I think now is a good time for me to create an account and chime in. I'm on my second grow ever, using a 5x9 gorilla grow tent. I have 3x 400 watt (420 actual watts per light, 1,240 watts total.) Cost is $71 per month in electricity for the 3 lights and I do not have any cooling costs. I am growing in a Coco and perlite mixture and am using the entire advanced line.
I mean, the entire line... Coco grow part A, B, big bud, bud factor X, all microbes, etc. Too much to list right now, but literally ever flipping bottle. I'm on day 21 of flower. I switched on 4/12. I'm doing "advanced growing techniques" (just takes more thought) such as fimming, staking, defoliating, super cropping, lollipopping, and foliar feeding with fog.
I will gladly discuss my opinions on cost, what I've spent all together, what I'm going to potentially yield, how it was paid for etc. But any direct attacks on any method will be promptly ignored. I have reasons of doing every single thing I'm doing. Questions are welcome. Blatant "that's stupid" comments do nothing. I will explain what I think, and if your method is better, then absolutely I'd love to hear it and use it myself. I think this is working for me, and I'm jazzed about it. Let's be civil.
But I'm on day 21 and have 11 huge plants in my tent. The lights are hooked up to a light mover and the whole tent has even light distribution. Temps are a stable 92° when sealed (this is possible due to the led lights, co2, and proper nutrients.) This is my second grow ever (first one was removed forcibly, so that was fun.) Ignore anybody that says you can't do anything you desire you can. I got this whole setup piece by piece and put everything together myself. You can do it if you desire. I started with the goal of saying "I want to grow the best weed in the world." And now I say "I am going to grow the best weed in the world." It's not arrogance, it's an optimistic goal. Shoot for the highest you can possibly get. There is no reason to try anything different. Ignore anybody that says you don't have the capability to do the thing your motivation is saying you need to do.
My plants smell incredible (thank you advanced nutrients bud candy and bud factor X), look incredible (rhino skin, voodoo juice etc,) and with the power output I'm using I expect a minimum of 1 gram per watt, which is 1,260 grams or 45oz, or 2.8 pounds. These lights have been shown to produce up to 1.7g per watt, or 2,142g, 76.5oz, 4.78 pounds. Depending on your skills they could go higher with proper techniques. The closeup is my Atomic Northern Lights.
Plant strains are: Key lime Pie, Orange fruity pebbles, #10 (unique hybrid), blue Skittles, Mendo, inner chi, Suzy Q-high cbd small girl in far back left under netting, AOC (no idea what this acronym means. I keep meaning to call my source and ask her lol.), Atomic Northern Lights, Royal Orange, and midnight fire. I'm having fun, the plants are having fun. I had the idea that I could infused them with the energy that's contained in sound. So I play music for them ever moment. Mixtures of reggae, classical, some heavy metal, etc. A huge mix of people and thought and cool processes of energy. I've got a lot of ideas. I'll probably do a grow log. But I did this for the OP.
Here is my advice if you desire it.
-Make a goal
-think about the steps that need to happen to make that real
-ignore haters
-do the thing.
I've got a lot of pictures. And reasons why I chose this specific led. And how it was all thought together. We've still got a few things to solidify. Like plant spacing and a few other things. But I'm going to grow the best weed in the world. And that definition can be brought to just say "I'm going to grow the best weed in my world." This is already far passed my expectations for them at this stage. It can only get better as they grow and mature. And at the end of the day, I can do this over and over and over. These lights will last 5+ years and still maintain 80% of their original output. Hps and metal halide for example lose roughly 30% of their power within a few months I believe. But don't quote me directly on that. I can get exact numbers later. Just look into blackdog led, they have an obscene amount of data and information on their site.
I started with a cheep tent off eBay. And had to return it. Trust me, go for the big boy. You are going to be using this over and over. Get the biggest you can afford. I got my 5x9 gorilla tent for $730 I believe. Each black dog led was $1,109 for a total light cost of $3,327 and I haven't regretted any portion of the cost. Ignore haters, do it over and over, have fun.
I think now would be a good time to say that I've been scouring the internet for years reading about every detail of this process that i could find. I still have a lot to explore but I've done some great things thus far. I can likely help to find the answer to most questions you could have and I love talking about this so let's grow the best weed humans have ever created. I think I have a general (and sometimes fairly specific) understanding of nearly every aspect of this process. If you find the previous statement to be arrogant, I refer you to my statement of "any negative comments will be promptly ignored". I'm here to help, learn, and share this cool thing I've put together.
That big zoomed out picture that shows all the plants is way outdated as well. I'll upload a current one during lights on period.
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