Optimal LED for 4x4x7, 2 plant SCROG

Hey folks,

First time grower here and I’m trying to get my lighting right. I only plan on having one grow/tent at a time. Currently I have two seedlings under my [NextLight 525w] (site) light. After doing more reading/reseaarch I was very surprised at the PAR footprint.


I don’t think I’m going to get the wattage / footprint I need when the plants get bigger / SCROG time. I’d have to keep the light pretty high to get the footprint bigger, and then the wattage / sqft drops.

I’ve been reading on this site about the 1200w Meizhi, as well as the Viparspectra. Are they both Chinese made? Are they reliable? Of course, like everyone else, I’m looking for the silver bullet, no doubt made of unobtainium

I guess to sum it up, I’m looking for a single light for veg and bloom (I thought I had it with the NextLight :smirk:). It should be powerful enough and have a large enough footprint to support close to my 4x4 footprint. I’d rather pay more and have piece of mind.

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What is your budget

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@HappyCamper

If you have the budget and some handiness- I would say build your own!

I believe that’s what @MAXHeadRoom did.

@dbrn32 should also be able to help.

Otherwise yes, the mezhi and Viparspectra are Chinese made. But good for the price.

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You would probably be going backwards from the nextlight to any of the models mentioned. Look for something that has the light sources spread out a little more, instead of condensed like you have. Hlg, timber, plc, and many others all have lights that should give you solid canopy coverage for about the same or less than the nextlight.

@MAXHeadRoom - I’d like to say I don’t have a budget (hahaha…), but I don’t mind spending some $$$ for a product that is 1) well built, 2) performs. The NextLight was purchased on eBay for about 1/2 retail, and even at that it wasn’t cheap. So, I’m ready to invest in a new light if necessary…

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@Ray4x, @MAXHeadRoom - I’m pretty handy and have worked with both high (110/220) and low voltage wiring. I know the difference between wiring in series vs. parallel, but I’m not sure I want to build a light. I’d be happy to assemble one, but not part it all out and build it. :sunglasses:

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@HappyCamper

It doesn’t sounds too difficult- and you can buy complete kits that just need assembling from what I understand.

Take a look at this thread if you have any interest. To be honest I’m not all that handy but I’m considering building my own down the road.

Let's talk DIY lights

The light you have is nice, but it didn’t say what diode they used and the light is concentrated more to a smaller footprint.
Check out the HLG 550 at Horticultural Lighting Group. They have a video you can watch that explains the light.

I built a light just like this using the QB304 boards and 2 Mean Well HLG 240H-C1050B drivers.
Runs at 495 true watts. Cost $550

They have a kit for this light for $650 or already built light for $1050

These lights are very powerful and I think will fit your needs.

Heres a pic of my plant under this light. 2 weeks into flower. 2plants in an aeroponic system.

Results speak for themselves

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@dbrn32 - Those (site) lights do look nice. Looking at the PAR charts it seems that all the LED lights PAR values drop off pretty steeply as you move away from the center.

Being a two plant person, it would be nice to put two of the (site) lights side by side. I’m afraid it would be too hot though, and they don’t have dimmers.

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Really depends on which models you look at. Yes they will all drop off as you move further away from the fixture. But not almost 90% from center to 24" at a 24" height.

@dbrn32, @MAXHeadRoom , @Ray4x

Timber also has a light that seems that it would do the trick for me. The “600 Watt Vero29 V7 4x4 Framework”. I’d supply the link, but the site admin already slapped my hand for including a link that wasn’t to Amazon or Dealerz :frowning: .

A couple of questions about it:

  • Is 600w sufficient for a 4x4 area?
  • It’s strange that a 42x24 unit would cover a square (4’x4’) area as opposed to a rectangular area? Any thoughts?
  • Are they full spectrum (Veg & Flower)?

So you want 35 to 50 watts per square foot, so that would equal 37.5 watts per square foot. You would be at the low end. I prefer to go with the 50, but thats up to you.

I always wondered why they design lights for a rectangle then a square. Most people have a square size grow area.

For that price I would go with the Quantum boards. They are more efficient and the LEDs are spread out over a larger area providing better coverage.

I think that a lot of the higher end lights are designed more to follow commercial layouts. Where there is row after row of plants with aisle between rows. Therefore, rectangular layouts suited them better. If you look at where the majority or grow lights end up, it’s not in square tents.thats just our application, but even then not always.

If you’re shooting for a scrog in a square tent, a square layout on cobs would give you more even coverage. But would probably be ok with the right rectangular fixture as well.

As max said, would be a tad low on the typical wattage per foot measurements, but you’d be way better off with this than any of the fixtures you mentioned in original post. Those watt per foot ranges are kind of old, and you can hit 600 ųmols or better average with less than that wattage. I find that to be a much better target than watts. But that’s just me personally.

I’ve never heard anything bad about timber, their products, or their customer service. So take that for what it is. The hlg options are solid also.

Look at the BESTVA 1000W led i just vot one no complaints and there is like no heat and im growing in a 36Wx48Tx18D box


Copy this link and look at the reveiw ship to my door in 2 days for 140 bucks

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If money isn’t really an object, and you like the timber products, the 600 watt citizen fixture would probably perform a little better in your application. If you weren’t planning on packing it wall to wall, then I would say save the money and go with the vero.

Select the 3500k color temp if you plan to veg and flower with the same light.

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I’m on the meizhi trip as I have a 1200w 600w and 2 300w. As this is my first and second grow so would say they are great but I have nothing to compare to as I don’t have another light to compare to

I also noticed @Aquaponic_Dumme was active today. He was suppose to be working on some cob options. Not sure if they’re ready, but maybe he will see the tag and help you out.

@Inplantsight

You’re certainly getting the results! One thing that struck me with the BESTVA is the foot print: “perfect for a 5.1’ x 4.7’ growing area at 24” height". That’s a darn big foot print for a device that’s only 12.25" wide!

The price is certainly right…

I’m just not sure of their coverage re: the BESTVA 1000 watt LED, not sure how something only drawing 185 watts from the wall can output that kind of light, @dbrn32 have I somehow lost something here as far as adequate coverage in the size growing area of 5.1 X 4.7 at 24" from canopy. I am trying to learn about LEDs kind of following dbrn32’s thread because I need to replace my 600 watt MH/HPS and I kind of feel that this light at this price is too good to be true

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the same except i have 2 meizhi 1200w. Only my first grow, but so far at day 40, here is a current pic of my 10 autos in full stretch under only the meizhis

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