Need help with lighting

H

Hashashin200

New Member
Hey guys I really hope someone here can help me because its bend ging me a headache looking into all these lighting options. I heard that cfls are the cheapest but for all the sockets and a bunch of 42w bulbs it costs almost 200 dollars. I'm really confused because I found 2 hid lights for 130 dollars but one is 400w and the other is 250. Why is one so cheap? I found a nice 4ft 4 tube light with 200 watts for 80 but then I found a 250w cfl for 60. All these prices are confusing me and I can't find anything on LEDs but I assume they are expensive?

Can you guys tell me what lights have worked for you and what I should get for the 70-100 dollar range? I wouldn't mind going to 150 dollars for something that is going to greatly benefit my yield


Thank you
 
Mars hydro's cheapest LED light of a reasonable size is a 100 x 3w LED panel ( called the old model) for about $100 plus $20 for shipping. They are a sponsor here on the 420
website.

Look into more HID lights they are affordable and can be bought as a complete kit , bulb / shade / ballast.

edit:Antic has the link I see He just posted ahead of me.

Great Minds think alike !
 
Antics said:
CFLs worked for me, spent about $80 or so, and had most of the fixtures.

LED works too. I'm using 2 LED panels now.

This model here: LED Grow Light 100x3w - Mars Hydro

That model will be good to cover a 4 square foot area.
Click to expand...

What type of cfl did you use just a 42w? I've been looking at this:

Durolux T5 Ho Grow Light - 4 Foot 4 Lamps - DL844 Fluorescent

Do you think that would be better or worse than the led?
 
LEDBud said:
Mars hydro's cheapest LED light of a reasonable size is a 100 x 3w LED panel ( called the old model) for about $100 plus $20 for shipping. They are a sponsor here on the 420
website.

Look into more HID lights they are affordable and can be bought as a complete kit , bulb / shade / ballast.

edit:Antic has the link I see He just posted ahead of me.
Click to expand...

Search "hid grow light kits". You can get a dimmable ballast, HPS and MH bulb, reflector, rope hangers, and timer for 150'ish.

Great thing about the 600 watt dimmable ballast is that you can run lower watts in a smaller grow space and then if you upgrade to a larger space you can run 600w. You may need some exhaust. a decent fan will run you 70 to 150 bucks depending on what you want

LED is an option but the upfront cost is generally more than HID lights. But LED offers lower cost long term use for electricity and upkeep, ie new bulbs, etc.
 
Scarfinger68 said:
Search "hid grow light kits". You can get a dimmable ballast, HPS and MH bulb, reflector, rope hangers, and timer for 150'ish.

Great thing about the 600 watt dimmable ballast is that you can run lower watts in a smaller grow space and then if you upgrade to a larger space you can run 600w. You may need some exhaust. a decent fan will run you 70 to 150 bucks depending on what you want

LED is an option but the upfront cost is generally more than HID lights. But LED offers lower cost long term use for electricity and upkeep, ie new bulbs, etc.
Click to expand...

I found one, but it seems too cheap.


Do you think I'd be able to yield about a quarter pound with one of these lights? I'm really worried about which one to get because I want a light source that can be reused a lot.
 
Hashashin200 said:
I found this, but it seems too cheap.
Do you think I'd be able to yield about a quarter pound with one of these lights? I'm really worried about which one to get because I want a light source that can be reused a lot.
Click to expand...

Well, 420 doesn't like links like the above because eventually they don't exist for example when the sale is over, etc. They don't promote non-sponsors.

With the LED crazy, HID is cheaper. Everything is probably made in china. I spent 300$ on one HPS bulb/ballast and reflector. But, you have options. Depends on grow space, ventilation/temps/fresh intake/exhaust issues/humidity issues and...money.
 
LED option maybe: 300 Watt GalaxyHydro. Looks like one or 2 grower are using it here on 420. 130 bucks. Maybe be the way to go. options :)
 
It really depends on what your setup is like. If heat is a factor, you may have to use CFLs or LEDs. Don't forget you'll probably need exhaust also, and if you have a good enough exhaust system, heat probably won't be an issue with any type of light (HID included). Personally I have 2 of the Mars 100x3W LED panels that Antics mentioned, and got them for about $100 each. I'm using one in my current grow (see sig if interested) and it works well. Don't get a no-brand LED either, I've been down that road and it won't work out. I also used some smaller HPS lights I got on Craigslist for cheap, and they worked well, but I had to stop using them due to the heat they put off.

I also use t5 fluorescent fixtures for growing, but I got them for free and had them laying around. This may also be an option, with similar results to CFLs.

If you give a little more information on your setup, we can probably better point you in what direction would be best. Good luck!
 
jojo677 said:
It really depends on what your setup is like. If heat is a factor, you may have to use CFLs or LEDs. Don't forget you'll probably need exhaust also, and if you have a good enough exhaust system, heat probably won't be an issue with any type of light (HID included). Personally I have 2 of the Mars 100x3W LED panels that Antics mentioned, and got them for about $100 each. I'm using one in my current grow (see sig if interested) and it works well. Don't get a no-brand LED either, I've been down that road and it won't work out. I also used some smaller HPS lights I got on Craigslist for cheap, and they worked well, but I had to stop using them due to the heat they put off.

I also use t5 fluorescent fixtures for growing, but I got them for free and had them laying around. This may also be an option, with similar results to CFLs.

