Purple Haze - First Grow

@NOLOGIK, okay, I own both types and I am using them on separate grows/areas and here is what I am noticing. The budget Blurple LEDs work fine, but they are very low powered for what they say they are. If it says 600w, I would consider it is actually only about 25% of that in equivalency. The 600w Blurple LEDs I have are setup with 2 in a 3x3 grow tent. They performed INCREDIBLY for vegetation phase, but seem to be under-powered for the bloom phase. LUX is in the 15k range at 12". I have another budget 1200w Blurple in a second area, 2x3 ft. It is almost done with a 4 month grow and it is performing VERY well. Huge buds! The doubling in intensity from the single light is noticeably showing. It's the PH1 plant in this grow. I love this light and it covers the area perfectly and has decent LUX. (40,000k) I use a freebie LUX meter app on my phone. My third area has my PH2-6 plants and the Triplnt. In a 3x5ft area I have two budget 1200w COB LED lights (4x300w COBs in each). The performance is beyond my expectations and I am very pleased. These are my favorite lights. The LUX on them runs 40,000-50,000 and the penetration below the canopy is superior. I did use the 2x600w Blruple LEDs to veg these plants. So, from what I have learned in the past 4 months for the home grower: 1. Don't waste money on the $500 name brand lights (I spent less than that for all my 6 of my different grow lights combined) 2. Budget Blurple lights need to be 12-18" from your plants, reducing their effective area - so use them for smaller grows or use 2-4 of them to cover a larger area. 3. Budget COB LEDs cost a bit more, but they can cover a much larger area as they don't need to be so close. They also put off more heat than the Blurples, so they work as a heat source in the cold winter months. If you only want to grow 2 plants at a time, a budget Blurple LED of at least 900watts. If you want to grow 4 plants, get three or more Blurples (600w each, or more) and stagger them. If you want to grow more than that, focus on COB LEDs of 1200w or more. My friend uses 4 1500w COBs in a 5x5 tent with amazing results. As an FYI, I just ordered myself another 2foot long 600w COB LED with 3 COBs in it, all in a row. I am going to add it to my 3x3 tent in between the two 600w Blurple LED lights - which I am keeping. It is the Gorillagasm grow in my diaries if you want to see how it is doing so far with just the 2x600w Blurples. I'm adding the light because in comparison, the buds seem a little smaller than my COB grow was at this stage in bloom. I do like and see the benefit of the red light spectrum, plus I really like the idea of the UV and IR lights they have to prevent bacteria and other nastiness. If you go Blurple - pick a high wattage reading. Do not be concerned about the ones with or without the veg/bloom switches - it does not change much other than how much light it puts out. If you go COB, consider a cheapo blurple as a supplement light along side it.