I think this would work for two boards...
LED for plants... Convince me!!!
- Thread starter Decadancin
- Start date
GoodKarma19
Chameleon Enthusiast
4000k has been working really well for me, if that helps at all! All of my plants have good strong growth. 
4000k has been working really well for me, if that helps at all! All of my plants have good strong growth.
Yeah, along with the 6500k T5's I think it will be great! How "natural" is the light color?
GoodKarma19
Chameleon Enthusiast
Slight yellow/warm cast, kinda like old school incandescents. I don't have any 6500k T5's in mine right now:
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ya only direct from them and only that V1 can you get the 5000ks.
I would Alter that a bit for better diffusion of the light, something more like this maybe.
In that setup, I would do UVB lights in all 4 T5s, then you would have a good gradient of UVB, with a high UVI in the very center, and tapering off to the sides to regular 6.0 UVB levels, and providing UVA cage wide. Raise them up a bit, to put out less UVB, if the levels are too high in the center.
It wont. I will tell you why.
You have 2 options to connect the boards, Serial and Parallel.
Now we have to solve to V x X, and A / X to make our Driver choice.
V = Voltage
A = Current (Amperage)
X = Number of Boards
We know you want 2 boards so that one is easy, so X for this instance is 2.
If you use a Series Config, (V x X) The voltage of the Driver is divided among the number of boards (X), so we need to double the voltage (at least, and we should account for voltage drop just in case) of the boards. The Amperage in this equation will remain the same, both boards will receive the same Amperage the Driver is rated to output.
In a Parallel Config, the Voltage is shared among the 2 boards, so that has now became the constant. Now the Amperage is split across the 2 boards, so we take the amperage of the driver and divide it by the number of boards in the system (2) and that is the Current each board will receive.
Now lets go back to our HLG specs.
This only applies to that specific board and you will have to change the math for others.
There is 2 types of drivers available to us to match our needs as above.
Constant Current: The Amperage never changes, its a set amount that is fixed by the driver when purchased. The Voltage is Variable, can be adjusted by a pot, or simply by using different voltage items on the Power supply.
Constant Voltage: The Voltage never changes, its a set amount that is fixed by the driver when purchased. The Current is Variable, the max can be adjusted by a Pot, and the item connected is allowed to pull as much as it needs up to the set (Rated or Set) amount.
The Driver you linked is a Constant Voltage Driver. The voltage is 54vs, it will never be more than that (some have pots to adjust down) so if you were to use it for your boards, they would have to be in parallel. The Amperage the Driver is rated at (yours is 1400) is then split in half and not equally so always, sometimes a board may try and pull more than other one, this can lead to issues with the lights not being the same brightness, and other issues. Its generally preferred to use Serial whenever possible, its safer, and there is less room for issues to happen.
If you were to use this however, you would get 700ma to each board in theory, though again not really ideal.
At 700ma, your sitting around 35ws, maybe closer to 40. Your getting mighty close to the limit of that driver as well. You dont want to do that, maxing out a driver will cause the driver to get VERY VERY Hot and lead to failure sooner.
Ideally you only utilize 50-75% of a drivers max capacity, as you go past 75% your efficiency goes down and the heat goes up alot.
We wanted to stay below 50Ws to not have to have a heatsink, so if you choose no heatsink, this is the driver you want HLG-120H-C1050 43 dollars as linked. Using this driver, you would run the Boards in Series.
This driver will output a constant current, with a max of 1050 and a pot on the driver to adjust that downwards if you wanted. It can feed anywhere between 74-148v, and will let the LEDs pull the voltage they need, and no more. This will work for any HLG board that requires 36v or more (if using 2 or 3 boards) from a voltage standpoint. This is running at about 80%, not perfect, but the closest we can get without going way over size, though if you want to go to the 185, you certainly could.
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I like how the feeder cup hides in there! I was thinking of foaming mine in to look more natural but still be removable to clean.
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
Telling ya man, just go Bio. NO CLEANING NEEDED
.Me and James were talking about that the other day too. There may, and this is just banter between us, with zero scientific evidence behind it, but it is kind of logical.
By not keeping chams Bio, it might be making them more at risk from well anything? Ever seen the movie Bubble Boy? If you remove every trace of any kind of bacteria or pathogen, then your chams immune system has to fight nothing, and is therefore weakened. Then the smallest bit of exposure causes a major reaction.
Going bio, and allowing small amounts of bacteria and pathogens that would be found in nature, strengthens the immune system, just how like snake charmers inject themselves with venom in small quantities for many years. Then when they actually do get bit, their body has developed a somewhat immunity to the venom.
Hey @cyberlocc , thanks for the help with all this info! I will admit, your explanation made sense and made my decisions easier! I remember some of the details from long ago studies that made the whole thing kinda gel and make my decision easier. I think if you can put all of this into a form that anyone could understand without getting intimidated it would make an awesome feature for this site! I have started the final phases of my design and will definitely be sharing my final results!
Please keep any recommendations coming!!! Lots to be learned from this topic!!!!
Please keep any recommendations coming!!! Lots to be learned from this topic!!!!
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
Wait which part? The lights or the Bio?
I struggle with simplifying things, but I will give it a shot
.
Wait which part? The lights or the Bio?
I struggle with simplifying things, but I will give it a shot
I guess I meant the lighting, but the bio part would be awesome too! I don’t think it needs simplifying, but just explained in a less intimidating way. All that detail is enough to scare us off
.You got a picture of the lights ? An where did you get them if you don’t mind me asking4000k has been working really well for me, if that helps at all! All of my plants have good strong growth.
Which one are you using there is like 3 of them ? Send a link please
Has anyone ever used these ?
CasqueAbove
Chameleon Enthusiast
So I just picked up the
LED Horticultural Grow Light, Par38, 32-Watt
https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-6-in-1-...VQgnnCh1jugiuEAQYAiABEgIRU_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
$45 so not super cheap. I got theses for a beardie enclosure where I am attempting to grow high light plants. So far very happy, they are putting out some light. I may add to may cham enclosures in winter for better plant growth.
This is a closet floor, lights are set back, so plants are about 28-30 inches from bulb, which is what this bulb rates at.
LED Horticultural Grow Light, Par38, 32-Watt
https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-6-in-1-...VQgnnCh1jugiuEAQYAiABEgIRU_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
$45 so not super cheap. I got theses for a beardie enclosure where I am attempting to grow high light plants. So far very happy, they are putting out some light. I may add to may cham enclosures in winter for better plant growth.
This is a closet floor, lights are set back, so plants are about 28-30 inches from bulb, which is what this bulb rates at.
@Decadancin what did you decide on your lighting? I don't see the QB288 V1s on HLG's website anymore.
Damn, forgot to put my final choices down for this thread. I will soon...
SAYiWONT30
Member
I just went to their website and from what I read I really like what they offer. seems to me that by adding some large diodes may help with the penetration. They also build these with t5 uvb. my concern was how well they work and if they would be ideal for chameleons. I also read where they are experimenting with full spectrum as well, while they are not selling full spectrum they would likely work something out if you wanted. Any thoughts as to the product from spectral designs from those more knowledgeable in led lighting and chams?
The one I have is for marine aquariums. Fluval sea 3.0. I just used that cause I already had it. I figure if it will grow corals and anemones, it will grow some plants. So far my setup is working out really well. 2 incandescent basking bulbs, one 36” uvb and one 36” led in an enclosure that’s 46” wide if I recall correctly.
