Illuminator Pro Series Hybrid 350W
** This Post is now outdated. Please check out the LED Grow Light Review For 2011. **
LED grow lights came on the market a few years ago to the tune of rejection and controversy. How can they possibly compare to the HID grow light standard and are they able to produce the same results as outlined in all the hype? By doing my homework and some basic comparison, I found that the best LED grow lights are more than capable of outperforming the standard.
Skip the review and let me see these awesome LED Grow Lights!
The most important concept to understand about an LED grow light is that you are swapping the brute-force tactics used by metal halide and high pressure sodium grow lights for the gentle strength and simplicity of the technological break-through of LED grow lights.
With a typical HID light setup - replete with expensive accessories like fans, ducting, ballasts, etc. - the full spectrum of white light is emitted. From red to blue and all wavelengths between, your plants are bombarded with light and a tremendous amount of heat without regard for its actual effectiveness. HID grow lights have an average of 15% efficiency, the lion's-share of energy is thrown away in the form of wasted light (un-absorbable) and unnecessary heat. Do you like throwing away money?
Top LED grow lights on the market get 95% efficiency meaning that almost all light emitted is easily absorbed by growing plants for photosynthesis. The lights produce a small amount of heat (remain warm to the touch) and almost none of the light is wasted. To accomplish this, years of research and development goes into determining what specific wavelengths of light to target that will give the biggest boost to the photosynthesis process. Blue, red, and to some extent orange light are the most beneficial colors for growing plants indoors. Logically, this makes complete sense as plants are green. This means they reflect all green light and most yellow light. For a plant, green and yellow light is basically useless for growing - so there is no need to waste electricity on a light that produces these wavelengths.
To pick the best LED grow light for your indoor growing venture, many things need to be considered. Of course there is a wide range of quality in the lights produced which depends on the manufacturer - just like any other product you buy. From the most basic (and cheapest) lights all the way up to Professional Grade LED grow lights, designs and applications range in shape, color of light, price, and individual LED power output. I have found that you get what you pay for with these lights.
I am not telling you that you must buy the most expensive model you can find because cost is not the sole factor that determines quality. It is the composition of the LED grow light and the quality of the components used in its construction that is the real factor.
What you need to look for in an LED grow light is the power of each individual LED bulb. It is common to find 225 LED grow panels for sale very cheap - around $50-$100, however, you would totally waste your money. Each bulb in such an array typically has only 0.06 Watts. This is severely underpowered - unless of course you only want to grow a 4 inch tall plant. Because of the lack of power, you will get poor results, no canopy penetration, spindly plants, and some plants just wont grow or flower at all. The minimum power output to look for is 1 Watt per bulb - about 16 times more output than "bargain" LED grow lights and you are still saving a ton of money in electricity.
When using high quality LED grow lights you get powerful, highly targeted light to your plants. You will enjoy the success of thick, stocky plants with huge blooms and the biggest yields possible when growing inside.
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Hey hydroman.
I have a 2′ by 3′ by 6′ tall mylar tent what kind of led would u suggest for flowering 2-4 plants? I think I got ripped with a 56 watt quad band??? You the man! Wut u think?
Tony –
The 56W you have *may* work, but don’t think you will grow massive trees. I don’t recommend anything under 90W LED, however, I have seen decent grows with smaller lights like yours. What you want to do is get them through veg pretty quickly – start flowering them when they reach 12-18 inches tall.
When vegging, it is common to leave the lights on 20-24hrs/day. When you switch to a flowering schedule of 12on/12off and drop the light height, it tells the plants to halt vegetative growth and start flowering. This works for auto-flowering strains too.
With LEDs, one thing to keep in mind is that when you go on the 12/12 schedule, keep the lights at the same vegetative height (around 12-18 inches) until you SEE flowering begin. Only once you see it start, you can drop the lights to 6-8 inches – if you drop them too soon, you can stunt growth.
