I've tried to do my own research for the past year that I've grown but i'm finally swallowing my pride and asking for help.
I've had a few problems but I've successfully grown 4 plants from seed with around 2 ounces (dry) from each plant.
(2
Liberty Haze, 1
Peyote Critical, 1
blueberry)
My grow room is pretty much just a plywood boxed-in area in my garage.
It's 4ft wide, 4ft long, and 8.5 tall.
I positioned it to where its right below the attic access panel. (Basically just a square piece of drywall in the ceiling)
That way, I could vent up there if the grow room got TOO hot. I know it's not ideal but it's worked fine and has saved me having to buy an inline fan and duct work. Not to mention buying another hood for my light, since it's the wing type.
My light is a 1000w
ipower Electronic ballast HPS/MH.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F642CQ/
I know it's not the best, but it was on sale for $149 including tax and shipping.
I also grow for personal use and curiosity of trying new strains.
I don't sell, so I can't really justify to myself spending a ton of money by saying I'll get the money back quickly on the first grow.
Well, my power went off/on about 5 times a couple nights ago and when I went to check on my plants the next morning, the light was off and It was completely silent. Usually I hear the sound of the fans in the ballast running but they weren't even spinning anymore. I tried unplugging/re-plugging in, another outlet, changing bulbs, giving it a break then trying again etc but it appears that somehow the ballast has died.
I've contacted ipower about their 2 year warranty but i'm not too optimistic that it will be successful for whatever reason. And if it is, I think they will want me to send it off to be repaired, and I don't have time to wait since my new grow needs light..
I have a crappy-ish LED light I got for free on Amazon for leaving a review on the plants right now, but I know it's not going to be enough for long term.
So with my main light dying, I figure now is a good time to consider getting a better light.
Either the same type I had before (HPS/MH) or upgrade to a LED light since I hear they are supposedly the
"New wave".
I've researched some and this is what I'm thinking:
HPS/MH
Pros -
• higher harvest
:cost ratio than LED (factoring only
product cost)
• higher canopy penetration
Cons -
• lots of heat that may need additional equipment to buy to cool it
• higher footprint on electric bill
• replace bulbs every year or two which can be expensive
• less efficient leading to a lot of wasted energy/light
LED
Pros-
• smaller footprint on electrical bill. (save money)
• leds last for much longer than HPS/MH (save money not having to buy bulbs every year or two)
• more efficient leading to less wasted energy/light
Cons-
• much higher
COST:Harvest ratio than HPS/MH (since the only good quality ones seem to cost hundreds)
• less canopy penetration, therefore much less harvest on all parts of the plant except the Top
• market saturated with low quality LED grow lights with many products imitating the most popular GOOD Led lights leads you to not know what you're buying, unless you spend even more money buying from re-sellers who mark the original prices up so they can make profit.
I may not be right on some of this, but this is just what I've theorized from what I have researched.
Getting to the point though, I need a new light and I'm trying to decide between HPS/MH or LED.
I'd light to spend between 200-400. Does LED only make sense if you have much more to spend?
I'm growing 6 plants by the way. I'm growing in Coco Coir/Perlite with
General Hydroponics Flora Grow, Flora Bloom, and Flora Micro. Also using
General Hydroponics CALiMAGic since Coco Coir needs it.
I have no problem putting together a kit if need be. I just want the best light I can get for that price range and can light a 4x4 grow room with 6 plants.
