Please help us pick a light

missty80

missty80

Well-Known Member
hi this is my first post and i'm desperate, my mom is a MMJ cancer patient and the costs here are getting too much for her to afford, i'm her caregiver and she wants to grow a couple plants here at home...

she can't stand for very long and can't bend so it's up to me to do all the researching and growing, i read a couple sites and decided to do this bubbleponics thing. i have the tent, the pots, the bottle nutrients, tubing, air stones, clay balls, and all that stuff but i'm totally confused about lights and after a month of researching i'm getting really worried and desperate.

we have a 3x3x7s grow tent big enough to hold one plastic bin, a fan with a carbon attachment, now we just need to know what light to buy.

i've asked in other forums for a month now but we just need a straight answer please! my 67 year old mom doesn't care about growing 12 ounces of weed per plant or mini-maxing her plant size or anything, she's chronically ill and stressing about this as much as i am because it's like we just can't get a simple straight answer, if some kind person would just please tell me what to buy.

my mom is on a pension and she can't spend $1000 on lights, it just isn't possible, she has limited income. but people say to avoid purple LEDs from amazon because they don't work well, so that seems to leave me with quantum board LEDs.

here's the recommended info:

Strains: LSD autoflower (sativa), Lemon Potion autoflower (CBD indica), both were listed as "short" plants with "easy" grow difficulty
# of Plants - 2-3
Grow Type - hydro
Grow Stage - not planted yet
Setup - bubbleponics with air stones
Light - not sure yet
Nutrients - this 3-bottle set i got from amazon suggested by the website i read
Medium - clay balls from germany, i forget the brand name right now but they look like terra cotta clay balls
PPM - idk
PH - not planted yet
RH - nothing yet
Room Temperature -nothing yet
Solution Temperature - nothing yet
Room Square Footage - 3x3x72
Pests - none i hope when the time comes


idk if this is allowed, i'm sorry if it isn't, but here are the choices i'm looking at right now, please don't judge, this is all new to us.

i don't know science, i'm not an electrician, numbers and figures mean nothing to me, i just want someone to tell me what works so i can buy it and be done with all this researching, my mom needs her medicine and i need to give it to her, i'm her caregiver and she depends on me for everything so some nice person please just tell me what i need, how many, any extra parts, or whatever else so i can finally get this growing started and tell mom relief is on the way.

HLG Quantum-Board-Grow-Bloom-3000K

Meijiu-QB288-Samsung-Led-Quantum-Board

Kingbrite-250W-HLG-QB288-V2-Samsung

Horticulture-lighting-group-135-watt-quantum-board-led

idk if these are the same or different, i just need to know which ones are best and will give decent amounts of cannabis, we want to make it worth our time and $$ so my mom can stop paying these crazy prices because she needs 2-3 ounces of cannabis per month and the cost is killing her faster than cancer is =(

otherwise i'm just going to buy a couple $70 blue-red LEDs from amazon and put them all in the top of the tent and hope for the best, because it's all getting very overwhelming for both of us and i need to get her the help she needs. please help us!!

thank you very much
Misty
 
Hps are good and quantom boreds are amazing the amazon stuff is just cheap u can check mars hydro website they have great things at good prices but it’s ur pick but if u go with one of those 3 u will do amazing
 
thank you for answering so quickly, is ONE of these lights good enough for the grow tent size? some people on reddit were saying one light is too small for 36x36x72, what do you think?
 
 
Alot of people are going led because it uses less electricity and can still get good results. Some use fluorescents to germ. Then a stronger led to veg, and a hps to flower. There are good quantum boards but they will be at least 130. I think that mars hydro are making some new ones that look good. Id start there and if you want to supplement you light with another, alot of people do that too. Good luck, stick around here and you will be golden. Welcome
 
I have that second light you linked to from Alibaba, will probably be great. It’s got a dimmer so you can start them under that too. I think you could use a little more during flowering but that would get you some good buds.

Good Luck!

:passitleft:
 
i don't know science, i'm not an electrician,
Click to expand...

Some of those lights you linked are kits, so more to it than taking it out of the box and plugging it in. I've never grown Auto's so no idea on actual numbers, but as a beginner you could get anywhere from nothing to a few ounces per plant and if that takes 2-3 months to go full cycle (again I don't do Autos, so hopefully someone chime in with better guesses). So if it raises your power bill $100 a month are you any farther ahead of things? Just so many things can go south on you and you end up with little or nothing for all the time and money you put into it, not trying to be a downer and no idea what she paying for an oz as it is all over the place depending on where you are. And maybe I'm wrong in my thinking but if she needs 6-9 ounces in the time frame of full cycle of an auto might be lofty expectations. Lots of knowledgeable folks here to help and all, but there are different schools of thought on about everything involved, so difficult to get a "straight answer" as you put it as just so many variables involved to put it lightly.
 
