Lighting solution: Quantum board LED's vs manufacturer LED grow lights

[hydro91]

Dear 420magazine community,

After quite some time away and contemplating a lighting solution I'm stuck with a lighting solution I should choose.

Looking for pro's and con's of the following lighting solutions.

Manufacturer LED grow lights (Black dog, Mars hydro, California lightworks ect)
Quantum board LED grow lights (DIY, Pre assembled ect)

I'm leaning towards the quantum board LED grow lights and from a previous conversation with a member here he seems to think that they're 50% more efficient in regards to overall plant growth and quality. I trust his judgement but wouldn't mind some more opinions.

I have a 5x5 grow tent and I'm looking for a PPFD of at least 800-1000 everywhere in the tent as recommended by members here on the forums which will give me maximum photosynthesis. Really eager to get the tent setup but I want to make sure I have my lighting solution perfected prior to germination and my grow as the seeds I have are some very expensive ones.

I have nothing but time on my hands hence all the questions I ask.

To my knowledge 4x of these Mars hydro quantum board led's would give me the PPFD of 800+ everywhere in the canopy which is what I require but I'm sure there's a way to build or buy cheaper and higher quality quantum board led's.

Any suggestions, Opinions and comments are highly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and I'm looking forwards to all the responses.

 

[Old Salt]

Whether you use manufactured or DIY, you need a large light to get relatively even wall to wall coverage. I went with an eight COB DIY array for a 2' X 4' (60 X 120cm) tent. I also have the Mars Hydro TS-2000s in both configurations. Any way you do it, expect to pay at least $750 USD for the coverage you want. You would need four Mars Hydro TSL-2000s, TSW-2000s, or SP-250s. Two TSW-2000s, and one TSL-2000 would approach what you want. These are the low cost manufactured solutions I'd recommend.

If you look at NextLight's Mega Core par map, advertised to have a 5' X 5' coverage in flower, you'll notice that the coverage at the walls is far less than the center. You'll find this for any single fixture. This is why I recommend multiple smaller lights for any grow area, rather than one big powerful fixture.

DIY can cost as much or more than manufactured lights. You can get the coverage you want. I suggest configuring these as multiple smaller fixtures so that you can independently control their height when growing multiple strains.

Regardless of what you buy, get something where you can easily adjust the intensity. This will allow you to grow strains with different lighting needs, and save money when you need less light (think seedling and early veg). You'll be able to drop the lights to within 6" of a seedling and turn the power way down.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Budget is a big aspect here

That's a large space.

I'm 100% on QB lights. The new Rspec with red look fantastic and I'll be getting some bds when they are available

I've done diy QBs for my 4x4 tent for about $430 ish

The same manuf built is probably around $600. Mine is tailored to my tent, and I still have 2 bds I'm gunna add to mine to get me over 600w, closer to 800

 

[bluter]

dollar wise you can't beat a diy cob or board build for intensity, adaptability, and end product

some of the newer gen pre-builts are getting close, but you'd have to spend about 30% more overall to match what you can do with the same dollar in a diy. added advantage of a diy is you wind up knowing more about how these things work and why.

 

[hydro91]

Thanks for the replies everyone,

So the general consensus is Diy QB leds will cost me approximately the same if not more than a manufacturer built led. I suppose MARS hydro will be my best option here for maximum coverage and penetration providing a minimum PPFD of at least 800+ everywhere in the canopy.

The new mars hydro QB led's may be the way to go. I'll do some research on the new R spec and see what advantages they could provide but if anyone could summarise briefly what the advantages of they would be that would be greatly appreciated.

Looks like mars hydro will be the go then.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[hydro91]

Just a question regarding the mars QB led's the tsw 2000 vs the tsw 3000.

If I purchased 4 of the 2000's I wouldn't get 800+ PPFD every square inch of the canopy.

I'm just looking at the PPFD test now and at 1.5x1.5 it's only around 500

So yes the corners would be 1000 or so PPFD but the inner parts wouldn't be 800+ would they?

