Any tips on a new grow

Sweet set-up I'm trying to find out where to get those mars hydro lights in Michigan/US. I can't get that plant food you recommended here either. I found the Fox Farms Ocean forest at a local shop. Do you any other recommendations on the plant food that might be available in the states.
We have agents in Michigan, but we are not sure if they have the LED you want in the agent's shop. If you are not in a hurry, you can buy it on our official website, our shipping time is also very fast, only 3-5 days, our selling price will be cheaper than the agent's price, you can also use the discount code"420magazine" to get a discount.
 
I hear this a lot :hmmmm: and yet, I have a 4 x 8 with 1600 watts of HIDs (1000 watt & a 600 watt HPS) and my temps are fine and steady at 72F, same with my 4 x 4 with a 600 watt HPS...with lights on...and I've yet to have someone show me buds like this from an LED rig............I mean no offense, but really HPS all the way buddy :slide::yahoo::morenutes:



You are like 1 in 100 that can keep an HPS tent cool. Just about everyone has Temp problems using them. I'll use them in winter months but not the summer when it's hot already.
Nice looking bud but I seriously think I'll get buds like that this grow using LED's.
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I'd suggest doing some due diligence on your lighting. A 600 watt HPS in a tent is going to create a new set of issues, mainly being heat. Just a few years ago I'd have never suggested what I am going to suggest, but times have changed. Bigtime. LED has came of age. You can effectively cut operational costs in half as far as watts at the plug, and with the right LED chipset you can provide MORE than enough PAR over your canopy, and at very specific dialed in spectrums. As far as heat goes, it's no contest at all. LED rulez.
This light uses 4 LED boards driven by one Meanwell 490 driver. This light draws 500 watts at the plug and goes head to head with a single ended 1000 watt HPS light. Also outs out less than half the heat.

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If your dead set on HPS, I have a storage room full of unused digital HPS ballasts and hoods for sale. SO does about everyone else who's grown a spell, tried the new LED's (Samsung LM-301's ROCK!) and never looked back. We flower under 3000k and veg under 4000k LED's. In flowering under these LED's, we have a PAR canopy exceeding 1200 at the lowest value and push the Co2 to around 1300 ppm.
With the right LED's, no regrets. Good luck and consider me subscribed!
Thanks for the info. I thought that I would get a bigger yield by using HPS. It looks like I was totally wrong. I see alot have had great success with LEDs. It only makes sense to use LEDs. Same results for half the price of energy used. I'm just having trouble picking the right LEDs.
 
I hear this a lot :hmmmm: and yet, I have a 4 x 8 with 1600 watts of HIDs (1000 watt & a 600 watt HPS) and my temps are fine and steady at 72F, same with my 4 x 4 with a 600 watt HPS...with lights on...and I've yet to have someone show me buds like this from an LED rig............I mean no offense, but really HPS all the way buddy :slide::yahoo::morenutes:



How many plants can you grow in your 4×4 tent under that 600watt?
 
How many plants can you grow in your 4×4 tent under that 600watt?
I can hold 5 if not too big...but on average 3 or 4...depends on how big you grow them...this is just 2 plants...and I harvested a little over 2lbs off these 2 plants :slide:
 
You are like 1 in 100 that can keep an HPS tent cool. Just about everyone has Temp problems using them. I'll use them in winter months but not the summer when it's hot already.
Nice looking bud but I seriously think I'll get buds like that this grow using LED's.
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I have cool tubes, not wing or box style reflectors...the heat the lights produce, get's sucked out through my duct work and into my attic. Any residual heat in the room is taken care of with my A/C (if needed) and fans.
I will admit that LEDS have come a long way, and your plants are beautiful, but at $1,600 for an LED to replace my $200 dollar HPS....I'll wait till they are a little more affordable.
I just grow for the little woman and myself but, if I was to go commercial, I would get LEDs to lower my overhead prices for the long run.
Plus for someone on a budget, it's an upfront cost that some can't afford.
 
Why would you need to spend $1600 on an LED ? Mine were $250.
Well, they all claim to "Match" or "equal" a 1000 watt HID, but none do. Unless you buy 2 or 3 of them...the only one I've found that does it by itself is that much, as far as intensity and foot print coverage...I guess we agree to disagree on this, but that's cool, we all have our own ways and preferences

And here's the only one I found that matches mine...
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Nice light. But I'd personally rather buy 3 - 4 smaller lights to spread the light more evenly. A lot cheaper to replace a smaller one if something goes out than replace one big one. Maybe a few of the DIY QB's would be a good replacement at a fraction of the cost.
But you got you're stuff set up with ducting to your attic & a/c, etc. so you really are good the way you are. I think some of these people live & grow in their apartment so trying to run HPS in there would be nearly impossible to get away with. A lot easier with an LED.
There's good & bad about every light. None are perfect or we'd all use the same light. It's what works best for our situation.
 
Well, they all claim to "Match" or "equal" a 1000 watt HID, but none do. Unless you buy 2 or 3 of them...the only one I've found that does it by itself is that much, as far as intensity and foot print coverage...I guess we agree to disagree on this, but that's cool, we all have our own ways and preferences

And here's the only one I found that matches mine...
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That Nextlight is a joke compared to HLG. I proved that with a PAR meter. I took the LED's used for HLG (Samsung LM-301's) and found a cheaper alternative. Four 288 boards and one driver. I have about 400 bucks tied up per light for a 1000 watt HPS legit replacement that EXCEEDS what a single ended 1000 watt HPS can do. I don't need convincing. Period.
Now, can you grow great buds under HPS?
Sure can.... but there is a better way...
 
