Hello all,

I'm looking to get a new light for my vegging tent and have narrowed it down to either the Solarflare 200w (Vegmaster) or going with the Quantum Badboy T5 (as lots of people say good things about them). I'm just trying to find info on how the 2 lights compare in terms of vegetative growth?

I've been searching online to try and find comparisons between HO T5's vs LED's that are made specifically for the vegging but am not having much luck. There was one thread on here with a guy comparing a SS800 with the Badboy T5 but he never ended up completing his journal.

Anyway, does anybody on here know of a good comparison between Badboy T5's and the Solarflare 200w Vegmaster? (or any other LED that is made specifically for vegging)? I'm just trying to see if blue spectrum dominant LED panels will really out perform the hot rodded high output from the Quantum Babdoy T5 light.

If anybody has had experience with these 2 lights or has any pointers or advice, please do share!
thanks a bunch!

Most of the quantumhort sites that Yahoo Search uses have been blocked by tinyurl due to spam which says volumes about the company. If they have to spam it to sell it...it must be crap. See for yourself: Yahoo search for Quantum Badboy T5 and then try one of the quantumhort sites:

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Regardless, I wouldn't bother with fluorescent lighting for anything more than cloning, if that. Even Jaffid's unfinished journal put the badboy in last place before he quit updating.

I can't really say anything about the SF200w Vegmaster because I've not used it and we haven't had veg specific journals completed with it but i assume it's as well made as the rest of their line and the company has a great reputation for customer support. I've seen really good veg results here from LED, veg might be LED's strong suit.

So are you saying that most of the positive stuff I'm seeing online about the badboy t5's is spam? The guys at my hydro store also recommend those lights but of course they're also selling it there too so.... I kind of have to take it with a grain of salt, which Is why I'm asking for advice here.

Is any non-spamming real human being out there getting good vegging results with HO T5's?

I've used T5's before and have gotten OK results in vegging- not terrible, but not super great either which is why I'm wondering if the extra output from the Quantum lights is really worth it or if a blue dominant spectrum LED will do much better. Obviously I'm looking for something better right now but just wanted to see some sort of comparison between T5's and LED first.

It's looking like LED is the way to go but if anyone could chime in with any advice for me (and anybody else out there in my boat) that would be awesome!

thanks.

I have no idea what you're seeing online and I have no idea why tinyurl banned the URL that quantumhort was using other than what I quoted. I do know that some lighting companies do resort to spam and that does throw up red flags for me. Furthermore, I'm skeptical of any claim of top-shelf results using fluorescent lighting to flower, regardless of how many watts or the spectra used. Also, based on the incomplete journal the pictures put the badboy in last place in the 3 light comparison. Taken together, *I* would avoid that light. Finally, I've never seen a hydro store tell somebody not to buy something that they sell. YMMV...

As far as vegging goes, I've always been a HID guy but based on some of the results that I've seen here; LED *might* actually be better. When it comes to flowering; HPS is still king. I would never bother with any fluorescent grow light for anything other than rooting clones or maybe for seedings during the first couple of days but that's just me...

Yeah, that makes sense... and I in no way intend to flower with fluorescents... just wanting something to produce tight internodal sites during the veg phase. And of course I do realize that HPS is the way to go for flowering, but I simply do not have the space or the resources at the moment to deal with HID's and their excessive heat, which is why I'm really trying to find good comparative info to help make a decision that best fits my needs. My problem is just trying to convince myself that spending the extra money up front for LED lighting rather than going with the cheaper T5 option is justifiable.

So far I have been really impressed with the vegging results I've gotten from my Solarstorm 400w. I'm wondering if LED's that have more blue spectra (such as the Solaflare Vegmaster) will really be that much better at vegging, and if so, how much better at vegging will it perform than T5's? I think this is really that's the best comparison for LED's at the moment because leds just won't produce what HPS do in flowering, so really the only logical thing to compare is the vegetative growth, yet I am just having a heck of a time finding any good online comparisons/ side by side grow journals demonstrating this. Looks like I'll just have to do one if I can save up enough cash for the solarflare.

Also SME (or anybody else out there)... what is your opinion of the Blackstar 240w panels that are made specifically for vegging? Or the Daimond Series that have switches to change the lights to "veg" mode or any other comparable led panel like that. I know they are 3w diodes compared to CLW's 5w diodes... but do you know anybody out there that has gotten good vegging results with these cheaper LED's?

thanks so much for the advice and pointers!

Cost is a trade-off; you either spend less for fluorescent lights or get better results with LED. I prefer results but budget is important too, which is partly why I still use HID too. Heat isn't that hard to deal with here.

Unfortunately, we have no vegmaster journals to judge with but I'd rather have 2 SF200w vegmasters (for vegging) than one SS400w for vegging because it would actually put more w/sqft in my tent...or cover a much bigger veg tent.

Blackstar's get decent reviews when they work but I see complaints about dead panels on Amazon. Although they don't say it on their website it's really 135w actual draw according to NateJ's review site. They don't have a lot of info on their website but are they hiding something or just lazy? I think they're made in china and imported here too.

Diamond Series lights are made in china and have poor reviews. Their "200w" light has 100 3w diodes and an actual draw of 185w so they're not very honest nor efficient either.

I own the Quantum Badboy and am very impressed with the fixture. It is lightweight and powerful and heat generated is minimal. I am switching to the 200W Solarflare systems to maximize my energy resources. I will most likely purchase a second light and daisy chain them together. I'm a LED newbie and will share what I learn.