Or am I missinterpreting the chart?

I believe there is an overlap and you add the PPFD onto where it overlaps.

As long as 4x tsw 2000's would give me 800+ everywhere at least I'd settle on them.

I would have though 4x tsw 3000's would give me 1000ish everywhere in the canopy which is what I need for maximum photosynthesis and quality product.

 

[CADBOY]

Personal opinion here: I did DIY my own led and its works great, its actually kinda over powered for my space. But it did cost more then I originally planed. In hindsight I could have went with Quantum boards and likely been slightly happier overall. Only due to easy of use "not having to build it myself" and it would have been cheaper lol

 

[Old Salt]

Just a question regarding the mars QB led's the tsw 2000 vs the tsw 3000.

If I purchased 4 of the 2000's I wouldn't get 800+ PPFD every square inch of the canopy.

I'm just looking at the PPFD test now and at 1.5x1.5 it's only around 500

So yes the corners would be 1000 or so PPFD but the inner parts wouldn't be 800+ would they?

Or am I missinterpreting the chart?

I believe there is an overlap and you add the PPFD onto where it overlaps.

As long as 4x tsw 2000's would give me 800+ everywhere at least I'd settle on them.

I would have though 4x tsw 3000's would give me 1000ish everywhere in the canopy which is what I need for maximum photosynthesis and quality product.

I went through the calculations for multiple COBs and LEDs. The results are here.

 

[bluter]

added up my numbers, just built this for aprox $1100 cdn which is $850 ish US...

12 cob 600 watt real draw mix of 3000k and 3500k. picture is at 10% intensity.

it's in about a 4 x 4, just a bit under. a site sponsor recommends using 3 less pots for a 5 x 5. serious overkill for the space.

full disclosure : i bought most of this stuff a few yrs ago. i padded the estimate a bit to compensate. pricing may have headed up since. still an example of what you can do. same money on diy qbs would probably produce an even more powerful light.

 

[Old Salt]

added up my numbers, just built this for aprox $1100 cdn which is $850 ish US...

12 cob 600 watt real draw mix of 3000k and 3500k. picture is at 10% intensity.

it's in about a 4 x 4, just a bit under. a site sponsor recommends using 3 less pots for a 5 x 5. serious overkill for the space.

full disclosure : i bought most of this stuff a few yrs ago. i padded the estimate a bit to compensate. pricing may have headed up since. still an example of what you can do. same money on diy qbs would probably produce an even more powerful light.

That's pretty much the same as the price I paid per COB:

DIY Eight COB Array for 2' X 4' Tent​

Description                                   Qty      each   SubTotal
CLU048-1216C4 3000K 80CRI                      8    $ 13.00    $104.00
thermal tape                                   8    $  0.30    $  2.40
Ideal 50-2204CT + Ideal 50-2100AN + Reflector  8    $  4.60    $ 36.80
Pre-drilled heatsink (163mm)                   8    $ 15.00    $120.00
Wago 222-412                                   5    $  0.40    $  2.00
MW HLG-240H-C1750B                             2    $ 55.00    $110.00
Shipping cost                                  1    $115.00    $115.00
Charge by PayPal(3.8%)                         1    $ 18.62    $ 18.62
Subtotal Shenzhen KingBrite Electronics Co Ltd                 $508.82 USD / $682.22 CAD
Import Taxes/Duties                                                          $ 24.89 CAD
Aluminum 3/4" Angle & flat bar for frame                                     $ 18.57 CAD
Replacement for pan head screws                                              $  7.11 CAD
50KΩ linear taper potentiometer                                              $  3.99 CAD
Knobs for potentiometer                                                      $  4.69 CAD
Cable Tie Mounts                                                             $  5.06 CAD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total:                                                                       $746.53 CAD

That's about $560 USD.

