Examples for a 2x4?
Mars hydro tsl2000 runs like $200 the sp3000s $300
Viparspectra xs2000 and pb2000 are also between $150 and $250 those are just the ones I can think of off top.
No sales tax either since it’s agricultural equipment.
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3500k vs 3000k
if building for a 2x4 take a look previously as there are alot of 2x4 builds in this thread, though figure you will want around 30-35w/sqft of light or there abouts, can go more or less though thats a good mid point so 8sq ft = 240-280 watts.
Ideally you would like to get a driver/drivers that are a bit more than what you need as its better to run them say at 90% capacity vs say 100%.
So for that you would have a couple options, low single side can go with a single XLG-240, bit more dual XLG-150’s, or bigger single HLG-320H
Specifics depend on how you layout your circuit and what strips you run with though higher amperage and lower voltage is more preferred than say high voltage low amperage, so say the XLG-240-H or XLG-150-H drivers or say HLG-320H-42 or HLG-320H-20 (42v and 20v respectably) is what you will likely be looking at.
To top that out your also will be looking at the AB series drivers (last letters in the driver parts list) for the XLG as they are the ones that can be dimmed with an external potentiometer and B and or AB for the HLGs for the same, though the A series for either have Internal potentiometers for adjusting if you plan on rarely dimming.
Now how those pair to what strips depends on what you get and how you run them, alot here have made nominal setups meaning they’re running their strips at the base values aka 700ma a strip. Saying that you can overdrive the strips at slightly reduced efficiencies and they are capable of say 180%-220% overdriven which allows you to run less strips over all and less upfront costs though 150% over driven is a nice comfortable range one can play within.
So if over driving slightly you could get away with 16-18 strips total of say the 590mm slims or 560mm regular gen 2 or 3’s, or say half that with the high output gen 3s just with adequate heatsinking which isnt much.
Future Electronics is the only place that typically carries the Gen 3 Regulars though you have to get them in a 20 pack which in your case works (2 spares) otherwise its the digikey route for gen 2’s or the gen 3 slims or Gen 3 HO
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Also as @EugeneDebs420 said things like the marshydro TLS2000 and Viparspectras are viable options for prebuilts as well. They work and grow plants, are they as efficient as tsay a diy bridgelux using gen 3’s or even 2’s no though the difference is enough you can look the other way if not being a watt and or PAR weenie and they are prebuilt and you can hang and go.
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Hey Nube, would these be the screws that secure the strip to the aluminum or fasten the aluminum pieces together for the frame? Or both?
I just bought a bunch of metal bolts to put everything together and want to make sure I get those plastic washers if need be.
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Just connecting the strips, you definitely want metal fasteners for the framing, and the plastic washers aren’t needed there.
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Yeah, what CD said. Metal nuts & bolts for the frame, plastic fasteners or at least plastic washers for the strips.
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So for a 2x4 the build is much easier, but you will have to buy twice as many strips as you need…which will encourage you to build another light. 
You’d use a single HLG-320H-42a driver to power 10x of the 4ft versions of the strips, all wired in parallel directly back to the driver using a 10-position terminal strip with one of the positions doubled up on the wires to strips. You want a length of 1x1x1/8th angle aluminum to attach each strip to no matter what length of strip you build with - this acts as both the heatsink and the frame to keep your strips rigid.
So how you read those part numbers is on page 4 of the spec sheet for the Bridgelux EB3 series strip lights. I highly suggest you familiarize yourself with these types of documents, as you’ll use them constantly when theorycrafting, designing, buying, and building DIY LED lights.
DS132 Bridgelux EB Series Gen3 Data Sheet 20190617 Rev A.pdf (963.2 KB)
The latest university research on growing cannabis under LED lights shows that you need only a very small amount of blue light from your LEDs to produce the compact growth we want indoors. In practice, this means you can easily veg under 2700K or 3000K lights, even if they’re the high CRI version that has less blue and more red/far red. Those make great single tent lights for both veg & flower - I know because I’m using the 2700K 90CRI version and I don’t see excess stretch in the plants. Ever. But, you can get away with using 3500K but I would for sure not go higher than that.