Let me know if you have other questions,
Mathew
Hi! I’m so glad you are discussing this! I need your help with understanding what I should be using for growing strawberries indoors in planters. They are established plants (I have 3) but are still fairly small but well rooted. One is even beginning to form a strawberry. I have a standard Portfolio incandescent clip on lamp that I’ve been using with a grow light. It requires I only use a maximum of 60 watt type A bulb, so I’ve been using a “Spot-Gro” 50 watt bulb with it. I’d like to use an LED grow light, since it seems to work the best according to research. (I can’t tell or haven’t seen much results from the “Spot-Gro” – but have only been using it for a few weeks if that matters.) Please let me know what LED bulb is best for my growing situation. I can’t afford the expensive models. Thank you kindly!
Hi Toni -
Since your plants seem to be past the vegetative stage and moving into flowering/fruiting, your light needs to be able to deliver enough power in the correct spectra (AKA color temperature in Kelvin) to be able to give you a sufficient fruiting stage. Right now, your incandescent bulb is pretty much useless – 80+% of the light emitted is heat and the rest is not use-able for this stage. Similarly, your grow bulb, I feel, is not quite tuned to the spectra your plants need. The spot grow is running at about 2800-2900 Kelvin (yellow to orange/just barely in the red spectrum) when you need to be able to provide light in the red to far-red spectra (2500K and below). At the same time, your light will need to provide just enough support for continued vegetative growth.
I would recommend going with a single 90W LED grow light. With this, you will be able to support an area of at least 2×2 feet (perhaps adding more strawberries:). At the same time, you will be reducing the electricity you use as well as providing your plants everything they need to yield some great fruit.
Thanks!
Mathew
i am starting tomatoes,peppers and other plants 4 my garden from seed 2 be transplanted out side in 6 to 8 weeks Plants will be on a 2 x 6 foot table What color of light is best and what wat LEDs should i use and is there a site i can go 2 on LEDs and vegetables thanks link
Link –
What you want to do is start the seeds with out using LED lights as there is a bit of UV emitted that can halt germination and be too harsh for very young seedlings. Start them with a heat mat and a CFL would be best. Once they are of decent size, you can bring on the LED lights . . . if you are using the whole 2×6 table, I would recommend getting 2 x90w LED grow lights. These are 5 band lights, tri-spectrum (red, blue, orange) that can take your plants from seedling all the way to flowering/fruiting if you want them to.
Thanks,
Mathew
Cool site. I did not know that their were LED grow lights but it is a great idea. I will (hopefully) soon be converting my aquarium to LED lighting
Hi HydroMan,
Great page of info. In one of your replies, you wrote about not dropping the height of the LED lights too soon (in flowering), as it could stunt the growth of the plant. I’ve been confused about the optimum distance of LED growlights to plants, and am worried that I might have stunted my plants growth from having my lights too low. I’ve been using two 120 x 1 watt LED lights growing autoflowering plants, with the lights roughly 30cm above the plants.
Any information/advice about the optimum distance of LEDs in vegging, flowering, and autoflowering, would by massively appreciated.
Thanks.
Hi Miss.LED –
There are quite a few factors that you need to keep in mind when it comes to flowering and, unfortunately, sometimes it comes down to trial and error. The combination of strains, light types, beam angles, wavelengths used, grow area covered, height of plants etc . . . I can only, at best, give you some guidelines with the understanding that you may need to tweak them for your specific situation.
General guidelines – for veg, start them at around 18 inches when they are younger seedlings and then drop them to about 12 inches once they mature a bit more. Keep them at that distance until you see flowering begin, then drop them to 6-8 inches. You will still want to switch to a flowering light cycle at this time – 12/12 instead of 24hr light.
Something that has proved invaluable to me (and this site) is this Cannabis Grow Guide. Yes, I make money on the sale of this product but I stake whatever reputation I and this site have that it is the best, most comprehensive guide there is. Check it out if you can.
Let me know if you have more questions,
Mathew
in a 5 x5 tent what is the max ‘led wattage”that can be used to bloom ?
for better penitration would vertical side illumination help?
what power should these be ?
how much power from the over head panel?
grow big or go home!
Smooth –
All really great questions!
First, you can definitely over-power a grow space and stunt your plants or worse . . . my rule of thumb is to break each space down into 2×2 to 3×3 sections. Each section should have its own light – anywhere from 90W – 350W depending upon your grow. Provided you have a great LED grow light, side illumination is not necessary, though could be of limited benefit to promote new branching sites and colas.
