Best Grow lights?

Well I've never had experience in LED but I have in HPS and CFL...All depends on your budget and size of grow your planning. For a small grow for a few small plants CFL is the way to go because low start up costs and you won't have to spend alot of money on a ventilation system...just a fan blowing in between the cfl bulbs and plants will do for the most part. But for a bigger grow you would need LOTS of CFL's and then you would be using the same amount of power as HPS so I would recommend HPS then because you would get more lumens for the same power usage they just cost a little more on start up and require a more sophisticated ventilation system. I've heard good things about LED and they don't consume alot of power. So they save on the light bill but start up costs are relatively higher than HPS and they also do not require as much of a ventilation setup as HPS. I personally use HID's (HPS and MH) but I've been throwing around the idea of LED's but I think I'll wait a while until the prices go down and the quality is consistent because from what I hear you can end up buying some CRAPPY ones but once again that's what I HEAR....So you never know....If you're thinking of LEDs go through some grow journals and choose LEDS that some of our members have had good results with...Photo's don't lie...:thumb:
 
What is your budget....? What size area are you growing in? How many plant's are you looking to grow? How experienced at growing are you, not cannabis but plants in general? How much medicine are you looking to harvest?

Answer these questions and we should be able to help you within your abilities.
 
if i personally have the money id be getting led grow panels 50,000hr lifespan like 2000days of 24 hr light right there basically plus your energy savings for all those years...

but i dont so i browse craigslist find 150$ 1000w sun system or xxl setup or hydrofarm and i buy that make sure it workd inspect hood ballast cords make sure it lights up they plug it in its blue light u got mh plug it in it goe yellow red light u got hps. if used for two cycles replace bulb whipe it off real good if used for one use again replace later...if it lights up n sounds ok... ballasts do make noise though lol. and id use that.. maybe a couple of them switchable hoods n ballasts are awesome if you get a used one make sure it all works right.

Nor*caL
 
250 sf room no celling garge like 12 plants grow in happy frog soil

If ya give us a little more, we will be more able to help and willing...

whats your budget??? (do you have the bucks to drop on expensive LED technology, or are we doing this with spare change?)

Are you planning on just having one grow area for veg and grow, or 2 seperate areas, one for each?

How much are you willing to see your electric bill go up?

Are you planning on growing these pretty tall or are you keeping it more of a SOG grow..?

Is this a square room? long room? are you planning on using the whole thing to grow?

These are the types of questions you should be able to answer if you want a quality response...it will better help us help you...

The answer to your first question about grow lights can go any way... all three lights are good for growing and can be used effectively, but it depends on what your trying to do....

If your growing large scale, I would look into either led or HID lighting...CFL can work, but for a larger size room as you are looking at, HID or LED would be your best bet...

Cant help ya much more without you giving us more details...were here to help, but you gotta help us, help you...
 
Depend on your finances and your room space! I'm not a LED believer and my choice is always the same for years; 1000W Hortilux (there are getting cheaper in most state).
I bulb per 5' x 5', it always worked very well for me.
 
HID is THE best. Metal Halide for veg and High Pressure Sodium for flower. Digital ballast is a must with HID for efficiency and max lumens. Specific grow bulbs are a must, not commercial HID bulbs. Different spectrum.

600 watt is the most efficient way to go. 2 600 watters in good hoods would do you just fine. Put them on light mover rails and you're golden.
 
I grow with LED but I only grow for me. Don't think its practical for a space as large as yours. I agree with the others, Hortilux 1000's.
 
im building a small grow room about 5 plants its gonna be 3ft wide 6ft height.im on a budget so i plan on using cfl light..for vegging,and flowering..n im gonna build a small cabinet for clones,...what type of cfl n how many should i get..
 
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im ony using 2ft of dat closet den im putting a plywood like a secret door..
 
comes to cost.. i got a diamond 460 i think that cost 1000 :-( also i got a 600 mh/hps cost 200 with reflector, timer, pullies... but crappy bulbs.. both bulbs burnt out in less then 20 hours of play...
 
LED's are the future. They are the most efficient and if you are willing to pay for quality, are just as powerful and capable to out yield HID.
Everyone looks at lumens when looking at lighting. Lumens are for humans. Par output measured in micro moles, is the truest measure of how powerful an LED is. Par light is the spectrums of light that causes photosynthesis(400-700nm range). As most know certain colors(red and blue) cause higher rates of photosynthesis and that is why LED's only use certain colors. The intensity is what separates good from bad LED's. Cheap ebay led's putout only around 300micro moles @12". Compared to 1000w hps that does 2000+ @12" but that is low to run HID. Apache tech's at120 LED puts out about 1000+/- @12". Others put out comparable numbers like hydro grow and stealth plus others I only know about never used. But per watt output Apache Tech is still best and comparable to 600-1000w hps. The technology is there and more than a handful of companies have a product that will actually yield and quality. Just got to pay upfront with led's and that scares many understandably, but it pays back really quick if you do it right.
 
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