Lights Advise

[HowTheHell]

Seriously tempted by the spider SF2000, fits the tent size and can being down to 12" for flower, dimmable, 200w power draw. Practically zero negative comments.

[HowTheHell]

Right, no go for me so. Cheers. I need to buy a bigger house.

[JDU]

That's the min clearance Mars recommends too.

[HowTheHell]

She that Black Cherry is well into veg and 32 is too close? Wow powerful light.

[HowTheHell]

That's my problem, the bong is empty. Have one starting to flower in the greenhouse but as I live in a housing estate that's another stress fest brewing. Stress increases with the smell!

About rising the lights to the max would imagine you need a bit of a gap above the lights for the fans to be effective. I guess 2 or 3 inches anyway.

[JDU]

In a pinch you can get an xtra few inches by removing the ratcheting hangers & zip tie right to the supports too. As far as I know the lights that sit the lowest are T5s. & they aren't all that bad. I flowered my 1st grow with T5s & it was good tight flavorful stone.
Hahaha! Yeah it's kinda confusing gettin started & stressin on making the right investments. Best to just hit the bong a few times, relax & just grow. I'm learnin that it's exactly as stressful as you let it be.

[HowTheHell]

Thanks, yes they are brand new. Not sure if they have evolved or have updated chips or whatever. Will look into that. Not so sure though, never saw it mentioned.

Was looking at the mars looks to tick all the boxes alright. Worried to see what you say about the height though.

Maybe I should really be looking at something that can go low. With a viper hanging in the tent and tiny seedlings I can get a max of 27" with supplied hanging kit. At a push I'd say I could get 30, that is until the plants start growing. Better keep those plants well trained to have the space.

Are the QB type in general able to go closer do you know?

I thought gardening would be good for stress relief, how wrong I was!!

[JDU]

Are your Vipras new? Like UndergroundFarmer said- LED tech is evolving & most old reviews are just that- old. I think you'll like them just fine. If you decide to keep shopping- The Mars Hydro sp250 would rock that tent- idk how hot it gets. The 150 doesn't get very hot. The TS 600s run pretty cool too.

Edit. Nevermind- I just realized Mars Hydro might not work for your short tent. I have mine 32in above the canopy & the Black Cherry is still tacoing. Last run the sweet spot was 16-18in during flower.

[HowTheHell]

Thanks for that. Had a look, seem to be good lights from the reading I have done alright. Dont seem to be available this side of the pond from what I see however.

Also for my tent its crammed in the only possible spot I have so no options to go higher.

[UndergroundFarmer]

With that short of a tent, the best things to do are:
1. Get a larger tent and use the short one for seedlings, clones, etc.
2. Switch to a T5 fluorescent panel.
3. Grow autos or other shorties and use the LED panel that best fits the space and your budget.

I've heard good things about Spiderfarmer but I've got no experience with one. I'm using Advanced Platinum because they're assembled in my country and have a mighty long warranty for such a product. They're also not cheap and for a good reason. I chose them because I'm going to be growing for quite a while. The technology is evolving fast with LED boards, so some products' history of trouble may be just history by now.

[HowTheHell]

Hi people. Wondering if anybody could offer some solid advice based on first hand experience ideally. New to all this and have setup a grow tent. Hastily bought 2 Viparspectra 450's. Found great reviews on line but since I bought them I have come across a lot of bad comments about flowering and not enough red spectrum.

I am considering returning and getting something better. Bear in mind my tent is only 5' high so that may rule out anything COB from what I understand. Also it's in an attic that's hot at times so guess this rules out traditional bulbs or makes them less attractive at least.

Maybe the QB types make sense? another factor is the tent is 2×4 so I am thinking one long light instead of square would be best suited and possibly avoid the need for getting two.

In summary I guess I'm asking can anybody recommend a proven single QB light setup that suits a 2×4×5 tent? Budget maybe 400 to 500 euro max. Also I'm in europe so US brands not too available from what I see. (Or alternatively advise that im talking rubbish)

A spiderfarmer 2000 looks to fit the bill but im finding on line reviews hard to trust at this stage. I found lots of vipar reviews that were very positive with no mention of flowering issues. I'm guessing they are sponsored or whatever in hindsight.

Another alternative is bloom booster lights but not sure.