Really the best all around grow light right now is the 357 Magnum LED – excellent power, coverage, design, support . . . the whole package.
Thanks,
Mathew
Hi,
I have a 2 1\2 x 3 1\2 x 5 1\4 tent and will be getting the 357 magnum led soon. I am wondering what kind of seeds you would recommend for a high quality, big yield and where is the best place to get them. Also will the tent, light and seeds be enough to get going,or will i need anything else?
Thanks
Azhole –
The Magnum is a great light – you will be happy, I am sure!
The ONLY place you need to go to buy seeds is Attitude Seed Bank. They are UK based so shipping for you should be quick and painless.
Go for a Big Bud strain or the Lowrider #2 – both are great strains that produce LOTS of buds. Also some of the Purple Power strains are easier to grow – not as finicky.
You will need other things to get going . . . soil or hydro supplies, nutrients, carbon air scrubber for smell, tds meter, etc. What you should really do is check out this MMJ grow guide – it is the best guide around and will tell you all you need to know to have a successful grow!
Don’t be afraid to keep coming by – let us know how things are going!
Mathew
HydroMan,
I havent been totally satisfied with the nutrients I have been using. I’ve been searching for a replacement and my hydro store guy recommended a company called Gro High Cal. I know they are new but I haven’t heard that much about them. Have you tried out any of their products yet? If so, can you tell me more about them? Also, can you tell me what the difference is between pharmaceutical grade nutrients and normal grade nutes is? Thanks man! I just found your site and have already found it really useful!!
Jacob –
I have not use Gro High Cal and can’t really tell you anything about them – sorry. For nutrients, I like Humboldt and Fox Farm – you can find them by searching the indoor growing supplies store on this site.
Pharmaceutical grade nutrients are prepared differently than normal nutrients – its about the purity of the ingredients in the nutrient solution. The idea is that using ultra-pure ingredients will increase plant absorption, eliminate chemical build up, improve taste, etc . . . but I have never had any issues with normal nutes. The way I see it is like your everyday high-quality multi-vitamin versus ultra-vitamins that you might get at GNC. You would want to weight their purported benefits against the cost versus standard nutrients.
Thanks,
Mathew
HydroMan,
Thank you for getting back to me! You seem to know quite a bit about hydroponic nutrients. I would be very interested to get your opinion on their products! Their website isn’t up yet, but you can find all of their products on Twitter (search grohighcal). Also, it would be great if your website posted an article that reviewed all of the hydroponic nutrient products offered on the market today. I really appreciate all of your help!
Jacob –
I will look into that for sure! Thanks,
Mathew
Looking forward to it!!
Thanks
Hydroman Where can I buy the magnum light besides the website for it? They want a money transfer or money order…i can’t purchase using my credit card or atm card. What other LED lights compare to the magnum if I cant purchase easily? Thanks
Rian –
Let me check into it and I will get back to you. I know they were having temporary issues with CC processing that was supposed to be cleared up already.
Cheers.
Mathew
Rian –
Just spoke with Dave at 357Magnum and they just got their CC processor up and running today and have a back up so there should be no more issues going forward.
Peace –
Mathew
Hello i wanna buy one good – profesional grow panel 600w , i just dont know it will be ok Mazar spectra box pro 600w
Can youplz Tell me if it any good?? i see its have a 1w diodes , i am right?? it is good?? i was think better one is 3wq diodes??
It is have any matter if i buy panel 600w with 3w diodes like spectraunit ??
Or maybe this mazar is also fine??
Mazar looks to be good option – i check they store its look fine but i dont know too much about growing with led://
)
1500 $ its much money for me , if u can plz tell me if the mazar is fine , or tell me which one i shuld buy i would be happy
Peter –
I do not have any direct experience with Mazar, however, they just seem to be another “me too” kind of importer of poorly researched products. I would not recommend them.
