Which setup is better/efficient?

[Grenwall]

New grower here, but I plan to learn to be the very best (Pokemon reference). I am wondering which of these two setups would be a better choice to produce MORE.


2x Grow tents with ea having 1x 400w light = 1 for Veg and the other for Flowering

or

1x Grow tent with 1x 1000w light using for one grow at a time.



Edit: I forgot to mention that I plan to grow for personal use but also to pay the costs of growing so I can technically smoke for free.

 

[fir3dragon]

New grower here, but I plan to learn to be the very best (Pokemon reference). I am wondering which of these two setups would be a better choice to produce MORE.


2x Grow tents with ea having 1x 400w light = 1 for Veg and the other for Flowering

or

1x Grow tent with 1x 1000w light using for one grow at a time.

depends what you want.

-if you want to harvest every 2 months or so, then setup 1 is good

- if you rather veg, then harvest bigger amounts then setup 2.

i personally say setup 2 only because u could easily pull twice as much with the 1k as u could the 400w and make the bud last just as long..

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

its all a matter of preference. if you want to have shit vegging while others are flowering and harvest less plants but in shorter incriments then 2 tents. if you want siplicity and to just start a few beans and grow them from start to finish 1 tent.

if you do go 2x tents i would do a 400w and a 600w.

 

[Grenwall]

If I go with setup 1, wouldnt the faster harvests make up for the quantity per each one? Also how long is every harvest using the single 1k

I would let to mention that I COULD afford to do 2x 1000 watt or even 4x 1000 watt. But living in GA where any amount of amount is a felony, I would prefer to lower my risks of getting caught by having too high of a electricity bill for the company to investigate my usage by the hour then report me to the police.

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

you dont need to spend a ton of money and have a million lights to grow good herb.

anyways to answer yoiur question...

a single setup using the same light for veg and flower will take a min of 3 months per harvest...thats giving a 4 week veg and 8 week flower period.

with 2 setuops you can be using the same light consumption (give or take) 400w + 600w = 1000w and harvest a plant every couple weeks....

that being said a single 1000w will allow you to grow more plants thus increasing your # of flowering plants at one time.


so with a 1000w light and one setup you could easily grow 8 plants at once and flower them...harvesting all 8 at the same time giving you larger quantities per each harvest...but spreading the harvests out over 3-4 months apart.

with a 400w and a 600w you can have a small veg tent with 4 plants feeding a slightly larger tent with maybe 6 plants.....4 would be more ideal for a 4x4 600w tent.

you could harvest 2 plants every 3 weeks (giving a 9 week flowering cycle) thius would allow you to have a 6 week veg time in the 400w tent with 4 plants..so in the 3 months you will harvest 12 plants opposed to 8...

right now i have a 400w tent with 4 plants feeding a 1000w room with 8 plants

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

i guess the question is do you want to grow perpetual....if you can afford the equipment then you need to figure out what style of growing suits you best. as far as the electric bill goes as long as you pay it then the electric co dosent give a fuck if your lining thier pockets growing herb.

 

[Green Troll]

that is propaganda, using 2kw isnt going to get you busted, especially if you pay your bill. they make shit like that up to scare people. it is when you start using 10kw an eyebrow may get raised. it is also dependant on the size of your house. if you live in a big place, more power consumption is expected.

personally i would go for 2 tents. however if you are new to growing, stick with one for now and concentrate on learning every aspect of your grow.

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

that is propaganda, using 2kw isnt going to get you busted, especially if you pay your bill. they make shit like that up to scare people. it is when you start using 10kw an eyebrow may get raised. it is also dependant on the size of your house. if you live in a big place, more power consumption is expected.

personally i would go for 2 tents. however if you are new to growing, stick with one for now and concentrate on learning every aspect of your grow.

good point m8.....one tent and a 600w dimmable would be ideal for a first grow....as you grow you learn...as you learn you become more familiar with what you need and you can upgrade later. alot of people buy 1000's of $ in equipment just to do one grow and realize its not for them.

start small work your way up, even if you can afford the best equipment. i dont have a ton of money but when i started it was with 4 cfl's and a vaccume cleaner box...made small upgrades when i could and now im about at where i want to be. (8 site RDWC under 1k, 4site RDWC under 600w dimmed to 400w)

im actually thinking of downgrading soon to just the 600w and one tent...but its not a easy decision as i still have many many kinks to work out to get that perfect harvest every 2 weeks like i want. once i perfect the system i will prob downgrade...sounds dumb but its a achievement for me more than anything...i smoke maybe a 1/2 g a week so i definatly dont need it all. i give alot away to medical patients

 

[Grenwall]

Alright if it's a 4 week veg and 8 week flower, and I setup up every 4 weeks with 4 new plants, would I end up getting a 4 plant harvest every 4 weeks? I mean as soon as 4 plants are done with their 8 week flower, a new batch of 4 that just finished their 4 week veg would be ready to replace them.

Random question but what can I expect the average yield to be if I have a 400w veg (4 weeks) and a 600w flower tent (8 weeks)? I know it varies but I would like to know an estimate if possible.

