Questions about grow tent & lights

[aavi420]

I have couple of questions:
1. First I was thinking of buying Spider Farmer tent, but found a pretty good deal for Vivosun too. So is Vivosun better quality as it costs a little bit more? Also they market their tents for hydroponics, so what makes them better for that use? Or can they as well be used when growing in soil?
2. I was going to buy used Spider Farmer SE7000 (730W LED), but luckily found out it was scam just 2 hours before I was going to transfer money to seller. So now I'm not going to take a risk and buy it straight from a store. So my question is that now I have 1x200W LED light and was planning to get 3x200W LEDs more (not all right away). So is there some down/upsides for using 4x200W vs. Single 800W light? One downside I can think is if I need to replace them with single light I lose money in the long run, but I don't mind that. I want to get some more plants growing as soon as possible (Sorry for posting this on another thread I started couple of weeks ago too, but I'm in a hurry because that discount is last day today, and I'm not sure if people notice that other post)

 

[Delps8]

I have couple of questions:
1. First I was thinking of buying Spider Farmer tent, but found a pretty good deal for Vivosun too. So is Vivosun better quality as it costs a little bit more? Also they market their tents for hydroponics, so what makes them better for that use? Or can they as well be used when growing in soil?
2. I was going to buy used Spider Farmer SE7000 (730W LED), but luckily found out it was scam just 2 hours before I was going to transfer money to seller. So now I'm not going to take a risk and buy it straight from a store. So my question is that now I have 1x200W LED light and was planning to get 3x200W LEDs more (not all right away). So is there some down/upsides for using 4x200W vs. Single 800W light? One downside I can think is if I need to replace them with single light I lose money in the long run, but I don't mind that. I want to get some more plants growing as soon as possible (Sorry for posting this on another thread I started couple of weeks ago too, but I'm in a hurry because that discount is last day today, and I'm not sure if people notice that other post)

"I lose money in the long run," - forget about the cost. There's very little value in a used grow light.

You don't say how big your tent is but, IIRC, the SE7000 is for a 4' x 4' tent.

I think it would be wise to go with 2 lights that are designed to cover a 2' x 4' area. That approach allows you to deal with having plants that have very different heights and it provides some redundancy in the rare event of a failure.

For a while over this past summer, I was looking for a light to replace the flower light I use in my 2' x 4' tent and the SE/G4500 was my choice.

What light are you looking to buy?

 

[aavi420]

I already ordered Spider Farmer SF2000, got it for 185€ (new) and I have other one of that same light already in use. In couple of days I'm ordering that 5'x'5 tent. I'm planning to use my other 2'x4' tent for drying.

 

[Greengrouch]

Vivosun tents are now pretty solid. They used to suck ass but the new models have good stitching, good zippers and thick fabric. Spider farmers a reputable brand their tents are probably fine.

 

[Delps8]

I already ordered Spider Farmer SF2000, got it for 185€ (new) and I have other one of that same light already in use. In couple of days I'm ordering that 5'x'5 tent. I'm planning to use my other 2'x4' tent for drying.

A good starting point for figuring out which light to buy is to watts per square foot. Light output is measured in PPFD but input wattage is a good place to start. The minimum watts per square foot is 30. With the amount of electricity coming, you'll be able to get a decent harvest such that you'll tend to hit the low end of the seedsellet's yield estimate.

With two of those lights in your 5' x 5' tent, you're going to have 400 watts which will give you 16 watts per square foot or < 50% of the recommended minimum input wattage value.

There's no way around this. The yield for cannabis is a simple formula with only one input, that input is the PPFD, the amount of light, that a plant receives over its lifetime. It's simply impossible for a plant to grow well in low light because light is how a plant makes food.

Below are PPFD maps of that light. It shows the hot spot that is typical with all board lights. Looking at the 16" hang height, if you run it at 100% you're going to have high light in the center. Many grows won't support 960µmol but, even if your plants do, the 6" strip at each end of the light is not sufficient for flowering cannabis.

Running two of these light, your plants will grow well in a 4' x 4' area under the lights. That's still enough to get a good crop and you can use the strip around the edge of the tent for equipment like a humidifier, fans, etc.

 

[aavi420]

I was aware that those lights might not be enough for that size, but I wanted to get some plants growing right away. I'm going to use just part of the tent at first and later when I can afford get better lights. I have now 2 White Widows growing in my tent that I'm going to put there, and maybe put 3 Northern Lights autoflowers there that I previously growed. They were quite compact in size, so I think they can easily fit there.

 

[aavi420]

I have just started this hobby, only 1 grow experience with 2 Northern Lights autoflowering. And that didn't go too well, but got about 45 grams for both of those. They got badly burned by light one time when I was out of town. Here is a picture of my White Widow:

 

[Spiderfarmerled]

I already ordered Spider Farmer SF2000, got it for 185€ (new) and I have other one of that same light already in use. In couple of days I'm ordering that 5'x'5 tent. I'm planning to use my other 2'x4' tent for drying.

Thanks for choosing Spider Farmer! Hope everything goes smoothly with your grow. Good luck!

 

[Greengrouch]

What I suggest doing is continue learning in the 2x4, invest in environmental control and irrigation. Learn which method works for your lifestyle . If you go out of town a lot try blumats and a premium potting mix with a dry organic fertilizer blend like dr earth. Most important is your environment control, you will at times need to use a humidifier and at others a dehumidifier, a window ac or portable is also something you’re better off having in your tents room. It can be 60f outside and still 80 in my tent without the ac on.

