looking for a MMJ Master Splinter so i can GAIN KNOWLEDGE FROM..Also in az..get with me brother..i wanna grow hydroponic dwc just torn between WHERE to get my systems from n torn between what LIGHTS to use..LED or T5..hit me up im EAGER TO LEARN
The primary advantage offered by LED is efficiency. However, the initial expense is such that it takes a very long time for LED to catch up with any other form of illumination. If you want to start small and cheap, just go with CFLs, even hardware-store CFLs. You won't get much in the way of yield, but you won't spend very much, either. T5 offers a substantial advantage in terms of intensity, but still- same as CFLs, you just don't get the watts you need to grow good plants. You have to look at HPS for any of that. Even a 400- or 600-watt HPS is going to beat T5, CFL, or a comparably-priced LED system. You'd have to spend a whole lot more in LEDs to get anything near what an incandescent system will do. Then the fights begin over which is better, 600- or 1000-watt HPS, and I just don't have a dog in that fight. Even a 250-watt HPS grow light is going to give you something to work with. World class bud that is suitable for the cover of High Times? No, but there's no guarantee that's what you'll get if you walk out of a hydro store with a thousand bucks' worth of slick sales talk and a 1000 watt'er anyway.
For rooting cuttings or just growing smaller plants before you throw them under HPS, get a 150-watt CFL with a reflector. Inexpensive, easy to use, safe if you splash a tiny bit of water on the bulb.
For DWC, you can cobble together a system from just about any of the local hydro stores. I prefer Home Grown Hydroponics. The staff there has always been friendly, and they've been in the business way before the 203 stuff came down the pike. No affiliation; I just shop there.
And you know- just read a book or two. Jorge Cervantes' "Marijuana Horticulture" is one of the better ones- a bit dated, as it skips the LED stuff, but going with LED is going to be way expensive. If you want to go cheap (and I don't recommend it, but it's a GREAT way to get cuttings going, and for people to micro-grow just a couple of plants for their own needs), read "Marijuana Buds for Less," by Ed Rosenthal.
I will now allow the teeming millions to cut my recommendations to ribbons based on their own personal preferences and experiences.