If you’re talking about a 2 x 4, buy an Apache AT200 and never look back. No “dimming” necessary, no worrying about heat, no worrying about distance, no worrying about anything. They’re expensive, but they’re worth every penny.
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It looks pretty cool but too rich for my blood. Top shelf for sure.
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I wish they would drop their damn prices lol. The AT600 came out like 10 years ago almost, and there’s been tons of advancements in LED grow lights since then. The Fohse Aries with the controller would be high on my list, and cheaper than the AT600. It has a similar lens cover that changes the light angle, swivel bar style design, touch screen controller than can adjust the spectrum to different seasons… It’s like what the next gen AT600 should be. That AT600 seems pretty damn nice, but there’s no way in hell I’d pay 2k+ for it with the other options out there in todays market
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They’re worth the extra money. I swear I’m not a shill for Apache, but as somebody who doesn’t know what the fuck I’m doing, I’m positive that those lights have made my growing experience much, much easier. I use them from sprout to chop, never worried about how far the lights were or anything like that, no matter what stage of growth the plants are in.
But I get it. I’ve still got four years, maybe five, until I have to replace my AT600, the “big” Apache that I have, and I’m already like,”I guess I should probably start saving money now…” haha.
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Yeah, I’ve had mine for eight years. And I quit reading about LED’s once I bought it, so I don’t know anything about recent advancements in that technology. What I do know is that I’ve never had to worry about my plants that are growing underneath the Apaches. The lights just turn on and my plants grow fine.
Maybe I’m lazy, but I’d rather just have the lights turn on and off and not have to worry about,”Oh, errrrr, I dunno, what percentage should I turn my lights on tonight???” I’ll pay extra for that peace of mind. Plus, it seems like those lights grow really good plants, so…
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Yea I’m not knocking the light itself at all, just the ridiculous $2k price. After almost 10 years it should be cheaper to produce, especially with zero revisions since release. Plus all the other great lights that are available now at a cheaper price point. Newer LEDs today are of higher quality than the ones made 10 years ago, too. 2k for that light in 2023 is a hard sell IMO. I totally get why you’d get another one though. If youre used to it and happy with the results, why change it up?
I mean, it just turns on and runs at MAX. Any other light could do the same. Just turn it on and run it at MAX and hope for the best, because if you’re not taking PAR measurements, that’s basically what’s happening anyway. I wouldn’t put too much stock in the light doing all the work, though having good lights helps make good herb. But you’re a good grower. I feel like you could continue to grow quality plants just as nice with a different quality light. I have been curious which lens angle and LED spectrum you have for yours.
I’d def look into the Fohse Aries if you’re looking into a replacement in the future. It has a similar lens cover to change the angle, bar style design so you get a more even coverage. The AT600 PAR map is all over the place - super bright in the center, then it falls off a lot the further out from the center you go. With the Fohse, it’s like they took the best parts of the AT600 and put them into a next gen light.
I did a lot of research into the AT600 after seeing your grows lol. It’s a damn nice light, but IMO there are better options for the price in 2023
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I’ve been looking into current gen LED lights because samsung just released their new evo chips which are supposedly designed from the ground up for horticulture. I had not heard of FOHSE before you mentioned them. Too many LED light companies keep track of these days! They look intriguing, do you know what diodes they use in their lights?
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I’m not 100% sure which ones they use. Here’s the link for the light if you want to take a look.
EDIT: Looks like Samsung LED’s, though not sure which ones. I’m also pretty sure you have to get the controller as well, which is $400
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Never mucking up anything mate, especially if its information 
Oh that thing looks like a beast 
$1100 though for the 640w one. That’s more than double what I paid for GLS 640.
Anyways,
Black River OG, sorted by height now. Shorties on the left and tall one’s on the right
Gonna have to spread these out soon
Day 15 on the oldest one’s here.
NL’s need uppotted and/or more attention, missing some magnesium by the looks of it…
Still no other gender reveal’s yet at day 34. They’re just pole’s with no side branching.
@Vagabond_Windy here’s that Bandaid Haze IX3.0 ‘Church’ Cut mom cleaned up
Lil pissed off but overall doing really good now, I’ve just been super lazy. Got one clone going and should get more soon. Will get one flowered out on this next run I do.
And here is the SSDD bud I sniped off at flower day 36 and rooted before placing in this cup to reveg 5-6 weeks ago under 24/0 lighting
Still nada. Just finishing up. Hopefully get something soon and/or those other SSDD snips root soon. 3 are still looking good there so hopefully not much longer
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I found an Aries for 800 on ebay once… but I didn’t have 800 bucks. Womp womp.