 

[bluter]

That's pretty much the same as the price I paid per COB:

DIY Eight COB Array for 2' X 4' Tent​

Description                                   Qty      each   SubTotal
CLU048-1216C4 3000K 80CRI                      8    $ 13.00    $104.00
thermal tape                                   8    $  0.30    $  2.40
Ideal 50-2204CT + Ideal 50-2100AN + Reflector  8    $  4.60    $ 36.80
Pre-drilled heatsink (163mm)                   8    $ 15.00    $120.00
Wago 222-412                                   5    $  0.40    $  2.00
MW HLG-240H-C1750B                             2    $ 55.00    $110.00
Shipping cost                                  1    $115.00    $115.00
Charge by PayPal(3.8%)                         1    $ 18.62    $ 18.62
Subtotal Shenzhen KingBrite Electronics Co Ltd                 $508.82 USD / $682.22 CAD
Import Taxes/Duties                                                          $ 24.89 CAD
Aluminum 3/4" Angle & flat bar for frame                                     $ 18.57 CAD
Replacement for pan head screws                                              $  7.11 CAD
50KΩ linear taper potentiometer                                              $  3.99 CAD
Knobs for potentiometer                                                      $  4.69 CAD
Cable Tie Mounts                                                             $  5.06 CAD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total:                                                                       $746.53 CAD

That's about $560 USD.

you are running better dimming and a newer better 3000k cob.

that's a sweet build salt.

 

[hydro91]

This just gets me super keen to get my grow tent setup and spend money on a wise investment.

I've got some incredible seeds to plant, Not sure if links are permitted to seed banks but if they aren't I apologise and a moderator can edit it out.

-Strawberry cough
-Sour diesel
-Grandaddy purple
-Northern lights
-Durban poison
-Jack herer
-#1 skunk
-Gelat o.g

Was planning an indoor grow, Would you guys say 4x mars hydro tsw 2000 would do my 5x5 tent really well especially with a fully organic grow medium?

Mars Hydro TSW 2000 Full Spectrum 300W Dimming LED Grow Light

TSW2000 is one of our best-sellers as home-use LED grow lights, perfect lighting solutions for 4-8 plants. Affordable price, intuitive yields, and available dimmer and daisy chain function ensure its salability. Wattage - 300w Veg Coverage - 4'x4' Flower Coverage - 3'x3' The overwhelming...

www.mars-hydro.com

As I was saying I'm hoping to achieve a PPFD of 800+ at least everywhere in the canopy.

 

[HugePeckerhead]

This just gets me super keen to get my grow tent setup and spend money on a wise investment.

I've got some incredible seeds to plant, Not sure if links are permitted to seed banks but if they aren't I apologise and a moderator can edit it out.

-Strawberry cough
-Sour diesel
-Grandaddy purple
-Northern lights
-Durban poison
-Jack herer
-#1 skunk
-Gelat o.g

Was planning an indoor grow, Would you guys say 4x mars hydro tsw 2000 would do my 5x5 tent really well especially with a fully organic grow medium?

Mars Hydro TSW 2000 Full Spectrum 300W Dimming LED Grow Light

TSW2000 is one of our best-sellers as home-use LED grow lights, perfect lighting solutions for 4-8 plants. Affordable price, intuitive yields, and available dimmer and daisy chain function ensure its salability. Wattage - 300w Veg Coverage - 4'x4' Flower Coverage - 3'x3' The overwhelming...

www.mars-hydro.com

As I was saying I'm hoping to achieve a PPFD of 800+ at least everywhere in the canopy.

the tsl series are great lights too.

 

[Old Salt]

This just gets me super keen to get my grow tent setup and spend money on a wise investment.

I've got some incredible seeds to plant, Not sure if links are permitted to seed banks but if they aren't I apologise and a moderator can edit it out.

-Strawberry cough
-Sour diesel
-Grandaddy purple
-Northern lights
-Durban poison
-Jack herer
-#1 skunk
-Gelat o.g

Was planning an indoor grow, Would you guys say 4x mars hydro tsw 2000 would do my 5x5 tent really well especially with a fully organic grow medium?