If you give a little more information on your setup, we can probably better point you in what direction would be best. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you. Heat is not an issue since it will be in my closet and my room ha an air conditioner. I'm mostly worried about the cost of the light and getting as good of a product as I can. Right now I'm really thinking of getting the 400w hid light, but I'm just worried about how many plants to do and how to get the best possible result. I have a lo of room to work with too, but I'm worried about smell. As long as it doesn't smell out to the outside.
 
Hashashin200 said:
Thank you. Heat is not an issue since it will be in my closet and my room ha an air conditioner. I'm mostly worried about the cost of the light and getting as good of a product as I can. Right now I'm really thinking of getting the 400w hid light, but I'm just worried about how many plants to do and how to get the best possible result. I have a lo of room to work with too, but I'm worried about smell. As long as it doesn't smell out to the outside.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need to worry more about ventilation than lighting. CFLs are the cheapest and will leave you money to invest in a carbon filter. Are you able to make modifications in your home? I've seen it vented into walls to go out of the crawlspace--this is nice because then it's generally overhead and harder to smell outside.
 
400w Hps will cover an average area of 1m2 or 3' by 3' well enough & in general you get away with about 4 small/medium sized plants in that area providing you have at least 2m head height to play with !

90cm by 90cm tent.

PICT000658.JPG
PICT000648.JPG
004929.JPG


Smell is more of a problem in flowering & more likely want to use a carbon filter with extraction fan set up.

With tent set ups negative pressure helps keeps the smell in, you can also back this all up odor gels etc
 
Antics said:
In a closet, using HID, you WILL need a good exhaust.
Same for a good CFL setup, you will also need a good exhaust.

And not trying to crush anyone's dreams, but a lighting budget of $100 might be difficult for a new grower to hit 4 ounces.

$210 covers about 8 square feet with LED
IMG_20150408_180751_658.jpg
Click to expand...

Well with a $100 budget I was expecting maybe 1.5 or 2 ounces, but if I spent 150 or 200 I would expect more like 3 or 4 ounces. You guys are really liking the led but I figured it would be easier with cfls and hid lights, are LEDs really a good bargain? I like the hid because my house gets really cold in winter and I think the hid would be the only way to keep my grow room warm enough for plants. How many plants do you guys think I should get started? Assuming I get some makes I have to throw out. If you want I can take a picture if the space in going to use for my grow op.

I just saw this:
LA Confidential Indoor CFL

It looks like he only got 1.5 ounces off his entire grow op, and by my calculations spent about 250? Dollars. It just seems pointless to me because for 250 I could go buy more weed then that, it looks like I would actually lose money growing instead of buying it off a dealer and STILL have to wait months for it to grow. I just don't see how indoor grows work at all. Seems like its just a waste of time, and that's assuming your plant works out. Knowin my luck my plants will just die halfway through or be male. Is closet growing just for people that don't have street dealers or something?
 
Yield can change a lot between one persons grow to another & level of experience.

Making the right choice of lighting may help & learning about ideal environmental conditions to grow perhaps some training tricks will help also.


Still cheaper in the long run to grow your own, it might not work out so well on your first grow tho but give it another i'm sure it will break even... i've personal never looked backed even tho i got a tent package kit for £450 when i first started out, grew 2 plants both yielded around an oz so total 2oz, once i factor in street weed cost i broke even & covered the electric cost also :thumb:

I do a lot better these days tho, once i started learning a few things.

Ye it takes a good few months etc to grow 'n' harvest, perpetual method is good & if dialed in can maintain a harvest every 2 months for example other methods of growing are SOG, SCROG, LST & even FLUX style !
 
Fuzzy Duck said:
400w Hps will cover an average area of 1m2 or 3' by 3' well enough & in general you get away with about 4 small/medium sized plants in that area providing you have at least 2m head height to play with !

90cm by 90cm tent.

PICT000658.JPG
PICT000648.JPG
004929.JPG


Smell is more of a problem in flowering & more likely want to use a carbon filter with extraction fan set up.

With tent set ups negative pressure helps keeps the smell in, you can also back this all up odor gels etc
Click to expand...

Hi

If there is a journal linked to these pictures, can you please provide me with the link?
 
Well looking around I got this

2014 Indoor - DWC - CFL - Unknown Seed

Why was his yield so big and dank with the most minimal lighting I've seen so far. I thought with cfls the only way to grow was with 42w an those are about 15 a piece. With 42w I figured you would need ten for a good grow, that's why I assumed cfls costed about 150 for a set up, and the hid lights are about the same price. It looks like he got a perfect plant going with just 12 15w bulbs.
 
Hashashin200 said:
Hey guys I really hope someone here can help me because its bend ging me a headache looking into all these lighting options. I heard that cfls are the cheapest but for all the sockets and a bunch of 42w bulbs it costs almost 200 dollars. I'm really confused because I found 2 hid lights for 130 dollars but one is 400w and the other is 250. Why is one so cheap? I found a nice 4ft 4 tube light with 200 watts for 80 but then I found a 250w cfl for 60. All these prices are confusing me and I can't find anything on LEDs but I assume they are expensive?

Can you guys tell me what lights have worked for you and what I should get for the 70-100 dollar range? I wouldn't mind going to 150 dollars for something that is going to greatly benefit my yield


Thank you
Click to expand...

I started with CFLs in an air conditioned space and I still had problems with heat. I would definitely look into good ventilation. I found that I spent as much on cfls and fixtures as I would have spent on an LED. I have 2 Mars 400 and 1 900 along with 2 3x3 mars-hydro tents. No looking back. Feel free to check out the journals in my sig. :peace:
 

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