First time LED grower 4x4x6.6 tent

Snoogensz

Snoogensz

Well-Known Member
Good evening fellow enthusiasts/growers

I've been researching LED lights for several months now and on the eve of recreational marijuana being 100% legal in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts :allgood:, I figured I take the plunge into this exciting new reality and ask for some advice/questions with regards to my potential indoor grow.

I will be ordering a 4x4x6.6 indoor grow tent from Apollo which will be placed in my finished, but non heated attic. I'll be taking temperature measurements in the next few nights to see how low it gets but I've decided that I will not be going the HID route as I want lower energy/electricity costs and do not want to deal with excessive heat.

I haven't decided on which LED lights to go with yet, but have a few in mind. I've been looking at the Advanced DS XML 350 and XML 650. If I only plan on having 4 plants (6 max) in my 4x4 tent, will a 350 be sufficient? Based on PAR measurements it seems covering 4x4 with the 350 may seem like a bit of a stretch. I've seen people report that the 350 would be ideal to flower for a 2x2 space or 3x3. Would a XML650 be too much for a 4x4? My hunch is no as I've read other people report that a 650 would rock a 4x4. Obviously the price difference between them is ($549.00 vs $1595.00) a factor so if I could get away with producing great quality dense buds with the 350 then let me know. But if the price difference seems like it will produce better/greater quality then that is something I'll consider.

I've been researching other LEDs which seem comparable but both are around $1800. I've also read up on the low end spectrum LED's from amazon etc but not sure if I even want to bother with those. If I go with the cheaper route; I'll go with MarsHydro 1200.

Any ways, thoughts/comments/concerns/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
 
Looked at a few more Mars hydro lights and definitely interested in the pro II cree128 and cree256. Seems like they are the latest/best lights from them and could cover a 4x4 well from seed-flower. Leaning towards getting the 256, though having 2 128's could cover better. Thoughts?
 
I'd get a Mars II 1200 for that money. A Mars II 900 would work fine even. Google the stats and reviews. Im running a 700 and its doing fine. A 900 or 1200 would be smoking......
 
Thanks for the input ray. I'm leaning towards going with 2 cree128's for my tent. Better coverage wall to wall and coverage vs only having only 1 light. What do you mean by "a 900 or 1200 would be smoking"? Do you mean too much heat for that small of a space?
 
No I mean performance wise. I'm using a Mars II 700 and had 2 older 300 watts for a total of 1.3 Kw. I think it was more than needed so I just use the 700. A Mars II 1200 is gonna do very well. 'Im running a 6 inch fan for circulation. Since its winter (60 at day 40 at night) I only have it on 15 minutes on the hour so heat is not too bad. Im now using one of the 2 300 watt units for vegging clones and seeds and one on the shelf as a backup. I suggest a cheap 300 for emergency backup. If your main unit fails you have to keep your plants alive until a main unit can be repaired. I think dual cree 128's are a bit much. (1 grand)I also look at financial ROI. How long will it take to break even instead of buying weed?
 
raymont said:
No I mean performance wise. I'm using a Mars II 700 and had 2 older 300 watts for a total of 1.3 Kw. I think it was more than needed so I just use the 700. A Mars II 1200 is gonna do very well. 'Im running a 6 inch fan for circulation. Since its winter (60 at day 40 at night) I only have it on 15 minutes on the hour so heat is not too bad. Im now using one of the 2 300 watt units for vegging clones and seeds and one on the shelf as a backup. I suggest a cheap 300 for emergency backup. If your main unit fails you have to keep your plants alive until a main unit can be repaired. I think dual cree 128's are a bit much. (1 grand)I also look at financial ROI. How long will it take to break even instead of buying weed?
Click to expand...

"dual cree 128's are a bit much" - A bit much as in too expensive for what I'm getting or a bit much as in too much light for the area?
 
Snoogensz about the kit dosages for 4 plants.

Some guys seem to approach it a bit different, but I try to use 2/3 for most of my calculations rounding off for simplicity when needed.

