The key to establishing a successful hydroponic garden is to implement proper lighting that will let you grow vegetables, fruits and herbs all year long. Below is a quick review on the benefits of LED grow lights and a special opportunity for a Free Consultation.
Click here for the Original Illuminator LED Grow Light - the BEST on the market.
LED grow lights have much more light intensity than HPS or MH indoor grow lights and they last longer - up to 10 years in fact. Now I am not saying that a 90W LED Grow Light can ever match the lumen output of a 400W HID bulb, however, they are equal when it comes to the amount of absorb-able light they emit. In addition, they produce a fraction of the heat of HID setups and therefore do not require cooling fans. The lights only use 20 to 30 percent of the electricity that HID lights use. Above all, LED grow lights do not require other equipment such as ballasts and reflectors like most grow lights do.
There are many different types of LED grow lights and it is very important to choose the best one for your hydroponic garden. One of the most popular ones on the market is the UFO grow light.
Benefits of UFO LED Grow Lights
- Uses 90 watts of power that are more intense and result in faster growth rates than HID lights.
- Does not produce any heat and will not burn your plants or cause excess evaporation.
- All of the light is directed at the plants and the light that is emitted matches the spectrum of light necessary for photosynthesis.
- Produces thicker vegetative growth, larger blooms, and increased yields over equivalent HID lights.
Aside from standard red/blue UFO Grow lights, many people prefer to use Tri-band LED grow lights. The benefit of using a Tri-band Spectrum is that the plants absorb the key spectrum of red, blue and orange light. These lights are designed to provide key wavelengths for optimal growth at all stages.
Now, a new addition to the LED Grow Light team is the 5 Band LED Grow Light which offers a red, blue, and orange arrangement with 2 different bands in each of the red and blue spectrum.
To choose the correct LED grow light for your plant, you have to determine the needs of your hydroponic garden. Are you growing leafy, short plants or taller, flowering plants? What are the dimensions of your grow space? Would you prefer an all-in-one grow light solution or would you like your color panels separate to allow tweaking during specific stages?
Here is your best bet - Contact Me for a FREE consultation! Just send me the details of your setup, growing space, the type of plants you are growing and I will help you determine the appropriate lights for you.
To Guarantee Poor Results, Buy Cheap Imitators
I have been told by a few people that they have experienced less than optimal results from their LED grow lights (and nowhere near what the hype says is possible). Without fail the number one reason for failure is that they bought cheap, discount LED grow lights that were horribly underpowered.
Don't worry - I get it. To start out, LED grow lights are a bit more expensive than their HID light counterparts, however, that gap is shrinking all the time and is easily recovered (and then some) in reduced electricity bills and by not needing expensive heat removal systems or ballasts. It is easy to gravitate to the less expensive models if you are on a budget but don't! You will be disappointed.
The cheap LED grow lights on the market are ridiculously underpowered. On Ebay right now, you can find dozens of LED grow light panels in which each individual LED light is rated at 0.06 Watts. So in a typical 225 LED panel of red and blue, you end up with a total power consumption of about 14 Watts. Sounds great right? Not so fast - you see, these units are good for maybe 2 square feet at a distance of less than 12 inches. Does that describe your growing space? Not likely.
Take a typical growing space of 5x5 feet or 25 square feet . . . if you bought the above light, you would need at least 12 of these units to effectively cover the space. And that is assuming you don't want to grow anything over a few inches tall.
As a rule, you should never buy an LED grow light unless each LED has an output of 1 Watt. In the above example, you would need only one 90W LED grow light to cover up to 25 square feet and it would have the power to penetrate a leafy canopy if growing taller plants.
While some people use natural sunlight, others who want indoor gardens find that one of the best choices for lighting are LED grow lights. They are more economical, energy efficient and can be controlled for best results in your hydroponic garden.
Check out the following to buy a UFO LED grow light - The Illuminator 5 Band Spectrum Grow Light from our partner site.
All purchases enjoy a 90 day risk-free trial period where you can return unit for a full refund if not satisfied. In addition, it comes with a 3 year warranty.
Please contact me for a quantity discount or for the 180W, 350W, or 700W models.
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m interested in purchesing an led light but i’m still a little confused about the whole deal. Why are some lights so expensive and some arn’t? What does the orange and white leds do to the plant? does the number of leds matter or is it the watts? for example. a 225 leds that runs on 14 watts compared to 190 leds thats 90 watts. any recomendations for leds?
Hi Richard!
I sent you an email with the info you are looking for. Thanks for stopping by!
-Mathew
I use Quad Band RED,BLUE,ORANGE,WHITE. Its very useful believe me its worth the money.
I am also interested in Richards question. Would a handful (5) 225 led 14W panels work for a small hydroponic garden. If they are offered in all red all blue and a mix (mix is something like 3/4 red 1/4 blue) should I get all mixed ones or an assortment. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated as I’m on a budget and a little confused with this new technology.
