Home › Resources › Grow Lights & PPFD Guides

Grow Lights & PPFD Guides

Lighting is the single biggest driver of yield and the easiest place to overspend or underspend without knowing it. These guides cover PPFD and how much light your crop actually needs at each stage, LED versus HPS for Australian conditions, and direct comparisons between specific fixtures so you're buying based on real output data rather than marketing wattage.

Shop grow lights

Articles in this section

SANlight EVO 4-120 vs Mars Hydro, Vivosun and Hortitek: Which LED Grow Light Is Right for a 120x120cm Tent
Quick Answer: SANlight EVO 4-120 vs Mars Hydro, Vivosun and Hortitek The SANlight EVO 4-120 draws 265W and delivers above 3.0 µmol/J efficacy, making it the most efficient fixture in this comparison for a 120x120cm tent. The Mars Hydro FC-E3000 is rated for 90x90cm to 100x100cm flowering coverage — it is not a true single-fixture solution for a 120x120cm canopy. The Vivosun VSFL4300 is a direct footprint competitor at 120x120cm but draws 430W versus the EVO 4-120's 265W, costing roughly $150 to $180 more per year in electricity across three... Read more...
Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights Australia: What It Means and How to Choose
Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights Australia: What It Means and How to Choose
Quick Answer: Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights Australia "Full spectrum" means a light produces wavelengths across the visible range, not just the red and blue peaks older grow lights focused... Read more...
SANlight EVO vs Spider Farmer: Which LED Grow Light is Right for You?
Chris Brubeck. Reviewed July 2026. If you have spent any time researching LED grow lights for an indoor setup, you have seen both names. SANlight comes up in conversations about professional and serious home growing. Spider Farmer comes up as the accessible, well-reviewed option on Amazon. Both make full spectrum LED grow lights, though efficacy is what actually separates a good fixture from a mediocre one, not the full spectrum label alone. Beyond that, the comparison becomes more specific than most reviews make it. If you are coming from hardware... Read more...
HPS to LED Grow Lights: The Complete Transition Guide for Australian Growers
Switching from HPS to LED is one of the biggest decisions an indoor grower can make. This guide covers the key differences, what to expect from your first LED run, and how to optimise your setup for better yields and quality. Read more...
Can You Use Bunnings Grow Lights for Hydroponics?
Quick Answer: Grow Lights vs Bunnings LEDs, the Real Difference Hardware store grow lights typically output 50 to 150 µmol/m²/s, adequate for seedlings and low-light herbs only. A productive hydroponic grow requires 400 to 600 µmol/m²/s in veg and 600 to 900 µmol/m²/s in flower. Efficacy (µmol/J) is the key metric: Bunnings fixtures run 0.5 to 1.2 µmol/J vs 2.8 to 3.1 µmol/J for quality LEDs. Dedicated grow lights use full-spectrum diodes tuned to the 400 to 700nm range plants actually use for photosynthesis. Running a hardware store light longer... Read more...
SANlight EVO vs Medic SS420+: Which LED Grow Light Is Right for Your Setup?
A practical comparison of the best LED grow lights for indoor hydroponics in Australia in 2026. Covers efficacy ratings, PPFD coverage, heat output and value per watt across the SANlight EVO and Medic SS420+ ranges. Read more...
How Much PPFD Do You Need?
Quick Answer: How Much PPFD Do You Need? PPFD measures the actual usable light reaching your canopy, not the total output of the fixture. Two lights with identical wattage can deliver very different PPFD. Propagation and seedlings: 100 to 300 µmol/m2/s. Vegetative growth: 400 to 600. Flowering without CO2: 600 to 800. Flowering with CO2: 600 to 900. Leafy greens and herbs are light saturated much lower than fruiting crops, around 200 to 400 µmol/m2/s, confirmed by University of Missouri Extension research. DLI (Daily Light Integral) combines intensity and duration... Read more...