The kit calls for 30ml stress or brix mixed with 32oz(quart) water
that comes to approx 1ml stress or brix per 1oz water.
I rarely had to mix more than 4oz for young and 8oz for older plants.
and there was always plenty left. simple, 1ml per 1oz

for the drenches it says 1/2 to 1 1/2oz per 1 gallon divided among the 6 plants.
or mix the same amount in 5 gl bucket if that is how much water you are giving them
so weather you are mixing 1 gl or 5 gl to give the plants you still only use 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz
not multiplying by 5 for a 5 gl bucket.

putting that in mills that is 15-45 ml drench for 6 plants
using 2/3 that is 10-30 mls for 4 plants.
some guy mentioned in Docs lab using a full dose per gallon and giving each plant a gallon.
I think he is wrong, seems like to much to me, but i am waiting for someone else to correct him or see if they catch it.

Anyway, my normal feedings were usually on the lighter side of things. Occasionally I would add a bit more, but for the most part thats about it. The plants never seemed to need more,
early on I would give them 2m tea, 10 GE and 5 Tr each watering till the cat drench then during the rest of flowering I would do the reverse 2m tea, 5 GE and 10 Tr. eliminating the GE on the last 2 feedings and upping the Tr so 2m tea 15Tr . Seemed to work great.
And of course as Doc recommends 5 ml Tr at each watering in between drenches.
I use all 5 and dont reduce by 2/3.

early on I always had a 5gl bucket of water sitting to get rid of the chlorine etc. so I would mix my dose right into a 5 gl bucket that had a tap on the bottom and I gravity fed the plants
then after a while I started just mixing into a 1 gl jug and giving each plant a quart, then watering them all with a hose the amount of water i thought then needed.

I hope this helps. If not just ask and I'll be glad to try and answer.

Happy growing
HH
 
Hash Hound said:
Snoogensz about the kit dosages for 4 plants.

Some guys seem to approach it a bit different, but I try to use 2/3 for most of my calculations rounding off for simplicity when needed.

The kit calls for 30ml stress or brix mixed with 32oz(quart) water
that comes to approx 1ml stress or brix per 1oz water.
I rarely had to mix more than 4oz for young and 8oz for older plants.
and there was always plenty left. simple, 1ml per 1oz

for the drenches it says 1/2 to 1 1/2oz per 1 gallon divided among the 6 plants.
or mix the same amount in 5 gl bucket if that is how much water you are giving them
so weather you are mixing 1 gl or 5 gl to give the plants you still only use 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz
not multiplying by 5 for a 5 gl bucket.

putting that in mills that is 15-45 ml drench for 6 plants
using 2/3 that is 10-30 mls for 4 plants.
some guy mentioned in Docs lab using a full dose per gallon and giving each plant a gallon.
I think he is wrong, seems like to much to me, but i am waiting for someone else to correct him or see if they catch it.

Anyway, my normal feedings were usually on the lighter side of things. Occasionally I would add a bit more, but for the most part thats about it. The plants never seemed to need more,
early on I would give them 2m tea, 10 GE and 5 Tr each watering till the cat drench then during the rest of flowering I would do the reverse 2m tea, 5 GE and 10 Tr. eliminating the GE on the last 2 feedings and upping the Tr so 2m tea 15Tr . Seemed to work great.
And of course as Doc recommends 5 ml Tr at each watering in between drenches.
I use all 5 and dont reduce by 2/3.

early on I always had a 5gl bucket of water sitting to get rid of the chlorine etc. so I would mix my dose right into a 5 gl bucket that had a tap on the bottom and I gravity fed the plants
then after a while I started just mixing into a 1 gl jug and giving each plant a quart, then watering them all with a hose the amount of water i thought then needed.

I hope this helps. If not just ask and I'll be glad to try and answer.

Happy growing
HH
Click to expand...

