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Inexpensive LED grow light.

NickHubbell

It’s a trap!
Hello, does anyone have any experience using the castnoo LED 1000w fixture?

From the information I have found is good for covering a 2ftx2ft area. Max 4ftx4ft area if less lightning is needed. Plan on using this for Nepenthes.


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My prior experience with lighting was using T8 and T12 lighting with full spectrum bulbs. Did most of my indoor growing of drosera under 3 4ft T12 twin bulb shop lights.

Have some 2ft twin bulb T5HO from my aquariums in use now over the Nepenthes I just acquired.

Looking at LED as they should be must less expensive to run. Plus the price had fallen on LED from 2004 it’s amazing at the low cost.

Old photo from 2002-2003.

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I don't use that exact panel but mine is similar. They are very powerful and run cooler than a bank of T5's would. They're powerful enough to produce some leaf burn and should be used at a minimum of 2 feet away. Overall, they are a great investment.
 
In years past, the problem with the cheaper (almost always Chinese made) LED lights is that they are made of poor components and simply do not last. Components like the heat sink/cooling fans would fail, and the LEDs burn out, etc. It was common to get no more than 6-12 months out of a cheap grow LED. I don't know if the current generation of LEDs have the same issues. For a light as cheap as this ($100-$130) I wouldn't trust it to last for long. Personally, I am not a fan of "subscription model appliances" (Buy a cheap appliance over and over again, as each unit fails)
 
Thanks for the info.


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This is why I purchased the more expensive light that I use. It's been running for 3 years straight without a single LED burning out or any problems at all. The casing is aluminum, which helps to pull any heat away quickly and efficiently. I've posted the model to others, but the cost is more up-front than those cheaper units. If you have the money though, it pays for itself in the long run
 
This is why I purchased the more expensive light that I use. It's been running for 3 years straight without a single LED burning out or any problems at all. The casing is aluminum, which helps to pull any heat away quickly and efficiently. I've posted the model to others, but the cost is more up-front than those cheaper units. If you have the money though, it pays for itself in the long run

Which grow light? I've been hesitant to buy anything LED because I haven't seen specific brands/products talked about in the CP community.
 
Which grow light? I've been hesitant to buy anything LED because I haven't seen specific brands/products talked about in the CP community.

I purchased the Finnex 247 Planted+ SE because it has both of the wavelengths of light that plants need for both leafing and flowering. There is a newer version of that now since mine is over 3 years old.
 
Led lights should work just fine. Just need to get one with the proper wavelengths for plants.

I’ve seen a few posts online about just using led shop lights. I’m not sure about those. I have one over my reloading area and it gives off a nice bright white light. I’m guessing that the white LED shop lights will not work for plants as they do not have the correct wavelengths for growth.

Seems there are a few different versions of the led light I posted. The bigger units appear to actually be closer to the 1000w as they have cooling fans. The one I pictured had no fan and runs at 45 watts. Going to venture and say it’s not a 1000w LED light assembly.


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white light works great for plants as it contains a full spectrum. of course not all white light is created equal and can have different ratios of red, blue, yellow etc. the blurple LEDs just cut out many of the colors that are not vital to the plants' growth. As a hobby grower, I will always use white purely for my own viewing pleasure.
 
  • #10
As a hobby grower, I will always use white purely for my own viewing pleasure.

This is one of the reasons I love my Finnex LED setup. I've watched too many videos where they use those "blurple" lights and you can't see detail or the natural beauty of the plants. Just a dark outline of everything.
 
  • #11
I went very cheap.
Yescom White LED Panel about $22-$25

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2 small indoor greenhouses


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  • #12
Oh and I grew Groot
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And N. jamban. About 40 Neps so far under these lights.


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  • #13
I went very cheap.
Yescom White LED Panel about $22-$25

so you have had these lights for about 5 months now? any issues?
i too have been looking at cheap LED lights to begin my sarracenia-from-seeds project. i noticed one comment warning you away from "cheap ($100-300)" lights. i was thinking more in the 20 to 80$ range!! my problem is, they just arent branded. i realise I need a light with the spectra provided, but are any reliable? are the companies honest?

just wondering about the experience with truly cheap LED setups.
 
  • #14
so you have had these lights for about 5 months now? any issues?
i too have been looking at cheap LED lights to begin my sarracenia-from-seeds project. i noticed one comment warning you away from "cheap ($100-300)" lights. i was thinking more in the 20 to 80$ range!! my problem is, they just arent branded. i realise I need a light with the spectra provided, but are any reliable? are the companies honest?

just wondering about the experience with truly cheap LED setups.


I’m growing mainly Nepenthes, with a few Helis, Drosera, Pings, Utrics and one Ceph.
My Sarrs and VFT are outside.


The Yescom lights have worked very well for me.

For Sarrs you might try T5HO. I have had good results with these. But again I don’t grow Sarrs indoors

Pics are from Yescom panels. One per shelf

VIVOSUN 6500K 2FT T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture for Indoor Plants, UL Listed High Output Fluorescent Tubes, 4 Lamps https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XFNLMQW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HZZ0Db24P9G2M

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  • #15
Don't have any pics handy, but I have had yescoms on almost all my plants (dews, Neps, pings, utrics, cephs) for the last 3-4 months and they've done well. The only issues I've heard from others are 1) packaging isn't great so they can arrive bent, and 2) I know of one person who had one of theirs burn out after not that long. But in both cases they were able to get them replaced without too much of a hassle.
 
  • #16
In my experience, cheap (think $20-$50) chinese lights have a few problems:
  • the manufacturers typically recommend running them for no more than 4-6 hours a time so they need to be turned off for an hour or so at a time if you want longer photoperiods (which you almost certainly do)
  • while they can be more efficient than non-LEDs, you can get 50-100% more usable light for the same power when using relatively good LEDs
  • they tend to produce more heat under the panels than you'd expect from LEDs

That said, yescom panels may be an exception. I haven't used them myself but have heard good things (as you can see in this thread).
 
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