Sali-D
Well-Known Member
yea mate, thanks for that, info is ample here, love the site and glad i dropped on it. Comments coming in a lot more positive now.
Need advice on budget indoor setup.
- Thread starter Sali-D
- Start date
Not the Amazon/eBay LED lights. LED might be a good choice for you. But, I would swing by the "indoor->LED" forum to get some basic overview of what you should be considering.
GrowUrOwnDank
Well-Known Member
Dude I've been running a Mars 180 UFO for like 3 years. Like before they were even called Mars. It does just fine thank you. I also have a cheap generic Blurple straight from China that's like maybe 5 years old. It does just fine as well. There is no way I can tell you how many hours are on either. Stop talking bout shit you read on the Internet and stick to sharing your experience. You do well at that. Your way is NOT the way. It's just your way. We all grow here and have great results. You're welcome.
2ANONYMOUS
Well-Known Member
Stay away from LED's specially with the price range you are looking at there cheap and useless being your on a budget i mean look at actual power draw from leds this is why people are so upset when the buy a Mars 400 watt LED unit only to find out the actual wattage draw was 180 watts and there yields sucked ..
Sali-D
Well-Known Member
i will take that into consideration my friend
Sali-D
Well-Known Member
oh really? .....ok sure i will note that, so i guess its hps then. i do see some on our countries equivalent to ebay sites, but no info about them as they are just some personal sellers selling second hand stuff.
Heres a photo of one of them, just says its a 400w. only $60nzd...i think its a hps, but not sure about heat it will kick out, and will it use 400w power or less or more.....hard to say ay?
2ANONYMOUS
Well-Known Member
Exactly i like mars there affordable they work but are little weak on the yield end but non of the less they work,, people get upset cause they think that 400 watt mars should of gave them 400 grams but they hit the 200 gram or less or more there not satisified
now place 2 400 watt mars upping wattage and now your in a new ball game
i just think for beginners T5's are the best choice until they learn more about other lights LED example , learn the basics of growing and get better cause no matter what them T5's will in act be always there for when a person advances into germinating , sowing , an cloning ,,
Rather then buy a light that will eventually end up being in a storage shed
Sali-D
Well-Known Member
i also think it hangs the wrong way, so would take even more space verticallyoh really? .....ok sure i will note that, so i guess its hps then. i do see some on our countries equivalent to ebay sites, but no info about them as they are just some personal sellers selling second hand stuff.
Heres a photo of one of them, just says its a 400w. only $60nzd...i think its a hps, but not sure about heat it will kick out, and will it use 400w power or less or more.....hard to say ay?
If you have any DIY skills (which it appears you do, building the cabinet), you could buy some rolls of SMD5630 LED strips and build your own flat panels. They would be much more efficient (useable light per watt) than the inexpensive LED fixtures you see on Amazon/eBay. You'd need about 20-25w/sq ft in that smaller space (like the household LED lightbulbs). You could set it up with cool, warm white (plus discrete red and blue) each on their own dimmer control so you could adjust the color balance.
That would let you use every cubic inch of your grow space because you can get very close to these flush-mounted diodes. There are some threads in the indoor-LED forum about that.
It would be easier to hang 8 household LED bulbs. You could use a lot of your grow space (wouldn't lose a lot due to a requirement to stay a minimum distance from a single intense light).
If it were me, and I wasn't going that direction, I would do T5HO. Enough for 40sq/ft (maybe 50 in late flower). You can be 2" from T5HO. If you could buy 3 two-tube fixtures you could position the outer two at 45-degrees for better coverage. Maybe add a little sidelight in late flower.
That would let you use every cubic inch of your grow space because you can get very close to these flush-mounted diodes. There are some threads in the indoor-LED forum about that.
It would be easier to hang 8 household LED bulbs. You could use a lot of your grow space (wouldn't lose a lot due to a requirement to stay a minimum distance from a single intense light).