Mars Hydro TSW 2000 Full Spectrum 300W Dimming LED Grow Light

TSW2000 is one of our best-sellers as home-use LED grow lights, perfect lighting solutions for 4-8 plants. Affordable price, intuitive yields, and available dimmer and daisy chain function ensure its salability. Wattage - 300w Veg Coverage - 4'x4' Flower Coverage - 3'x3' The overwhelming...

www.mars-hydro.com

As I was saying I'm hoping to achieve a PPFD of 800+ at least everywhere in the canopy.

Seedsman is a sponsor so the links are permitted.

The four TSW-2000 should provide the results you want.

 

[Old Salt]

the tsl series are great lights too.

They are, but the TSWs are a better choice for a 5' X 5' tent.

 

[hydro91]

They are, but the TSWs are a better choice for a 5' X 5' tent.

Yeah my thoughts exactly. Because I could have 4 of them with each one optimally covering 5x5 with PPFD overlap.

I've got a gorilla grow tent too.

Very tempted to buy the lights and get this setup. I'm eager to put in 4 plants and them being.

Grandaddy purple
Northern lights
Strawberry cough
Sour diesel or Durban poison unsure yet

I know durban poison are a bit more of an advanced strain to grow but I'm sure everything above would really love the light source and the organic growing medium.

 

[Nunyabiz]

For a 5x5 I would build two 2x4' lights using Photoboost Strips.
They will give the most even coverage of any type of light.
They are 2.7 umols/j and will easily give 900+ PPFD evenly across the canopy.

Cost for 16 strips, 16 heat sinks, 2 drivers would be around $800 total.

 

[Old Salt]

You'll need to keep an eye on your plants. Some like more light than others. Sapphire Scout gets light burn at intensities other strains need. This is one reason I like multiple lights in a grow area.

I also like 'serially monogamous' tents, with all of the plants of the same strain for a grow. This can be important if there's only one light. It is important if they share an automatic watering system for a drain to waste hydroponic system. All the plants will have the same nutritional needs. My last grow was three strains, all with different requirements and was a real PITA to water three times per day.

 

[Elevated Lighting Company]

Dear 420magazine community,

After quite some time away and contemplating a lighting solution I'm stuck with a lighting solution I should choose.

Looking for pro's and con's of the following lighting solutions.

Manufacturer LED grow lights (Black dog, Mars hydro, California lightworks ect)
Quantum board LED grow lights (DIY, Pre assembled ect)

I'm leaning towards the quantum board LED grow lights and from a previous conversation with a member here he seems to think that they're 50% more efficient in regards to overall plant growth and quality. I trust his judgement but wouldn't mind some more opinions.

I have a 5x5 grow tent and I'm looking for a PPFD of at least 800-1000 everywhere in the tent as recommended by members here on the forums which will give me maximum photosynthesis. Really eager to get the tent setup but I want to make sure I have my lighting solution perfected prior to germination and my grow as the seeds I have are some very expensive ones.

I have nothing but time on my hands hence all the questions I ask.

To my knowledge 4x of these Mars hydro quantum board led's would give me the PPFD of 800+ everywhere in the canopy which is what I require but I'm sure there's a way to build or buy cheaper and higher quality quantum board led's.

Any suggestions, Opinions and comments are highly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and I'm looking forwards to all the responses.

We offer some solid LED board grow light kits (we won't use the QB description because its trademarked in the USA). You will also achieve the PPFD your are looking for with 3/4 of our red spec 250w kits in your grow space ($270 right now). All our lighting features top bin diodes from Samsung, Osram, or Cree. We also have plenty of DIY customers that do custom builds similar to below. You could get your PPFD requirements with six of our boards.

 

[Pbass]

Well here I go again...from the land of the cheapo penny pincher, you can really get some good quality off brand stuff for way less. I'm overfilling a 2x4 with a 240w dimmable rspec QB, cost me $210 shipped from China in 6 days. Say what you will about my circumvention of the middle man, I got an amazing light for pennies on the domestic/name brand "manufacturers'" dollar.