led or hps for me ?

Hey guys I have been thinking im getting paid this week and really having a hard time making my mind up. Either a 90 w ufo led light or a 400w hps system I have been going back and forth and weighing each options i plan on growing my short riders 4 plants under whatever I choose. I am just about wrapping up a outside grow that I vegged with cfl's in the beginning about 6 plants since I didnt have the power to flower I used the sun....... anyway im really having a hard time making my mind up I really like the 90 w ufo light for small space no heat issues and money $$$ saver than the hps but the hps has its benefits any help would be appreciated. If I do plan on going with the ufo led light i plan on supplementing a couple cfl's with it thanks.

Save your money, the LEDS are not up to the same standard as a normal light. I have seen some successful grows but how do you define success depends on you view. They do give off heat, they do use almost the same electricity, they are still developing them. There is very little research to support an informed decision. One of the larger MJ fertilizer companies just started selling them. I think I will wait a few more years before I invest all that money. For me it is not a money issue, I just can't find solid info and the grows are good but I think quality and weight suffer when LEDS are used. I also have noticed in one add that they also have a ton of regular lights also. There are some good grow journals

Here is a good one that is very recent.

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/314881-b-ks-first-grow-led.html

Peace

A 400w HPS lamp puts out about 52000 lumens at optimal performance.

In other words, it's a personal sun for $10 or less a month in electricity.

LEDS will grow small cherry tomatoes but not much past that worth a damn.

First you might consider a better LED light from the get go. Of course with a better LED light comes a higher price tag. If I were going to use an LED and I'm not sold by any stretch on them, I would shop for at least a unit with 3w LEDs, better would be the 5w LEDs. However if you jump up to a 5w LED panel in comes the added electric, 300+ watts or more, added heat, a huge chunk of pocket change, and you still will most likely have less than expected results.

Everything I know about them says they are fine for vegatative growth but unless your using 5w LEDs your never going to have the yields you want and you may even have trouble getting your plants to finish in flowering. They somehow seem to stay in flower longer like there is no trigger to tell them it's time to finish up and die.

I'll try one soon for my vegatative growth.

ok thanks guys !! i think hps is the way to go i think imma go with a digital hps setup ? money saver i guess and i guess 4 or 5 plants under a 400w hps will be no problem ?

oh also one more question how often would i have to replace the bulb every 2 or 3 grows ? or what for a 400w hps

bump any advice ?

HPS all the way and replace your bulb about once a year (if your using it all year)

is digital really worth the extra money or just regular system just fine ? i plan on buying a htg system off ebay for 120 but its not digital but if digital is really better than i want to go that route

bump any advice?

surgedup said:

is digital really worth the extra money or just regular system just fine ? i plan on buying a htg system off ebay for 120 but its not digital but if digital is really better than i want to go that route

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Get the digital ballast. Yes they have a higher rate of failure 10% higher but thats negligible compared to the money you will save. The digital ballasts are far superior at converting electricity into usable light than a magnetic ballast. It's worth the little extra money, IMO. Hope this helps.

Peace and positive energy to you.

thanks man i appreciate it !

If you have any issues with hydro going off or brown outs stay away from the digitals. Bulbs have ratings on how long you use them. You can go at least 2 years with most bulbs. Check out the data sheet for your bulb.

Peace

I'll tell you leds are good and you can do more with them than most people think. But I've grow under both and I choose leds for my reasons. But if your just starting and want to grow alot of weed a 400w HPS will work but they sell complete kits with both MH and HPS bulbs in them. And if your looking for weight this is the method for you. http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=47981 Here is a link. I love my leds though. Just my opinion. Good luck

Just to add to the LED vs HPS conversation, a buddy of mine and I tried to order one of the stealthgrow LED's to do a side-by-side comparison in a controlled environment (Student-Grow, side-by-side next to an HPS grow), and they wouldn't return our phone calls or emails.

This kind of response leads me to the conclusion that they -know- it will underperform and don't want more anti-LED sentiment.

LED's work to grow weed. i've seen plenty of pics and seen enough plants in person to vouch for that.

those saying that LED's won't grow anything worth anything don't know what they're talking about. LED's don't get hot. what get's hot is the panel they're attached to. and never ever ever will it come close to a 250 watt HPS.

"for the densest buds use HPS." < True.

A good 300W LED panel WILL grow you plants that look a lot like plants under a 1000W HPS, they won't be as dense as with an HPS, but you won't have to deal with the heat of a 1000 watt HPS...

you weigh you're needs and choose because of that....

don't believe all the mud-slinging at LED's, nobody has done an actual study yet. i don't trust the LED companies, some claim a 90W UFO will replace a 400W HPS, it's not exactly true... and people always botch threads on the topic on this site....

i see that setup it looks nice for 164 bucks for mh and hps but its not a digital ballast plus i think imma just go hps the whole way veg and flower i do have some 6500k cfls though to add just for vegging

but yeah i want a digital ballast says way better at converting electricity for the light and it doesnt genrate as much as heat and doesnt make noise and optimizes your bulb life so i think i want to go digital and hps the whole way 400w hps

and also i dont know if i should go head and buy a cooltube or cool unit for it but i have central air and its always 70 degrees in here you think heat will be an issue i was also thinking about building a shed outside but that would probably make the head skyrocket even more since theres no ac so .... any tips or advice would be appreciated

bump any advice ?