Hello everyone!

[sexymanwilly]

Hello! First time grower here, just finished up on a lot of reading material to get started. Was looking to do indoor growing in a grow tent.
This is what I'm looking into buying, let me know what you think:

Grow tent:

Inline fan:

Carbon filter:

Fan controller:

Fan for airflow:

The only thing I'm stuck on is the lighting. I'm still debating on hid, hps or led lighting.
Any ideas?

 

[J189RFC]

HPS is part of the hid family. The big question here is, are you going to run multiple shorter plants or a couple larger plants? Do you have a decent budget left? Is heat an issue where you are?

 

[sexymanwilly]

HPS is part of the hid family. The big question here is, are you going to run multiple shorter plants or a couple larger plants? Do you have a decent budget left? Is heat an issue where you are?

For some reason my phone hates me send added hps in.
I plan on running 3 or 4 plants at a time, I still have some budget left. I'm in Washington right now and the temperature changes a bit here.

 

[J189RFC]

I'm thinking since you have cooler temps in washington for the most part, and a fan controler, and a small number of mid to large sized plants go with a 600 HID, flipable if you want, or one 600 MH and one 600 HPS if you can spring for it. Should be more than enough light for 4 mid to large sized plants in that space.
Lookin forward to see a grow log. Got your seeds picked out yet or you gonna pick em up in a shop?

 

[sexymanwilly]

I'm thinking since you have cooler temps in washington for the most part, and a fan controler, and a small number of mid to large sized plants go with a 600 HID, flipable if you want, or one 600 MH and one 600 HPS if you can spring for it. Should be more than enough light for 4 mid to large sized plants in that space.
Lookin forward to see a grow log. Got your seeds picked out yet or you gonna pick em up in a shop?

Awesome thanks for your help!
I have had quite a bit of seeds for awhile now. Been keeping them stored well. I have some nirvana, white widow, kourtney love( from redeye gen), and a few others

 

[sexymanwilly]

I'm thinking since you have cooler temps in washington for the most part, and a fan controler, and a small number of mid to large sized plants go with a 600 HID, flipable if you want, or one 600 MH and one 600 HPS if you can spring for it. Should be more than enough light for 4 mid to large sized plants in that space.
Lookin forward to see a grow log. Got your seeds picked out yet or you gonna pick em up in a shop?

For the light were you talking about something like this:

 

[J189RFC]

That set up right there will be perfect, especially with the cool tube, you will never have to worry about heat.

 

[Dave Groomer]

I am a big fan of the Mars-Hydro tents. Mars Hydro LED - the Best Solutions for Horticulture and Indoor Plants. I have 2 and I think you will have a hard time beating the value.

 

[sexymanwilly]

I am a big fan of the Mars-Hydro tents. Mars Hydro LED - the Best Solutions for Horticulture and Indoor Plants. I have 2 and I think you will have a hard time beating the value.

I have been debating for awhile on the led vs hid. I might do led after awhile of doing hid

 

[sexymanwilly]

That set up right there will be perfect, especially with the cool tube, you will never have to worry about heat.

Sweet thanks for your help!

 

[Dave Groomer]

I have been debating for awhile on the led vs hid. I might do led after awhile of doing hid

I went from CFLs to LEDs. I have not used HID so I can't fairly compare them. All I can tell you is I am very happy with my LEDs. Check out my journals and you can see the growth I get. You may also be able to find some of the old style Mars 300w on ebay cheap. I saw them a week or so ago for $79.

 

[sexymanwilly]

I went from CFLs to LEDs. I have not used HID so I can't fairly compare them. All I can tell you is I am very happy with my LEDs. Check out my journals and you can see the growth I get. You may also be able to find some of the old style Mars 300w on ebay cheap. I saw them a week or so ago for $79.

They do look really nice!
If I did go with a mars 2 would you recommended 2 300w, 2 400w or 1 600w?

 

[Dave Groomer]

They do look really nice!
If I did go with a mars 2 would you recommended 2 300w, 2 400w or 1 600w?

It really depends. What is the size of your grow area. If a small square, then the Mars 2 work great. If you have a rectangular area, you may want to go with the Reflector series. Also, what are the finances like. Save a buck with the old style.

The trick is to get the correct number of watts per sqft. Most LEDs are 1/2 the watts at the wall for what they are rated. For example, My Mars 900 (in a 10 sqft grow tent) draws 450w from the wall. That means I am getting 45 w/sqft. For best results, you want to be between 35-50 true watts / sqft. So my 900 gives me 45 w/sqft. My veg tent uses 2 400 @ 180w each so for the same size tent, I am running about 36w/sqft veg.

I hope this helps.

 

[sexymanwilly]

It really depends. What is the size of your grow area. If a small square, then the Mars 2 work great. If you have a rectangular area, you may want to go with the Reflector series. Also, what are the finances like. Save a buck with the old style.

The trick is to get the correct number of watts per sqft. Most LEDs are 1/2 the watts at the wall for what they are rated. For example, My Mars 900 (in a 10 sqft grow tent) draws 450w from the wall. That means I am getting 45 w/sqft. For best results, you want to be between 35-50 true watts / sqft. So my 900 gives me 45 w/sqft. My veg tent uses 2 400 @ 180w each so for the same size tent, I am running about 36w/sqft veg.

I hope this helps.

The tent is 4x4x6.8
So I have 16 sq ft in the tent

 

[Dave Groomer]

The tent is 4x4x6.8
So I have 16 sq ft in the tent

I would go with a Mars II 1200 (37.5 w/sqft) or the Mars II 1600 (49.3 w/sqft) if you just want 1 light. If you want multiple lights I would go with 4 Mars II 400 (45 w/sqft)

 

[sexymanwilly]

I would go with a Mars II 1200 (37.5 w/sqft) or the Mars II 1600 (49.3 w/sqft) if you just want 1 light. If you want multiple lights I would go with 4 Mars II 400 (45 w/sqft)

Sweet thanks! Looking at them on the website, I may go with the 1200w, as it covers 4.6x4.6

 

[Dave Groomer]

Sweet thanks! Looking at them on the website, I may go with the 1200w, as it covers 4.6x4.6

The advantage of going with several lights is you can adjust them individually. I work from the bottom up. I raise my plants closer to the light by raising them from underneath with tiles. This way I can keep my canopy even. Raise the smaller plants up (or lower the lights down with multiple lights.)

 

[sexymanwilly]

Do you guys recommend an Hydroponic system with a reservoir?

 

[Dave Groomer]

Edit Double post.

 

[Dave Groomer]

I personally would start with soil. Learn how to grow first. Then move on to Hydro. Soil is much more forgiving. You will probably get a bigger yield with hydro, but one mistake can potential ruin your whole grow.