Not really sure what happens to Maxisun. Amazon use to sell their lights but they haven’t had any in stock for awhile now. They do sell many other $50-$70 100 watt quantum boards that should give you the same performance.
Light for a 2' x 4' tent?
- Thread starter SHRED
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Just bought 2 of these FarmLites when Amazon had them on sale a couple months ago for $108.00. Two of them will fit in a 2x4’ tent but might be overkill if you don’t want to run that much wattage. There is a dimmer knob so you do have the option to use less wattage and still get great coverage.
Works very well in my 27”x27” tent.
Works very well in my 27”x27” tent.
2 of those would work very well.
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I have an XS-1500 and it's running in my tent now. The XS-1500 is good in a very small space but putting 2 of them side by side will result in a serious drop off in PPFD in the center. If you check ppfdcharts.com you'll see that they have data for the XS-1500 and it's a decent 2' x 2' light but putting two of them side by side is going to get a light cast that has a lot holes in it. Different product for a different problem.
"The market" tells us that you're not going to get $500 of light from 2 lights that cost $125 each.
I uses my XS-1500 as a fill light. I bought it a couple of grows ago when one plant was more than twice the size of the others. I tried using the X3 to light up the entire canopy but it just wasn't possible when one plant is >4' tall and the others are 18" to 24" tall. That little light has in really handy in the two grows subsequent to that one as the "fill light" role but it's not even close to what a larger light can generate in terms of light output.
What would be your choice for a 2x4 tent?
At $400, the Atreum would probably be my choice.
The other end of the spectrum (pardon the pun) is to go with separates. A white LED is that they're cheap compared to separates but the fact that they have a lot of blue and a lot of red in their spectrum is both an advantage and a disadvantage compared to separates. We know that blue light keep plants short with small internodal spaces but it also reduces yield. On the other hand, red light is excellent for plants during flower but it also makes plants grow taller which isn't a "feature".
One approach is used by one of the mods here on AFN. He uses a Growcraft "full cycle" light (flower) and adds a Rapid LED Royal Blue Puck to reduce plant height and to reduce internodal space.
The next step is to go with one light for veg and one for flower. HLG makes "R spec" and "B spec" lights and Chilled makes both a veg light and a flower light. Some of the factors in HLG's design would seem to appeal to commercial growers than to home growers.
My preference is Chilled. The DIY version of the X6 mini or the X3 from Chilled are $530 for DIY and $630 for "commercial". The commercial lights are fully assembled, they have 5 year warranty (vs 3 for DIY), and use push lock connectors. I have an X2 (2 40" light bars) veg light and an X3 flower light.
One advantage of push locks really shows up when changing lights or changing drivers. I have a driver outside the tent and one inside so I can run either light using either driver. For my current grow (harvest coming up!) SoCal had high temps in the first part of the grow but it's been chilly for the past 8 weeks or so. I ran the veg light using the driver outside the tent, then swapped in the flower light, and, as the temperature cooled off and I needed the heat from the driver, I switched the X3 from the driver on the outside to the driver in the tent. In all cases, I was able to swap the light or the driver in a minute or two thanks to the push locks. Yes, that's not a common need but like I've found buying other equipment for my cannabis growing hobby, there are times when the $$ paid up front really pay off.
One of the things that I don't like about Chilled is that, unlike a lot of other lights, the 330 watt lights do not work with the AC Infinity controller. I use their Controller 69 to control the tent fan and the inline fan but the only Chilled lights that work with the AC Infinity controllers are lights the models that have a driver of at least 500 watts. You can get a 500 watt driver in the X6 mini and the X3 but it's an extra $150+ and, unless you're using CO2, there's no value to the plants to have the extra wattage. I haven't changed light levels for my grown in about 3 weeks so not using the AC Infinity controller is not a huge issue for me but it is a factor that you might want to consider. BTW, I use Kasa Smart strips and they're well worth the $$. I can't imagine using mechanical timers.
