Best light for a 2x4 or 4x4?
- Thread starter trueblu8
- Start date
Hiddenjems
Well-known member
Big difference. A 4x4 is twice as much area to light as a 2x4.
Youre probably better off defining "best" a little better. What are you after? Is your climate hot or cold? Do you have any hanging height restrictions?
I Care
Well-known member
@trueblu8 I’m back to give you some experience based guidance
i am not aware of your region but you should get the viparapectre xs2500pro to start you up If they are the most affordable light in your region like I find in the US on EBAY. It’s the most PAR efficient light for entry level and is intended for 2x2 and 4x4 configurations. I appreciate the fact that the driver has enough cable to be installed outside of the grow space. They did all the hard work of determining how to balance wattage per LED diode and efficiency before they engineered this light. It’s not the best light period, but you will resuit’s. It’s the light I use in a 20x36. The best use for them is to use one of the a 2x4 or 3x3 and two of them in a 4x4 and have good results. 5x5 would probably work with three of them in a triangle.
I practiced with this light for two runs now and its working height/distance through growth is between 10in/25cm to 30in/75cm. That really only gives you a canopy depth of about 20inches with one light but with an array or two lights in a 4x4 you could increase that working depth in the center of the grow space to maybe 40in/1m below the light.
The main thing with this is that these lower end LEDs have the dimmers but they have a high diode count. This means they run most efficient in the upper 30% the power level so its Really the last two notches on the dimmer you’re going to be using.
They have an LM301B grow light also for similar pricing which can be run at a wider dimming range. That is at the sacrifice of diode count and size and there is also no extra cable for installing the driver outside of your grow space If you’re battling heat/humidity. But this light is more powerful in terms of w/diode and would also do a job, espescially in array Would provide a deeper working depth in the canopy.
300 bucks worth of lighting will get you going, if you have the extra couple hundred bucks there are higher quality and serviceable options if you look up manufacturers.
Look in the growroom forum section and look for lighting. There’s a lot about it And a thread dedicated to LED and bud “quality“ would be the search term.
growmore15
New member
most of the better light companies do not make anything for a 2x4.
for a 4x4 the least expensive DLC Listed light I know of is the FloraFlex 700w. but if you want to go high end we can talk about some lights. ThinkGrow, iLuminar, Fohse, Flexstar, Gavita are some of the top lighting brands used by commercial cultivators.
where are you?
for a 4x4 the least expensive DLC Listed light I know of is the FloraFlex 700w. but if you want to go high end we can talk about some lights. ThinkGrow, iLuminar, Fohse, Flexstar, Gavita are some of the top lighting brands used by commercial cultivators.
where are you?
OleReynard
Well-known member
If you're in colder climates during the winter the HPS can't be beat for additional auxiliary heat.
I like to run at night when the furnace is set down and this hps helps greatly
I run a 600w hps in a 2 x 4 x 5 and dial it down to 75%
I like to run at night when the furnace is set down and this hps helps greatly
I run a 600w hps in a 2 x 4 x 5 and dial it down to 75%
Listen to @OleReynard the temps in winter will totally screw a grow in LED. You need high temps to run LED especially for the root zone if you are in coco. It does ok in pure hydro due to increased available oxygen but coco led and cold are a bad mix.
trueblu8
Member
Chicago. I have heard of Fohse and Gavita. What about Grandmaster LEDs or HLG? They both have a 2x4 size light. Also Hortibloom Mega Optic seems like a nice light.
trueblu8
Member
Do you have a link?
trueblu8
Member
6 ft tall AC Infinity tent in a basement. It's pretty cool down there.
OleReynard
Well-known member
I'm in Minnesota used to live around quad city's in Illinois and still.used hps
With LED you will need the inlet temp to be 85F. You wont get any heat off the LED. Can you keep the ambient temp in your planned area where you are putting the tent? If not look at HPS. I have no experience with CMH but could be option. Its a super tiny tent eitherway not much difference in power usage.
OleReynard
Well-known member
Heated floor tile also excellent if you go to led
trueblu8
Member
trueblu8
Member
A buddy of mine recommended a Gavita HPS. But I was wondering if that would get too hot for a 2x4 or 4x4 tent, even in a cool basement. Is there a big difference between HPS and LEDs?
I have 2-(2x4) tents. I run SpiderFarmer in one and MarsHydro in the other. Both lights provide excellent grows for me. The MarsHydro gets a bit warmer. But the LEDs don’t give much heat if you live in a cold area…
trueblu8
Member
A buddy of mine has this. He does HVAC and installed them himself. Will weed in a tent stink up your whole house even with carbon scrubbers?
you just need an exhaust fan. Any cheap digi hps/mh combo ballast and a 400w dimmeable will work for that size and expandable to almost a 5x5 in reality if you just use a vertical hanger. Get an HPS bulb with added blue spectrum, like old hortilux, I think viagrow or someone sells similar now. Exhaust fan and carbon scrubber. Run at night lights on in winter too but keep the room dark if you do.
trueblu8
Member
I was thinking about doing the same thing, getting two 2x4 tents. You know I wanted to get a high-end light like an HLG Diablo or Grandmaster LEDs Tarantula Torch. But I must admit those Mars and Spider Farmer lights are quite impressive. I like that they even have a digital display which a lot of the higher-end models do not have. And I like that the dial is in the middle facing you when you open the tent.
