Lighting confusion

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Broccoli Rob

Member
I am confused about the lighting i should use for my plants. I can hook up a t5 with 6500k's but come flower time, I was told I would need a 1000w hps light and cf fan to cool it......

Couldnt I just use a t5 with 2700k's for flower stage? In which case, heat wouldnt be as much a problem i would imagine but possibly gimping my yield?

Seeds:

William's Wonder IX-1

G13 Jack's Cleaner x / Grapefruit x (Hybrid)

Blue Cheese

I just want to grow personal smoke so im aiming to keep my setup down to 4-5 plants. Really unsure on where or how i will set it up until i figure out which lighting i can use....I dont need 30 lbs on my first grow.....id be happy with a QP or so to hold me over till next harvest. Gonna be using a home made top drip hydroponics system to grow them in but until i figure out which lights will get me there, im torn on where in my house to grow them.
 
Gr0wGreen

Gr0wGreen

Active Member
expect much lower yields and lower bud density but it will work. bend that plant into a scrog so it's shape is more effecient since t5's dont have the penetrating powered of an HID
 
B

Broccoli Rob

Member
well I figure, even if i only got an ounce per plant.....more than enough for just myself. I do however want the smoke to be potent. Should i pick up a hps light for flowering then? Or HID is better than HPS or LED?
 
Gr0wGreen

Gr0wGreen

Active Member
HPS (High Pressure Sodium) is a form of HID (High Intensity Discharge). they require forced cooling but are relatively inexpensive. LED's are for fools who are soon parted from their money.
 
B

Broccoli Rob

Member
Well here's my thing......

Wife is ok with me doing all this. She doesnt smoke but when I have pot, she wants to smoke it so no problem there. I told her I'd keep it small and only a few plants. So Im trying to set this up where it wont take over my house but at the same time grow me some good buds. A guy I know told me he would sell me his setup for $800ish but it was way more than I needed. Now I'm torn between possibly growing it in soil which I didnt want to do. Seems like less headache with soil. Been looking into a tent also as I really dont know my plan of attack yet. Happy about getting the seeds though.
 
B

Broccoli Rob

Member
I've seen so many different opinions on lighting is why I'm so confused. Some say LED blows, others say its way better than HPS. I want very dense buds with high thc. The Blue Cheese seeds look like they grow some yummy buddage but I dont want to gimp the plants with poor lighting or nutes. The yields people are saying they get is way more than enough for me. I smoke alot but its generally only me smoking it. If i can get an ounce of good nugs from each plant, I'd be content.
 
Gr0wGreen

Gr0wGreen

Active Member
here's a setup that's reasonable on price, quality, size and manageability.


4x4 grow tent by Silver Edition - $399
Magnum XXXL 6" air cooled hood - Sunlight Supply - $232.95
Lumatek 600W 120/240v HPS/MH Dimmable E-Ballast - $249.95
Hortilux Super HPS 600W - $124.95
6" Active Air Inline Fan 400 CFM by Hydrofarm - $144.95
Phresh Filter 6in x 16in 400CFM Rated - $171.95
1/8" Rope Ratchets by Hydrofarm - $18.95
Perma Duct 6" - 25 ft. by Hydrofarm - $29.95
6" Clamps by Hydrofarm - $2.95
6" Clip on Fan by Air King - $24.95 x 4 = $99.80


total: $1475.40
discount - 15% = $221.31


new total - $1254.09+tax


any grow store that has both hydrofarm and sunlight supply should have all of this in stock. no smell, no light leaks, no building, no heat issues. this is a setup you can be proud of, this is how you do it right. it's small enough that you will produce enough for yourself and your girl but big enough that you won't get bored and get the itch to go bigger. one word of advise though. keep the wife away from the growing or there will be many fights on the horizon. in a woman's mind it's just another waste of money she could be buying shoes with.

there are a lot of bullshit about LED's. well here's the god's honest truth.

do they grow a plant? YES.
do they yield as high as HPS? HELL NO!
do they save energy? NO!, THIS IS PURE MARKETING AT WORK!
could i build you and entire room for the cost of a few LED's? YES.
do serious growers bother with them? NO.
are they cost effective? WHATEVER THE OPPOSITE OF COST EFFECTIVE IS, THAT'S WHAT LED'S ARE!

LED's are a joke and anyone who says different is a clown, LED troll or a person payed to hype them up. now wait for them to come out of the woodwork to debate this.
 
B

Broccoli Rob

Member
Thanks for the wishlist. Yes the wife isnt loving the idea but my only concern is keeping her away from the plants when 12/12 comes dark has to be dark.......not dark till she needs a new outfit on. $1200 is still alot more than I anticipated. Hell for that much, I could buy a quarter pound of bud from this guy I know.
 
Gr0wGreen

Gr0wGreen

Active Member
Broccoli Rob said:
Hell for that much, I could buy a quarter pound of bud from this guy I know.
Click to expand...
for that much you can grow 3/4 pound on your own every 2-3 months and never have to buy from anyone again. it's a one time cost, the rest after the initial investment (key word there) is minimal. once you grow your own you'll never want to go back to a dealer again. ever wonder what it would feel like to roll a joint and not even have the though of how much it cost run through your mind? to give your friend an 1/8 of weed free of charge without blinking? it's a great feeling and it pays for itself.

keep in mind that's high quality equipment. everything there is essential but you might be able to replace certain things with a cheaper brand.
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
You don't need to spend that much.