This a photo of my current grow. There are two plants, Annie on the right and Alice is taking up a sliver of the tent on the left side. The XS-1500 is on the left, providing light to Alice; the SP 3000 is lighting the branches that a falling out of the front of the tent; and the X3 is inside the tent. Annie has grown into the top of the tent and is no longer visible. Fortunately, these are autos so they're "short and compact".
One of the reasons I've put $$ into light is increased yield and crop quality - there's a significant increase in yield between 700µmols and 900µmols, one source is cited in the table below.
I'm seriously going to give this one a look.At $400, the Atreum would probably be my choice.
The other end of the spectrum (pardon the pun) is to go with separates. A white LED is that they're cheap compared to separates but the fact that they have a lot of blue and a lot of red in their spectrum is both an advantage and a disadvantage compared to separates. We know that blue light keep plants short with small internodal spaces but it also reduces yield. On the other hand, red light is excellent for plants during flower but it also makes plants grow taller which isn't a "feature".
One approach is used by one of the mods here on AFN. He uses a Growcraft "full cycle" light (flower) and adds a Rapid LED Royal Blue Puck to reduce plant height and to reduce internodal space.
The next step is to go with one light for veg and one for flower. HLG makes "R spec" and "B spec" lights and Chilled makes both a veg light and a flower light. Some of the factors in HLG's design would seem to appeal to commercial growers than to home growers.
My preference is Chilled. The DIY version of the X6 mini or the X3 from Chilled are $530 for DIY and $630 for "commercial". The commercial lights are fully assembled, they have 5 year warranty (vs 3 for DIY), and use push lock connectors. I have an X2 (2 40" light bars) veg light and an X3 flower light.
One advantage of push locks really shows up when changing lights or changing drivers. I have a driver outside the tent and one inside so I can run either light using either driver. For my current grow (harvest coming up!) SoCal had high temps in the first part of the grow but it's been chilly for the past 8 weeks or so. I ran the veg light using the driver outside the tent, then swapped in the flower light, and, as the temperature cooled off and I needed the heat from the driver, I switched the X3 from the driver on the outside to the driver in the tent. In all cases, I was able to swap the light or the driver in a minute or two thanks to the push locks. Yes, that's not a common need but like I've found buying other equipment for my cannabis growing hobby, there are times when the $$ paid up front really pay off.
One of the things that I don't like about Chilled is that, unlike a lot of other lights, the 330 watt lights do not work with the AC Infinity controller. I use their Controller 69 to control the tent fan and the inline fan but the only Chilled lights that work with the AC Infinity controllers are lights the models that have a driver of at least 500 watts. You can get a 500 watt driver in the X6 mini and the X3 but it's an extra $150+ and, unless you're using CO2, there's no value to the plants to have the extra wattage. I haven't changed light levels for my grown in about 3 weeks so not using the AC Infinity controller is not a huge issue for me but it is a factor that you might want to consider. BTW, I use Kasa Smart strips and they're well worth the $$. I can't imagine using mechanical timers.
This a photo of my current grow. There are two plants, Annie on the right and Alice is taking up a sliver of the tent on the left side. The XS-1500 is on the left, providing light to Alice; the SP 3000 is lighting the branches that a falling out of the front of the tent; and the X3 is inside the tent. Annie has grown into the top of the tent and is no longer visible. Fortunately, these are autos so they're "short and compact".
One of the reasons I've put $$ into light is increased yield and crop quality - there's a significant increase in yield between 700µmols and 900µmols, one source is cited in the table below.
View attachment 1545986
View attachment 1545993
Thanks.
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I’m on my second grow in my 2x4 with the migro array 4. I have the first gen and the second gen. I love how the light bars are spaced to provide even light distribution. The transformer is not mounted to the light bar so I can keep that out of the tent to keep temperatures down. There is plenty long cords for all the connections also. This light also integrates well with the ac infinity controller 69.