If it were me, and I wasn't going that direction, I would do T5HO. Enough for 40sq/ft (maybe 50 in late flower). You can be 2" from T5HO. If you could buy 3 two-tube fixtures you could position the outer two at 45-degrees for better coverage. Maybe add a little sidelight in late flower.
Sali-D
Well-Known Member
200g would do me fine, would be happy with 2oz, that would see me until about the next flowering stage
GrowUrOwnDank
Well-Known Member
yeah bro they are all dialed down in wattage. It's the efficiency of the engineering. I calculate out about 1/3 draw for my Blurples. I can make a watt meter if I wanted to check it. But, I don't need to know. I measure the light by the results of using it and the longevity of usage. I personally think Blurples are perfect for cab grows because of the heat factor. And I am experienced in both areas. If I were you, I would use that Blurple along with your HPS or cob to give your plant even more spectrums. I rounded out my lights with a 150 HPS. And I use them all sometimes even CFL. I doubt I ever even break 500 watts total lights fans and everything for up to 3 or 4 plants.
This stuff really isn't all that complicated. It's just a weed.
I've seen people growing at 30w/sq ft getting airy buds. There's nothing wrong with airy buds if you're growing for yourself. Typically, the "great examples" of these lights are running at 50-90w/sq ft. At that point, T5HO or CMH are better choices. They produce the same results with lower watts. And, a similar initial cost.
How many w/sq ft are you running? I've had these inexpensive LED fixtures and I had to run over 40w/sq ft. Even at that level, the buds are a bit airy. (Plenty of people on the LED forum with the same experience. OP: I would definitely urge you to stop by that forum before pulling the trigger on LED.).
GrowUrOwnDank
Well-Known Member
"I've seen". Nuff said bro. "I do".
Igotthe6
Well-Known Member
for the price,you cant go wrong.Real good customer service too.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Horticulture-400-Watt-MH-HPS-Grow-Light-System-Set-Kit-for-Plant-Growing-/121574354910
Sali-D
Well-Known Member
i prob could make an led light if i put my mind to it and read up about it, but been honest, im not too motivated to do so, plus i have to source all the bits n pieces to do it, which takes time. in my country its very small, not like usa, so things arent easy obtainable. Yes i could go to ebay and the likes, but half dont ship over here, and the ones that do charge an arm n a leg to do so.....im gonna stick with led or hps, more leaning towards hps now
GrowUrOwnDank
Well-Known Member
Hell yeah. That's what I'm talking about. That cab space and heat tho? I dunno but I like that light. I would get one if I didn't already have lights all over the place. +rep.
Sali-D
Well-Known Member
like the sound of this setup, but doesnt ship to NZ...this is the problem with most sellers on ebay and amazon...damn this country!
I apologize. I said I own these low-cost LED panels (four epi-whatever fixtures). It's strictly about watts per square foot, nothing personal. If someone has $100 (US) to spend on light, why would they buy a light they need to run at 50w/sq ft (that is disposable) when they can buy T5HO to run at 40w/sq ft for the same results -- and it's a lifetime investment?
There's just a lot of flim-flam in the inexpensive Amazon-eBay LED marketplace. It's not a lot of money to lose. The OP won't regret the purchase terribly. But, still, I don't see any reason to even do it. I hope the OP will get more feedback on the LED forum before making a decision like that. As long as the OP knows what they're getting for their money, it's not a concern. I'm just urging the OP to know.
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2ANONYMOUS
Well-Known Member
dude there a dime a dozen just go to some to industrial area where you live drive around out back many companies are up grading shit while back i picked up 7000 whats of 400 MH for free they are double stacked 800 watt vertical suplimental lightingoh really? .....ok sure i will note that, so i guess its hps then. i do see some on our countries equivalent to ebay sites, but no info about them as they are just some personal sellers selling second hand stuff.
Heres a photo of one of them, just says its a 400w. only $60nzd...i think its a hps, but not sure about heat it will kick out, and will it use 400w power or less or more.....hard to say ay?
