We’re back up online, still working on a couple of broken image links but otherwise open for business.
UPDATE: Solstrip.com fully operational again. Thanks for your patience everyone.
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Good to see.
I read about your Solstrips a few days ago and was very interested. I tried to Google you but I couldn’t access your site. Eventually, I found what I thought was a reseller (cutter.com.au). Looking through that site I spotted all the solstrips and the strips with the added reds etc and the ones using the 5050 led’s. It’s not obvious that these are not solstrips.
Not knowing what the general consensus was (are the 5050 now better than the Samsung mid power ones or vice versa) I searched this site for the cutter part number and found out here that they are not a reseller. I thought perhaps they were the only way to get the solstrips relatively cheap in Australia but after reading this thread I can see you ship to Australia too, which is awesome. I also see that the added far reds probably won’t add anything (or much) to me except power consumption.
I can see your site is struggling to recover from the broken links etc (I’ve installed and configured Prestashop before, I feel your pain).
I’m just glad I found out that they are imitation solstrips. I hate it when people knock off a brand name like that, when your probably just one guy trying to work his brand with quality and consistency.
The irony is, if he didn’t have his own style led rigid strips with Cree chips and added reds etc I probably would have just accepted that he was the proper channel to get solstrips in Australia. I would have pulled the trigger eventually and he would have made a sale.
Anyway, I’ve got a bit more research to do before I look at ordering some of your Solstrips, as well as raising the capital and cleaning out my grow space. I hope you’ve got everything working honkey dory before I order. If not I’ll shoot you a message through here and we can sort something.
What might help me is some kind of write up on how to make the best selection for me. Like minimum/maximum strips per square metre, best combination of colour for veg, flower, or the best way to set up strips for a veg and flower grow.
I realise a lot of that is subjective, and causes a lot of discussions but some people (like me) just want to be told what’s the best by people in the know. I’m very lazy like that. My knowledge of led’s is very limited and I could spend days, weeks, months reading up on it all. I’d just like to be told “for every m2 you should have minimum {insert number}ppfd and each of {model number} strip running at {max safe running watts with passive cooling} runs @ {whatever}ppfd @ {height}. Best set up for flower and veg start to finish is {ratio of Kelvin ratings} run with a driver allowing you to dim {low Kelvin channel/strips} during veg, and opposite for flower.”
That would allow me to simply go "I have 2 square metres, I need so many ppfd. Best ratio of Kelvin is 2:1 2700:5000 so my formular would be {ppfd of 2700 X 2} + {ppfd of 5000 X 1} = {combined ppfd}
then take
{combined ppfd} / Min PPFD and that’s how many strips I need.
Oh I’m too stoned and rambling.
I’m going to go back to cleaning the house haha
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Glad you found the genuine SolStrips. They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Truth is, Cutter makes some good LED components. More COB and mid-power mono LED-oriented, but quality focused (and generally expensive) products. And “solstrip” can’t be trademarked, I tried, so I guess anybody can sell a solstrip (or nobody - GE owns the TM on “sol” for LEDs, which makes it too close.)
As for more info on choosing and using SolStrips in your space, see the Photonics blog at SolStrip.com. Lots of good info there. Or start at the beginning of this thread and read down…
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That blog is actually pretty good. I’m well on my way to figuring out what I want.
The Aussie dollar is a bit low right now, and I’m not ready in my room but once those two factors come into line… Oh man can’t wait.
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As a general rule of thumb, use 35-40 watts/s.f. of canopy area for flower spaces, 20 w/sf for veg spaces, in your planning and you won’t go wrong.
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I just started reading this thread and havent gotten thru all 700 posts. Wondering if you could distill this down for me by answering a couple questions?
If I bought a solsheet w 6 strips, whats the ideal room dimensions for flowering that maximizes light coverage?
Do you need heat sinks for the solsheet?
