New To Indoor Growing Led Light Advice Please.

[newbie1]

Hi I am about to do my first indoor grow and could do with some advice please. I do have a fairly good knowledge of Cannabis cultivation but not too sure about lights etc. I have been doing my own research and due to my very tight budget i felt it would be in my best interest to go for Led lights, enticed mainly by the idea of low energy bill costs. I understand that the yields are'nt so high as with MH or HPS lights but that isn't really important to me as i'm only growing a few plants for my own personal medicine. The set up I have decided on is a 120 x 120 x 200 grow tent running either 2 mars hydro 300s or 1 mars reflector 96. Do you think this is adequate for my grow area ? It would great to hear your views and advice please. Many thanks .

 

[Toaster79]

Get yourself a 315W CMH. Forget about those Mars crap lights.

 

[newbie1]

Get yourself a 315W CMH. Forget about those Mars crap lights.

Thanks for your advice bro. Im on a very tight budget :-( I have seen some good reviews of Mars lights. Have you had a bad experience with them ? Just checked out the CMH lights. Looks very interesting but a bit pricey for me at the moment, but definitely something ill be thinking about in the future.

 

[FlyinJStable]

adequate for my grow area ?

1st off for sure Welcome to the farm its a great place and there are some outstanding growers and Breeders here. I do agree with @Toaster79 about the CMH, but as far as an LED bang for your Buck start with what you have decided on and Move up or a different Path if you choose to, There are so Many ways to grow great Meds ANd we all have our methods, I use CFL's and 1K HPS Also use LED home made.
If your budget can afford you to, get what ya have set on now then
move up to a CMH or aHPS set-up and Veg space.

Get yourself a 315W CMH

Its always a matter of time and experience that you will come up with a great way to grow YOUR way, That works Best for you.
Enjoy and Welcome to the Grow, Farmer
FlyJ

 

[newbie1]

Thanks pal. I do intend to try different methods etc, all part of the fun as far as i see :-) I will be upgrading lights eventually but hope these will do for my first grow. Thanks for the welcome, I think I may be using this forum often :-)
.

 

[FlyinJStable]

No worries and for real, I started with 8 CFL over the top of 2 plants and once I saw my 1st flowering bud
I WAS HOOKED.
Growing your own Meds is a blast for what ever reasons your choosing, and I wish you Great Vibes,
If and when ya get her all set up, click a few shots and let us all know how your doing
Peace
FlyJ

 

[newbie1]

No worries and for real, I started with 8 CFL over the top of 2 plants and once I saw my 1st flowering bud
I WAS HOOKED.
Growing your own Meds is a blast for what ever reasons your choosing, and I wish you Great Vibes,
If and when ya get her all set up, click a few shots and let us all know how your doing
Peace
FlyJ

We all got to start somewhere , definitely going to just relax and enjoy the grow whatever way it goes. I will definitely keep you updated with a few pics. and thanks again :-)

 

[PhatNuggz]

Mars has a very bad reputation. Lots of dead panels, zero customer support, AND, their spectrum choice is far from ideal for cannabis

 

[newbie1]

Mars has a very bad reputation. Lots of dead panels, zero customer support, AND, their spectrum choice is far from ideal for cannabis

Thanks PhatNuggz, Ive been hearing this alot. From what I can gather the cheaper Leds are crap. Ive heard a lot of bad stuff about mars especially. If you want to go led you need to pay for the more expensive lights. On that bassis ive decided to go for digital dimmable balast with 600 watt dual spectrum lamp. Its my first indoor grow and I want it to be success. Cant beat tried and tested methods, for reliability. Ill start seedlings on 250 Watt and keep an eye on electricity meter and move up to 400 for mid to late veg (apparently 400 watts is recomended for my tent size) and then boost to 600 for flowering (If needs be ) . Like I say its my 1st indoor grow so if any one can see any fault in my logic please let me know :) . Im going to do coco grow using General hydroponics trio, calmag and a little drip of superthrive. Not too sure about the Dual spectrum bulb. Any input on that will also be greatfully recieved.

 

[PhatNuggz]

Your tent measurements confuses me, is it in cms, if so ~ 48 x 48= 4 ft x 4 ft?

You could light it with 2 Amare Technologies Solar Spec 150s, without needing to have heat extractors

You need to study what plants want in veg and then bloom

 

[newbie1]

Your tent measurements confuse me, are they cms, so ~ 48 x 48= 4 ft x 4 ft?

You need to study what plants want in veg and then bloom

The dimensions are 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 m. I know bulb wise the plants like MH During Veg stage adn HPS During flower, im just not sure what the dual spectrum bulbs are like. The balast comes with a 600 watt dual spectrum, but could see my way to getting MH Ive got a couple 600 HPS.