I knew a guy who ran one, and his stuff was amazing
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I know a guy that’s growing with one and it is a nice light for sure. Very high quality. Been smoking on some Dragon’s Flame Genetics Sour Diesel he grew with it that’s pretty good. The price is what keeps me away too, though
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These lights are absolutely epic! I know 6-7 people who run them from one with 11 to regular tent growers. These lights outperform anything I’ve seen by far. I’m definitely sold but I’m waiting on one of them rich bastards to upgrade so I can grab the old ones. I’d go with them over anything else if possible. But RayonLED is a sleeper company 100% I know a few people who absolutely love them. One is a long time friend and grower who has them in all three flower rooms, two each in his Veg rooms and the older versions in his mom tent. Those and dynagro and he produces some of the best flower I’ve ever had, easy! Some of his stuff rivals the best flower I’ve ever had. There’s lots of good lights out there. But once you have most things figured out or dialed, lights and co2 are obviously one of the last steps. I just wish I knew way back what I know now as I’ve wasted tons on useless LEDS over the last 10-12 years for sure. TONS
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Some of you guys might be interested in this…
So I googled “who makes the grow lights on the International Space Station”, and it came up with a company called Bionetics Corporation. Then I googled Bionetics Corporation to see if they had any grow lights for consumers. I found an article that was talking about how one of the guys who worked for Bionetics Corp. started an LED company with another guy who I think was doing LED testing for NASA, similar to what Apache does. The name of that company is BIOS Lighting. I went to their website and I think they’re looking for people to sponsor, because this message popped up. Might be able to get some free lights. They’re def trying to appeal to cannabis growers. I put in my info even though I doubt I’d get sponsored lol
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Yeah, but that’s the thing: I don’t have to “hope for the best.” I don’t have to worry about it all. And apparently any other light CAN’T be run at “MAX,” because I’m constantly reading about people trying to figure out exactly what percentage they should be running their LED’s at and seeing them freak out because their plants look weird and are doing weird things and trying to figure out,”Is it the lights? Should I turn them down? Or up? I dunno…”
I just mentioned this on my thread a few weeks ago, after elgallo asked me about my lights, but I’ve run two-day old seedlings a foot away from the AT600 and they were fine. I’ve had colas six-inches from the lights and they didn’t burn or get bleached or anything. Like I said, I’ll pay extra for that peace of mind AND for not having to figure out something new haha. I don’t wanna have to wonder about how much I should turn the lights up or down on any given day.
If nothing else, all I have to do is look at other people’s veg pics compared to mine to know that those Apaches work great. Their plants will be four weeks old and a foot tall with five nodes. Mine don’t look like that haha.
I don’t have to worry about that because I move my plants every-other day when I water. They all get equal amounts of light. Or PAR. Or whatever. And I’ve got two Apaches, one 200 and one 600, in the 5x5, anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
Anyway… Plants look good, @HolyAngel haha. I like the way that BAH is looking, for sure.
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Very cool! Never heard of them but they are in my radar now, stuff looks and sounds great! Thanks 
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To quantify that, I’m pretty sure it’s because of the light diffusers that cover the LED’s. Most lights don’t have them, hence the issues. I don’t buy into the whole “it just works” thing. There’s no such thing as magic lights. It works for a reason, and that’s pretty much the only discernable difference between that light and most other lights on the market. The Fohse is the only other one I’ve seen with a light diffuser in that style, and for the money, I’d go with that one over what is essentially an overpriced blurple light with lens covers. My situation is different though. Plus I can’t afford to drop 2k on a single light lol. I can’t even afford the Fohse which is cheaper. I’m pretty sure the only reason the Apache costs so much is because they don’t have the means to keep up with production if they offered it at a lower price point. Sometimes I wonder if they even still make them, or are they just sitting on a bunch that were made a few years ago? The NASA contract, if they even still have it, has to be what keeps the bills paid, so they don’t need to rely on consumer sales to keep the business afloat. Do they come with a date of manufacture? I dont think they even have the demand to move a lot of units due to the price, so do they even need to continuously manufacture them? I’m not trying to talk YOU out of buying another, but I’d tell anyone else to spend their money elsewhere. The NASA thing is cool, but I just posted another link to NASA dudes who worked for the company that made the grow lights for the ISS, if that appeals lol. The more I look into the Apache, the less I’m interested in it. Your case is different though. You wouldn’t have to change anything up with regards to how you grow, just set it up and keep rolling. But I def wouldn’t be telling anyone else to buy them @ $2k each. That price is just absurd for what it is.
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Yeah, well…. I’m not worried about it haha…
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Yes that’s a pain. 75% at 14”? Now I need to break out my lux meter…
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I don’t have a lux meter, nor have I ever felt the need to buy one. Haven’t ever felt the need to measure the distance between plants and lights, either.
I mean, honestly? The less time I have to spend in my grow room, the better. And that’s not because I don’t love growing; it’s because I’m completely paranoid about bringing in a pest or PM or whatever. I feel like the longer I’m in there, the more likely it is that something bad is gonna happen haha. I don’t wanna sit in there measuring PAR and busting out lux meters and shit. I just wanna water the plants, in and out.
Sometimes I take pictures, too haha…
For real, though, the lights work unbelievably well. I’m happy with them, which is all that matters.
Edit: okay, I wasn’t sure if you were being serious about the lux meter or not, @Foreigner haha…
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(I don’t have one either)
Plug and play, that’s my style.
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