LED full spectrum

[Revid]

Got a question about full spectrum leds. I bought a 5000k led thinking it was full spectrum cause it said 5000k and daylight but after doing some reading Iam not sure. Can you have a 4000, 3500 full spectrum? Tying to get something setup for my veg room. Thanks in advance

[TEKNIK]

Full spectrum should have a range of 400nm to 700nm.
Most manufacturers claim full spectrum, most manufacturers are liars

[Capt. Saicin]

Full Spectrum usually just means "white" light, so no monochromatic LED chained together to form white light but one phophor-coated LED delivering a "full white spectrum" (as far as i can tell...).
The Temperature (Kelvins, refering to black body temperature) is just telling you whether it's more blue-ish or red-ish.

[Revid]

Thanks so should I pay attention to the nm numbers? If so what exactly is that? What should the numbers be for veg and then for flowering? Looking at some Mars and Spiderfarm LEDS and trying to pick the better one.

[Capt. Saicin]

There are no clear-cut easy answers. Plants react differently to different compositions/ratios of spectrums, mostly blue/red/far red. (See: Photomorphogenesis, Phytochrome and Cryptochrome)
Even per species there can be different responses to ratios per cultivar. (data has to be gathered/validated via experiments for each cultivar)
Responses to the same spectrum also vary by other factors, ie. humidity, temperature etc. (see: DIF-Greenhouse-Strategy)

What I'm aiming for: The spectrum influences the morphogenesis of plants, which morphogenic properties you want is up to you and is also dependant on what grow environment you have. Choose wisely
Considering this: Spectrum doesn't really matter as there is no "better".
BUT: They better have some far-red (730nm +) in the mix (BUT: not for all plants and purposes!)

Best way is to read stuff yourself to get a feel. I recommend using Google scholar to search for scientific papers and go from there. Also there are some free horticultural courses/powerpoints from universities on the net.

[Revid]

So bottom line ,what should I look for in a LED light ? I know there are no definite answers but there must be some ranges that the “light” should fall in between

[TEKNIK]

It comes down the amount of money you are happy to spend. If you want something cheap like a Mars then they are ok for a year or 2 maybe.
If you pay more for electricity then you may want to invest in something more efficient.
DIY is far cheaper and better if you have the time to do a build.
So many options now and you have to make the decision in the end.
I feel that true full spectrum from 400nm to 730nm is the best but it comes at a high price.

[Revid]

Thanks Teknik, yeah forsure it comes down to the dollar. Someone once said “ money isn’t everything but it’s next to air” lol.. would be interested in the DIY thing. Do you know of any links to build? Have you done one yourself? If you were to recommend a light (s)that won’t kill the bank what would it be? Thanks for the help

[ATPinMotion]

What size is your grow space?

[TEKNIK]

Cheapest way to build lights is to use bridgelux strips. I recommend 3000k for flowering and if you can get 3000k Cri90 it's better.
One issue with bridgelux strips is you need alot of them to keep your efficiency high.

The wider version of the cree strips Cutter sells are good value also. The cree strips can be driver harder and they have an aluminium pcb so heat isn't as much of an issue.
I think Cutter are doing a strip now that uses one of the Chips I developed to add near UVA into the mix if you want a true full spectrum.
They will be a bit more expensive than the normal ones though.