First time grower. What you guys think?

[HighestCut]

I have been curious if the light I got is actually good or not... it is a 1500W King LED with an actual power draw of 284W if I remember correctly. What I have read is that it is the actual power draw that counts and the rule of thumb is 1W=1gram of yield... what are y’alls thought on it?

 

[HighestCut]

Not bad I'll probably get a ok one for sucking in air and maybe have the tent closed 100 percent. Thanks for the info.

Here is my fan/filter set up

 

[HighestCut]

Question for all with homemade tents... Why did you go DIY instead of pre built? I am a DIY 100% but looking at the prices of tents & quality, I saw no way to make something as good as what you could buy for the money. I bought the vivosun 2x3x5’ and very impressed with it. It was like $70

 

[Caninobis]

I have been curious if the light I got is actually good or not... it is a 1500W King LED with an actual power draw of 284W if I remember correctly. What I have read is that it is the actual power draw that counts and the rule of thumb is 1W=1gram of yield... what are y’alls thought on it?

I’m not really sure. There is a lot of debate on this topic. I personally dont think the actually power draw has anything to do with anything. It’s the power of the light emitted according to the PPFD or umol’s or whatever. So an LED with an actual draw of 100 watts might be equivalent to a 300 watt HPS because the intensity of the light itself is equivalent while the efficiency of the fixture is much more efficient. Otherwise nobody would be using LEDs especially the commercial growers that are using them but that’s just my thoughts on the topic. Some folks agree some folks think I’m stupid. Who really knows???

 

[Aqua Man]

I have been curious if the light I got is actually good or not... it is a 1500W King LED with an actual power draw of 284W if I remember correctly. What I have read is that it is the actual power draw that counts and the rule of thumb is 1W=1gram of yield... what are y’alls thought on it?

Grams per watt is bad way to measure. Ppfd or pfd will give you a better idea of what a light potential for growth is. Grams per doesn't take into account how long you are vegging plants and all the other factors.

Ppfd/pfd is a measurement that shows how many photons the light is putting out. This is what the plants use to photosynthesize.

 

[Aqua Man]

I’m not really sure. There is a lot of debate on this topic. I personally dont think the actually power draw has anything to do with anything. It’s the power of the light emitted according to the PPFD or umol’s or whatever. So an LED with an actual draw of 100 watts might be equivalent to a 300 watt HPS because the intensity of the light itself is equivalent while the efficiency of the fixture is much more efficient. Otherwise nobody would be using LEDs especially the commercial growers that are using them but that’s just my thoughts on the topic. Some folks agree some folks think I’m stupid. Who really knows???

Nah you got it bro... That's bang on. Bit when comparing led to Led there is some variance in this but decent rule of thumb is about 30-40 watts per sq ft. As high as 50 is beneficial

 

[MIMedGrower]

Nah you got it bro... That's bang on. Bit when comparing led to Led there is some variance in this but decent rule of thumb is about 30-40 watts per sq ft. As high as 50 is beneficial

Damn. 50 watts of these new high efficiency led’s must be a pretty intense grow. I use about 49 watts per sq. foot and get strong growth that requires me to keep up.

I do have pretty intense downward footprint reflectors.

 

[MIMedGrower]

I’m not really sure. There is a lot of debate on this topic. I personally dont think the actually power draw has anything to do with anything. It’s the power of the light emitted according to the PPFD or umol’s or whatever. So an LED with an actual draw of 100 watts might be equivalent to a 300 watt HPS because the intensity of the light itself is equivalent while the efficiency of the fixture is much more efficient. Otherwise nobody would be using LEDs especially the commercial growers that are using them but that’s just my thoughts on the topic. Some folks agree some folks think I’m stupid. Who really knows???

I think 100w ro 200 equivalent is as efficient as they get so far. Twice as efficient as hps.

 

[Aqua Man]

Damn. 50 watts of these new high efficiency led’s must be a pretty intense grow. I use about 49 watts per sq. foot and get strong growth that requires me to keep up.

I do have pretty intense downward footprint reflectors.

Yeah you are maxing out and using CO2 at that point with optimal coverage and a higher hanging height.