The 4ft Bridgelux strips in 3500K 80CRI can be bought here (min. qty 20):
What I use - the 4ft Bridgelux strips in 2700K 90CRI (more far red, slightly lower efficiency) can be bought here (again min qty 20):
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@corey PM’d me a couple questions that are best answered here. He said:
There’s a lot to unpack here, so please bear with me. You’re best off reading this thread and my build thread for some details. Also, watch all the latest youtube videos from Bruce Bugbee from the last 3-4yrs. I’ve posted most of them in this thread if you want to search for my name and bruce bugbee in this thread. Please make use of the search cuz it really will help you answer all your own questions.
That said, I’m happy to help. Here’s my thoughts:
Q: I read more intense your spectrum is the more resin you will produce. If that’s so do these diy builds put out as much intense light as a 1000k hid?
The amount of resin put out by your plants is mostly due to 1) genetics and 2) environment. Light intensity and spectrum may play a tiny role, but it’s minor compared to the two primary factors. And resin only looks good in pics, it’s not actually important for almost anything related to the effects and/or enjoyment of the weed. The worst looking weed can have the best flavor and effects and potency, since those things are subjective and different for each individual. Looks don’t mean shit to how good it is. The same goes for “lab test” results.
Intensity and spectrum are two different things, but they’re related. The amount of light put out per second (intensity) is measured in something called PAR - photosynthetically active radiation, usually referred to as PPF - photosynthetic photon flux which is the total amount of light the fixture puts out per second. These measurements are used regardless of the type of light. PPFD (add density onto the previous acronym) is the measurement of PPF in a given space - how much light is measured at a given distance from the light fixture, per second.
Here’s an old thread that breaks down all the different types of light measurements. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about the noonday sun, a candle, a big HPS bulb, or LEDs:
Spectrum is what color of light is produced. It turns out that spectrum is quite a bit less important to your plants than intensity, but it’s somewhat important. The spectrum mostly impacts the shape of your plant and how fast it grows, but only to some degree based on the genetic tendencies of your specific strain/pheno. All blue light generally makes very slow growing, small leaf, compact plants. All red light generally makes very fast growing, large leaf, stretchy viney plants.
In practice, plants prefer green/yellow/red/far red to blue. The more red, the faster plants grow. And the latest cannabis research in university labs shows that you only need about 4-10% of your light output in the blue spectrum to keep plants from getting too stretchy, even if all the other light is red/far red. Far red gives what’s known as the Emerson Effect, which essentially means twice as fast photosynthesis for each far red photon.
So, to the second part of your question, yes, LED lights can easily put out as much total PPF as a 1000w DE HPS. In general, current generation Bridgelux and Samsung and Nichia LEDs are about twice as efficient as HPS. So that means you need only around half the wattage from them to create the same amount of actual light output. That means half the amount of heat, and since it’s being put out across a much bigger surface area, it’s much easier to cool. So you save money on the light output and the cooling needed.
And with all this talk of spectrum and intensity, it’s important to keep in mind that there are many other benefits to LEDs compared to HPS, not just less heat and greater efficiency. Your plants want as many sources of light as possible above your canopy to get the most even PPFD seen by every part of your plants. And, the idea of “penetration” has nothing to do with how intense the light is. Because most colors of light stop with the first leaf they hit, penetration is only a measure of how few shadows there are in your canopy. 1 light makes many shadows. Thousands of lights make very few shadows. Fewer shadows = greater light penetration.
Q: Next question is if I just want to build a light for a 5x5 foot print, just one piece light with the strongest best… how much would I be looking to spend? I need to know that so I can set up a budget plan because I’m on this hid stuff half way through on everything and all I can do is 250 dollars begining of next month.
You’d probably want to build a light very similar to what I built. It’s actually 2 separate fixtures so you have a little adjustability. Check out my build thread, but keep in mind that building it with 1x1x1/8" angle aluminum from Grainger would be cheaper and easier to wire. It cost about $600-700 total and draws up to 720W but you wouldn’t need to run it more than about 600-650w in practice, even in a 5x5. You can veg under it just fine, so don’t be scared by using such low color temp lights. You can grow great weed with anything above 20w/sqft using the current generation of top name LEDs.