Like @Dwight Monk said, a lot of the lower cost offerings from HLG are kits with some assembly required. They are nice lights if you are capable. A similar yet plug and play option would be a Mars Hydro TSW 2000. They are cost effective too. Yield can vary widely with autos based on many factors (experience, seed genetics, lighting, nutrients, etc.). My first grow 4 years with 5 autos I was probably lucky to get 5oz. My last grow with 3 autos I got 29.5oz. I will say that lighting is the #1 thing that has increased my yields. If there is one area to spend a little more, it's lights.
 
I just got the kingbright about 1 week ago switched out a platinum led p900
Kingbright lm301h+660nm so far good,
Got it from Alibaba 2 x 260w total 4 qb panels delivered in 5 days after payment
 

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Welcome.

I'm sorry your mother and you are going through this. You've come to the right place for help and you shouldn't worry about being judged.

There are a lot of choices. Do you have a budget in mind for the light? That may help narrow it down.

Also, @carcass has a grow journal with a $150 budget: Carcass' $150 Low Budget Grow 2019
 
Alafornia said:
Welcome.

I'm sorry your mother and you are going through this. You've come to the right place for help and you shouldn't worry about being judged.

There are a lot of choices. Do you have a budget in mind for the light? That may help narrow it down.

Also, @carcass has a grow journal with a $150 budget: Carcass' $150 Low Budget Grow 2019
Click to expand...

first, thank you for your support and care. THANK YOU :)))

i can't use any lights that generate heat. all that ducting and venting out the heat, temp control, etc, is too complex for me right now. my mom lives in a smallish condo, and doing all that extra stuff just isn't possible right now. plus i don't think they'd be too happy about big silver ducts poking out the windows, especially because she lives on the ground floor with the back room's window facing the front door like 20 yards away.

WOW...that low-cost grow setup is AMAZING.

not sure i could manage that though, i'm kinda clumsy and i tend to break things :3

but now you guys have got me curious about how much i NEED to be spending on all this...i've been all over reddit reading these growers' threads and it makes me really confused and like i'll never figure any of this out...would you mind answering a couple questions please?

1) it seems like the interior moisture might start molding the cardboard box after awhile, don't you think? isn't mold terrible for plants?

2) i've been reading that these low-cost LED lights are horrible, they only yield about .5g per watt (if that), they break fast, they generate a lot of heat, lights burn out quickly, etc...i was looking at a 1500w one of these on amazon or like $185 but everyone says they're terrible for growing anything decent. everyone says "spend the extra $$ and get the HLG 260 lights, you won't regret it when harvest time comes", but who can you trust? it's like everyone is mini-maxing or they're promoting affiliate links, so idk.

i mean how good could a $100 light be? wouldn't everyone be using them?

like i said before, idc about massive crops but i gotta figure out what will get at least .75 per watt, hopefully 1g per watt, my mom uses quite a bit of cannabis for her condition, and we don't have the space to grow 4-5 plants at a time =/

3) would this setup work for DWC/bubbleponics? i found a great site that's all about setting it up, and the parts are affordable, but reddit says DWC makes HUGE plants and idk if they'll fit in the smallish space. they also say these 3500 HLG lights help keep plants short and bushy...idk...

i can't post links, so what do you think about me getting one of these lights? it's more than i wanted to spend but if it's bigger yields it might be worth it, especially if the price of cannabis goes crazy high like they say is gonna happen in january due to massive shortages when IL goes legal...

i'm sorry if it seems like i keep asking the same questions over and over but i'm kinda confused and thinking about 20 things all at once right now, it's very stressful x.x thank you again for all of your help.

260W QB V1 LED Kit, $279

Horticulture Lighting Group 260 Watt V2 Quantum Board DIY Kit, $329

 
Hi Missty80, First off, love her, hold her, and give her as many hugs as you can. Sorry for your situation, been thru it myself.

Now, the grow your own meds thing. Not as easy as it seems or sounds. there is a learning curve growing this plant.

You need to start correct from the beginning if your able to, and avoid the pitfalls that you WILL encounter along the run.
Remember this information Missty, The fastest way to fail, is LEDs and Hydro, and thats a fact. To much heat, to much light, to much water, to much nutes.

Bubbleponics is good for the 5-6th grow under their belt type stuff. Right now, you need simplicity, and speed.

