That’s the nicest SolStrip design on a wide aluminum heatsink bar that I’ve seen. Wiring is exceptional.
Thanks, it’s an OCD type thing i think. If wiring can be seen it has to be neat or it bugs me so much i end up redoing it anyway
Have a 10 strip rack 3500k with a 320w driver and going for the next rack soon. I’d like another 10 strips and want this baby for flowering on the one side of my tent.
What’s the best combination of strips to get?
50/50 3500k and 5000k. That covers veg and flower in a single build
I have a 5 x 3500k strips rig - and a 6 x strips rig made up with 4 x 2700k and 2 x 5000k , so you can mix all 3 strips and see what works best for you…
It’s probably the best buy you’ll make for your “hobby” … Great lighting .!!
Good luck/ happy growing bud ,
Gaz
So may just be best to pickup 10 5000k lights, and that way both lights have 6 3500k / 6 5000k.
One hell of a hobby it is! My first plant I harvested was yuuuge.
Yes mate then you’ll be running exact same amount as I am in my main tent. It works extremely well. Easy hit the 1gpw mark with 9 plants and only 1 month veg
@cdnBuddy. I’ve made a mistake mate. Mine are 6 x 2700k and 6 x 5000k. I just double checked the strips physically as I had a niggling feeling I’d got it slightly wrong.
You really can’t go wrong with 3500K for veg and flower. However, @Esrgood4u’s combo of 3500 and 5000K would give you a little higher PAR per watt. I’m a big fan personally of higher CCT spectrums, but I’m also a big fan of sativa-dominant strains, which benefit more from the higher CCTs. It’s really a personal preference.
Basically, it comes down to how much re-configuring of your existing light you want to do. The good thing about SolStix Racks is that you just need to disconnect a few Stix’s to reconfigure your spectrum. That’s the benefit of a modular DIY lighting system.
If you want to go Ultimate, think about adding 4 of the X2 Red/Blue strips, evenly spaced over your 2 racks. Really bumps up total PAR and adds significant energy in the critical deep red and deep blue spectral range.
My best all round combination so far is 2 x 3500, 3 x 5000 & 4 x 2700.
I’ve been super happy with the 3500k, and took me no time to add new strips to my rack as I started with 7 strips, and now have 10 total.
Just have some big expenses in the next while but I’ll be reaching out once i’m ready to add the next one. I’m also ditching my big ass tent that someone shot it up with a pellet gun, and possibly going with 2 tents. 1 for veg (keeping the same 3500k x 10) and whatever would be the best combo strictly for flowering.
If you’re gonna have a separate veg room I’d recommend throwing some higher K bulbs in that rack. Vegging plants love the blue, and it helps with keeping them shorter as well.
Once I figure out what my setup will be, I’ll do what I do best. Spend money and let @Baudelaire pick what I need lol.
I’d just like to use the strips I have and make 2 racks that will be best for my setup. And who knows down the road I can change it up again.
After a load of messing around with different combinations for the last 6 months my advice would be to buy ten 5000K strips and mix them up 50/50 with your 3500K strips. You could have a pair of racks which are excellent for both veg and bloom. Remember that real daylight is way up at 5 or 6000K. We only used HPS lamps (around 2700K) because they produced the most lumens per buck back then.
Going with 10 5000k strips and I’ll be mixing them up. Kept battling going with a veg and flower tent, but think it makes sense to just go for an all around veg/flower.
Lights should arrive next weekend! I have to buy some aluminum angle bars, drill my holes and found a hlg-320-24a driver nearby to save on shipping. To wire the Meanwell driver, can someone point me in the right direction?
Guess I need some high temperature wire of sorts? Also the plug itself, is there anything specific to use, or would a random end from power cable work if I chop it off.
Any cable over 15amp will be fine
For future reference I use an calculator to work out the required amps needed using the wattage and voltage from the driver.
Yes, but look for 14-16 AWG size stranded copper for both AC and DC side power leads. A power tool extension or replacement cord usually has the right heft. Computer power cords often do not.
I’m going to be building a new veg and flower room in the next couple weeks, and would like to use LEDs exclusively in the veg room, and a 600W hps + LEDs for the flower room. Here’s a really professional diagram I’ve made
I’m thinking a couple SolStix should be good to fill out the sides in the flower room, and a whack of SolStix should cover veg. Can someone give me a rough idea of how many and what drivers? I’d need a different driver for veg and bud rooms…
I know I should be able to do this myself, but I’m absolutely clueless even after reading about this for some time. I’d need something basically plug and play, I’m not interested in DIY wiring or anything like that…any suggestions/ideas? Thanks for any help!
Wow. That’s going to be a very nice set-up. Interested in how you end-up building this out…