Thanks
Budget –
I just sent you an email to help you out!
Thanks,
Mathew
admin-
I am also curious about the different lights and specifically what color to use for each stage of growing when to mix etc. Any help would be appreciated.
I’m also interested in led. I use 4×4 trays and usually have 12 to 22 plants and from the looks of the picture one light doesnt seem like it would cover the plants on the outer edges especially if you are only 12 to 14 inches away. Can you give me some insight to help me make a decision. Also im curious about the five band as opposed to the tri band and if its really a major difference. Last but not least I’ve been reading in different forums about under performance in the flowering stage can you address that please.
what is the difference between the triband and quad band as far as effectiveness? Some quads use red, blue, and white while others use red, blue, orange, and yellow. The triband only uses the red, blue, and orange sprctrums and i was wondering if it would work the same as a quad because ive read that white light can be pretty useless these days. Explain to me the difference between the 5 band and the rest i have listed above and whether its worth buying.
thank you,
charles
Hi Charles – Thanks for stopping by!
The difference in effectiveness between tri-band and quad band can be minimal and dependent on the type of plant you are growing. For example, I have found that it can be tricky (but not impossible) to grow tomatoes indoors using a tri-band instead of a 5 band as they have a tendency to get a bit leggy. That being said, if you already have a tri-band, I would not necessarily recommend going to a quad band at all and only get a 5 band if you are having difficulty with what ever it is you are growing. Reason being – for most plants, it just does not make a big difference.
But . . .
If you do not have any LED grow light, I would just cut to the chase and get a 5 band. Check here for 5 band LED grow lights information.
The short story is that the Illuminator 5 band LED produces light as follows –
2 bands in the RED spectrum – for flowering and fruiting stages. Big flowers, More buds, Bigger yield.
2 bands in the BLUE spectrum – for vegetative growth during early stages to produce thick, stocky plants to support the weight of all those buds.
1 band in the Orange spectrum – to round out production in the flowering/fruiting stage and addresses issues with certain plants as noted above
My personal opinion on LED grow lights using a white light band is this – waste of money. What they are doing is trying to compensate for a poor design and lack of research going into their light. You can’t just throw together some red lights, blue lights, etc and expect everything to work out. The quality of an LED grow light is in the configuration of the LED’s themselves (what wavelength they emit and how much power). White light is not efficient – only around 15% of the light emitted is absorbable (able to benefit the plant). Compare that to these 5 band LED grow lights at 95% and it becomes obvious.
Let me know if this answers your question completely or if you need more info. Thanks again for stopping by!
-Mathew
I learned more about LED lighting in the last 20 minutes than I ever knew before. Just by reading your Q&A section. Thanks for enlightening me.
Hi
I am very interested in moving from HPS to LED however the store I buy all my gear from won’t give them the time of day. My SOG is 5×10 what would be the best configuration, what is the cost and do I operate them the same ie veg 18 hours and flower 12, cheers
Thanks for visiting Duffey! I am glad I could help. . . Keep your eye on this site as there will be some exciting changes coming this summer!
-Mathew
Hi Marcus –
First – thanks for coming by!
Second – don’t worry too much about your local store – sometimes it’s tough to embrace change
To get to your question:
Starting with light cycles . . . what you want to do is 24/7 on veg and 12/12 for flowering. Distance from plant is about 8-10 inches for a heavy yield. Effective coverage for this stage is about a 2-3 foot square using the 180W light – so to really maximize your output you would want 6-8 lights in a 2×3 or 2×4 grid.
I will be sending you an email to see if we can work out a deal for you if you buy that many lights!
Thanks,
Mathew
G’Day, I agree with Duffey…Thanks heaps…Would it be better to have two 90 watt or one 180 watt unit?
cheers
Spider –
It depends on the growing space you have and the height of the plants you are growing. Shorter plants in a rectangle configuration – go with the 90w. Taller plants in a square – go for the 180w.
Hope this helps!
Mathew
Thanks for that,Mathew. I wish to buy one of your units.My grow room is 5 feet x 5 feet. I’m just wondering whether to go for a 180watt or start with one 90 watt and get another 90watt later if need be. Does two 90watt acheive the same result as one 180watt? I’m just wondering this because the units would be placed apart.
cheers
2x 90 watt units would give a certain flexibility, would it not. Rather than one 180watt unit? sometimes being able to just use one. eg.,gow with one….flower with two.
cheers
Spider –
To answer your questions . . . .
Here is what you want for coverage
First – a single 90w can take care of a 4×4 in the vegetative stage and about 2×2 for heavy fruiting. So you would need at least 2, perhaps 3 90w units to be 100% effective.
Second – A single 180w can do 5×5 for veg stage and 3×3 for heavy fruiting stage. So you can get away with a single 180w but to be 100% effective, I would go for 2.
Of course it all depends on the actual space your plants are taking up in your 5×5 space. For example, if you whole room is 5×5 but you are only growing on a U shaped table that measures18 inches wide, that would change the coverage strategy a bit.