 

[We Solidarity]

The dimensions are 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 m. I know bulb wise the plants like MH During Veg stage adn HPS During flower, im just not sure what the dual spectrum bulbs are like. The balast comes with a 600 watt dual spectrum, but could see my way to getting MH Ive got a couple 600 HPS.

On a budget the best low-wattage high-output lamp you'll find is the 315 cmh. I run 4x8 tents for R&D/breeding, I've ran 2 in each tent with about 350 cfm exhaust per tent with no heat issues and a perfect environment. I currently have a situation where I run 5 tents 2 8in fans and 3 6in fans all at 120v off a single 20 amp breaker, total cost for lighting was 3,500 and the breaker is running cool. Weights in the tents are always pretty good- anywhere from 1.5-2.5 lbs strain dependent. I've never grown production in tents though, it's usually experimental/breeding runs.

I run 315s in commercial settings and in production scale they kick ass, keeping up with and beating hps in every way but yield per sq ft.

If you need cheap 315s there are lots of local manufacturers out there- locally in Boulder CO alone there are four different companies publicly selling units, prices everywhere from 350-550.

 

[newbie1]

On a budget the best low-wattage high-output lamp you'll find is the 315 cmh. I run 4x8 tents for R&D/breeding, I've ran 2 in each tent with about 350 cfm exhaust per tent with no heat issues and a perfect environment. I currently have a situation where I run 5 tents 2 8in fans and 3 6in fans all at 120v off a single 20 amp breaker, total cost for lighting was 3,500 and the breaker is running cool. Weights in the tents are always pretty good- anywhere from 1.5-2.5 lbs strain dependent. I've never grown production in tents though, it's usually experimental/breeding runs.

I run 315s in commercial settings and in production scale they kick ass, keeping up with and beating hps in every way but yield per sq ft.

If you need cheap 315s there are lots of local manufacturers out there- locally in Boulder CO alone there are four different companies publicly selling units, prices everywhere from 350-550.

Thanks my friend. I shall be definitely looking into cmh lights for the future. Money still a little too tight at the moment. The digital balast , dual spectrum bulb and reflector are going to cost me just £85.00.

 

[We Solidarity]

Thanks my friend. I shall be definitely looking into cmh lights for the future. Money still a little too tight at the moment. The digital balast , dual spectrum bulb and reflector are going to cost me just £85.00.

If the wattage difference is good with you and you're confident you can cool the tent than a 600w will be perfect for you. Def the cheapest lights on the market right now.

 

[newbie1]

If the wattage difference is good with you and you're confident you can cool the tent than a 600w will be perfect for you. Def the cheapest lights on the market right now.

Ive got a 90 watt metal fan to supply fresh air to the tent and the satndard extractor fan and carbon filter for my tent size. Hopefully be able to control temps that way, but just one of the things i will find out as i progress :-)

 

[Damian]

The problem with Mars is it's a Chinese company. If the lights you get work perfectly, then great. But if there's any issue at all, from shipping problems to a defective chip, you'll probably end up getting screwed. That's just the way business is done there. Short-term profit trumps long-term relationships.

My local supply store stopped carrying their lights because they said the company was just too unreliable to deal with. I know it's just one instance, but I've also read other accounts of problems with them. I would definitely beware.

 

[Hyman]

Im using a KIND led 300 and I have no qualms with it (but it's my first time growing under LED also), but I do like the way that some of my plants are looking super healthy and green, others are getting a lil burn from the light. I just have to find the sweet spots for them. Check out hydrogalaxy, they have a good amount of lights to choose from also

 

[REALSTYLES]

Im using a KIND led 300 and I have no qualms with it (but it's my first time growing under LED also), but I do like the way that some of my plants are looking super healthy and green, others are getting a lil burn from the light. I just have to find the sweet spots for them. Check out hydrogalaxy, they have a good amount of lights to choose from also

Good luck Kind leds fail just like Mars.

 

[ken dog]

Get a blue LED for veg... You don't want to start pre flowering your veg by getting a multi spectrum LED light.

Buy is cheap as you can... Because that's what you'll get... the light with no customer support no matter which company you buy from.

 

[Hyman]

Get a blue LED for veg... You don't want to start pre flowering your veg by getting a multi spectrum LED light.

Buy is cheap as you can... Because that's what you'll get... the light with no customer support no matter which company you buy from.

That full spectrum might be burning some of my plants, see below. I've been looking recently for a good blue led, any suggestions on one?