I'm about 40w sq foot with CO2 but my height limits me for optimal coverage. That's really the only difference. Why I said 30-40 but up to 50can be beneficial

 

[Caninobis]

I think 100w ro 200 equivalent is as efficient as they get so far. Twice as efficient as hps.

Yeah I just pulled that number out of my butt to get my point across lol. My room is 4 sq. Ft. So I guess I’m at like 110 watts per sq. Ft.? Hmm when you put it like that i guess me being afraid to trellis my plants out from the direct footprint of the light is an unwarranted fear lmao but i haven’t weaved my branches through the last rung because I’m afraid they won’t be getting enough direct light. Shoot, maybe I’ll do that now.

 

[Caninobis]

While everyone is active on this thread.... has anyone ever used a mycelial mass for co2??? If so is it worth it for a micro grow or just a gimmick?

 

[Aqua Man]

While everyone is active on this thread.... has anyone ever used a mycelial mass for co2??? If so is it worth it for a micro grow or just a gimmick?

Unless you run a completely sealed grow it's not worth it and those bags are pretty poor source. A diy yeast option is ok if you are running a sealed room. Otherwise pointless

 

[Caninobis]

Unless you run a completely sealed grow it's not worth it and those bags are pretty poor source. A diy yeast option is ok if you are running a sealed room. Otherwise pointless

I thought it seemed too good to be true. I’m going to have to look in to the diy yeast option. That sounds interesting enough.

 

[Caninobis]

Question for all with homemade tents... Why did you go DIY instead of pre built? I am a DIY 100% but looking at the prices of tents & quality, I saw no way to make something as good as what you could buy for the money. I bought the vivosun 2x3x5’ and very impressed with it. It was like $70

I built one to "save money" to keep the wife happy. Cost me about $35 after everything was said and done and its 2X2X5 so i guess if you paid 70 for yours i got mine for half that but its also very rudementary and i could have bought a prefabbed tent thats about the same size for $10 more on Amazon so it didn't really save me any money. Some of the other DIY tents on here were made for next to nothing though. I would only suggest building your own if you don't have time to wait to save money for a prefabbed one or if you've already got a good portion of the materials laying around because for me the plastic & mylar was cheap. It was the PVC pipe and fittings that ended up costing majority of the money.

 

[Cham]

I built one to "save money" to keep the wife happy. Cost me about $35 after everything was said and done and its 2X2X5 so i guess if you paid 70 for yours i got mine for half that but its also very rudementary and i could have bought a prefabbed tent thats about the same size for $10 more on Amazon so it didn't really save me any money. Some of the other DIY tents on here were made for next to nothing though. I would only suggest building your own if you don't have time to wait to save money for a prefabbed one or if you've already got a good portion of the materials laying around because for me the plastic & mylar was cheap. It was the PVC pipe and fittings that ended up costing majority of the money.

How much is your time worth?

 

[Cham]

How much is your time worth?

I have tried several.....vivosun, lighthouse, gorilla......my favorite by far is the gorilla......even the light line is good.....got a couple brand new ones on craigslist for super cheap......

 

[Cham]

I have tried several.....vivosun, lighthouse, gorilla......my favorite by far is the gorilla......even the light line is good.....got a couple brand new ones on craigslist for super cheap......

I'm my mind if one is gonna spend hundreds on seeds or cuttings and time...running a project.......well.......would you rather live in a cardboard box or a well built house free of issues.......but, in all things, to each their own.

 

[Aqua Man]

Sometimes it's just the ability to build it yourself for the sense of accomplishment... Like a hobby. That why I built my room. I'm sure I could have modified a tent bit what fun is that

You can also built it to your exact needs.

 

[Rolandomota]

Man this thing looks lil

 

[CosmoGrows]

Oh ok so you’re like 7-10 days behind mine. That makes me feel like we’re both on the right track because mine were pretty close to yours at that age maybe a tad bit bigger but I’m only growing 1 plant under 450 watts of light.

This is mine. She’s like 6.5-7 weeks since germ but if you saw it 2 weeks ago it was pretty much just like yours.

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How much are you watering your plants when dry? do you water with run off? Im just looking for another first time growers opinion.
What soil?