Also, you’re much better off buying this stuff at one time, so save your money until you can buy all the parts at once. Parts go in and out of stock and are often discontinued, and LED light builds use very specific parts that you can’t easily swap out.
Hope that helps! 
I think I should start putting these types of responses in their own thread and doing a Wiki so I can link to each post as its own subject from the first post so it’s easier to find (since people don’t use the search feature), then refer people back to it. Do you folks think there’s any benefit to that?
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Absolutely nube, please do that if you don’t mind the time and work that you are so generously putting in. That explanation cleared so much up for me… I’m going to read it again and think about it for a while, because first this is awesome, and your putting it in such a way that a layman could understand. Damn this is great. I’m in for this I’m going to be saving my pennies for this. I’m truly inspired!
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I think you’d be a proper author for such a wiki; you have the patience and attention to detail that really makes for a good teacher. Thank you for your time, buddy.
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Problem for you guys. I got this good deal on some 4 bulb 4ft T5s. I want to do, more or less, what these were intended for lol, but not for lighting an office but plants.
I reckon I can fit two strips in each reflector. I don’t know that I can sneak two extra strips (except the inside of the enclosure so rotated 90 so the diodes face half away from the plants. So I think I’m stuck to 8 4ft- I’m thinking EB3s? At test current will that be suitable for flowering? I know from the numbers it’s low but still don’t full understand plants light needs.
I am open to maybe pushing them a bit since I have to add cooling fans to the light anyways. I can not use the 2ft ones sideways, not wide enough.
Alternatively I guess 2x4 veg lights? Might be better off with bypass LED tubes? I’m not looking for a lot of work; but I am pursuing an electrical engineering degree, so. “Not working if you’re having fun.”
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Just want to say thank you for this thread. I started 1.5 yrs. ago. I used this thread for the lights. Learned about LED strips, how to calculate driver/strip, how to wire my home built fixture. I bought and assembled everything. All working from the first go. These lights work for me. enough light for decent yields with little heat. The most important thing that everyone needs to know about LED strips I also found here. INSULATE THE SOLDER POINTS ON THE STRIPS.
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I run it it’s a good light. I’m thinking about getting another one for the price they’re real cheap right now. I don’t have any problems out of it
Second that, it clarified a few of my doubts too, and it would be nice to be a thread on its own… Thanks @nube !!
@Mr.Sparkle any advice, just went into my tent and light wont turn on, other light in socket is fine, xlg 150 driver, has ran fine since i built it earlier this year,
please someone advise me what to do.
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Measure the output if you can “voltage” with a multimeter that will be a sure way to know if it’s working or not or whether you have say a wiring issue, also if it’s running an external pot those can go bad and cause issues and disconnecting one lead will show any issues there.
Note the XLG drivers do seem to fail prematurely compared to say the HLG’s though only when either run in a hot environment, above speced wattage and or both, it’s better to over size and under run them and I have no qualms running them myself.
If the drivers toast you may be able to get it warranty replaced.
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thanks for the help, its much appreciated,
will measure the voltage this evening, where should i take the reading?
i was running the driver at 140 of its 150 through flower recently, but this one shut off being ran at just 90 watts and the temp in the tent hasnt been over 28 C, i do have an external pot so i will remove one lead tn as well and see if that helps.
if that doesnt work im going to order a new one while i try to deal with the warranty, ill probally replace that 150 driver with a 240,
would you happen to know the hlg version closest to the xlg-240-L-AB
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I had 2 150w drivers go. If you got it from digikey and it’s still in warranty they will get one out to you fast. Just use there online assistant instant message contact. I made the mistake of asking if they had any known problems with the 150w drivers after the second one blew. So I had to wait a while on that one while they contacted the manufacturer to see if there were any known problems once they got that info they shipped me another.
The problem I had was disconnecting the light from the driver while it was still on and then re connecting the light to the driver while still on would blow the driver. They have an overload protection built in to stop this happening, but it doesn’t work 
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i did order from digikey, im not sure how long the warranty is, but i had built it this spring so deffinetly less than a year, thanks 
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