3.


In order to pick the tent, we need to pick your light. Have a look around these sites and see what you can find


LED Grow Lights Depot:
Great site, great service. Erik is fantastic and a joy to talk with. They have many quality brands to select from, and cover many budget ranges. The link below is to their page for 3x3, or "about 9sqft", which includes a mix of lights good for 3x3 and 4x2. You can kind of tell what is what by the shape, but have a look and see if anything is interesting. They also have excellent prices on the Gorilla Tents, as a reminder.

3’ x 3’ (or about 9 sq ft)

Top #1 LED Grow Light Retailer for Home and Commercial Indoor Grows! Shop Over 40 Premium LED Brands. Free, Discrete Shipping in the USA. Since 2014. Order Today!

www.ledgrowlightsdepot.com

Budget LED:
Budget LED is also excellent, and I've referenced them above. Same still applies.

Products

Elevated Lighting Company engineers and builds the highest yielding LED grow lights for hemp cannabis in the USA $ for $. Based out of Hemlock MI, We also offer a wide range of nutrients, soils / growing media, and gardening supplies at an affordable price. Fast Flat Rate Shipping - $14.99 -...

www.budgetgrowlights.com

Mars Hydro:
Finally, you can have a look at Mars Hydro. Specifically their TSW-2000, or TSL-2000 models. The "W" being for 3x3, and "L" being for 4x2.




Now, how do you compare lights? It's tough to learn, but once it clicks you're good. I'll save the dribble, but if you find a light that's interesting, let us know and we can help narrow it down.

Budget LED and Mars Hydro both offer discounts to forum members. Budget is a US company (Michigan, and is veteran owned), Mars is a Chinese company.

LED Grow Lights Depot is out of Oregon, and I'm not aware of an active forum promotion, but they are usually running a sale on something. (If you see a light that you like, check it's youtube video from the youtube page. They usually put a discount code in the video description area, and it may be more than what is on the site at the time.)

 

[Kicknitup1]

I wouldn't say 4x2 is an odd size, no. BUT, and I cannot stress this enough, there are 2 places you shouldn't skimp on your budget, IMO. a) Lighting. b) Tent.

Now, I say this because if you start off down the wrong path it can cost you much more in the long run. I'm a firm believer in doing it right from the start, and if it's a hair more to start, but cheaper in the long run, then going ahead and making the investment/commitment.

Back to the tent.

You can get an $80 tent off of amazon. It will work, but it also has a lot of drawbacks for that price point.

a) in a 4x2 they are usually only 5ft tall. And honestly, 60" isn't a lot of room to work with. You may think, "well 5ft is a pretty tall plant!" Yes, but think this through. Your plants roots won't be under the floor. So starting with 60", subtract the height of your growing container. Typically those are 8"-12". So now you're at 48". Next, the distance of the light from the canopy. Typically for LED's it's 24", so may be a tick lower. Now we are down to 24" of growing space. See how quick that 5' gets ate up?

b) Canvas strength/durability. The cheap tents use much thinner material (600D or less) and will wear much quicker as you move it about.

c) Lower quality reflective material. It still reflects well enough, but not what the good stuff will. Probably 20% less, give or take.

d) Strength of poles is significantly less.


I just ran into this problem myself while building a new 4x4 grow space, or almost did anyway. Why? I thought I could scrape by with a tent that was 1/3 the price of what I should have bought. (Narrator Morgan Freeman: "He couldn't.") By the time I add the weight of my lights, the fan, and the carbon filter, plus extra gear, it was just about to the weight capacity of the tent ceiling. Not something I wanted to trust, and another member that is building a very similar setup actually did get his stuff hung and the poles were bending slightly. This is before adding to the issue with negative pressure from running the exhaust. So what did I do? Bit the bullet and bought the right tent. What's the end result? I wasted $110, kind of. I have it, so I won't let it go to waste. However, I didn't need a second 4x4 tent, and could have done just fine without it. However, now I'm going to try and make it work in some sort of fashion so I'm not completely wasting the money. Lesson learned.

I also have a 4x2 that is.... yep, 5ft tall. However, It's for short stuff and the likes, and for that it's fine. It will probably become my mother space, and I'll put in just enough light to maintain them in a healthy state.


Right now, LED Grow Lights Depot just started a 10% off sale on Gorilla tents. With their already low prices, that brings it down to about:

- 4x2: $220
- 3x3: $235
- 4x4: $290

Too bad I ordered Monday night, and it was only 5%. Go figure!


All of those tents are going to be 6' 11" out of the box, AND they come with a 1' height extension. You can also buy a second 1' extension if you're lucky enough to have the ceiling space where you're growing.

