Best option under $100 for my grow?

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Jaystr0

Jaystr0

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Hello everyone! I am brand new and will try to stay on topic. My girl has been in veg for almost 3 months (outdoor-day / indoor-night) on a 24/0 light schedule. Strain=unknown, but very hardy and tolerates Georgia summers w/o usual heat stress signs. Canopy size is 39” x 36” at widest points measured from above. Height is 30” avg from soil, with a couple 36” branches poking up. Would’ve tied them back down after the final transplant but she’s in a 10-gallon fabric pot with ZERO tie-down sites. I will use an inverted tomato cage or maybe cut and weld two of them together if the buds need extra support. Didn’t want to bamboo stake because I didn’t want to damage the very developed root structure and mycorrhizae. I am using two inadequately powered lights when indoors, plus a small BLURPLE that adds next to nothing to the grow. I am asking you guys what you think is the best light (preferably LED, as I have no heat exhaust options) to flower her for around $100? I need a light that runs cool (that’s why the LED), provides good coverage, and has a PAR output that will provide good results when used with the two existing lights as side / bottom lighting. PLEASE HELP ME!!! I need to flip her in the next couple weeks, as she is getting pretty big for my grow space. Also...any comments you have that are TOTALLY UNRELATED to this post are ABSOLUTELY WELCOME! 👍🏼 I am here to learn, as my previous two grows were both deep woods grows with drip irrigation and slow-release nutes. I am in uncharted waters and need some good people to help in ANY WAY they see fit. Thank you all and CHEERS 🍻!
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Jaystr0
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NorGrower

NorGrower

15
3
Hey there!

What a beauty of a plant you got there :-).
I hope I don't come across like a buzz kill but for a plant that size, a $100 lamp probably won't do it justice. The cost of a grow light usually (somewhat) correlates to how much light it emits, and I'm sorry to say, $100 won't give you a tremendous amount of light. Especially not considering the size of that lady.
Your existing lamps definitely help and the 30W lamp you got there (use the white + red setting!) seems to be decent. Still, considering the size of your plant, illuminating all of its glory could be a challenge. I'd also like to rise the dilemma of capital investment : yield.
Are you looking to get by on a budget or are you looking for maximum yield? If it's the latter, I think you'll need to stretch the budget a bit.

Another thing I'd like to mention is that heat generation from lamps (any and all lamps; HPS, LED, ANY) directly correlated to power consumption. A 100W lamp will generate half the heat of a 200W lamp. If heat is an issue, you'll want to keep an eye at the wattage. How large space are you growing in? I'm asking so that I can hopefully give a recommendation of how many watts you can squeeze in without affecting the temperature too much.

Finally, the PAR, or rather PPFD, you want to be aiming for during flowering is around 600-800 µmol/m2/s. With CO2 your plants can take a bit higher but as you write that you're in uncharted waters, I'm going to assume that you're not working with added CO2, which is completely fine and expected for new growers. The PPFD output of a lamp should be presented by the lamp's manufacturer. Sometimes called a light footprint. It shows an area and how high the intensity is (PPFD) over said area.

With all this said, I'd like to leave with at least giving some recommendation. Personally, I like the brand www.ledtonic.com. They were fantastic to work with and they helped me out greatly when I needed help to find the right lamp and set up my grow space. They only have two lamp models available at the moment but one of them costs $99 if that's your budget. Not sure if these are suited for your situation though. Send them an email and they will give their honest suggestion if you're interested.

Okay, that should be all. Keep on doing what you're doing, the plant looks great!
 
Fudge

Fudge

1,861
263
Hello mate, Im in the UK and I'm only posting this for you to have a look at the company it's called viparspectra they are sole distributors for their stuff on there and I've heard good things for budget LEDs. The actual light in the link probably won't be any good it's just to help point you in the right direction. Hope you find what you need. Of course norgrower is right, but, I know what it's like to be stuck for spare cash at the wrong time. So thought I'd give another cheap option for you.


GOOD LUCK
 
Nate_in_AK

Nate_in_AK

738
143
MARS HYDRO TS 1000W is pretty commonly used as well. Also Spiderfarmer. A modest $100-150 LED light may not fully develop your plant to it's peak potential, but it will still grow you a ton of weed.
 
NorGrower

NorGrower

15
3
Yea, I agree, at least mostly. The funny thing is that despite a fair amount of safety concerns, they are still among the better Chinese brands. Imagine how bad the bottom 90% of brands are.
Sure, there are a few decent Chinese brands but overall I'd try to find something closer to home. The price is usually around 20% higher but what you get back is valued much, much higher.

