There are so many manufacturers that have figured out the formula of “Samsung LM diodes plus red diodes and a quality constant current driver” that you have a ton of options to choose from.
I always look for a few things in a new light:
Glass lenses to protect the diodes and allow for easy cleaning
Passive cooling, no cheap fans to break
The option to remote-mount the drivers is nice and really lowers the cooling load inside a tent.
With cannabis it’s tough to give the plants too much light (the nicest buds always tend to grow closest to the light source) so long as you can keep your feeding, watering and aerial environment dialed in.
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Go CMH. LEDs just don’t get it done. Especially if you are trying to buy cheap.
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Any thing you recommend when it comes to which ones? Also how any lights with a 8x8 tent? I plan on growing 6 plants at first.
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I don’t mind spending money for good product in return. But is CMH just the better go to?
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CMH lights are a good option too. I’ve got a sun systems with a 15’ cord on the fixture and a remote mounted ballast that I love.
In my opinion a 315w is good for about 2.5’x2.5’, and a 630w will do a great job in a 4’x4’.
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6 plants would fill out a 4’x8’ area nicely and allow you plenty of working space around the tent to do maintenance and training throughout the grow. If I were you I’d grow in half the tent (or bunch them together in the center of the tent so you’ve got a walk way around the perimeter).
I’d aim for about 500 PPFD through veg and 800+ in flower. Check out some lights that work with your budget and your needs, and pick the ones that will put out enough light for you space. There are some great lights that will perform amazingly well over a 2x2 that you could buy multiples of to light your space. There are others that can light a 4x4 or more that you’ll need fewer of for the same area.
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my friend is also offered to give me a 1000w HPS light along with the tent. Should I go with that?
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it’s a HPS 1000 Watt Galaxy Ballast & a 1000 W HPS Bulb
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That’s a great start. 1000w will veg 5x5 up to 6x6. 2 of them will flower a 4x8 space well.
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so your saying i’d need two for flowering huh.
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https://growace.com/blog/the-best-hps-grow-bulb-test-comparing-6-brands-on-par-output/
Here’s a quick read with some nice graphs showing what kind of PPFD you can expect over a 4x4 space. I’d aim for 500 ish PPFD for veg and over 800 PPFD for flowering.
A single 1000w light would veg your plants nicely, but when you spread them out for flower you’ll need a second light.
It is also very possible to flower 6 smaller plants in a 4x4 space with a single 1000w light.
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yooo so update,
My girlfriend wants to go half with me on a California Light Works SolarSystem 1100 LED Grow Light w/ Hangers + GroVision LED Glasses. What you think?
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Looks like a great light that should last a long time.
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The California light works are really good leds. Those come in 4’ fixtures right? I personally grow with HPS. I personally haven’t seen any good results or quantity from leds. If I where running it I’d go with 3 400w or 600w metal halide and HPS. That’s just cause I know that works well. More even coverage then just 2 1000w
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Dude. CMH or HPS/HID. Don’t bother with LED
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I disagree. LEDs are efficient at producing exactly the spectrum needed to make plants grow the way we want them to. We’ve never before been able to so easily target and apply a specific spectrum. And LEDs are great at turning electricity into light, rather than heat with a byproduct of light.
LEDs will be the the best option for plants going forward.
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LEDs can produce quite nicely. First 2 are from work using last gen fluence spiders. The plants are overgrown, but you get the picture.
3rd one is a friend’s new room at a commercial facility in Washington. I’ll keep ya updated as it flowers out.
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Those look beautiful man!!
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So we actually ended up getting two Gavita 1000w HPS lights.
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