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- #21
Mariano Gomes
Active Member
I still strongly recommend you get a 600w HID for 4x4 and 1000w HID for 5x5, as you find your growing style(s) you get a better idea of what you want your lights to do for you - this is very important when you intend to expand in the future.
I know there's a lot of talk about LED being the future and a lot of terms and psuedoscience is thrown in our faces all the time to make us buy stuff, but the upfront cost vs efficiency of HID is just unmatched by any LED light out there except one that you DIY to your specific needs
I'm guessing you're in the states and power consumption is not a huge issue, otherwise I wouldn't recommend 1000w as the 600w is more effiecient watt for watt.
A bulb, a digital ballast, a good air-cooled hood and an exhaust system and you're good to grow, with lots of dollars left in your kitty for seeds, medium, pots, meters, nutrients etc.
Get to know the plant and how you prefer to grow it before you shell out big bucks on equipment
About the QB's: 6x 288 will POWER a 4x4 and do very well in 5x5, but 9 is where the gold is at, you wanna hit that +800 PPFD on every square inch of your growspace.
An answer from Entheogenerator's PPFD thread:
Actually that's the reason I need to get an LED I live in a tropical climate country near the equator with one of the highest electric bills.... So just one run of LEDS would roi right away.