It does, I have one red/blue mars hydro 300 and the buds on the plants under that are always denser.
so 2 King’s would be better than the 450 Kind LED ?
@steve2
I’m not saying the king is better than the kind
Kind makes awesome lights just out of my price range
I agree with the full spectrum. However you also have to understand that full spectrum means a light provides from one end of the spectrum to the other. It doesn’t mean that the light hits the peaks within the spectrum. So one full spectrum light isn’t necessarily the sane as all full spectrum lights.
Cfl’s are easy comparison because everyone is familiar with them. They’re pretty much all full spectrum, as is most white light. However the most common are 6500k which is heavy in the blue light provided and very light in the amount of red, and 2700k which is exactly the opposite. Hence the reason you see cfl growers switch them with their light cycle.
Led lights are no different. There are a lot more options in the led world though. Whites are available in 1750k to something like over 8000k. Because of different phosphor used, one 2700k may have more or less red than one from a different manufacturer. So it can be a little tricky getting exactly what you want. It’s best to do a lot if research. For most white led you’re looking for around 3500k to go from start to finish. Some are better at 4000k.
As far as the “blurple” lights go, you should be looking for around a 4 red to 1 blue ratio for start to finish growing. More red will typically give you a little more stretch, and more blue won’t typically maximize the bud swell and density.
So taking the viparspectra lights, they are heavy in blue. It’s not hard to tell, look at the amount of blue diodes, then reference the spectral graph. Makes sense right? That makes these an excellent light for veg stage. They’ll absolutely still produce nice harvests, but you can definitely improve them by adding a more red heavy light source while in the flowering stage.
@dbrn32
100% brother
You have to research Lights till you find the best spectrum coverage for your budget and realize which ever lights you choose by the time the big brown truck shows up your lights are technically obsolete
Yea I have read that height can be an issue with with kind led’s because of their power -
thanks !! understand -
Actually, there is another journal on here with a kind light that malfunctioned.
Not to say that things can’t go wrong with anything reputable. But I didn’t feel that kind treated the grower very well. I feel like they should stand behind their product a little better than they did in that instance.
Normally, you get what you pay for. I’m sure most kind owners are thoroughly happy. The issue with led lighting is just like you said, technology changes daily. Kind is a big name, that spends a lot on advertising too. So I kinda wonder how much they spend on r&d and testing too. There are a lot of small companies out there that put more information out about their lights. Even YouTube videos of testing and 3rd party test data. Kind tells you how great their lights are, and gives you the data they want to. I seen a list of the commercial lights ranked by par per dollar, kind wasn’t even in the top 10. Take that for what it’s worth, I’m sure they will still grow a nice plant.
interesting point - think I am more confused - will do more research - really don’t know what light to purchase - money is no issue - if you were to purchase a LED which would you purchase ? Peace !!!
If money is no issue I would build my own Super LED lol! Ask @dbrn32 and he can tell you.
I have some viparspectras and roleandros. I’m still on my first grow but one thing I like about the vipars is that there’s a bloom and veg switch. This will allow you to get just your blues during veg (and also save some watts) in the process. I’m using my roleandros for flower just to cover some gaps and my plants seem to be responding well. If you can afford to get both, then I would recommend it. But If I had to choose just one I would get the viparspectra because of the flexibility.
Based on the info from manufacturer data, you are using those particular lights exactly how I would.
Glad you are having good results!
@steve2 are we still talking about the 3.5’ x 2.5’ room? Also, for veg, flower, or full cycle?
If you plan on running a sog, scrog, or have any other method you like to follow let me know. The more info will make it easier to determine best options for you.
If you don’t mind doing a little work, you can definitely build your own aa ktreez420 said.
sound’s good - what do you think of using CFL’s (500 waters) as side lighting with led’s. this will not mess with their (led’s) spectrum right ? the 600 Viparspectra has “switches” was considering but heard that they have more blue than red llight spectrum therefore will streach very good but in flower may influence buds’ - thought’s ? your total cost of units ? grow room size?
like grow LST with some defloliation no topping - but was/will consider scrog if purchasing an Kind Led - (K3 L450) seem they need at least 2 feet of light distance thru grow. (only 8 ft ceiling). As fro building ? not for me just now - but seem a good way to get the right # led’s So cost really no issue - at most 4by4 grow room*8ft celing) - full spectrum - with cfl’s for side lighting ( the new Kind :LED bars look great but cost is 129.00 per bar - would need four at least - input ???
Well I always liked what kind brought to the table. Lately they seem a little lax on customer service, and there are better performing lights for the money.
Should be lots of options for a 4x4 seed to harvest. The light I would typically recommend here is out of stock, so let me take a look at a couple Web pages.
I hear you on building your own, it’s not for everyone. No worries though, you can get the same style of light plug and play. Just costs a little more.
@steve2 go check out timber grow lights. Select framework, these are their pre built cob fixtures ready to hang and plug in. On the 2nd page you will see a few options for 4x4. The vero 600 is a decent value. It’s very similar to the plc-6 that I would normally recommend, but $100 more. The cree and citizen options are little more even light coverage and a little more electrical efficient, but it’s also several hundred more. Either light should come with a ready to use dimming function.
Another option would be to check out the hlg 550 over at horticulture lighting group. @MAXHeadRoom has a diy build of this light and I’m pretty sure he’s running a journal if you wanna check that out.
The cob and quantam board technology is pretty much the latest currently offered in led horticulture lights. You’ll probably want to select 3500k color temps if you plan on going seed to harvest with same light, most of them will hit the peaks in red and blue light or very close.
If money wasn’t an issue, that’s where I’d be. Please let me know if you have any particular questions.
@steve2
So what most people are forgetting that on top of being more energy efficient then HPS the new LED lights are putting out more protons of light then the old LED technology. I think the epistar LEDs give out 0.8um/moule/joules whereas the new Quantum boards are putting out 2.4um/moules/joules. So for every 1 proton of light that hits your plant my light is putting out 3 protons of light. And as we all know that’s what drives photosynthesis and makes your plants grow.
So technically you would need 3 store bought lights to equal the light energy that my light puts out.
As always results speak for themselves and my plants are growing at a tremendous rate with the new light. I can tell you I will never buy one of these cheap LED lights again. They are just a waste of money.
Don’t get me wrong these lights will grow weed but you are losing a lot of yield with the lower level LEDs. I have heard max yields with Chinese lights is 0.5 grams a watt. If you get more than that you are doing good. The new COBs are getting 1 to 1.5 gram per watt and the quantum boards are getting 1.5 grams per watt. Do you really want to leave 1 gram per watt on the table to save a few bucks.
I will stop rambling now. You get what you pay for plan and simple.
I have been using two 800 w King Plus for nearly two years. I retired them to just for seedlings and early veg last summer cuz they just had to be so close to work well they weren’t good for flowering for me. They worked better in a small tent but were very pink.
One stopped working on half the lights so I replaced them both with Mars 300s and there is a huge difference in the amount of light output. When I took down the King lights I looked at the cord and where it connected to the fixture it was dry rotted all the way up the hot side of the plug and the pin in the socket on the fixture was worn down to barely a nub of metal left. I looked at the other and it was exactly the same. I am amazed they didn’t start a fire.