Putting All Money into a Grow Light

[PaperofPeace]

Hello, anyone willing to open this! I am looking into growing (never grown anything before in my life) and wanted to know HOW dumb this idea is. My thought process is this. the light is the staple of the grow. Sooo why not just spend all my money on a grow light and a cheap grow tent while slowly buying other things that i need. This is the light that i would have gotten (https://growerslights.com/products/...h-quantum-board-led-kit?variant=8194696151141) the avg temp around here is 80F with lows of 50F and RH is avg 57 according to sites, how will my plants fair? It will be grown indoors with random dirt and some cheap feed down the road. I have a job now so the plants wont be suffering to long but i still wanna know what you guys think of my plan.

 

[pdx]

I'd say the growing medium is equally as important as the light. Start with a quality base and you'll get healthy roots. Healthy roots is the foundation of a healthy and happy plant.

 

[NHWhites]

I agree with getting a good light but there are so many other factors to consider as well. A cheap tent is fine but you’ll also want a decent filter and fan. Happy Frog soil is pretty cheap and you can get the fox farm line of nutes to start and figure things out in your first couple runs

 

[Jimster]

Since you are new at this, I would try to keep it as simple as possible. The lights you mentioned sound good. I use HID lighting, but the newer LEDs are great too. The cheap dirt will kill your operation right away. I use Promix, and it will keep you from over-watering and doesn't have fertilizer added. This keeps you from adding too much food and the problems that go with it. A bale is about $40 and will fill about 7-8 5 gallon buckets. Regular 20-20-20 fertilizer is good enough to start. If you have good light, good growing medium, and PATIENCE, you will be successful. If you just dump the Promix into the buckets (with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage) and put a good light over it, you will be growing buds as good as you are probably buying currently. With patience and a little experience, you won't believe the results. I water daily after they get growing with vigor, fertilize every 10 days.
Follow this and I guarantee a god result. Simple.

 

[Aqua Man]

I own this exact light. Nothing but great things to say about it. I think you are right spend the money on a light and like others have said a good medium is a must and will be a big part of how many issues you come across once you get into flower.

Cheap fan will get you by until you can upgrade. Preferably one with a fan controller, no filter needed if you aren't worried about smell but it can get pretty strong so you can hold off until flowering then you will probably want one. The filter is something you probably don't want to cheap out on. Phresh is what I use but there are a few good ones out there.

It depends on where your setting it up and the environment is there. But if you put the tent on a room and temps 70-80 with RH around 50 you can make it work. If your getting much cooler than 65 maybe a cheap space heater. Temps about 80F work well for me with this light.

Cheap stuff in the future that you should get are PH,PPM meters that are calibratable with calibration solution. IR thermometer. Can prob get all 3 for around $60.

 

[detroitjoe]

dont shoot your load off just yet .
the light is just one factor.

SPACE
. where your growing....is it static or dynamic? can u easily expand and shrink the " box"?
LIGHT
how many watts? digital/analog/ led...etc and is it enough LUMENS to cover the SPACE

LUMENS
intensity of said LIGHT system

PLANTS
how many? in what size containers? sativas..indica's ..hybrids..how many plants can you fit in said SPACE with enough LUMENS

AIR

you pour water down the container, the plant sucks it back up and releases it back into the SPACE.
the heat from the LIGHT cooks that water creating HUMIDITY.

you need pumps / fans to get rid of "old" air and to bring in new air into the space.
and you need to adjust that air to maintain the temp in that space.

+ more factors.

whats your goal? grow meds or start a mite farm?

and the money isnt shit. the value here my friend is YOUR time; for time is knowledge new grasshopper.

use YOUR hard earned money and invest in yourself. experience is the only teacher AND welcome to the farm

 

[Aqua Man]

I would add that light will easily flower a 4x4 and even do 5x5. For the cost I would say it's one of the best bang for buck lights on the market hands down.

At 2 feet away I'm pulling 90000+ lumens. Not really a good measurement to use. That light puts out almost 1500ppfd. Just huge for the cost.

LED will help keep heat from being an issue with adequate air exchange. Humidity also will be kept in check with fan. The important part will be putting your tent in an area that is relatively close in environment to what you want

 

[Beachwalker]

Good light and good genetics! Best wishes!

