TheMedicalStone
Member
Question; I'm going to get a relatively small grow tent, either a Dark Room Twin 60 / DR60T Rev 2.5 by Secret Jardin (2 layers, small room is 60x60x40cm so that's about 2 ftx2 ftx1 1/2ft and the big grow room is 60x60x150cm so that's about 2ft x 2ft x 5 ft) or it's "big" brother the Dark Room Twin 90 / DR90T Rev 2.5 by Secret Jardin (small area 90 x 90 x 60 cm (about 3ft x 3ft x 2ft) and a big area of 90 x 90 x 160 cm (about 3ft x 3ft x 5 1/2 ft or something) (all sizes are according to length x width x height) which are, by default, lined with mylar (methinks it's mylar atleast) so enough reflection from the walls already atleast 
. Soooo, now I'm stuck picking lights. So before everybody starts yelling HID's (which is still the obvious choice), I'm on a budget if it comes to kWh power usage. I don't really care for the cost for buying the lamps but I do care about the power usage which, in total, including fan (16w) and tube fan (23w) should be max around 300w. Rather lower then higher actually. So, I've been looking at some LED lights. Reviews are "meh". I found a 4twenty sunfactor LED lamp which looks pretty promising at 85w even, obviously better at 170w and an Apollo 6 200w which seems to get pretty good results as well but again... I'm not sure. Maybe someone with experience knows a better model to suggest, just keep in mind that I have a wattage limit and want good results but could do with a crop under a gram per watt, ofcourse everything higher is better but it's just for my own use and just for winter grows and to test new strains, do some genetics etc., if mother plants suddenly arise from mixing genetics they're obviously moved to another room so this is just for growing and testing "on-a-budget style" mainly so the meter doesn't spin lol. Next to LED's I also came across some people that use about 3x (or even just 2x) 55w TNeon lights and seem to have good results. They stay cool as well so that's a plus but I have absolutely no experience with them nor their color spectrum (Yeah I can guesstimate which blue's and reds I should get and in what ratio but if someone actually knows how these work it would be a lot easier and more efficient). I also have no idea what kind of balast or whatever would be needed for those. I worked with T5/T8 in the past (not for growing, just for other stuff) but this seems to look more like PL then T5 IMO so I haven't the foggiest. Soooo, does anyone have any suggestions/hints/tips ("Don't even bother, use HID is not a tip! lol)/whatevers? What would be my best buy for success? What kind of reflectors would be useful? Best way of growing? SOG, SCROG, just leave them as they are etc.? It's just a really small space to light really so, in theory, lighting like this should be sufficient, in practice I've seen people discuss it and reap pretty good results but I've never seen it IRL so any more information would be extremely helpful. Oh as for the bottom area, that'll most likely be hung with minimum lighting for veg state, maybe a short growth period but then moves back to the top. It's mainly for clones and germination really and I've seen people do that succesfully with some weak CFL's or worse even just to keep them alive and germinate them with a bit of growth. Thanks in advance
. Soooo, now I'm stuck picking lights. So before everybody starts yelling HID's (which is still the obvious choice), I'm on a budget if it comes to kWh power usage. I don't really care for the cost for buying the lamps but I do care about the power usage which, in total, including fan (16w) and tube fan (23w) should be max around 300w. Rather lower then higher actually. So, I've been looking at some LED lights. Reviews are "meh". I found a 4twenty sunfactor LED lamp which looks pretty promising at 85w even, obviously better at 170w and an Apollo 6 200w which seems to get pretty good results as well but again... I'm not sure. Maybe someone with experience knows a better model to suggest, just keep in mind that I have a wattage limit and want good results but could do with a crop under a gram per watt, ofcourse everything higher is better but it's just for my own use and just for winter grows and to test new strains, do some genetics etc., if mother plants suddenly arise from mixing genetics they're obviously moved to another room so this is just for growing and testing "on-a-budget style" mainly so the meter doesn't spin lol. Next to LED's I also came across some people that use about 3x (or even just 2x) 55w TNeon lights and seem to have good results. They stay cool as well so that's a plus but I have absolutely no experience with them nor their color spectrum (Yeah I can guesstimate which blue's and reds I should get and in what ratio but if someone actually knows how these work it would be a lot easier and more efficient). I also have no idea what kind of balast or whatever would be needed for those. I worked with T5/T8 in the past (not for growing, just for other stuff) but this seems to look more like PL then T5 IMO so I haven't the foggiest. Soooo, does anyone have any suggestions/hints/tips ("Don't even bother, use HID is not a tip! lol)/whatevers? What would be my best buy for success? What kind of reflectors would be useful? Best way of growing? SOG, SCROG, just leave them as they are etc.? It's just a really small space to light really so, in theory, lighting like this should be sufficient, in practice I've seen people discuss it and reap pretty good results but I've never seen it IRL so any more information would be extremely helpful. Oh as for the bottom area, that'll most likely be hung with minimum lighting for veg state, maybe a short growth period but then moves back to the top. It's mainly for clones and germination really and I've seen people do that succesfully with some weak CFL's or worse even just to keep them alive and germinate them with a bit of growth. Thanks in advance 