Hi Hash,

I've decided to return my 1 gal and 7 gal smart pots. I'm ordering 1 gal plastic pots for easier transplanting but upgrading to a 10 gal smart pot as their final homes. I'm assuming to follow what you said above applies with switching over from 7 gal to 10 gal? Same dosage since it is only 4 plants but they will be in bigger pots so just add more water keeping the dosage for drenches and foliars the same?
 
Snoogensz said:
Good evening fellow enthusiasts/growers

I've been researching LED lights for several months now and on the eve of recreational marijuana being 100% legal in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts :allgood:, I figured I take the plunge into this exciting new reality and ask for some advice/questions with regards to my potential indoor grow.

I will be ordering a 4x4x6.6 indoor grow tent from Apollo which will be placed in my finished, but non heated attic. I'll be taking temperature measurements in the next few nights to see how low it gets but I've decided that I will not be going the HID route as I want lower energy/electricity costs and do not want to deal with excessive heat.

I haven't decided on which LED lights to go with yet, but have a few in mind. I've been looking at the Advanced DS XML 350 and XML 650. If I only plan on having 4 plants (6 max) in my 4x4 tent, will a 350 be sufficient? Based on PAR measurements it seems covering 4x4 with the 350 may seem like a bit of a stretch. I've seen people report that the 350 would be ideal to flower for a 2x2 space or 3x3. Would a XML650 be too much for a 4x4? My hunch is no as I've read other people report that a 650 would rock a 4x4. Obviously the price difference between them is ($549.00 vs $1595.00) a factor so if I could get away with producing great quality dense buds with the 350 then let me know. But if the price difference seems like it will produce better/greater quality then that is something I'll consider.

I've been researching other LEDs which seem comparable but both are around $1800. I've also read up on the low end spectrum LED's from amazon etc but not sure if I even want to bother with those. If I go with the cheaper route; I'll go with MarsHydro 1200.

Any ways, thoughts/comments/concerns/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...
If you go with mars, use their pro series lights. They are immensely better.
 
I think you'll like it. I'm using the same, but epistar models until I get a cob setup finished. I've never had an issue with mine.
 
So I plan on starting from seed. do you think having both of the cree128's on (only on veg mode) is a bit too much for them? I only have one tent and the lights are already set up but I can always throw some other lower lighting in there for seedlings/germination
 
Snoogensz said:
So I plan on starting from seed. do you think having both of the cree128's on (only on veg mode) is a bit too much for them? I only have one tent and the lights are already set up but I can always throw some other lower lighting in there for seedlings/germination
Click to expand...
I'd just run one on veg only for a couple weeks.
Just raise up the light and they'll be fine.
 
I would use the same amounts, only maybe on the average to higher side if you think they could use it.

any particular reason for going with 10gl? I know the bigger the better, but if you are in a tent or limited space, you wont really take advantage of 10's in my opinion.

I averaged 2.5oz in the 7's and had runts and monsters 5oz. They never were root bound that made me want to upgrade to 10's
 
Hey HH, I'm actually in a 5x5 space so the 10s would breathe a bit more. Also, you had mentioned :

The kit calls for 30ml stress or brix mixed with 32oz(quart) water
that comes to approx 1ml stress or brix per 1oz water.
I rarely had to mix more than 4oz for young and 8oz for older plants.
and there was always plenty left. simple, 1ml per 1oz

It look's like Doc's updated Destress formula is a bit stranger; hence his instruction of .5ml of stress per 1oz of water correct? Or are you still doing 1ml/1oz?
 
yes Snoogensz I am sorry I made that mistake.
you are correct in using .5/1 ratio.

My 2nd kit goes far back it was called stress, then Doc changed it to de-stress and reduced the amount needed.
I have used it very rarely and use it at the 1/1 rate since it was the original batch.

I don't think he reduced it for the brix though, and I have been using 1/1, that I have fresh.

I was growing 4 in 7gl pots now I'm doing 2 2gl pot with brix and it's almost a waste to mix 2mls/2oz, but I have to use at least that much or the sprayer wont work right. I use the rest on house plants. I haven't heard any complaints from them.

happy growing
HH
 

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