To those who know LEDS

[lonewolly]

Ive got a mars II 1200 myself, and I am going to be upgrading to the P450 in January.
The platinum LED lights run cooler, use less electricity, and have a MUCH better spectrum of light. So while my 1200 is running like clockwork, Im replacing it.
The Platinum LEDs really are quite awesome. You can do a direct comparison between mars and platinum if you look up gov's grow.
He did a mars 700 grow, and is now doing the same strain under platinum.
GC's First Indoor Cabinet Grow

Interesting, he manged to pull a half pound, form two plants, with just the 700w topled. Makes me wonder if I could save the money and be just as happy? Also making me think about hydro, even though I want to keep things simple. This will never end will it? lol

 

[iGrowYouGrow]

do you have a link to a side by side grow between a p450 and a mars 1200? Same strain, same environment, same nutes, everything identical except the lights? I'd love to see just how shitty my Mars 1200 is compared to a Platinum light. If I got 40 gram buds the size of my arm, and 1 gpw off my TopLed light, I would love to see how much that could be improved upon with a Platinum light.

Here's a picture from your last harvest:

Just trying to wrap my head around this -- a 40g bud is 1.4oz, but those buds don't look quite that big? a 1gpw on a Mars1200 would be 600g, or almost a pound and a half -- that harvest looked more like 8-10oz max.

 

[jinn]

You have to take into account bud density. LEDs tend to produce VERY dense buds, this of course can be further improved upon with a few other methods. Like lowering the humidity to make the girls sweat sticky goodness (adds weight), back building is a pretty big thing for improving nugget density as well.
All that being said, grown under proper conditions, you can have a bud that looks like its 1oz, but in reality its 1 1\4 or 1 1/2oz.

 

[lonewolly]

I think, regardless of what the "best" is, most of y'all are pretty f'in awesome at what you do and that different techniques can be used to yield great results is what's so cool about this whole process. Allows for a little creativity, never a bad thing.

 

[Hiker]

well damn ravyn, checked out one of your grows and the topled's seem to serve you more than well! Still like everyone else you have one less powerful light for veg and a way more powerful for flower. Is the only reason you do this because you want to have multiple rooms? So like, lets say if suddenly that became not an option, would you just use the 1200 for veg too? Those plants you have there look mighty mighty fine, and from your little intro you seem to have started from the same position I am in now. Hopefully my road goes in the same direction!

I'd like to make a suggestion in regards to how you're approaching your project. Don't focus on plant counts. In fact, ignore it for the most part. It's about area. I can put 1 plant into a 4' x 4' area if I want, or I can put in 16. It just depends on how you grow. In your first post, you said you wanted 5-8 plants and 2 zips each, but in a 2' x 4' area. You probably won't get a pound from 8 sq ft. At least not initially. If you put 8 plants in a 2' x 4' space, and got a pound, that would be an amazing result.

A lot of folks use gpw as a yield measurement. That's not a bad one, but if you're trying to compare LED to HID, make sure you're comparing apples to apples (use actual draw #s). I prefer the gram/sq ft benchmark. If you just count how much yield per area of flowering, you are comparing apples to apples with ALL types of growing.

In general, I prefer more smaller lights spread out vs one huge light. If you want a flowering area of 2' x 4', you should get 2 lights that cover 2' x 2' each. 2 Mars II 400W would work, but there are LOTs of options out there.

I realize your head is swimming. If you're new to growing plants in general, you are trying to absorb a lot of information. This is a great resource. Take your time. Do your research. Understand why you are making the decisions you are making. I first grew cannabis in the 90's and I still learn everyday. One thing growing will teach you, if nothing else, patience.

Most growers will follow a path, similar to mine, of advancing grow techniques: bad dirt, better dirt, soiless, hydro. I've been working on regaining some of my soil skills back, but I still prefer hydro. Would I recommend you start there? Maybe. Depends on you. If you're a nerdy DIY type, then go for it. If you prefer to follow instructions, maybe soil is a better platform to start with. Whichever you choose, there are folks here that use the same techniques.

 

[Greg1968]

Platinum LEDs is the best led on the market right now as I understand it?
I'm looking myself new lights and I'm too old to understand what is good and bad nowadays
hahaha

for there will be new lights all the time so would appreciate if someone could tell me what to think about
and what is the best


TNX

 

[Hiker]

Platinum LEDs is the best led on the market right now as I understand it?
I'm looking myself new lights and I'm too old to understand what is good and bad nowadays
hahaha

for there will be new lights all the time so would appreciate if someone could tell me what to think about
and what is the best


TNX

Best by what measurement?

I've seen a lot of claims made on this thread about Platinum LEDs, but I have no personal experience with them.
I'd like to know what makes them the "best"?

I factor many criteria into what is the "best" LED for me. Price was one of my criteria. I went with TopLED when I replaced my HPS. I bought 2 of their 3w reflector style lights, and gave them a try. I was very pleased with the results, so I ordered some of the 5w Mars II lights. So far, I'm very happy with those as well.

Would another LED be "better"? It would depend on what your measure is. I'm sure there are lights out there that might increase my yield/sq ft, but what about the next order equation of oz/sqft/$? When you start comparing these lights, it's a lot like when people compared different HID/HPS bulbs.

Anyone else find it amazing how shockingly fast the conversation has changed from LED vs HPS to LED vs LED in just the last year?

If I had some other vendors' light, could I get a little more yield? Maybe. I doubt we're talking about a 10% difference though.

 

[jinn]

Best by what measurement?

Par
running temp
spectrum
coverage
switches on all the models.

There are five measurements where the Platinum lights beat out the Topled (now mars hydro)
As Ive said before, Im currently running the Mars 1200 in my tent, I'm happy with it. But at the time of purchase, had I known for a little extra I could have lights that through power savings (both from saved cooling/exhaust costs, and improved energy usage) and increased yield save me A LOT MORE, I would've bought Platinum from the get go.

 

[Greg1968]

it's a million dollar question


and as you say it has gone from HPS against LED light to Led against LED !


but it is interesting how things evolve nowadays against a few years back.

but the question remains what makes a good LED LAMP and who is the leader in LED industry.

 

[grossdoc]

I AM CLOSE TO A DECISION BETWEEN mARS ii 1200 AND pLATNIMUM 450











I am very close to a decision between Mars II 1200 and Platinum 450 to augment my 2 Mars I 300's in a 4x4 tent. Keep going back and forth but think I will go with the P450.

 

[grossdoc]

The last thread is from a year ago. Is the same things true as in the 2 pages of postings?

 

[JimmyIndy]

Looking at LEDs moving forward there will be 2 categories COB based and Mono Based.
The Best available mono fixtures IMO are anything Osram OSLON SSL80s then Cree XT and XP
The Best of the COB based would be Cree CXB3590 then Bridgelux Vero29.
COB has really come long ways in short period time due to coverage area and grower serviceability.
Being able to space COBs evenly across canopy is the best approach over the big/higher wattage fixtures