LEDgardener

I’m new to the forums here. I am looking for the best lights for an 8x8 area. So I was thinking x4 4x4 footprints. I am aiming for 800+ PPFD across the whole canopy.

I saw the article on 4x4 DIY build with 301b which is
14x Samsung LT-QB22A 4’ strips
1 MW HLG-480H-48A driver

I dont know if that would meet the PPFD I am looking for and I can’t find anyone that has tested that build yet. And of course it’s not the only build I’m interested in. What do you all reccomend ?

welcome to the forum first off

best lights depends on your needs.. so a few questions for you..
are you flowering only? or a veg n flower under same lights??
are there walk ways or you filling whole thing?
are you trying to do it on a tight budget? or are you aiming for top end with all the goodies??
last what are your diy skills?? do ya want plug n play simple?? or are you comfortable with fabricating frames/ heatsinks etc??

that Q strip build would be pretty close to the 800 ppfd.. since our host made that guide they came out with another lm301b strip.. the h influx strips https://www.digikey.com/products/en?FV=ffecf8a8 they only come in 2' so far... but a 2x4 modular style build could work better over 4's in your space.. more adjustability if one plant wants to stay short or stretch super tall over all the rest...

there's tons of options depending on what you want/need keep asking questions and reading thru here... there's info everywhere and everything!
again welcome...

In the spydrx series Fluence promises a ppfd of 800 using 345w in a 4x4, and a ppfd of 1500-1700 using 650w in a 4x4. The power per sq foot in these models ranges from 21.5w to 41.25w. Please note that these fixtures are designed to be run very close to the canopy.

The lower power model is designed for environments without co2, and the higher power model for a co2 supplemented grow. The standard builds LedG has prepared usually aim for around 30w/ sq foot, so it should reach/ surpass 800ppfd. Naturally the final ppfd figures will depend on fixture height and wall reflection, and it will be hard to get the light close to the canopy if you don't have enough strips to keep light even.

https://fluence.science/technology/spydr/

unkle_psycho wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:00 pm

In the spydrx series Fluence promises a ppfd of 800 using 345w in a 4x4, and a ppfd of 1500-1700 using 650w in a 4x4. The power per sq foot in these models ranges from 21.5w to 41.25w. Please note that these fixtures are designed to be run very close to the canopy.

The lower power model is designed for environments without co2, and the higher power model for a co2 supplemented grow. The standard builds LedG has prepared usually aim for around 30w/ sq foot, so it should reach/ surpass 800ppfd. Naturally the final ppfd figures will depend on fixture height and wall reflection, and it will be hard to get the light close to the canopy if you don't have enough strips to keep light even.

https://fluence.science/technology/spydr/

Thanks for the reply. These lights are impressive but they are also very expensive at $2.50-$3.00+ per watt
I don’t have a set budget so I could get these if I wanted but I would rather save a few $ by building the same or, similar or even better light fixture. None the less these Fluence lights would be awesome in a commercial setting. I would rather DIY using strips and or QBs. I’m leaning towards the strip builds that LedG has prepared or similar. Have you seen any PPFD testing done on these builds at all? That would be key data I could use to determine exactly what I’m going to do.

Aloha & If you are not using CO2 anything over 600 umol/s-1 m is overkill.

Marine2143 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 21, 2018 3:55 pm

Aloha & If you are not using CO2 anything over 600 umol/s-1 m is overkill.

There will absolutely be a CO2 system in this room

Jolly Green Giant wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 21, 2018 6:08 am

there's tons of options depending on what you want/need keep asking questions and reading thru here... there's info everywhere and everything!
again welcome...

Thank you for the warm welcome

My room size is actually 12x12. I’m leaving a nice amount of space for reservoirs / tanks / all the other equipment and of course a path to walk through. I could do 100% of the room but I’m just being sensible right now as I could add more later So I figure 4 4x4 footprints for now.

So essentially all I need to do is come up with 1 4x4 build and make 4 of them (or 8 2x4 modular like you suggested). Or I could do some testing with multiple builds and test different lights side by side using the same genetics to determine which lights work the best. I love your idea of 2x4 modular builds so I think I will go this route and build 8

I am 100% into fabricating / diy. The only thing I would need a little help with is the electrical math/ physics equations to determine what drivers to run and how I should run the wires P x S. All of the sourcing , cutting , screwing , welding , soldering , wiring is fun for me

I am not on a tight budget however I hate overpaying for anything. I don’t need ALL of the bells and whistles and if I could cut costs somewhere where it would not effect the performance of the lights then I will absolutely do so. I want great lighting and a broad spectrum. I am aiming for functionality and I just want them to do the best they possibly can for my plants.

I would be using these lights mostly for flowering however if I can test them for veg too I will do that but the main focus is on flowering. I’ decided to make 3 different builds and compare them side by side in 4x4 footprints lit by 2 2x4 lights like you suggested. Also as you brought to my attention, the H influx could be a great choice. I think I want to build x4 2x4’s for half of the room and then try 2 other builds for the other half of the room for some testing. One 4x4 corner will be qb96elites and the other corner is TBD (and yes I will post results here amongst other forums).

So now If im going to use the H influx strips to light 8x4 we are going to need 4 2x4’s. What driver would you all recommend per fixture ? 240w? 320w? How many 2’ strips per fixture if I was going for 240 and how many for 320 and which drivers would I use ? I do not need remote dimming.

So far we are going to have a 4x4 ran by 4x qb96 elites in 1 corner (driver and how hard we run them will be determined after the other builds are designed) and likely a 4x8 of H influx on the other side for comparison. What would the community like to see as the 3rd LED for testing in action (I would like to do another strip build to side by side with the H influx after I get them built ofc)

Please give me some input! Feed me your knowledge! Thank you and thank all of the community in advance !

Aloha & Greengages has a nice recent build for 320W high output strips with red 660nm added. Osram has nice light engines with numerous spectrums with uv, blue, red, and far red at reasonable prices.

Aloha & Osram is doing great work on red and far red LEDs and spectrums. ( 2.1 to 2.6 umol/j).

Marine2143 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 21, 2018 5:13 pm

Aloha & Greengages has a nice recent build for 320W high output strips with red 660nm added. Osram has nice light engines with numerous spectrums with uv, blue, red, and far red at reasonable prices.

Ahh I actually watched that full video yesterday. Those are some nice strips.