Cant decide on which light to use, help!

[Xanode]

Ok ill start off with the details of the rest of the set-up to make things easier.

The grow will be in a single tent in a medium sized bedroom, due to reason beyond my control the tent will be vented into the same room and cant be vented in/out a window.

The size of the tent will be ether 0.8Mx0.8Mx​1.6M or if i can afford it 1Mx1Mx2M.

Due to other reasons i will only be growing 2 plants maximum. I also don't care about yield , only quality.

I like the idea of a 4 bulb T5 set-up with different spectrum bulbs, from some youtube vids ive seen people with that light setup are growing some nice quality buds.

Seeing as i don't care about yield, do i really need to run a HPS? If so would i get away with at least a 250w(or even higher) in a cooltube, keeping in mind that it will be vented into the same room the tent is in?

I've also been looking at running a high watt cfl with a reflector, like this: http://www.amazon.com/Feliz-Grow-Li...41518&sr=8-2&keywords=cfl+growlight+reflector, with the correct spectrum ofcoarse.

LED i cant afford and a cheap one is not worth the money imo.

So keeping in mind that im venting the tent into the room that its in, so heat will be an issue, but at the same time all i care about is the quality of the flowers and not yield. What would be the best light set-up for my situation?

Much thanks for taking the time to read my thread.

 

[Dion]

why such a big space for 2 plants?

fyi u can build an led setup like a 400w hps for about $350 that would consume 300w

but ultimately you are asking about heat: depends on the temps in the room and the ventilation of said room but you def dont NEED hps

 

[maimunji]

Last winter i grown without tent in my small bedroom, with one 250w CFL 6400k and one 125w CFL 2000 k , without ventilation only osculation fan blowing bulbs. My bedroom never hit 70 F with lights on, but winter here is cold and CFL run pretty cool.
If you do some lst you can keep CFL really close to tops.

 

[Xanode]

Thanks for the reply s


Hmm i didn't think 0.8Mx0.8Mx​1.6M was that big, maybe 1Mx1Mx2M is a little big, but I have the space and I'd rather be comfortable than crampt.

Any more advice is very welcome.

 

[PetFlora]

1M^ is sufficient for 1-2 plants.

You do want as much height as you can get since hot air rises, AND, hi-intensity leds need t be ~ 20-30" above the canopy to avoid burning/bleaching

If you're not into DIY (it is getting much easier thanks to all the DIYers like Dion) then I can highly recommend Amare Technologies, whose panels are designed by a cannabis grower.

You can veg under one SS 100, then buy a second one for flowering (discount on second panel whenever you buy it= ~ 2 @ $575

Here's a DIY design I like
http://www.heavenbright.com/

 

[PetFlora]

1M^ is sufficient for 6 babies from which to choose 1-2 plants.

You do want as much height as you can get since hot air rises, AND, hi-intensity leds need t be ~ 20-30" above the canopy to avoid burning/bleaching

If you're not into DIY (it is getting much easier thanks to all the DIYers like Dion) then I can highly recommend Amare Technologies, whose panels are designed by a cannabis grower.

You can veg under one SS 100, then buy a second one for flowering (discount on second panel whenever you buy it= ~ 2 @ $575

Here's a DIY design I like http://www.heavenbright.com/

 

[Xanode]

PetFlora, thanks very much for the info on the LED's, if my budget allowed for one i would def grab one up but it just doesn't atm, when there's allot cheaper, CFL and HID setups to be had.

So am i correct in thinking if im not going for quantity, just quality and heat is a concern, i can live without a low watt HPS and get some kind of fluorescent? Thanks.

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

Hi Xanode! I thought I responded before, but I do not see that response. If you'd like a different opinion, here is mine.

All prices are Home Despot, they deliver free for over about $45, and I don't care where you buy your stuff. You can get better prices if you check around or ask someone.