 

[aavi420]

Why I'm going for 5'x5' is that smaller tent just isn't enough room to grow for my own use, and I want to be able to grow all that I use myself. And I have humidifier now in use, here in Finland air is so dry I think I will never need dehumidifier.

 

[driver77]

4 x 200w in a 5x5 will work fine to start. If your like everybody else you'll soon have multiple tents and you'll find good use for the ones your starting with. Up side is being able to adjust for individual plants.....down side is 4 lights to mess with.

 

[tstick]

Why I'm going for 5'x5' is that smaller tent just isn't enough room to grow for my own use, and I want to be able to grow all that I use myself. And I have humidifier now in use, here in Finland air is so dry I think I will never need dehumidifier.

I typically grow in a couple 3-gallon garden pots in an older, HydroHut, Silver Edition tent (3 X 3) and I can pull over a pound, depending on the plants, of course. I'm eyeballing an AC Infinity 4 x 4 tent, though. I really like all the stuff they have and how all their stuff goes together. I own a bunch of their fans, some side lights and a new 6" exhaust fan....love 'em!

 

[Wastei]

I was aware that those lights might not be enough for that size, but I wanted to get some plants growing right away. I'm going to use just part of the tent at first and later when I can afford get better lights. I have now 2 White Widows growing in my tent that I'm going to put there, and maybe put 3 Northern Lights autoflowers there that I previously growed. They were quite compact in size, so I think they can easily fit there.

400w of LED will flower fine under a 5x5 footprint. I think its better to start out with lower intensitites while you learn plant nutrition. The most common issue you see on here is people using too much light for the stage or rate of growth the plant is in.

You see newcomers copy pasting manufacturers numbers from their marketing material as gospel. It's no wonder people experiencing problems with all the misconceptions and people blindly following numbers seen on a poster.

 

[waytoofaded]

400w of LED will flower fine under a 5x5 footprint. I think its better to start out with lower intensitites while you learn plant nutrition. The most common issue you see on here is people using too much light for the stage or rate of growth the plant is in.

You see newcomers copy pasting manufacturers numbers from their marketing material as gospel. It's no wonder people experiencing problems with all the misconceptions and people blindly following numbers seen on a poster.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this, i think buying underpowered lights is a waste of money, I see this mistake made way more often then a new comer with too much light. Too much light can also easily be fixed with the dimmer on the light, buying an underpowered light is a much more expensive fix.

400w in a 5x5 will have terrible coverage, using the incorrect size light for your grow tent reduces the efficiency of your grow and quality of your product. You're not properly utilizing the reflective walls to achieve the best efficiency you can. For a 5x5 space you should be aiming for at minimum 800w.

 

[Wastei]

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this, i think buying underpowered lights is a waste of money, I see this mistake made way more often then a new comer with too much light. Too much light can also easily be fixed with the dimmer on the light, buying an underpowered light is a much more expensive fix.

400w in a 5x5 will have terrible coverage, using the incorrect size light for your grow tent reduces the efficiency of your grow and quality of your product. You're not properly utilizing the reflective walls to achieve the best efficiency you can. For a 5x5 space you should be aiming for at minimum 800w.

Agree to disagree! I have a close friend of mine running that intensity and footprint and he keeps on putting out higher numbers than most people on here running double! I know it works well for him in a typical setting in a tent with lower ceiling. Is it optimal? No! Does it work well? Sure hell it does for him!

I think most people starting out work towards the highest possible theoretical intensity numbers but often forget about the efficiency and plant response.

 

[waytoofaded]

Agree to disagree! I have a close friend of mine running that intensity and footprint and he keeps on putting out higher numbers than most people on here! I know it works well for him in a typical setting in a tent with low ceiling. Is it optimal? No! Does it work well? Sure hell it does for him!

I think most people starting out work towards the highest possible theoretical intensity numbers but often forget about the efficiency and plant response.

It's not theoretical at all, everything can be measured to a precise science.

400w in a 5x5 space is 16w per square foot, at this wattage, to have a peak of 1000 umol in the center, your edges will be completely useless.

Will 400w grow weed in a 5x5? Sure it would, but you're neither getting the most out of your light or your tent, resulting in subpar flowers, and I think we can all agree none of us here want to smoke bush.

What numbers are your friend pulling from a 5x5 with 400w? Claiming your friend is doing better then most here with that is a little hard to believe if I'm going to be honest.

 

[aavi420]

I'm going to buy 4 of those 200W lights, but now I can't afford all those and have 2 of them. And I'm going to use just part of the tent for growing if 2 lights aren't enough for all that space. Later I can get 2 more lights and then use all space to grow, if that clarifies what I was planning. I just can't afford to buy everything I need right away.

 

[aavi420]

So I use 2,5'x5' area first and put those 2 lights there, and when I get 2 lights more I can use the remaining area. Does that sound like a good plan? Or is it stupid?

 

[waytoofaded]

So I use 2,5'x5' area first and put those 2 lights there, and when I get 2 lights more I can use the remaining area. Does that sound like a good plan? Or is it stupid?

It's not stupid at all, what I was previously disagreeing with is 400w total for flowering in a 5x5 tent.

I suggest just buying a bigger bar light though, you get superior spread compared to quantum board style lights. I see you're in Europe so I'm not sure what available there to make suggestions, but look at lights like the MarsHydro FC8000, SpiderFarmer G8600 if you want to stick with a bigger brand name with 5 year warranty. There's a few solid small Chinese brands as well but their warranty is spotty at best.

 

[aavi420]

I just ordered that Vivosun tent, and I decided I will settle for those two 200W lights for a few months and save money for a bigger light as you suggested. I can get a couple of more plants growing with that total of 400W now, and in a few months I will buy that bar light.