It did not break off completely and there is a decent amount connected. I’m just going to leave the brace and ride it out.
I think it has a lot to do with just not knowing there are alternatives. You go buy an EB b/c dude on YouTube had a killer grow; then you get really into it and do your research and find a wealth of other options. Don’t get me wrong I love my EB, but will definitely at some point pick up some CPs and make some more diy versions. I think SIP nation is very much in its embryonic stages and people are really starting to catch the fire and experiment.
SIP on!
The fallout from that thread is that GML is a shuyster and made up a bunch of shit to badmouth his former partners, HLG. So that stuff was mostly either taken out of context or simply GML lying to try to push his own brand.
One thing that’s certain over time - you don’t grow your own brand by trashing others.
HLG makes quality products, but is overpriced and not designed for a good spread of light - they’re engineered for low cost to build. They’re basically just bright and efficient. I’m not mad at them, but in our grow settings, there’s actually a lot more value in an even spread of light across the canopy.
Check out some of the independent testing and par maps for HLG lights on youtube and some of the lighting forums. Here’s an $850 HLG600 Rspec PAR map at 12" hanging height and then 18". Pay attention to the 4x4 area numbers specifically:
Here’s a similarly priced $800 basic bar style light for comparison (I’m not recommending this, just showing it for comparison) again at 12" hanging height and then 18":
Even the $1200 HLG Scorpion Diablo flagship doesn’t improve the spread that much. This is way too much light for a 4x4, but it’s not enough spread for a 5x5.
If I wanted a bright single point source that I need to hang high or worry about burning or bleaching tops, I’d grow with HPS again. When you have to hang a light really high above the canopy like that, you lose all the gains of its efficient diodes. You want efficiency and spread and total output. Of course you can get good results with an HLG, but they’re not great for the money. You’re much better off buying a bar style light with 6 or more bars, or just building one yourself.
Edited to add the pics since it hadn’t embedded them.
Well shit! I’m running 3 qb96s in addition to the 2 315 cmh and thought I had done my due diligence when researching. I guess we’ll see how things go. I need to get in there and Par test!
I agree with you I love my hlg 600r it works great in a 4x4 pulled 684 grams last run with my hlg I payed 700 after tax’s about a year ago but the light is quite concentrated and can only have medium plants if I where to spend the extra few hundred would of got something comparable that has better spread/heat controls and could get quite a bit larger plants for a even better yield if in a few years the price point drops a bit more on the qb boards vs strips I’d say it’s a worthy trade off but for what’s available at similar price points when led shopping next I’m for sure going strips over qb board models @nube
I love my MedicGrow for what its worth… I get way way better coverage than the 315’s I was running.
downside is not as good penetration.
Got it for a steal on a black Friday deal
That be booming with life I haven’t got a mat that thick your doing something right there for sure! Those are going to be some happy mfing worms @CrunchBerries
Busy day yesterday and I forgot to update y’all.
Received my package of 2000 worms from uncle Jim’s in the mail. They seem to be settling into their new home quite nicely. I took the worm hanging out on the directions as a good omen.
Earthboxes are definitely marked up, but they have to pay for all that advertising somehow
I always refer to the kids who ran with the Earthbox idea as a means to feed the world instead of profiting off lazy bones, I personally believe they would have fit right in with our Overgrow The World Crowd here
Looking good! Those are going to be some supercharged worms with what you’re feeding them! Are you mostly going to be top dressing fresh EWC in your SIP’s? If you have an outdoor garden or fruit trees, they will love you for it as well. You hopefully won’t see too much leachate (waste product) either if your bin is running at optimal conditions as everything should be moist, but not too wet where it goes anaerobic.
Totally agree! Strips are the way forward. Spread your light out! People don’t realize that penetration is actually just a lack of shadows, since shaded spots get almost no photons. @BeagleZ Very few photons go through a leaf (mostly only far red and green). And the right number of photons reaching deep in your canopy is the goal. The best way to do this is spread out the light sources and run them closer to your canopy.
But it’s worth keeping what you got if it still works. I keep my old COB rig cuz it’s paid for and its more than good enough for vegging a 4x4. Still something like 50% efficient at 400w, can flower a 4x4 pretty well in a pinch. I did have to replace both Meanwell drivers, one under warranty and the other out of pocket, but they had 4+ years of regular service so I can’t complain too much. Still way cheaper cost of ownership than HID over their lifespan.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it unless you just want to upgrade. And in that case, repurpose your old kit or retire the cmh. Not having to buy bulbs is pretty cool…
Damn man, your worm bin and plants are looking awesome. SIPs to the rescue! Also, I have a confession. I went back to SIPs to cover my lazy watering, and my plants are looking quite happy.
I updated this post with the light spread PAR maps attached instead of linked so you could see how dramatic the difference is in coverage between boards and strip lights.
Thanks @ElGalloBlanco! I’m going to be using the fresh EWC on all my plants indoors and out. I never really got a lot of leachate from my can-o-worms system, but better safe sorry.
sweet thanks @nube!
I have some 4x4 diffusion silks, .25 and .5 stop silks I have been thinking about putting in my tent somehow so I can lower my light.
Right now it is all the way up to the ceiling and at 40%.
You think the diffusion screen would work ok for this? I can’t spread the bars out anymore as my light is wall to wall. So the only option is to try to spread the actual light, and this is how I do it with strobes so
Since you’re already running strip lights, I don’t think you’ll benefit from diffusing the light further @BeagleZ . Those diffusion silks will only serve to block light.
Which Medicgrow model do you have? Minimum hanging height for LED strip lights is based on the distance between bars and the angle of output from the diodes. Instead of getting deep in the math, I just hang them as low as I can without seeing plant stress. That varies by strain and pheno, but most are fine at 8-12" from the strips unless you have very high power strips. Definitely hang the strip lights no more than 18" above the canopy.
And remember, we don’t need to push plants hard most of the time. Less is more in many cases. For example, happy plants with medium DLI will often yield nearly the same but have higher quality compared to unhappy plants with high DLI. Plant health is probably the most important factor.
I have the smart 8 in the 4x4. It’s quite a bit of light for in there as I think it’s designed for a 5x5.
The light is all the way at the top dimmed to the lowest setting so my thinking was to put the screen in so I could lower it a bit in height.
My DLI/PAR is dead on but I feel like I’m wasting energy with the fixture being so high and might get better penetration if the light doesn’t have to travel as far.
Not having to buy bulbs is pretty cool…