The main differences, as I see it, are:
1. US/CA/EU brands are more knowledgeable about their products and are able to help much more efficiently when planning a grow space or tent.

2. US/CA/EU brands usually have higher degree of product safety. With better product understanding comes better made and safer lamps. Lamps without CE or at least FCC (or ICES, Canada), even if FCC and ICES are light, certifications should be deemed unsafe.

3. US/CA/EU brands usually have better reachability and accountability. If you need any kind of support you want to be helped by someone who can actually improve the situation. Same goes if something goes wrong and a product needs to be repaired or replaced.


I've done this a couple of times and I recommend everyone to do it:
Before you buy a grow light, email the support department of that company but also a few more brands that are similarly priced. Ask each brand's support basic questions like "Which lamp do you recommend for my AxB' tent?" "How does your lamp compare with XYZ?" "What is the best feature about your lamp ABC?"

I guarantee that you'll get surprising answers. I think it's fair to judge a company based on this; what quality of support/service they are able to provide.

Final point, even though I know that the US/CA/EU brands buy most or all of their hardware from China, I still feel they add so much more extra value just by being from where they are. This is how I fundamentally see things but we all have our own criterias :-).
 
Unhinged

Unhinged

117
43
Or as a general rule of thumb, in addition to the above post, try to buy lights from a company based in a country where its legal to grow.

Im trying to avoid sending money to a country where people like us rot in a gulag.
 
TheKushie

TheKushie

239
63
Look on FB marketplace for a cheap grow light depending where you are from someone will have a led light for 100 bucks hope this helps haha
 
JWM2

JWM2

Premium Member
Supporter
3,806
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Might want to check classified ads. You can usually find some used lights that will do the job. If you have access to Facebook marketplace that might be a good option as well. $100 takes you much further with used equipment.
 
TheKushie

TheKushie

239
63
I think you should get a dolly and put your plant on it and move it around the yard to where sunlight will be. Having your plants in sunlight for 2 hours would be better then being put on 30 watt bulbs for any amount of time. Sunlight =full spectrum maximum photosynthesis, a 30 watt bulbs = peanuts
 
Muttley

Muttley

60
18
Or as a general rule of thumb, in addition to the above post, try to buy lights from a company based in a country where its legal to grow.

Im trying to avoid sending money to a country where people like us rot in a gulag.

Lots of minor offenders are languishing in Chinese labor camps, and they are the lucky ones, for not being processed into spare parts, which is a major industry there, apparently. Still and all, I'd be hard pressed to find a cheap grow light or cheap drone that isn't made in China.

I'm running a bargain basement $30 Chinese LED light right now, and I gotta tell ya, these plants are thriving thus far, though I won't run them to flower indoors. I plan to get them branchy enough to take a few air layer clones, and then transplant them all outdoors when the fat lady sings.
 
Muttley

Muttley

60
18
Hello everyone! I am brand new and will try to stay on topic. My girl has been in veg for almost 3 months (outdoor-day / indoor-night) on a 24/0 light schedule. Strain=unknown, but very hardy and tolerates Georgia summers w/o usual heat stress signs. Canopy size is 39” x 36” at widest points measured from above. Height is 30” avg from soil, with a couple 36” branches poking up. Would’ve tied them back down after the final transplant but she’s in a 10-gallon fabric pot with ZERO tie-down sites. I will use an inverted tomato cage or maybe cut and weld two of them together if the buds need extra support. Didn’t want to bamboo stake because I didn’t want to damage the very developed root structure and mycorrhizae. I am using two inadequately powered lights when indoors, plus a small BLURPLE that adds next to nothing to the grow. I am asking you guys what you think is the best light (preferably LED, as I have no heat exhaust options) to flower her for around $100? I need a light that runs cool (that’s why the LED), provides good coverage, and has a PAR output that will provide good results when used with the two existing lights as side / bottom lighting. PLEASE HELP ME!!! I need to flip her in the next couple weeks, as she is getting pretty big for my grow space. Also...any comments you have that are TOTALLY UNRELATED to this post are ABSOLUTELY WELCOME! 👍🏼 I am here to learn, as my previous two grows were both deep woods grows with drip irrigation and slow-release nutes. I am in uncharted waters and need some good people to help in ANY WAY they see fit. Thank you all and CHEERS 🍻!
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Well sir I am green with envy, if you'll pardon the pun. Sure wish I could grow in my own back yard like that, but I'd be pokey-bound for sure if I tried it i n my neck of the woods.
 

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