Color temperature

[XaVier 129]

Hey guys

i'm new to this and am starting to plan a diy build, I think I have got got most stuff figured out but one thing I am not sure about is what color temp to go, I see tons of different advice on web from 3000k to 5000k to mixes of them and am not sure whats best.

any advice?

[blushy]

3000K 90 CRI is whats up. Saw a few threads with head to head grows of diff. temps on RIU and 3000/90 killed it

[LEDG]

3000K 90 CRI is whats up. Saw a few threads with head to head grows of diff. temps on RIU and 3000/90 killed it

Hey Blushy. Agreed, 3000K and 90CRI is hyped right now. I saw that Rahz thread and one other one, and the results are pretty compelling.

Welcome to the board, Xavier. You can't really go wrong with color temperature. I've had success with 3000K right through to 5000K. Some people like to mix spectrums as well, to cover all the bases.

[bvolt]

I'm with you on 90 CRI @ 2700K (for better red, but but not total photons.

What's the new thought on 3000K @ 90 CRI?

X: for some context, 90 CRI LEDs put out a "truer" spectrum, but at the cost of total light output. For a start-to-finish light, 3000/3500K 80 CRI have been "the standard".

It's a weird time to be getting interested in this, as there have been some huge innovations just in the past few months, but bottom line... pretty much any mix of color temps at either CRI will produce a superior light to anything you'll buy in a store,

Unless Fluence / HLG or ChilLED has opened a retail shop...

[XaVier 129]

Thanks guys, Is it better to have a fuller spectrum or more output?

[bvolt]

"Better" is difficult to quantify. Some people use one light for seedlings, one for veg and a different one for flowering.

What do you need your build to do for you?

[XaVier 129]

True true.

I want one light to grow right from seed all the way to the end, without having to switch cuz i'm lazy.

[HellaFella]

I'm VERY satisfied with my 4000k COB's.

Look at the spectral output of your desired COB and compare that to the photosynthesis action spectrum. The boost in the "blue" region is huge compared to the "drop" from the red spectrum when you get away from 2700-3000k

[LEDG]

Hey fella. I also ordered all my 561C strips and QBs in 4000K. We'll see how they pan out.

[LEDG]

True true.

I want one light to grow right from seed all the way to the end, without having to switch cuz i'm lazy.

I'd just stick with 1 temperature right through the whole grow. If it were me, I'd try 3000K/90 since I've already got a number of lights in higher color temperatures. Everything I've used has performed well but it's always fun to try something new.