Here's another example for you. We needed to provide lighting over a table that held twelve 5 gallon buckets. We ended up using three Atrium 144 48 volt boards, NO heatsinks. The three boards are all driven by one Meanwell 185 driver. Watt at the plug is right at 190. This three board configuration will veg these 12 plants with PAR value exceeding 600. Frankly, if you weren't running Co2, you could flower under these boards.

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Now, the ones in our flower room would blow them away now doubt, but they have twice the LED's and are driven harder, but they do have independent heatsinks for each board allowing you to move them around for improved footprint. Those lights, though not cheap, they are under 500 bucks and they do perform.
There are many ways to skin a cat, no doubt, and I've tried a lot of them. I'm an HVAC contractor and an old country boy, and I'm not afraid to use bailing wire to get a job done, however, thrifty as I am when Input a pencil to cost vs benefit going LED allowed some pretty big changes in normal sizing when it came to HVAC needs. We are able to maintain a near perfect environment on almost 50% less electrical cost on the HVAC plus we can drive a 1000 watt HPS legit replacement for about half the cost of driving a HPS.
In my garden at home, the flower room is powered by two 600 HPS lights on digital ballasts. That 6x12 area is cooled by 12,000 btu inverter mini split. That's a full ton for those counting. The veg room is 6x8. It's powered by one 500 watt HPS light and a few T5's for cloning. It's cooled by a 9000 btu inverter mini split.
Here's a picture for reference.
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Thanks for the info. I thought that I would get a bigger yield by using HPS. It looks like I was totally wrong. I see alot have had great success with LEDs. It only makes sense to use LEDs. Same results for half the price of energy used. I'm just having trouble picking the right LEDs.

Here is a great option from one of our forum sponsors, @Budget LED:



For a 4x4, you want 2 of these lights. Each light would be about $360 ($720+/- total). I have several of these, and planning on getting more. Both lights running full blast only pulls 500w (250w/light), and are extremely efficient. Top of the line parts too.

With two lights instead of one big light it also allows you to better position each board for your grow. Using the XL heatsink will spread out the boards just a tick, which places them a little better in a 4x4 setup if the plants are spaced out evenly.
 
@multiVortex hit the nail on the head. If you have any particular questions please let us know!
 
Oh and if you want a flexible design here is our latest!


It allows you to also add on in the future.
 
That Nextlight is a joke compared to HLG. I proved that with a PAR meter. I took the LED's used for HLG (Samsung LM-301's) and found a cheaper alternative. Four 288 boards and one driver. I have about 400 bucks tied up per light for a 1000 watt HPS legit replacement that EXCEEDS what a single ended 1000 watt HPS can do. I don't need convincing. Period.
Now, can you grow great buds under HPS?
Sure can.... but there is a better way...
Honestly, I think they're all too expensive. And like I've been saying, when they come down in price I may switch...Not to mention I have 2 HIDs and a 4x8 tent for the price of 1 of those lights.
Like I said in another post, it's preference, and, what you're used to...I already have everything dialed in so all I have to do is water and feed and the rest takes care of itself.
You sound like a buddy of mine, he also does HVAC for a guy in Oklahoma, who also happens to grow...He's been trying to convert me to LEDs for years :rofl:
 
Honestly, I think they're all too expensive. And like I've been saying, when they come down in price I may switch...Not to mention I have 2 HIDs and a 4x8 tent for the price of 1 of those lights.
Like I said in another post, it's preference, and, what you're used to...I already have everything dialed in so all I have to do is water and feed and the rest takes care of itself.
You sound like a buddy of mine, he also does HVAC for a guy in Oklahoma, who also happens to grow...He's been trying to convert me to LEDs for years :rofl:

Back in the mid 70's, when I went from growing outdoors to indoors the ONLY thing we had was HPS lights powered by a magnetic ballast that pulled right at one kilowatt of electricity per hour.
I can remember a few close calls with the local electric cooperative.
One thing is for sure. You can grow some beasties under that light. Frankly, it's been the primary staple that has endured over time.
I'm also one that went through the blurple era, and spent a lot more on pretty lights than I probably should have. (I should have bought a PAR meter instead) then it was back to vented hoods, sealed glass and try to remove all the heat you can.
That was until I seen my first Quantum board. It seemed so much brighter than the large Nextlight parkes next to it. Frankly, it WAS the HLG Quantum board that caused to to buy a PAR meter. With meter in hand, I headed back to the local grow shop where these two lights were being highlighted.
Once I ran PAR readings on my HPS lights then on both these lights, I was sold.
The Quantum setup blew me away. I began researching how this light was able to perform so well. It ain't because it's HLG. It's simply the LED's used to build the light. Period. The Samsung 301's are the reason, not because any particular manufacturer. The "hat's off" has to go to Samsung, and they just keep getting better. I think they are now up to 301-h series. I began using them when they were 301-b.
 
Oh and if you want a flexible design here is our latest!


It allows you to also add on in the future.


Where’s that picture of Fry saying “shut up and take my money” when I need it? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Look at all the room for my UV rig there! :drool::drool::drool:
 
What are you growing in now ? It looks like those tiny little cardboard looking seedling starter cups.
I think they're about the size of a jello cup ? If so .... let them get about 3 sets of leaves & transplant.
But take them out of those starter cups. I know they're biodegradable but it takes too long for that to happen & the roots wont spread. I usually go from Solo Cup to 1 gallon pots. Then 1 gallon to 3 gallon. A week before Flower I go to 5 gallon.
Its day 11. I know you said 3 leaf sets before I should transplant. Do I count those first true leaves as a set. Look at these pics and let me know if I'm ready for a transplant. You mentioned that you transplant a few times. Does it stress your plants at all.
 

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The pic on the right has 2 sets of leaves. Don't count the rounded sucker leaves. So 2 more sets b4 transplant. Then you know it's stable enough. Then a week later Top it. Once that grows out a little start LST & you're on your way to a good size plant.
 
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