Debating on LED fixtures

[Twice the Spice]

So its been awhile since I've been around (Life got the best of me the past 2 years) But i'm back and ready to jump into 2018 strong! I used to use a 4 ft T5 lamp to start my plants indoors, and it worked fine but I want to upgrade to something better. I've been doing my research on LED fixtures, and spoken to a few friends who grow things other than peppers and they have said the VIPARSPECTRA R900 LED light has been a good light for them. I'm debating on buying a 900W, 450W and 300W with more reds to encourage flowering. I mainly want to start plants early enough so i can get a decent jump start living in NY, and even keep a few inside year round and have OW pods. Due to space restrictions and a wife that has been less than happy about 70 pepper plants in the past i will be growing about 12 plants in total that will go outside when weather permits, and 1-2 plants to keep indoors for year round pods. 
 
Do you guys think my goals are unreasonable for these lights? I'm not looking to grow massive 8ft tall plants indoors just 2-3 ft plants that produce nice pods
 
Links to the Lights I'm debating on purchasing
 
300W
http://www.viparspectra.com/goods.php?id=86
 
450W
http://www.viparspectra.com/goods.php?id=60
 
900W
http://www.viparspectra.com/goods.php?id=74

 

[AvidLiving]

I've never tried name brand LEDs but I normally go for price and what fits my budget. I was able to snag a deal off vipon for discounted Amazon codes to purchase my LEDs on discount. I paid $30 for the 300w and $36 for my $600w. Honestly, they work great for my needs and a difference between each shows it is working well. The 600w really helps the growth. All lights were within the right spectrums to promote growth and bloom... I also practice 24/7 lighting. I haven't found stunted growth.

Here is what I own.

Haehne 600W LED https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073SNM38W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_WbYgAbRHJGBV8

HollandStar LED 300w https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0716JJC4G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZcYgAb7FV7N56

 

[Twice the Spice]

Thanks for the reply man, so you have no issues getting your plants to pod up with a 600w+300W?
 

 

[AvidLiving]

No sir,

They respond well with either light. 300w for the seedlings to vegitative stage. Once they are in the blooming stage they go right to the 600w. I found this works really well for fruit production.

You'll need to find the best spacing from the light for the peppers you are growing. Once you do that you are grand!

 

[Twice the Spice]

Thanks for the info man, I'll probably drop on order on some lights soon and see where things go!

 

[AvidLiving]

Thanks for the info man, I'll probably drop on order on some lights soon and see where things go!

 
 
Good Luck!
 
      I'm curious as to which lights you order. What the variance is between mine and yours? 
 
      If you are down for this; I'd like to see how the Name Brand performs against a generic fixture. Maybe we can GLOG it with the same types of seeds and grow in the same environment (Temp) to see what the variances are... That is if you want to or not. 
 
     Either way; best of luck! I'm glad I could help.

 

[Twice the Spice]

 
 
Good Luck!
 
      I'm curious as to which lights you order. What the variance is between mine and yours? 
 
      If you are down for this; I'd like to see how the Name Brand performs against a generic fixture. Maybe we can GLOG it with the same types of seeds and grow in the same environment (Temp) to see what the variances are... That is if you want to or not. 
 
     Either way; best of luck! I'm glad I could help.

I'm down to try i have a limited amount of plants i can grow, i'll shoot you a list of seeds i have currently and we can see if we have any we can test it on, if i order the lights tomorrow sometime it might be the end of the week before they arrive. def keep in touch tho hope we can figure something out.

 

[Teaks]

No sir,

They respond well with either light. 300w for the seedlings to vegitative stage. Once they are in the blooming stage they go right to the 600w. I found this works really well for fruit production.

You'll need to find the best spacing from the light for the peppers you are growing. Once you do that you are grand!

So youre saying you put plants under the 300w for veg and then move them under the 600w for when you want to encourage fruit production?

How large of an area do these lights cover? I am quite shocked at how low the prices are - even at the normal price. I'm trying to find a way to grow in a potentially 32 sq/ft area but I feel like budget will be the limiting factor on how much area I can actually grow in.
For instance if you use one of these lights for like 2 plants I'll have to keep looking.

 

[Hafners]

When choosing led lights you really have to look at the actual power draw, not what they're rated at for advertising. Generally a light with a power draw around 150 watts will cover around 4 square feet, and one with a power draw around 250 watts will cover about 9 square feet. Just check for their light output footprint, some put out a square footprint, and some more rectangular.

 

[Twice the Spice]

When choosing led lights you really have to look at the actual power draw, not what they're rated at for advertising. Generally a light with a power draw around 150 watts will cover around 4 square feet, and one with a power draw around 250 watts will cover about 9 square feet. Just check for their light output footprint, some put out a square footprint, and some more rectangular.

Pretty sure the 900w ones ( i acually buckled down and bought them) have an actual power draw of 416w should be good for the 4x4 grow tent i picked up too, really just interested to see if i can get a couple plants to bloom+ pod up completely indoors. 

 

[AvidLiving]

So youre saying you put plants under the 300w for veg and then move them under the 600w for when you want to encourage fruit production?

How large of an area do these lights cover? I am quite shocked at how low the prices are - even at the normal price. I'm trying to find a way to grow in a potentially 32 sq/ft area but I feel like budget will be the limiting factor on how much area I can actually grow in.
For instance if you use one of these lights for like 2 plants I'll have to keep looking.

Not to hijack this thread...

So to answer your question, yes. My seedling through veg is the 300w. I haven't compared the growth output between the 3 or 600 during the stage but once they are going to produce I change them under that light. I can say that during the bloom stage; I have faster growth for production versus the 300w light.

As far as spacing it is listed above but I won't say that my lamps cover that much space. They are rectangular units and have a comparable spread. Most of the brightest light is below the unit and a few inches from edge of unit until it dims away. To be consistent with the red, blue and white LEDs; I'd want it directly underneath.

Hope that helps.

 

[drumsz]

Hi All
 
Just my 2 cnts
Just got in a Mars Hydro II 400 seems to be working great better than there reflector 48 not really a comparison though. I have a grow tent 27x27 inch by 7 ft tall fills that area fine if that helps at all. Probably to late now.
 
P.S. total nube to indoor growing but so far all started from seed and now almost 6 inch in height !! Oh all hydroponic.