Send me an email and I can set you up with free shipping when you are ready!
Thanks again,
Mathew
hi need a bit of info i have a space of around a metre squared but the height is probably up to 1.5 metres growing space. im using a small NFT tank. flood and drain style but i tend to grow smaller plants that are bushy (topped plants) no taller than 5 ft at end of flowering .in the past ive used a 600w HPS but wanted to use the L.E.D’s for flowering would a 90 w L.E.D be enough or am i going to need 2, or 3, 90w L.E.D’s to match the 600w HPS also which U.F.O L.E.D will be best for just flowering ?
Wallis –
To be comparable, you would have to compare a 180W LED grow light to the 600 Watt HPS (or 2x 90Watt).
For your set up, I would recommend a single 180 Watt grow light. This grow light is configured in such a way that you can use it from start to finish – veg, flowering,fruiting. No need for other lights. With a height of up to 5 feet, be sure to put up good reflective material in your grow space – aluminum foil, mylar, etc . . .
Hi there,
so here is the setup 1.2M * 1.2M * 2M tent (DR120) would normally hit the plants with 250W CFL then fruit with a 600W HID. I want to get away from CFL and HID so what would you suggest?
I was thinking that the Illuminator Jumbo UFO 180W would do the job or 2 of the Illuminator UFO 90W’s
Next question, I live in the UK can I plug your kit into a 240V UK power socket or would that be a messy experience?
Your products look “Most excellent” unlike the majority of what I have seen on the net, can you guys not set up a UK distributor?
Thanks
Hi Simon –
There are two ways to look at this . . . either going with the 180W or the 2x90W grow lights will get you the desired results. It then just becomes a question of versatility and future desires. Having 2 of the 90W lights may be a bit more versatile than a single 180W in terms of coverage if your grow space foot print changes (i.e. you get a different or additional closet). So it really is a matter of personal preference.
The Illuminators are made to withstand 250V right out of the box. All you would need to do is use an adapter for the socket. Alternatively, one can be made for you with a UK style plug built-in . . .no adapter required, no additional cost. If this is what you would like, just call when you order – keep in mind though that it would take an additional 6-7 days for it to be custom made for you.
As for setting up a distributor in the UK – we would love to do that! Right now we just don’t have any contacts over there that are serious enough to make it happen. If you or someone you know is interested, contact me and we can talk.
Thanks Simon,
Mathew
I am curious, I have seen roadway lighting and area lighting fixtures that are being put out by major lighting manufacturers using white LED’s, would these work well for growing?
Artie –
They may work a *little.* Grow lighting is specially designed to emit light in particular ranges that are most beneficial for photosynthesis. White light contains *all ranges – 85% of which do little or nothing for plant growth . . . so it is very inefficient. In addition, white light puts no emphasis on the most important spectra of blue, red, and orange which is where plants get the most benefit for photosynthesis. I would not spend the money on them as it would likely be a waste.
-Mathew
hi there,
I have approx room of 2mx2m and 2.5 h and i was trying to work out how many 90w or 180w leds I would need..I have been told i would need 9 x 90w or even 9x 180w UFO’s and am a bit concerned at the price of all these..so am not sure whether to keep the current 2x 600w that i currently have going until i can afford this large amount of UFO’s..
Hi Matt –
With this sized space, I would recommend going with 4 x 180W lights. These lights will more than take care of your growing space from start to finish. Right now they are on back order till 9/7 however, if you put in your order before August 28th you will get $100 off of each! Get more information on this deal here . . .
much appreciated I did see the hundred $ off so will put in order for 2x180w and get the 2 x flower aswell and keep 1 x400w till I can next afford the other 2 x 180 and will be very interested too see how they go and will keep u informed…
Sounds good – thank you!
Hi I won’t to grow 50 plants in a setup not yet made how many lights would I need and how big would I have to make the room would it be ok to use brt trays or would I have to ur hydroponics
Hi Chicken Grower –
Can you first tell me how big your plants will be (height/width) on average when ready? Have to make sure there is enough space for your plants first, then determine how many lights you need.
Thanks,
Mathew
I don’t want to top them want them to crop in 2 or so months so medium size and space is unlimited
Thanks
And can u telle every thing I would need to grow in soil iwould be very thank full
OK – Well here goes . . .
What I would do is break down what you want to grow into 4×4 foot sections to make it easier. Then for each section you would grow 5 plants. Now, for a hobbyist grow, each 4×4 section would use 4x90w LEDs while for a professional/industrial grow you would use 4x180W LEDs. Testing has shown that using this formula with our lights can get you a 30-50% increase in yield over the equivalent HPS light in each section (600W to 1000W respectively).
So all together, by following this equation, you would use 4 lights per section and have a total of 10 – 4×4 sections to accommodate all 50 plants.
Thanks for stopping by – if you are interested in a bulk deal on a large quantity of lights like this, hit the Contact Us and send an email.
Mathew