Good Budget Led For 2'x2' Tent?

If I remember right @Irietime grew the photo of the month with a cheap mars hydro. Maybe he can help you. I haven't used an LED yet.

Galaxy hydro, but yep they can grow some dank no doubt about it

Pick you up a horticulture lighting group quantum board led,I got the smallest in my 2x2 drawing like 60 watts and the sucker is super bright,2 of em n there would kill it or the next light up.

If you go cheap get the galaxy hydro not the mars,but id say your t5 is just as good as both,maybe better with an even canopy.

kansabis said:

If you go cheap get the galaxy hydro not the mars,but id say your t5 is just as good as both,maybe better with an even canopy.

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Care to elaborate a little more on the t5 being good enough? I just figured since I have the 2ft t5 fixture the bulbs are only 24w each so I should try and get something stronger. I know the 300w LEDs only really pull 130w but is that a negligible difference to my 4 24w bulbs?

Also, if I decide to just stick with the t5s, anybody use the 2700k bulbs during flower with good results?

What about the viparspectra lights? Seem similar to mars and galaxy except they look nicer and have 13 bands

I' far from expert but been growing for couple years now. I went cheap when I started out and bought 2 300w Mars hydro for 160 bucks. lights are great for veg, not the best for flower do to the small footprint. Results where great quality low quantity.end up buying a Mars hydro 600w and a vipspectra 450w. With the 1 300w the 600w and the 450w in the tent I'm getting around a gram a watt, that' after I figured what they really pull from wall.n e ways here are some pics grown with Mars hydro, the cheap shit. First pic was ww and the second is gsc

kansabis said:

Pick you up a horticulture lighting group quantum board led,I got the smallest in my 2x2 drawing like 60 watts and the sucker is super bright,2 of em n there would kill it or the next light up.

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Great suggestion. Quantum board leds are awesome.

Yep that's been my experience so far with cobs and QB.

Hands down a Bloomspect 300

erocknroll said:

Just got my tiny 2'x2'x4.5' tent and I have a 4 light t5 fixture to veg under but I'm looking for something with a little more gusto for flowering. Not too knowledgeable about LEDs and I'm just looking for something decent that'll be a definite upgrade from t5's but also won't break the bank or give off too much heat. I was thinking of the mars hydro 300w because its so damn cheap but I'm wondering if its worth it to drop the extra $30 to get the 240w mars reflector.

Anybody have positive experiences with these? Or any other brands to suggest?

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What's a realistic budget you're looking at?

When I made this post I didn't wanna go over $100 but I just got a promotion at my job so in a couple weeks I'll have a little more money to work with. I'd be willing to drop $200 on a setup but I would want one that's gonna be really reliable for that price. I've been seeing cob setups working really well for people but my knowledge of LEDs is extremely limited and I dont really feel confident enough to try a DIY cob setup. So yea, as long as its under $200 I'm open to it.

erocknroll said:

Just got my tiny 2'x2'x4.5' tent and I have a 4 light t5 fixture to veg under but I'm looking for something with a little more gusto for flowering. Not too knowledgeable about LEDs and I'm just looking for something decent that'll be a definite upgrade from t5's but also won't break the bank or give off too much heat. I was thinking of the mars hydro 300w because its so damn cheap but I'm wondering if its worth it to drop the extra $30 to get the 240w mars reflector.

Anybody have positive experiences with these? Or any other brands to suggest?

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Compared to mars and Vipar, I would recommend meizhi (remember divide the CLAIMED power by maybe 60% and you may have their actual draw..I am in the HLG QB camp..I would recommend 4x QB132's on Amazon (3000k for all around) That would be too much power for a 2x2 but you could always sell the xtras on ebay..Each 132 will pull 75watts true per board..maximum efficiency with these and you can dim them as well..You could drive 1-4 of these in parallel with a single meanwell LRS-350-36 driver ($<$30 on Arrow electronics )..If the DIY is not for you you can get an assembled 3000k HLG QB288 for under $200 including driver etc..(ready to go out of the box..)
1st pic is my 288 and 2nd are a couple of 132's before I put them to work;)
I mix them in with others in my main flower tent too. (3rd shot)

Go with a quantum board,cheapest is 99 bucks,you could get 2 and it would kill that tent at just around only 120 watts and no cooling fans needed only circulation fan.

I found an assembled qb288 for $210. Might go for that next month when I get the money. Anybody have any insight into QBs vs COBs? Just the results I've been seeing people get from the COBs has me thinking about them but idk if I could find a COB setup within my budget.

erocknroll said:

I found an assembled qb288 for $210. Might go for that next month when I get the money. Anybody have any insight into QBs vs COBs? Just the results I've been seeing people get from the COBs has me thinking about them but idk if I could find a COB setup within my budget.

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Just think of a QB as a giant COB..You can save $25 by spending about 30minutes and assembling them yourself..(Growerslights.com has them as well and NO tax)..There is no soldering and just a few things to connect up..The rest is a few screws to fasten the board to the heatsink..No kidding, we are talking very simple and the members here would assist if need be..

Fuck it then. As long as theres no serious wiring or anything that has to be done I can handle a few screws. I'll probably end up copping one of those QBs next month. Thanks for all the input guys.

erocknroll said:

Fuck it then. As long as theres no serious wiring or anything that has to be done I can handle a few screws. I'll probably end up copping one of those QBs next month. Thanks for all the input guys.

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If you can..I wouldn't wait too long..They are being talked up on several forums, and they always run out of stock fast..
You can always PM me if needed:)

I’m sold on the cobs, Rapids got two kits for 2x2 setups, $220/$269, both Vero 29 Cobs, tough to beat either deal.