Id recommend the Mars TS series lights.

If so, Id get the Mars TS 2000. You could start with the Mars TS1000, get a few plants under your belt, and get something bigger.

Mars TS 1000, is by far the best, cheapest, PRODUCTIVE, light for starter growers.

$129 ebay, or $140 i think AmZon. But you get a timer and Temp/Humidity meter with the Zon route, which you will need.

Id forget about the bubbleponic crap, just being honest. You need a easyyyyyyyyy, media to work with right now. You dont have time for goofs because water PH is off, or air stone is clogged, the slim cleaning, the nutes, the blah blahblah on and on, and the NOISE from the air pump.

If i had a friend that asked how to start, this is what Id tell him.

Cocoloco soil. Water when the pot is light in weight. PH to 6.7 water. No need to give ANY nutes for first 60 or so day, but calmag. Im growing a Cherry Wine CBD plant, in a 3x3, and i only have 1, and room for just 1. I didnt even really veg her, and she is a beast.

ANY light u use, is going to produce some kind of heat, and the plant will smell, as im sure you know. If ur condo has central air, just a filter extracting into the room is fine, and the cooler air around the outside of the tent, will find its way into the tent, so cooling shouldnt be a problem, just make sure you have the smell under control.

Here is my list of things I personally think are needed.

Cocoloco Soil,
SuperRootS airPots, (2 gallon)
Mars TS1000 LED light.
CalMag
Epsom salt
MegaCrop 1 part, dry nutes, ( greenleafnutiants) Can get enough nutes for 1 year for $14, lol, serious
PH up and PH down
PH meter, TDS meter,,,, Using the cheaper Zon meters is ok to get by, u need to calibrate the PH meter, can be a pain. GrowBoss has a muti meter for like $70, and is great, i broke my probe and need to replace it, my goof. Great meter tho, and will take it back if any problems.

Now, you can grow it, but now, you need to dry and cure it. And Im being really honest, the cry/cure is the hardest part of the entire process, and is also the most criticle part. I HIGHLY recommend the HerbsNow dry machine. Im currently saving up for one myself, because for goodness sake, I hate the drying process. With the machine, you chop your buds up, and put them into the machine for 3 days, then jar, very easy. The machine is $140 i think, but going to be well worth it. The quality of Meds you need, is very high, and to finally spend 90 days to grow, and 3 days to ruin because of mold or bud rot sucks. Ive had to throw 90g because of it in the past.

Just food for thought, i truely hope everything works out for you and your Mom, and hope this post helped in some fashion,lol..

Cheers
 
Hello Missty80. Welcome.
Your tent is the perfect size for a CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide). They are only 315 watts but produce like a 600 watt HPS but with way less heat and power consumption. I run them myself and love them. They have the best spectrum of any light. Very affordable as well if you shop online. The bulbs last 2 years instead of just one year like HPS. Also don't confuse Metal Halide with Ceramic Metal Halide. These are two very different animals. So many great choices... good luck.
 
I’m probably going to be running up a lightning rod for criticism here but if you’re not chasing that trophy plant status and trying to adhere to a constrained budget, don’t overlook screw in LED’s. There’s a thread that’s been ongoing consistently for 4 years now on another site that’s devoted to this type of lighting. Google “Blynx SIL” and you’ll find some unexpected results and a lot of good info on the subject. Many of the growers are reaping 1.2+ grams per watt.

If you’re not a DIY’er getting these set up might be a challenge. I’ve recently started a new semi-autonomous experiment using a pair of these:

7994A41B-2B0C-4514-8B57-6C7BC0DB2169.jpeg

7994A41B-2B0C-4514-8B57-6C7BC0DB2169.jpeg


They’re a pair of 60w LED floods sourced from amazon at only $34 for both. That’s $.28/w. I think one unit would do a decent job for an individual plant.

Since this is my first attempt with these units, I can’t attest to how they will finish up but judging from the start, I’ve got high hopes

WEEK 1

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C06A0DB8-F865-4D21-90ED-DD65B1EF00A1.jpeg


WEEK 2

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C37D0E62-E58D-4C5E-8B2B-C94FE7365502.jpeg


WEEK 3

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I would go with HLG 260 Watt XW Quantum Board LED Kit V2 3000K or HLG 320 Watt XW Quantum Board LED Kit V2 3000K. Either one will work well in a 3' x 3' tent.

I just completed my second grow, first grow i did the hydro thing in coco, second grow I went organic with water only from seed to harvest. Organic grow was way easier than first. I used Sohum soil. Read about Clackamas Coots organic growing methods.
 

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