I currently have one Mars 600-120 LED and the outcome is fair. I harvested One northern lights auto flower today with an estimated dry weight of 3 ounces (wet weight was 12.5 oz.) Typically I’m getting 1.5 ounces per plant and I’m not complaining but I think I could get a bigger yield if I either buy one more of the same or purchase something a little stronger.
I definitely want to stick with LED’s. I’ve had this one for nine months and I’m a little unfamiliar with all the different brands out there.
Suggestions on a step up from what I have? or add one more 600-120? It’s in a 3x3 tent. I grow 2 Auto’s at a time.
Thank you in advance for any feedback.
If you’re happy with the Mars 600, hey, stick with it and just buy another one… In a 3×3 tent, it will be just fine …
Hoping that’s helping you @Jpositive,
~Al
If you want the best LED lamps available, look into COB LED systems.
We are getting ready to offer COB LED systems with custom size frames at a cost of $100.00 less than what is offered on the market for standard kits. Let me know if you are interested. lw
Advanced ex-oil LEDs are insane. They’re expensive and I wish I just bought the good stuff at first.
What i have figured out about Led- lights - Been almost a year since i switched from HID to LED and found the folowing for sure to be true
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Quaility of light does matter - But Price does not - just because it is priced high does not make it a great light? Go with the feedback from other growers, COB, Mars and Vipar seem to be well respected in the area or indoor growing.
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I have would not buy any LED light under 900 Watts - Remember you really have no clue what the true watts are at the plant
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I find light moving rail to be required with Led lights - They do not have the power to blast down to the bottom of the deck and with the light moving back and forth really makes a huge difference in plant growth
LED yield = 18%-25% less then High pressure lights - However energy saving costs brings it down to around 15% less then other methods - I have grown the same strains for years, Using the exact same protocol every run. You definalty get less. I switched to deal with the heat issues, it is nice to no longer have to run a mini split system at full just to cool the rooms
**Tricks i have learned -
A. keep the light 8" off the top of the plant on a rail system always moving - With it moving and fans you will not burn
B. Accent your room with Single Bulb 4’ florescent lights (I like the T5’s Light and easy to move around) - This secondary light source really makes a difference - Adds that little extra that will boast yields
C. Do not forget (Like me) to up your air movement - You will be losing the heat but you still need the Air movement took me 3 runs to figure this out - Very common to overlook that now because you lost all the heat
D. You will also use less water = Less nutrients= less work = Save in cost of grow - I use CoCo and have found only need to water 2 times a week now, Due to the less heat factor
E. I like the dual switch LED systems - Veg and Flower - Mainly cuz im lazy as hell and like being able to stop them growing up and switch them to grow wide - then back to up - Then wide, Etc-
f. You will most likely need to double the amount of lights you have - LED do not cover a lot of square feet vs Bulb systems with reflectors -
Hope this helps
Thank you everyone! I love the fast responses I get on ILGM.
I will look into the COB system, then either go with that or get another Mars.
I do have one more question. Let me know if I should start a different thread because this is off topic.
A question I’ve been wanting to ask for a long time:
I’ve been growing over a year now and all with the help of ILGM. I think I have a pretty good set up, two gorilla tents (3x2.5) in two different closets. One veg, one flower.
The question is, is it that important to have my tent zipped all the way up? As you can see in pictures below I always keep the tent halfway unzipped so that I have cool air circulating. I have a carbon filter, intake and exhaust fans but they are powerful and suck a lot of electricity. And my temps will get into the 80’s…maybe I don’t have it set up right.
Let me know if I should post this in a new topic, or if you see anything in the pictures that could be done differently to help.
I would say zip it unless you aren’t worried about the smell in your house.
I don’t think it’s necessary to zip all the way. You may lose some reflectivity, humidity and some CO2 (if you’re using CO2). There’s an increased risk of contamination but as long as you’re not smoking a ton of cigs or like welding or something in the same room then it shouldn’t hurt anything.
Your setup looks great. I’m trying to switch to something similar so I’m jelous
Meizhi are awesome, reflector series has daisy chain veg and bloom switches ect less than 100 bucks for the 450w I believe and it looks awesome. That would be my choice If I could go back in time