First Proper Grow, Advice.

[Ar.BsG]

Rapid led has a section for tent size in the diy part of the site .

 

[RuralFarmer]

Here is what I just put into jars tonight, that last grow yielded 19.5 oz's. That is running 2 of the 600w G8 lamps, or 1200 watts in a 4x4x7 tent. 8 plants in 5 gal smart pots and foxfarm ocean forest soil. Hash Bomb, 1st time grown. :cool:

 

[Gtek]

To answer your question. It really depends on what you want out of this. yeah you can dish out quite a bit of money for a nice led but with your available space especially running at 3x3x6.5 a 250W HPS would do perfect. You wont have to worry about heat too much the distance between lamp and plant can be fairly close. Since this would be your first grow you can see it as a trial as you go along you can always upgrade later on. Even if you get a 250 true watt led it might need more distance between your plant since most have a really focused beam angle. I think a low watt hps will be more forgiving and its guaranteed to bring you results less hassle so to say, when you get the hang of it upgrade. Another good aspect is that you can use it from veg to flower. If you do everything right you can have great yields there are people out there yielding more with a 250 Hps than others with a 400, it all depends on your style and settings. Anyways i would recommend the 250 HPS because its cheap its guaranteed to bring results, also because its your first grow its a more forgiving set up....

 

[802grows]

Damn Gtek, throwing me for a 180!! hahah. Okay that’s super good information. Deff has me thinking now.. On average how much more electricity does HPS use than some of those LED’s I mentioned. I know it’s probally a very vague question but keeping electrify somewhat at a reasonable rate was the only thang on my mind.

There are Lumigrows for sale for 550 in my town, which is tempting

 

[RuralFarmer]

HPS is a waste of time, money, and electric. That's my opinion, I ran them for years. I'll never go back. The Lumigrow will produce, but not like G8's. Good yield though, better than going down to 250w. The HPS lamp, that bulb starts losing brilliance quickly and your replacing bulbs. I can't tell any difference in these Led's now, than when they were new. They blind me just from doing what I have to do, and I never glance into them. Told you there would be people try to get you to buy old energy sucking technology.... Lol. To each his own. My advice will always be, put all your money in the light source. You will reap the rewards for years. :cool:

 

[RuralFarmer]

Here is a link to a lamp I don't know anything about. But, there is a guy on the site doing his first grow. He has pics up and I was impressed with the looks of the plants. For the price, if it don't produce you can easily replace it later. He also runs a smaller like cal or 2 with this. Check it out. Only $55 bucks. His thread starts out "Hey guys I'm Erik" in the "introduce yourself" threads. :cool:

 

[Gtek]

I want to go back a step... You mentioned 4-6 plants and a 4x4 tent. You can make it work but the plants would have to be on the larger side to fill up the area. A weaker light in the 250 watt area will not efficiently illuminate the space. If you get the cheap mars hydro you will need 2 of those anyways. I have not used the red and blue type of leds I know people had great results with the more pricier types. My personal preference would be white leds. I know quantum boards have been mentioned, those are great. Usually they will be designed for a 2x2 but you might get away using jt well in a 3x3 space they are pricier than a cheap red/blue led but not as expensive as lets say a kind led they run cool and are quite powerful. On a side note you dont have to use all the space in the 4x4. I think the full spectrum mars hydro with 240 watt is at 107 dollars but its a cheap led and you get what you pay for for a low budget I think there are better alternatives, but thats just my opinion

 

[Gtek]

If I was going to spend 100 bucks I rather go for a 250 hps than a cheap led. I mentioned it because its easy and guaranteed to work. Good for starting a first grow.