Light Recommendations

M

MCIce

Member
Hi,

I was wondering if I could get some recommendations for additional lighting for my tent.
I currently have a 3x3x6.5 tent with a Mars II LED grow light 900W.
I grow 4 plants at a time and have had success so far, but I find the yields are low. Maybe a 2-3 dry oz per plant.
I’d like to add more lighting but wanted to get some recommendations for adding something during flower or even the entire grow.

Thanks,
 
TintEastwood

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
Gobs of options....

I'll toss out this for starters. Single 315w vertical bulb CMH.

www.ebay.com

TopoGrow 315W CMH CDM W/3100K 120V Vertical Grow Light Kit for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for TopoGrow 315W CMH CDM W/3100K 120V Vertical Grow Light Kit at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

(I looked up the Mars II 900w - actual power is around 370watts based on Amazon site.)

LED, QBs, Strip builds are all the rage!
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Are you running warmer canopy temps under the LED? Needs to be up around 85 or growth is slowed.
 
Boatguy

Boatguy

Well-Known Member
Renfro said:
Are you running warmer canopy temps under the LED? Needs to be up around 85 or growth is slowed.
Click to expand...
Easier said than done. If i let temps get that high my humidity goes through the roof, and exhaust fan will barely cycle.
Really wish i had an optimum grow space but you can only do what you can in a tent.
For most its just more of a balance of what you can control and everything else is a compromise.

@MCIce if you cant afford a qb, strip or cob fixture, just about any hid will outperform your Mars.
To diy supplement your light you could add some led strips to your existing light by gluing or screwing some aluminum angle to the sides of the fixture and remotely mounting the driver somewhere.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Boatguy said:
Easier said than done. If i let temps get that high my humidity goes through the roof, and exhaust fan will barely cycle.
Really wish i had an optimum grow space but you can only do what you can in a tent.
For most its just more of a balance of what you can control and everything else is a compromise.

@MCIce if you cant afford a qb, strip or cob fixture, just about any hid will outperform your Mars.
To diy supplement your light you could add some led strips to your existing light by gluing or screwing some aluminum angle to the sides of the fixture and remotely mounting the driver somewhere.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need a HPS to get some IR for leaf surface temps.
 
Boatguy

Boatguy

Well-Known Member
Renfro said:
Sounds like you need a HPS to get some IR for leaf surface temps.
Click to expand...
I do. Winter is coming quick here and basement temps dont get over 64. Running exhaust full time to keep smell down keeps tent cool and humidity near 0. Learned this lesson last winter and still havent bit the bullet and done something about it.
The humidity part is more complicated to fix in a 2x2
 
M

MCIce

Member
TintEastwood said:
Gobs of options....

I'll toss out this for starters. Single 315w vertical bulb CMH.

www.ebay.com

TopoGrow 315W CMH CDM W/3100K 120V Vertical Grow Light Kit for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for TopoGrow 315W CMH CDM W/3100K 120V Vertical Grow Light Kit at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

(I looked up the Mars II 900w - actual power is around 370watts based on Amazon site.)

LED, QBs, Strip builds are all the rage!
Click to expand...
Thanks. I’ll look at this. Would you run this along with the Mars or instead of it?
 
M

MCIce

Member
Renfro said:
Are you running warmer canopy temps under the LED? Needs to be up around 85 or growth is slowed.
Click to expand...
It depends on the time of year. In the summer I don’t have issues with the temp, it usually sits around 80-85 when lights are on and drop maybe 5 degrees when lights are off. Winter its around 75-80 in the day and drops to 70 or so at night when the lights are off. I have to run a small heater to keep the temp somewhat steady.
The LED adds almost no heat.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
a mongo frog said:
How are guys/girls doing this?
Click to expand...
Depends on the grow I suppose. I can't speak for everyone. My LED tent is in my veg room that has 1kW CMH lights, AC and a dehumidifier. In my veg room it stays around 80F and 50% RH. I would run the RH% a little higher in veg but I flower in that tent so it's a compromise in my case. My tent draws it's air from the veg room and just exhausts it back into there. I use a variac to set my blower speed such that the canopy stays 83 - 86 under the LED. The blower doesn't ever turn off, basically I am counting on the veg room to regulate things in the tent lol.

Some use supplemental HID lighting or switch from LED to HID for winter runs when the heat is required, then swap to LED for summer runs where the heat is the enemy.
 
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