 

[Mr Bee]

If your going to go to all that effort to grow u may aswell try to do it properly.u can buy second hand rvk extractors pretty cheap an even the best of pre mixed soils are only £20 for 50ltres(about$30)
Plus say another $30 for cheap basic but effective organic nutes.with your light and tent you have everything u need to start a basic grow.well except genetics but you can buy decent seeds from nirvana for £16 for 10 beans.the ak48 is well worth the price in my opinion.it will give u the exact same results as serious seeds ak47 which is about 5/6 times the price of the 48.the exact same genetics but for a fraction of the cost and it doesn't matter too much if u fuck em up coz they'r only £16.

 

[Kraken.headz]

If you only want to commit 8-900 dollars right now, personally I wouldn't spend 700 on a light. There are so many unforeseen costs that'll come up.
Rather I'd spend
3-500 on light
50 on a ph meter
100ish on an exhaust fan
50 on fertilizer

Decent substrate
Air movement
Tent?

 

[Aqua Man]

If you only want to commit 8-900 dollars right now, personally I wouldn't spend 700 on a light. There are so many unforeseen costs that'll come up.
Rather I'd spend
3-500 on light
50 on a ph meter
100ish on an exhaust fan
50 on fertilizer

Decent substrate
Air movement
Tent?

The thing is if you go super cheap on the other equipment you can easily get by one grow and sell it for not to much of a loss. The cost of upgrade is no where near as much as a light. If you upgrade the light later you stand to lose a lot on resale and it's a massive cost compared to other equipment.

I get the well rounded system and it makes sense if your going to keep it. But usually once you invest a significant amount in a light even 300-500 it's a hard pill to swallow if you want to upgrade. There are a bunch of red neck ways you can cheap out on the rest of the equipment but you can't do that with a light.

 

[PaperofPeace]

Thank you guys so much your replies and advise! So i guess the medium / soil is a lot more important than i gave it credit. So natural dirt is not going to work, every grower and they're mothers rave about coco so that's what i wanted to use if i had the choice. NHWhites recommend happy frog and Jimster said promix, does anyone else have a suggested medium for a new grower or know any really good articles that comparing and contrasting all types of mediums or just have helpful information on the topic? Though IMO the most complicated factor in growing are the nutrients so I'm going to need some help on this one, guys. NHWhites and Jimster again had different ideas when it came to it. Jimster said just to keep it simple and buy a 20-20-20 fertilizer and feed every 10 days, and NHWhites said to buy Fax Farms line of nutrients. lol so I'm now torn between my two dads and need more advise / a forum post or article containing good info to make the decision myself. My main sources of info are on youtube since i feel like I learn best when i have someone else explain and talk about the subject. I'm a big fan of "From Seed to Stoned", "Mr. Canuck's Grow", "Cali Green" and "Lex Blazer" but I wanna get "The Cannabis Encyclopedia" by Jorge Cervantes though it came out in 2015 so i don't know if there's going to be any newer discovery's that it doesn't include so if anyone knows a better newer book or if there hasn't been any game changing discoveries after 2015 LMK. Thanks!:D​

 

[PlumberSoCal]

Hello, anyone willing to open this! I am looking into growing (never grown anything before in my life) and wanted to know HOW dumb this idea is. My thought process is this. the light is the staple of the grow. Sooo why not just spend all my money on a grow light and a cheap grow tent while slowly buying other things that i need. This is the light that i would have gotten (https://growerslights.com/products/...h-quantum-board-led-kit?variant=8194696151141) the avg temp around here is 80F with lows of 50F and RH is avg 57 according to sites, how will my plants fair? It will be grown indoors with random dirt and some cheap feed down the road. I have a job now so the plants wont be suffering to long but i still wanna know what you guys think of my plan.

Let me save you some trouble. Go to the dollar store and buy some basil or sunflower seeds, potting soil, fertilizer, a 5-10" pot and grow them while you're pondering and planning your grow space. First you'll learn patience. Then you'll learn about over and/or under watering. Over feeding is another learning experience. Get those plants grown and flowered then spend your money on growing pot. In the mean time read everything you can find about how to do it. I'd suggest starting here:

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[pdx]

Thank you guys so much your replies and advise! So i guess the medium / soil is a lot more important than i gave it credit. So natural dirt is not going to work, every grower and they're mothers rave about coco so that's what i wanted to use if i had the choice. ​

I love coco coir and use it in everything that I grow whether it be houseplants, outdoor garden beds, or for my indoor cannabis grow. I usually mix it with potting soil and compost before using it (I like it for the texture, aeration, and drainage). I'm growing my girls in 100% coco coir right now though and they're absolutely thriving.

Just be aware that coco coir, by itself, contains zero nutrients (hence the potting soil and compost I usually mix in for food and microbes) so if you use all coco coir you'll have to supply the nutes.