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

yeah your times are right, 4 plants every 4 weeks.

yiou dont want to flower 8 plants (unless they are all under 2ft tall) under a 600w light.

yeild is a evil question around here...but a safe answer if you do everything right and have all 2 ft plants would be around 1 oz per plant give or take. if you have that kind of height restriction better going only 2 weeks veg...1 week under a few CFL then 2 weeks under the HID...in a nutshell.....see these things are really tough to determine because eash plant grows different.

 

[Grenwall]

I currently only have a 48 x 24 x 60 tent. But I could get a 96 x 48 x 84 for the flowering. And why can't the plants be bigger than 2 ft with a 600w? Not enough light? If need be I can do a 1k watt light just for the veg if it were to double the yield, or relatively more than 1 oz. Also what is this about a HID? I thought it was just 2 weeks under CFL, then straight to veg after a transplant to a bigger pot

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

a 600w is not going to be big enough for 8 plants over 2ft tall...

if you want to veg with flourecents thats fine as well i would recomend a decent t5 HO fixture opposed to CFL's

you dont need 1k wat for veg..your veg lighting affects yeild minimally...more lighting the closer the nodes are...

im a little unsure where your trying to take this, dont get discouraged with my estimated yield it is a "safe" estimate and there are lots of variables that will indeed change it.

if you have a 4x2 tent already just pick up a light and start growing m8....take it from there.

 

[ii dP ii]

just a thought. but if you can afford 4k watts, and you're concerned about the electricity, why not look into LED? there are some units out there today that would give you what you're looking for in terms of production but using half the electricity.

I'm running 400w HPS right now, but if I had an extra $500 right now I'd buy one of those bud boss 232 rectangles. pretty powerful looking doohickie.

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

just a thought. but if you can afford 4k watts, and you're concerned about the electricity, why not look into LED? there are some units out there today that would give you what you're looking for in terms of production but using half the electricity.

I'm running 400w HPS right now, but if I had an extra $500 right now I'd buy one of those bud boss 232 rectangles. pretty powerful looking doohickie.

there is still alot of debate over LED...im not saying yay or nay but a first time grower dumping that kind of money into lights isnt a smart decision imho. just because he can afford dosenmt mean he needs to buy the most expensive shit out there. HID lighting is tried and true and at a good cost. like me and others have said, as long as he pays his bill theres no concerns over 1600kw of power being used....its really not that much....its people who are running 10,000kw that starts to raise eyebrows.

 

[Green Troll]

there is still alot of debate over LED...im not saying yay or nay but a first time grower dumping that kind of money into lights isnt a smart decision imho. just because he can afford dosenmt mean he needs to buy the most expensive shit out there. HID lighting is tried and true and at a good cost. like me and others have said, as long as he pays his bill theres no concerns over 1600kw of power being used....its really not that much....its people who are running 10,000kw that starts to raise eyebrows.

I think you are like me, and a lot of other people, we are all waiting for LEDs to become tried and tested (and the price come down) before we start shelling out for these new technologies. It certainly does look promising though. Loft growing will start becoming more popular because of it.

As for power consumption, to put your mind at ease, google your average power consumption for your type of household in your state/area. Then have a look at your electric bill and see where you are in terms of that average. If you are at about average, or even below, you are golden. If you are majorly above it, then maybe start to look at energy saving ideas.

 

[ii dP ii]

^ I agree too, theres no way I'm putting out that kind of money right now for LEDs. but if you're someone who has money to burn and is concerned with your electricity bill, LED's are something to consider.

 

[Green Troll]

^ I agree too, theres no way I'm putting out that kind of money right now for LEDs. but if you're someone who has money to burn and is concerned with your electricity bill, LED's are something to consider.

I am not entirely convinced they are energy saving devices as such. From what i have read, they nearly use as much electricity as HIDs when you want the same sort of coverage. I think the main attraction is the intensity of the spectrums and the lack of generated heat. I suppose when you take into account the lack of additional cooling needed, then they could save electric. But as a stand alone unit, i think there is a struggle to get more than a 5-10% save.

 

[sweetblitz]

If you have the money and care about electricity bill, look at this led light.

https://www.hydroponicshut.com/pro-grow-led-750-hydroponics-hut-grow-light.html

Cover larger area than a 1k hps and cost 750 watt

Here is their grow test. Look good and Ill probably give them a try soon

[video=youtube;GahUdGAX5gI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GahUdGAX5gI[/video]

 

[paul1978]

I can see a bit of an issue with claims they make about that led light. 576 chips 3 watts each but total wattage is 750. Something doesn't add up...

 

[Ammastor]

LEDs have great potential if you purchase or build them using the correct wave lengths.

I( have seen many grow journals that were nothing but LEDs and they grew just as much as the HIDs do.

I plan on buying if not building a few for supplemental lighting. I know I plan to buy a few of the $40 panels from amazon just to test them out. Like I said I only want them for supplemental lighting not for the full grow. 600 watt HPS will be used but want a few extra light sources available. LEDs seem perfect for that.