With the numbers above in the 5ft example, we ended up with about 24"-30" of available plant height. With the Gorilla, you would have at minimum 47" of vertical space for the plants height. Much easier to work with.

Their poles are also much stronger (I've personally watched a 180lb guy do pull-ups from the ceiling bars), and the material is almost 3x as thick/strong at 1600D.


So which of those tents would be best for you? This is where you fine tune things to get to that number.

With your light budget being around $300, you will want the 4x2 or 3x3. You would need to get into the $500 range for the 4x4. You could in theory get the 4x4 and just use half the space, but you will lose some PAR value from the reflective wall being farther away. Not as much as no reflection, but still a sizeable loss.

The goal here is to match the space to your light. As for which one is better overall, it depends. You will probably get (on average, depending on grow style/method/blah blah) 2-4 plants in either one. Bigger = less. If you ran a SOG method, you could fit more, for example. If you do a long veg SCROG, then 2 would be it, or maybe just one in a 3x3.


In order to pick the tent, we need to pick your light. Have a look around these sites and see what you can find


LED Grow Lights Depot:
Great site, great service. Erik is fantastic and a joy to talk with. They have many quality brands to select from, and cover many budget ranges. The link below is to their page for 3x3, or "about 9sqft", which includes a mix of lights good for 3x3 and 4x2. You can kind of tell what is what by the shape, but have a look and see if anything is interesting. They also have excellent prices on the Gorilla Tents, as a reminder.

3’ x 3’ (or about 9 sq ft)

Top #1 LED Grow Light Retailer for Home and Commercial Indoor Grows! Shop Over 40 Premium LED Brands. Free, Discrete Shipping in the USA. Since 2014. Order Today!

www.ledgrowlightsdepot.com

Budget LED:
Budget LED is also excellent, and I've referenced them above. Same still applies.

Products

Elevated Lighting Company engineers and builds the highest yielding LED grow lights for hemp cannabis in the USA $ for $. Based out of Hemlock MI, We also offer a wide range of nutrients, soils / growing media, and gardening supplies at an affordable price. Fast Flat Rate Shipping - $14.99 -...

www.budgetgrowlights.com

Mars Hydro:
Finally, you can have a look at Mars Hydro. Specifically their TSW-2000, or TSL-2000 models. The "W" being for 3x3, and "L" being for 4x2.




Now, how do you compare lights? It's tough to learn, but once it clicks you're good. I'll save the dribble, but if you find a light that's interesting, let us know and we can help narrow it down.

Budget LED and Mars Hydro both offer discounts to forum members. Budget is a US company (Michigan, and is veteran owned), Mars is a Chinese company.

LED Grow Lights Depot is out of Oregon, and I'm not aware of an active forum promotion, but they are usually running a sale on something. (If you see a light that you like, check it's youtube video from the youtube page. They usually put a discount code in the video description area, and it may be more than what is on the site at the time.)

Thank you for taking the time to go thru this. That was a lot of info. You and Old Salt have been great. And no, I don't want this to get off on a bad start. After your analysis of tents, a good one will be bought. I think weak lighting at the ends can be avoided with the right setup. Maybe 2 smaller ones would be better. I really don't want to set up for frustration.

I helped a lot of people on here when not much was known about edibles with testing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate people helping me shortcut this learning curve. Hey, ever since I met Canyon, I've had a newfound respect for growers. People have no idea how much there is to know.

 

[multiVortex]

Thank you for taking the time to go thru this. That was a lot of info. You and Old Salt have been great. And no, I don't want this to get off on a bad start. After your analysis of tents, a good one will be bought. I think weak lighting at the ends can be avoided with the right setup. Maybe 2 smaller ones would be better. I really don't want to set up for frustration.

I helped a lot of people on here when not much was known about edibles with testing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate people helping me shortcut this learning curve. Hey, ever since I met Canyon, I've had a newfound respect for growers. People have no idea how much there is to know.

You're very welcome!


You are also right that there is a LOT of information to know in general. You don't always need to know the nitty gritty of it all, but there are still a lot of subjects to be at least familiar with. And that's before you even start growing.

You are absolutely right about light being weaker at the ends. Specifically in the corners. This can certainly be mitigated with 2 separate lights (like 2 lights that can cover 2x2 or 3x3 in veg in a 4x2 tent, etc.)


I'm debating that same thing myself at the moment.

For my primary tent, I have a 4x4 light. It's awesome. But with this changing setup, and having a second 4x4 available, I'm highly considering 2 separate lights. Either by keeping my alright-ish light from the 4x2 and adding another 4x2 light, or by getting 2 new lights that can cover a 4x2 or 4x3 area for flower.