LED Grow Light Forum

Hello all,

First I want to thank sister Mary and everyone else hat has provided valuable information on this site, I've learned a lot!

So I am an experienced HID grower, and MMJ Patient, but like many others I want to give led's a shot. I actually use a lighthouse UFO for my veg and it is great. Now after months of research and debating if I wanted to go black dog or CLW, I'm going CLW,( after speaking with reps from both companies and more research I find CLW to be a better company).

Now the question I pose is should I get 4 220's or 2 440's? I will be growing in a 4x8 or 3x6,( if I can find one, it seems no company makes a tent with hose dimensions? So if anyone knows of one please tell me) tent. This tent will strictly be utilized for flower, that's why I'm thinking of the 220 bloom booster rather than the 440 with spectrums I don't need. I spoke with a CLW rep and he said the 220's alone will be great for that type of operation, also I read on this site and others that having multiple led's is better than having one large panel. I would love to hear your thoughts on he subject and I thank you in advance.

Hope all is well,
mbubbs

Welcome to the forums!

With 2 SS440w lights you can use either a 2x6 or a 4x3 since each will properly cover about a 3x2 in flower. If you went that route you'd use a 4x4 tent and just not use all of the tent for plants. You can use the unused space for fans, humidifiers/dehumidifiers, etc.

With 4 SF220w lights, each will only cover about a 1.75'x1.75' area so 4 of them will cover less than a 4x4 also.

Another difference, of course, is the SS440w lights also have UVB options which will help with trichome production.

Let's check the actual draw differences:
SS440w = about 325w of LED (I don't count the UVB)
SF220w = about 165w of LED

2 x SS440w = 650w actual draw.
4 x SF220w = 660w actual draw.

Personally, I'd go with the SS440w lights with the UVB since there's only about a 10w difference, assuming that the prices are about the same. The rep is right about multiple panels being better, in most cases, than a single light but I'm not sure that 4 SFs are better than 2 SSs in this case because of the UVB.

Hope that helps...


SME

Thank you SME. I agree about the UVB that's why I was thinking if buying the bulbs from CLW separately and using several T5 maybe a total of six for more power and more even coverage ?

Another thought would be to have one 880 in the middle with 2 220's,( one on each side with extra UVB added as well. What do you think of this set up for a 3x6? Would it create really uneven coverage for the plants on the sides with the 220's? Or do you think it would be a pretty even cross spectrum with the 880 in the middle?

Again I do appreciate it and don't want to beat a dead horse, but I have to get the light coverage right the first time, of course I'll have to learn as I go, but I want to make sure I'm optimizing the lights to their full potential and there are so many configurations!! So any assistance would be great !!

Hope all is well and thanks again!!
Mbubbs

hey mbubbs,

I ended up with a few extra UVB bulbs and I bought some of the cheap-o under cabinet 18" T8 fixtures for like 12 bucks to run them in. I do a hybrid grow: LED for veg and the beginning of flower and then HPS to finish them off. the UV makes a huge difference I think.

you can also find similar UV bulbs at some reptile stores online.

good luck, RKY.

The SF220w lights won't cover 3' in flower so you wouldn't have an even canopy with those in a 3x6. Even 2 of the SS440w lights will only cover about a 2x6 or a 4x3.

You don't want to skimp on lighting if you want top-shelf results.