Need advice on which direction to go with lighting

[9fingers]

Hi everyone, I'm sorta kinda new to growing and need some advice on which way to go with my grow setup. I say sorta kinda new, because I grew as a hobby, oh, 15 years ago or so, and I see that things have changed in the industry. Back then, it was pretty much HID or nothing. CFL was an interesting technology, but not really a viable option. LED wasn't even being talked about. Now, all that's changed. I've been trying to research, but as can be expected, I see lots of conflicting opinions.

I've almost unexpectedly found myself getting back into growing, and am at the point where I need to get some girls into flower. I'm strictly growing for personal use, and I'm looking for quality over quantity. My grow space will be 32"x32"x63" and I plan on having 4-6 plants at any given time. Currently, I'm vegging under an LED light that was lent to me by a friend, but I don't know how good it is compared to others (I can say that it's loud though). This is the light. It seems to be doing OK, my plants aren't perfect, but I attribute that more to me being out of practice.

I need to figure out a setup for flowering, and as I see it, I have 3 options:

1. Get another LED for flowering. I was looking at the 400w Mars II, would that be sufficient for the space?

2. Go HPS. Heat would be an issue in the space, but potentially manageable. I remember it was a major challenge for me before in my previous grow space but this a slightly larger space I'd be working with. I'd be looking at either a 400w or 600w if I were to go that route.

3. Use my current LED for flowering and setup a CFL system for the veg. This might be effective, but I'm not sure if it'd be enough light for the space?

I should also mention that I'm on a fairly tight budget, so can't get the ultimate whiz bang setup right now. But I'm willing to spend a little more in order to get quality equipment.

Thanks for any input!

 

[DukeO]

I have a Mars II 400(also a 900) and like it a lot. It would do a good job in a 32x32. It would put a little over 30w psf. It would give you a core flower footprint of about 24"x24"

You should be able to pull about 200grams per run with a good grow from a Mars II 400w

A Mars II 700 would be at 50w psf and would flower corner to corner.

To me Mars II's are the best bang for your LED buck right now.

 

[LEDBud]

One of the mars2 700w panels would work well too , with its 375w draw it is about 53w sq ft. in the 32 x32" space.
The 400w panel draws 200w which is 28w a sq ft.

I have read they suggest you should be between 30 and 50w a sq ft with LED's so both panels would work.
I would expect more growth from 50w a sq ft though.

 

[JuanCarlos]

I can help you a little bit in regards to HID lighting. In that space I believe a 400 watt HID would be plenty. That puts you at about 56 watts per square foot if my math is correct and that's right in the sweet spot. HID will give you better penetration versus a cheap LED. HID puts a lot of heat below the light. In your space I would expect the light to raise the temp about 6-10 degrees above ambient. LEDs still put off heat but most of that heat is above the light. If I were in your situation and went LED on a budget, I would probably spring for the Mars II 700 watt unit. That puts you just under 50 watts per square foot and will give you some nice bud.

I would consider either of these routes way before using your current light to flower. I just don't believe it has the output you will need for bloom.