400watt HPS kit on craigslist - $75
3x3 tent on ebay - $80
4" 190 cfm exhaust fan/carbon filter - $100 on ebay
small circulation fan - $20
misc cables/hangers/adaptors - $25

Total complete - $300
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
Gr0wGreen said:
this is why the users on this site are perpetually struggling. no one wants to ante up to get in the game so they sit on the sidelines playing with their dicks wondering why their grows are so mediocre. you get what you pay for broccoli, you can't get something for nothing, remember that before they start flaming me. they don't like it when the real world comes knocking.
Click to expand...
It's called shopping around and getting a deal dude. You don't have to buy everything new, and you don't have to pay msrp.

I got a used Galaxy Digital ballast for $85, which works just as well as the $238 msrp brand new option. My I waited and bid on a good fan/filter combo and got it for $85 instead of $150. I shopped around online, and got my local hydro store to sell me a digilux bulb for $60 instead of $115 msrp. I got my Yieldmaster Supreme II hood on craigslist for $50 compared to $115 new.

There's no reason to put people down for getting a deal. I saved over $300 on those four items alone -- how is that bad??! The $300 option I listed is a good place to start. Sure, it won't last forever, but it will get any noob grower through a few quality harvests. You really don't need to spend $1200 right off the bat just to find out that growing isn't your thing.
 
Gr0wGreen

Gr0wGreen

Active Member
i love all my h8rs. at least i can sleep at night knowing i gave him good advise and not try to be cheap and risk fires with shoddy second rate equipment....
 
B

Broccoli Rob

Member
sounds like you guys are getting divorced....anywho, thanks for all the input. Maybe ill buy half new and half used to make you both happy.
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
Dont listen to these haters. You can flower with a t5 get the same yield as hps but the t5 will produce better quality and denser buds. Just dont use the crappy 2700k or 3000k bulbs. They have more green output than any just like hps so they have very poor spectrum like hps. I use t5 for veg and flower but I use coral and fresh water aquarium bulbs. To produce a better spectrum and higher par thats 80% more usable light than hps. Much closer to what the sun puts out.

In an 8 bulb I use

1 wave point coral coral wave - 420 nm peak with 80% blue from 380nm to 460nm . 5% uv-a 35% infrared at 760nm.
The infrared wave length is what makes buds rock hard dense
3 uvl redsuns - 100% pure red at 633nm.
4 zoo med flora sun - 60% red 660nm. 80% narrow blue spike at 450nm

Hps puts out 80% of yellow and green and plants only absorb 20% of those wave lengths. Hps only puts out 5% to.10% red and blue and no uv. Some have 5% infrared. Plants absorb more blue and red. Between 660nm and 700 nm is where chlorophyll absorbs the most light. Thus hps only has 10% usable light. It lights up.a room more than it does anything for a plant.

Any haters I will not argue this. Its fact and been proven several times by people on riu and scientists at several universities. Like oxford university, texas a&m, washington state, university of maryland, university of alabama, university of missourri and NASA. I.have documentation from each to back it up. Its just on my computer and thats at home.

Hps does have more intensity because its a single point of light and t5 are not - inverse square law.

Lumens mean nothing. Lumens by definition is visible light to the human eye. Plants absorb wave lengths that we can not see. Its all about PAR- photosynthetically available radiation - the number of photons between 400nm and 700 nm.

Nm- nanometers.

T5 will take 3 days to a week longer than hps to finish flowering.
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
For a small grow I'd have handy like three 150w/hps and at least two 4' dual t'5 fixture equipped with daylight tubes. If you ever have a need for cloning grab another 4'x2 t5 fixture with cool white tubes.
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
hyroot said:
Dont listen to these haters. You can flower with a t5 get the same yield as hps but the t5 will produce better quality and denser buds. Just dont use the crappy 2700k or 3000k bulbs. They have more green output than any just like hps so they have very poor spectrum like hps. I use t5 for veg and flower but I use coral and fresh water aquarium bulbs. To produce a better spectrum and higher par thats 80% more usable light than hps. Much closer to what the sun puts out.

In an 8 bulb I use

1 wave point coral coral wave - 420 nm peak with 80% blue from 380nm to 460nm . 5% uv-a 35% infrared at 760nm.
The infrared wave length is what makes buds rock hard dense
3 uvl redsuns - 100% pure red at 633nm.
4 zoo med flora sun - 60% red 660nm. 80% narrow blue spike at 450nm

Hps puts out 80% of yellow and green and plants only absorb 20% of those wave lengths. Hps only puts out 5% to.10% red and blue and no uv. Some have 5% infrared. Plants absorb more blue and red. Between 660nm and 700 nm is where chlorophyll absorbs the most light. Thus hps only has 10% usable light. It lights up.a room more than it does anything for a plant.

Any haters I will not argue this. Its fact and been proven several times by people on riu and scientists at several universities. Like oxford university, texas a&m, washington state, university of maryland, university of alabama, university of missourri and NASA. I.have documentation from each to back it up. Its just on my computer and thats at home.

Hps does have more intensity because its a single point of light and t5 are not - inverse square law.

Lumens mean nothing. Lumens by definition is visible light to the human eye. Plants absorb wave lengths that we can not see. Its all about PAR- photosynthetically available radiation - the number of photons between 400nm and 700 nm.

Nm- nanometers.

T5 will take 3 days to a week longer than hps to finish flowering.
Click to expand...
What kind of yield do you get from that setup?
 
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