hps, led or cfl to flower?

bugsblake

Member
hi. i have a clf dual spec 300watt light veggin 9 plants. i was wondering what light i should get to flower? i know i can flower them with my cfl but not sure it will do the job? was watching vids on youtube showing that led and hps work pritty much the same! i know that hps is better but my grow room is already a bit hot, 78, 88 at times and think a hps would push the temps up too much! so will led lights do the job? if so should i get all red led for flower or red and blue mixed? will i need more then 1? my room size is L,134cm W,61cm H,106cm. thanks
 

MRsteverson

Well-Known Member
hi. i have a clf dual spec 300watt light veggin 9 plants. i was wondering what light i should get to flower? i know i can flower them with my cfl but not sure it will do the job? was watching vids on youtube showing that led and hps work pritty much the same! i know that hps is better but my grow room is already a bit hot, 78, 88 at times and think a hps would push the temps up too much! so will led lights do the job? if so should i get all red led for flower or red and blue mixed? will i need more then 1? my room size is L,134cm W,61cm H,106cm. thanks
led and hps are not the same.. not yet... if you are talking watt for watt then you can get close.. but a 90 watt led is at least 150 bucks.... and does not perform good at all for flowering in comparison to a 400 w hps... im not saying you cant flower with LED but the yield wont be as much unless your running equal led wattage... CFLs are great too as long as you get them close enough, i suggest a 250 or 400 watt HPS light with an air cooled reflector... i usued a 90 watt led for a whole grow an really was not too impressed other than its low heat signiture and power consumption... but i rather deal with the heat when you can get way more weight per watt...best of luck
 

Steadmanclan

Well-Known Member
you can produce smokable buds with any of the lighting systems you have named. the best buds however will only come from hps.

this debate goes on and on here on this forum, and you are bound to get someone on here before too long that will tell you about the bad ass buds that they can produce with their cfl's. and they would be right to a degree, they are able to produce nice smelling flowers, with decent flavor, and a fair amount of trichomes that may produce a pleasant stone. but they will not have any dense sticky buds. they will not have any nice dense nugs that don't crush completly flat when you give them a squeeze. trust me, i started indoor with cfl's. you need way too many of them to bloom, and the buds won't be as good as they would with the hps. if you can figure out a way to cool the better lamp, that is definitely the way to go.
 

Steadmanclan

Well-Known Member
i would love to use a few of those led's as side lights in my bloom tent. with the hps above, they would probably kick ass. I currently us cfl's for side lights, and lights inbetween plants
 

bugsblake

Member
thanks for the help. looks like ill be getting a 400watt hps with a cooled reflector then! is it worth putting full red leds at the sides of my plants or will it be a waist of money? will full blue leds at the side of my veg plants help or would that be a waist too? thanks for the help so far.
 

scooby33

Well-Known Member
if you have blue leds and put them on the sides it want hurt but want do any good
i would't goout and buy red leds if you are getting a hps as the benifit would't be worth it
+ rep would be nice
 

Steadmanclan

Well-Known Member
if you have blue leds and put them on the sides it want hurt but want do any good
i would't goout and buy red leds if you are getting a hps as the benifit would't be worth it
+ rep would be nice
both blue and red mixed would be good. they sell panels in various sizes that have them mixed. either wold be an improvement if we are talking about additional side lights. the led's are supposed to operate in a "plant specific" nanometer. and be much more effective than any other lights as far as the usable wavelength for your plants. i have seen several grows on this forum where people turn out some pretty sick buds with them. the only problem with them that i have heard is penetration. scooby dosen't know what he's talking about... and c'mon, asking for +rep when you give bad advice? -rep would be appropriate:wall:
 

Steadmanclan

Well-Known Member
+ rep to all that help me! not that i know what its all about but you can have some! thanks all
to add to someone's reputation, click on the scales in the top right hand corner of their post. a little box will pop up and ask you to tell why you agree with the post, give a comment, and leave your screen name. all good rep will come back to you.:bigjoint:
 

scooby33

Well-Known Member
both blue and red mixed would be good. they sell panels in various sizes that have them mixed. either wold be an improvement if we are talking about additional side lights. the led's are supposed to operate in a "plant specific" nanometer. and be much more effective than any other lights as far as the usable wavelength for your plants. i have seen several grows on this forum where people turn out some pretty sick buds with them. the only problem with them that i have heard is penetration. scooby dosen't know what he's talking about... and c'mon, asking for +rep when you give bad advice? -rep would be appropriate:wall:
no one in there right mine would go out and spend $100 + on red led lights if thay have a hps it's not worth the dosh for crap results
 

Steadmanclan

Well-Known Member
:dunce:
no one in there right mine you mean mind would go out and spend $100 + on red led lights i suggested mixed spectrum if thay have a hps it's not worth the dosh dosh?for crap results what crap results? the hps will still be above. the extra side lights improve the yield no matter what you use. i have a 200 watt cfl on one side of my bloom tent, and a 2 foot 6 bulb t-5 light on the other side with a 600 watt hps above, and i would love one of those led ufo's for the back wall.
you don't have any idea what you are talking about. do you even grow?
 

scooby33

Well-Known Member
both blue and red mixed would be good. they sell panels in various sizes that have them mixed. either wold don't you mean would be an improvement if we are talking about additional side lights. the led's are supposed to operate in a "plant specific" nanometer. and be much more effective than any other lights as far as the usable wavelength for your plants. i have seen several grows on this forum where people turn out some pretty sick buds with them. the only problem with them that i have heard is penetration. scooby dosen't know what he's talking about... and c'mon, asking for +rep when you give bad advice? -rep would be appropriate:wall:
buy them if you want to wast your money m8
 

bugsblake

Member
thanks for all the input! never said i was going to buy the leds, just wondered if they would help as im not sure about side lighting as not read much on it and did not know if it had any benafits. i just want to make a better environment for my next set of babys as ive sorta fucked up my first through simple lack of knowledge but i am trying! still got them on the go but am using them as trial and error plants as ive not killed them yet! some look good but are all streched. got 3 new ones going now just 4 days old, growin them in rockwool this time though and getting flora 3 part nutes. have some g13 northen lights x skunk but not starting them till my bubbleponic 3 site pot gets here. anyway, my walls in my room are like a peach color, will it really make that much of a difference if i make my walls white? any other input into ways i can improve my grow room without spending a ton of cash will be great. thanks every1
 
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