Ok ok ok, I know this question has been asked a million times on the internet BUT I am here with a couple new twists....
A brief background on me, I have been growing for a few years now and love experimenting with new techniques, technology, and just differing grow methods. (all indoor growing)
In regards to my current lighting choices: I have a 400 watt MH / 400 watt HPS / 250 watt Felix CFL / Penetrator 126X LED. After using each of these lights for multiple grows I can certainly attest to the efficiency of the LED (even if it is drawing less than 200 watt!) and the quality of the CFL (in veg).
Please don't get me wrong I like my HID MH (but it is over my strawberries these days...) I have done multiple tests only to find the LED simply had better quality results in veg phase of growing.
In regards to my HID HPS, I am still on the fence so to speak. My last test was contaminated by shit genetics from Dutch Passion (who refused to ever respond to my many email inquiries...) I was using the LED from start to finish and ended up with crappy fluffy buds and hardly any trichs; whereas my HPS produced some dank! HOWEVER I cannot rely on this test alone because from all my research this is certainly not the norm and was most likely due to the shit genetics that Dutch Passion has floating around...
I am in the middle of my latest grow and just switched to 12/12 last week (LED from start to finish). I feel this will give me a much better idea of LED for flower, and by all accounts feel the LED will produce some nice smoke this go around...
SO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POINT AND PURPOSE OF THIS POST... Obviously I am looking to invest in a new light for my grow room. I want a light that will give a nice EVEN distribution of light in a 2ft X 4ft tent. This is a BIG reason I am no longer using the 400 watt MH, yes I could get it within 8 inches of my plant tops, however at that height I was not getting light on my entire 2 x 4 canopy, more like 2 x 2.
I love my LED but money is tight now and those are pretty expensive to begin with. UNTIL I FOUND cidly.com! Long story short I can get an Apollo 16 LED for ~ $450 which should give me the light distribution I am looking for. Since cidly allow the buyer to customize the led spectrum I had to do some research. But it was in my research that I came across the users of T5HO's (in particular Quantum Badboy & Evergreen). Both of these units offer a 4ft X ~2ft unit 8 bulb fixture. And when all is said and done, initial cost will be about the same as the cidly led (~$450)
So here is my dilemma; if the main advantage of LED is ability to choose and customize spectrum the plant uses most efficiently, and the main drawback is price; LED from cidly would be the clear choice. But with the T5HO systems, I can also modify my spectrum AND STILL INCLUDE some wavelengths from the broad spectrum, isn't this better for the plant? ie: closer to actual outside sun spectrum? But keep in mind the T5HO bulbs will have to be replaced much more often than those of a quality LED, so as hard as it is to believe the T5HO system cost more than the LED!
TO be honest I am leaning towards the T5HO simply because of the closer spectrum to actual outside light, but I would LOVE to hear some other opinions (preferably those who have actually used the light they are talking about... ie: don't say T5HO sucks if you have never grown with one!)
Please feel free to chime in if you have any experience with these two lighting options. Like I said before, I LOVE my LED but every time I look at my plants under the purple light, I wonder if they are really getting all the wavelengths they desire? Thanks!
A brief background on me, I have been growing for a few years now and love experimenting with new techniques, technology, and just differing grow methods. (all indoor growing)
In regards to my current lighting choices: I have a 400 watt MH / 400 watt HPS / 250 watt Felix CFL / Penetrator 126X LED. After using each of these lights for multiple grows I can certainly attest to the efficiency of the LED (even if it is drawing less than 200 watt!) and the quality of the CFL (in veg).
Please don't get me wrong I like my HID MH (but it is over my strawberries these days...) I have done multiple tests only to find the LED simply had better quality results in veg phase of growing.
In regards to my HID HPS, I am still on the fence so to speak. My last test was contaminated by shit genetics from Dutch Passion (who refused to ever respond to my many email inquiries...) I was using the LED from start to finish and ended up with crappy fluffy buds and hardly any trichs; whereas my HPS produced some dank! HOWEVER I cannot rely on this test alone because from all my research this is certainly not the norm and was most likely due to the shit genetics that Dutch Passion has floating around...
I am in the middle of my latest grow and just switched to 12/12 last week (LED from start to finish). I feel this will give me a much better idea of LED for flower, and by all accounts feel the LED will produce some nice smoke this go around...
SO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POINT AND PURPOSE OF THIS POST... Obviously I am looking to invest in a new light for my grow room. I want a light that will give a nice EVEN distribution of light in a 2ft X 4ft tent. This is a BIG reason I am no longer using the 400 watt MH, yes I could get it within 8 inches of my plant tops, however at that height I was not getting light on my entire 2 x 4 canopy, more like 2 x 2.
I love my LED but money is tight now and those are pretty expensive to begin with. UNTIL I FOUND cidly.com! Long story short I can get an Apollo 16 LED for ~ $450 which should give me the light distribution I am looking for. Since cidly allow the buyer to customize the led spectrum I had to do some research. But it was in my research that I came across the users of T5HO's (in particular Quantum Badboy & Evergreen). Both of these units offer a 4ft X ~2ft unit 8 bulb fixture. And when all is said and done, initial cost will be about the same as the cidly led (~$450)
So here is my dilemma; if the main advantage of LED is ability to choose and customize spectrum the plant uses most efficiently, and the main drawback is price; LED from cidly would be the clear choice. But with the T5HO systems, I can also modify my spectrum AND STILL INCLUDE some wavelengths from the broad spectrum, isn't this better for the plant? ie: closer to actual outside sun spectrum? But keep in mind the T5HO bulbs will have to be replaced much more often than those of a quality LED, so as hard as it is to believe the T5HO system cost more than the LED!
TO be honest I am leaning towards the T5HO simply because of the closer spectrum to actual outside light, but I would LOVE to hear some other opinions (preferably those who have actually used the light they are talking about... ie: don't say T5HO sucks if you have never grown with one!)
Please feel free to chime in if you have any experience with these two lighting options. Like I said before, I LOVE my LED but every time I look at my plants under the purple light, I wonder if they are really getting all the wavelengths they desire? Thanks!
