Which TOP LED grow light for my small space? Sterilite cabinet grow at seedling/veg

[Buddy McNugs]

Hi all, I am currently building out my small cabinet for my first grow. I was going to I was going to do 8 23w CFLs for veg but think LED may be a better choice. I was going to do LED for flowering anyway, but I think I may buy a smaller LED for veg. I am using a Sterilite Storage Cabinet from Walmart that measures 26"(W) x 18"(D) x 36"(H).

LED Grow Light 100x3w - Mars Hydro - TOPLed 100x3w

or

Reflector LED Grow Light 48x3W - Mars Hydro - TOPLed 48x3w

Both are around the same price. The first one above says it is an older model 300w and the second is a newer model reflector but says 150w. Since the second is a newer model with reflector does that mean it may be as good or better than the other higher stated watts older model light? What does everyone think between those two choices? Anyone have any experience with either or advice on which would be best for my space. I am hoping to veg 3-4 plants and end with 2-3 in flower.

I would like to make the purchase by tomorrow morning, so any advice, experience, or comments would be appreciated.

 

[jummejum]

Re: Which TOP LED grow light for my small space? Sterilite cabinet grow at seedling/

Both panels are very great, and at a very attractive price.

Look around for nine44 he has done a grow using a single 48x3w reflector model, there's another user around here, cannot remember his name.

The reflector model is smart because it has to switches, so you're able to save some money during veg, but it's still a very small panel with only 48 diodes. I would go for the old 100x3w model if you're going to do 2-3 flowering plants. You might want to consider your growing method, neither panels will be good for normal growing plants. You'll need do to some lst/scrog/training to achieve a decent amount of grams.

Hope that helped you a bit, if not feel free to ask again, or have a look at the TOPLED thread in my sig.

BTW - Output power isn't comparable, you have to look for actual power draw.
Take a look at this thread. The Basics Of Plant Lighting

Actual power consumption.
How much light should I use?
The following is a MINIMUM light requirement for productive growth in the vegetative stage:
CFL: 42.25 watts per square foot
HPS/MH: 32.5 watts per square foot
LED: 22.75 watts per square foot

The following is a MINIMUM light requirement for productive growth in the flowering stage:
CFL: 65 watts per square foot
HPS/MH: 50 watts per square foot
LED: 35 watts per square foot

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Re: Which TOP LED grow light for my small space? Sterilite cabinet grow at seedling/

Hi, thanks for stopping by and for the advice. I will look for his posts and see if I can find out some info on them and will look through your sig link too. Your advice on the LEDs makes sense too, did not think about looking at the draw. I think I should have been more clear in my original post so I have clarified a little better below on what I am looking for.

I wanted to update my lighting question above, I am looking for a LED for only the Veg period. I will be using a different LED I get later for flowering and will also be flowering in a different taller cabinet. So I am trying to find out which of those two above are best for Veg. I would not be using it at all during flowering. So, if I got the one with the switch, I would probably not turn the flowering part on until late in Veg before going to flowering. This has me leaning towards the 100x3w unless someone advices otherwise.

 

[Antics]

Re: Which TOP LED grow light for my small space? Sterilite cabinet grow at seedling/

Your cabinet is a little short to comfortably grow using LED in my opinion. You want a little more wiggle room than a couple of inches.

With a 36" tall cabinet, a pot that will be about 12" tall, this leaves you with 24" total for your plant, led hanging distance, led panel thickness, and distance between LED and canopy.

18-24" is the suggested distance between the LED and Canopy in Veg. Your plant will be between 6-12" tall in Veg easily. The cabinet should be taller, if the light is too close it can damage/kill your plants.

I'm using that 100x3 light right now, and it's 30" away from my plant in Veg. Pot is about 12" tall, plant about 8" or so, Light hangs down about 10" etc..

You'll definitely want more space, but the lights are worth it!

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Re: Which TOP LED grow light for my small space? Sterilite cabinet grow at seedling/

Thanks for the advice, I had completely forgotten about including the distance from light to plants in my calculations. Was thinking they could be close like CFLs. Oh well, CFLs will be cheaper and quicker to set up. Maybe I will get a taller box in the future that I can use LED in. I hope 8 23w CFLs will work. I will check out your grow too, would love to see that LED in action. Thinking of maybe their Mars2 for flowering.

I have another question for anyone that knows about using CFLs. I read that when using CFLs for Veg, you want to get 6500k. I have looked at my local stores and have only been able to find 5000k CFLs. I assume these would work but just won't be as good as the 6500k? Is that right? Should I just go ahead and get those 5000k ones or keep looking around until I find the 6500k CFLs somewhere? Is it that big of a difference? This is only for Veg.

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Re: Which TOP LED grow light for my small space? Sterilite cabinet grow at seedling/

After doing some more research it looks like most say 6500k is better, but some say 5000k is better. Either way, I cannot find the 6500k bulbs around here for a good price so I am going to buy the 5000k ones to use during veg. Good news is I happened to find a couple 6500k cfls that I will mix in with the others so I should have a mix of about 6 23w 5000k cfls and 2 23w 6500k cfls. Maybe having the two different types will help.

Ok, now I am trying to figure out how to get my lights in the box. I don't really want to hang them since the whole thing is plastic and don't want to start putting screws in it. I am thinking of building a stand out of either pvc pipe or thin wood with legs on the left and right sides of the inside of the cabinet and a simple frame with a 2x4 connecting them at the top across the middle of the cabinet and attach the CFL power strip fixture to that. Anyone know of a simpler way? I will be using two power strips with 4 CFLs on each. I assume since a lot of the tents use PVC pipe that there wouldn't be a problem from me having exposed pvc pipe inside my cabinet, right? Anyone have experience or tips here?

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Re: Which TOP LED grow light for my small space? Sterilite cabinet grow at seedling/

I figured out how to hang everything up using the CFLs. I posted a follow up with pictures in my grow journal: Buddy McNug's First Grow - Indoor Soil - CFL & LED - AK99 - BB & Random Bag Seed 2014