For folks starting with zero equipment and not-so-much money, I recommend starting with a 4x 4ft T5HO. They are $138 delivered free. They are 20k lumens and 210 watts. You can grow about 4 sq. ft. (about 1 1/3 sq. m.) with one. If you need cheaper or smaller or you are in a cabinet, they also make 2ft versions of these about $110 and 10k lumens and 100 watts and 2 sq. ft. If still less, I'd suggest a standard 300 watt household medium socket and a 68 watt (300 watt equivalent) CFL. I'd definitely recommend T5 over CFL if you can because you get about 25% more lumens per watt with a T5HO fixture vs. a CFL. Still they are OK for 1 sq. ft. These bulbs are about $15 and clamp light to power/switch/mount it is about $8. If you go with 68 watt CFL (and are in the US), be aware that even though the bulbs are 68 watts, they are called 300 watt equivalent because they will not work in a medium household socket not rated at 300 watts (the socket is not long enough for the bulb base). A cool thing about any of these approaches is that you can get the replacement bulbs you need from any lamp store, big box home improvement store, building supply store, etc.

If you are able to have a separate clone/seedling area, any scrap lamp socket and a 20 watts (4 @ about $5) or so CFL is definitely the way to go. You don't care about efficiency. I use a kitchen cabinet for this purpose. Near a main outlet, just drill a hole in the bottom of the cabinet, cut an extension cord, snake it through, plastic screw cap the power cord, nail/staple/whatever a cheap ($5) clamp light and you are good. You might want to put a latch on that cabinet door. Clone/seedling area total cost $20 (at most).

Check the T5 thread for some pictures of some really dank weed. For under a few hundred watts fluorescent allows you to grow mostly the same weed you get from HPS. In some ways fluoro is better, in some ways HPS (or LED) is better. As far as head effective, under a few hundred watts HPS=CFL=LED=any other light source. For small grows, your limits on both quality or qantity prob won't be light, they will be inexperience (i.e. nute problems, temp problems, pest/disease problems, etc.). HPS or LED is the way to go for efficiency reasons if you want to push more than a few hundred watts. At these power levels, you power bill becomes more important that the cost of the lamp and inexperience limits.

Peace!

 

[Jellyfish]

Check out a thread called CFL Club.

 

[Dion]

have to aree with old guy
i have used even T8s that got 100L per watt and they did fine

and plus 1 on the buying from home improvement store- same thing just cheaper and doesnt say grow on it

the tubes r better than the bulbs imo

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

and plus 1 on the buying from home improvement store- same thing just cheaper and doesnt say grow on it the tubes r better than the bulbs imo

*Be Stealth* and there are other benefits. If one goes into the stores, asks questions w/o using the "mary" word, you can get good help and ideas, my sales folks tell me of deals and market trends I would not otherwise know about. If I don't want to go to the store I get it delivered for free..

CFL about 68 lm/w T5HO about 95 lm/w so T5HO has better efficiency and heat.

 

[Hold Your Fire]

For around $200, before shipping, you can get a good 400w, dimmable, hps set up.

https://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/checkout/cart/

 

[HopeSlayer]

Tag, good thread

 

[Xanode]

Cheers, so many great ideas, especially about the home improvement store, im really aiming to grow the best quality, connoisseur smoke i can, and if i can do that without the heat of a HPS, a T5 sounds like the go.

Ive also been reading that CFL's actually produce more usable spectrum of light, upto 50% more, but the sheer intensity of HID's is what beats them out, hence if one was able to get the same intensity out of the corresponding CFL's you could get away with using less wattage. Here's a good article by Ed Rosenthal about the subject, :http://cflgrowlight.blogspot.com.au/

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

hence if one was able to get the same intensity out of the corresponding CFL's you could get away with using less wattage

That is a really big if there. There are no CFL's that get the same intensity per watt as an HPS, at least that I am aware. Maybe the new L type fluoro but I kind of doubt it. These are the numbers I use.

 

[HopeSlayer]

Has it been determined whether LED is worth it per watt over HPS/MH