Any particular reason you want a 600W unit? The reason I ask is that you will pretty much always do better to get multiple smaller units than a single large light. For example, you can pick up 2 x 357 Magnums or 2 x 126W Penetrator Pro for the same price of the Mazar (free shipping on the Magnums). You would end up with a vastly superior light and better coverage for a higher yield.
Let me know if you need more help!
Mathew
It’s also free shipping on the 126W Penetrator PRO units in the USA. The power draw on both lights is nearly identical, yet the 126W PRO costs $115 less and has a lot more testing behind it. The light output is also significantly higher with far less fade over distance. Overall you won’t get a better light for your money.
I used the penetrator for one grow and if you really want to be honest then post this review;
The penetrator 126 pro produced a bunch of airy bud compared to the 400w that camie told me it would “easily replace” in fact it produced under 1/3 of what I was getting off of my 400w in previous grows. Smoke in mirrors and camie is full of shit, I wouldn’t reccommend buying these lights, plain and simple they DO NOT deliver what camie claims!!!
If you really are indeed an unbiased site then post this otherwise my hunches are probably correct and you are in bed with penetrator and camie and this website is nothing more than a front that sucks people into buying overstated merchandise!
Jay Fray –
Thanks for your honest review.
I am in bed with NO LED COMPANY OUT THERE. I recommend products that I have tested and have had good results, the Pro is one of them. As a grower, you know there are many factors that go into a successful grow and the light is one of the most important. I will not make excuses for any brand and if it did not work for you then it is good for us to hear it – the whole point to this site is to weed out the crap and let the cream rise to the top.
That being said, I am not here to bash any company either – especially just based on one person’s report. Let us know some specifics to your grow . . . more information helps everyone make a more informed decision. Lets just keep the profanity to a minimum and the discourse, civil.
Thanks Jay,
Mathew
Just wondering what is the best height to keep away from the tops of plants when using LEDS 50watts
Raymond –
Depending on the specs of your light, you probably only want it about 8-10 inches away for veg and at most 6 inches for flower . . . a 50W LED is pretty low power and I have yet to see one that really targets the right wavelengths to get a good flower out of it . . .
Mathew
I live in saskachewan, and I am growing tobacco inside untill winter ends.. (hasn’t even started yet), anywho, I have a 2×2 area to work with, and just seeded, so what type of light can I use that would be the best for sprouts and at what hight?
Hey Me –
Pick up a 180W Illuminator and keep it at about 18 inches for sprouts . . . drop to about 12 inches once your plants are well established.
Cheers!
Mathew
best led light to buy and from which manufacturer for a flower room measuring 2ft x 2 1/4 ft in size 4ft in hieght.What would you recommend hydroman
Rich –
This is what you want – 180W Illuminator
Later!
Mathew
I have read all of your responses and and comments on this site and you are the real thing and I like the fact that you only talk about the products that you personally know about from testing it. Ok, now what I need to know.. I am going to be growing in an 8×8′ area. Im planning to use LED for the first time, I have read your recomendations about the 180 illuminator and that is the light I would like to use but unfortunately cannot afford the price at this time. Is there a cheaper LED that works good?
Hey Paul –
I would recommend just starting small . . . like a 4×4 and then expanding when your experience and budget allows. I hear from a lot of growers that start big and fail because they didn’t quite plan for contingencies – don’t blow your whole budget to start with, leave yourself some money in case something goes wrong.
Later!
Mathew
Thanks for all the detailed help. I currently have a 1000 HPS light that gives great yield. However I live in Texas and heat is practically impossible to deal with. I am researching LED lights but I have concerns. Can you please tell me what LED light to switch to that would not disappoint me in yield? I currently have a 4.5 X 2.5 space where I bloom with the 1000 watt. What LEDs should I use to replace that light source and expect the same results? Thanks again. FYI , my grow shop is promoting an led light Made by Extreme, but it only says veg on the box, which scares me.
Hi Lee –
To replace your 1000W HPS and get the same, if not better, yield, use 4 x 180W Illuminators from ProSource. Check out their video on the home page (http://www.prosourceworldwide.com/) and this is what their commercial growers are doing.
I have tested the Extreme and it can flower OK, not great. Also check out the SolarFlare - made by the same company . . .
Later!
Mathew
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