Got a Blackstar 240 for in a 4x2 tent

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Soviet343

Active Member
Hey all,

I'm a noob and a will be a first time grower. I bought a Blackstar 240 for use in a 4x2x5 Lighthouse Hydro tent and I'm not seeing very positive reviews for the Blackstars. This is just for personal medical use for insomnia and arthritis so I'll be growing maybe 3 plants max per crop and will also have about 6 100w equivalent CFL 2700k (veg) and 6500k (flower) supplementing.

My budget is really only $200 so I scored a new Blackstar 240 for $200 shipped. I'm just kinda concerned that I screwed myself out of $200 reading some reviews online. It seems that everyone has an opinion on LED... :confused:

HPS / MH are just not even on the table for me. It was either T5 + CFL or Blackstar 240 + CFL...

Can any of you give me an honest review of a grow done with just a Blackstar 240? I'm not looking to win any awards lol, just looking to become self-sufficient and avoid dealing with shady people... I know a lot has to do with strain, so I hope I get my Nirvana order of snow white, master kush and aurora indica.

Nebula Haze over at growweedeasy.com gave good reviews to Blackstar series and they said they work well...

Thanks for any help ya'll can give guys!
 
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HrilL

Active Member
Never used a Blackstar 240 I have 3 G8LED 240s that are almost the same lights by the looks of them. Slightly different PCBs though. They work pretty good over a 3x2' foot print for veg. I've never really used it for flowering other than with a SOG party cup grow that I didn't give enough attention to. Ended up just turning it all into bubble hash since I was too lazy to trim even the thumb size buds. In a Kill A Watt power meter They only pull about 118-120 watts. With 6 added CFLs you should be pretty good though. I would just rotate your plants so the middle one is not always directly under the Blackstar.
 
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Soviet343

Active Member
Hey HrilL,

Thanks for the quick response. Let me add to the difficulty level... setup will be a SCROG so I can't really move the Blackstar around easily but I can move the CFL's no problem...

I'd seriously hate to destroy a crop of Nirvana strains, but on the same note I'd hate to base my decision on if the Blackstar was good or not on bagseed...
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
I own 4 Blackstar panels, and they will grow bud. That BS240 won't cover a 4x2 though, 2x1.5 most likely. I would definitely use supplemental lighting, you can grab CREE house hold bulbs from home depot for pretty cheap, and they yield excellent, proven results.
 
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Soviet343

Active Member
Hey Beef,

Yeah I figure that my grow area will probably be 3'x2' once I get my osculating fan and other stuff in there, so I'm hoping the Blackstar does 3x2 sufficiently and maybe 8 CFL in 6500k for flowering around the sides for supplement.

I wish LED wasn't so hit-or-miss with the sports car pricing that comes with them... :evil:
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I hear ya. There's a handful of great companies out there now, Area 51, Apache LED, California Light Works, just to name a few.

I wouldn't personally use 6500k for flowering, I'd use 2700k for my supplementation. There is way more than enough blue light in the black star, you want to fill in the gaps in the spectrum, and still have a nice redish light.
 
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