If I bought 1 solsheet for flower & 1 for veg, could I run them both off the same driver? If so which driver? If not which driver should I get for a single sol sheet?
Thanks!
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good Qs all.
SolSheet O’s have 3 strips and run at a max of about 180 watts. SolSheet X’s have a max of 5 strips and run at a max of 300 watts.
Yes you can run two SolSheets on a single HLG-240 (Dual O’s) or HLG-480 (dual X’s) driver. Just order the T-split extension cable with your 'Sheets.
And yes you can run a 5000K veg sheet and 2700K bloom sheet, or any CCT combination of the same size SolSheet, off the same driver. You would have to operate the two lamps on the same time cycle tho, so its probably not practical. Better to use a SolSheet O and our inexpensive CLG-100 for veg and a SolSheet X with the HLG-185 or 240 for bloom. Each will cover a 2x4 ft area perfectly in those roles.
SolSheets are complete lamps, nothing other than a power supply (driver) is needed. They don’t use heatsinks. Our SolStix Racks use heatsinks in an open ladder-style design. Our 3 and 4-ft Racks feature from 5-7 strips.
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Thanks @Baudelaire! I also did some reading of your blog posts on your website and found that info to be extremely helpful. Sounds like the sol sheet x is in my near future!
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So I purchased a lux meter as I wanted a rough estimate how much light my plants are getting. Can’t afford a par meter just yet!
Is this a sound range to look for?
Clones and seedlings: 5,000–7,000 lux
Vegetative growth: 15,000–50,000 lux
Flowering: 45,000–70,000 lux
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Those numbers sound more reasonable for foot candles, no?
What I’m not sure of is I should follow this, or if someone else has dialed theirs in and could let me know a different lux to aim for.
One rack is 10 3500k, and my veg is 10 5000k.
Lots of info on par, but this is all I could find regarding lux. Very new to growing, just looking to learn more.
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Those numbers are about right. I don’t use lux meters much anymore, but when I did I shot for 20-40K lux for veg, 40-70K for bloom cycle.
Here’s another chart:
Light Requirements of “High Energy” Plants
Amount of lux Plant Growth
1000 – 5000 lux Min. necessary for life
10000 – 15000 lux Min. necessary for consistent but sparse growth
20000 – 25000 lux Min. necessary for robust growth
25000 – 30000 lux Max. Efficiency for Sub Tropical varieties
25000 – 50000 lux Max. Efficiency for Equatorial varieties
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On second look, your ranges are pretty reasonable. I use an old light meter meant for photography use and keep losing that multiplier when I start trying to think lux.
The whole deal with PAR is to put a meaningful number on light intensity that we humans don’t recognize.
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Thanks! I’ll have to adjust my plants, my sprouts are getting 15k lux now.
Almost ready for the next rack! I’ll be reaching out soon.
How long are the bars? I have a 3’ x 4’ tent (1sq ft in corner dedicated to fans for circulation) I have an hlg260 V1 as well as some homemade light bars (with screw ins) that I took out of my microgrow cab…that I would like to switch out for bars.
If by “bars” you mean SolStix (SolStrip and heatsink), they are 45 cm long, or about 17.5 inches. SolStrips alone are 40 cm, or about 16.5 inches.
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@Baltimore check this thread out for some info on the Solstrips, if and when I buy more lights It will almost certainly be these.
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I did and am happier than a pig in shit.
Extraordinary difference. And I switched from a 1k with expensive bulbs
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Dude there’s no denying the plants are looking beautiful. I need to learn how to follow a feeding chart. Rather than winging it. I get those strips. I’m gonna have a nice little area. Then I can get like 4 nice pots in my 4x4 instead of jam packing it.
Thanks for the links. I’ll check it out in the morning. I’ll have some money next week so I wanna get some gear. Later.
-J
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You won’t regret the investment in solstrips. Yields up easily 25% per watt. Trichrome production is off the charts. Single best grow investment I ever made.
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