Led or mh/hps for next grow

So right now I'm growing in a 45 gallon tote with 8 23 watt cfls. I want to upgrade for my next grow and produce better buds hopefully. My current grow hasn't even started budding yet but I'm always thinking ahead.

I'm trying to keep the grow area down to about 2x2 area. Only plan on growing 2 3 gallon plants at a time. I just would like some good recommendations on a good light for this kind of set up. I don't need a overkill light light a 600 watt or anything, just enough to get the job done and then some. All input is welcome,thanks

45 gallon pot and only 8 cfls. You could do that in a 2 gallon and get the same results.....I'd go led cause a 45 gallon pot is prob pretty tall.....got any pics?

The pot is only 3 gallons. It's inside of a 45 gallon tote.

if you had some area like 2ftx2ft and 2m high

then I`d go with 200w to 400w of cob leds or a 400w hps you can dimm to 200 or 300w if needed

Unless you wanted a veg and bloom area then I`d go with leds to keep the heat down

that being said 100w to 400w induction lamps are cheap and they are very quiet lights to use as they don`t need to be cooled like led chips do

@THE KONASSURE : I'm not good at all with wiring anything. I'm more of the plug and play type. So cobs are probably out of the question for me. I would probably end up buying a light proof tent, a light and anything else I really would need. Keeping it simple as possible.

I used to have a grow big attitude but I just want to grow enough to where I never run out and have some Choices. I've seen a few mh/hps light combos for under 150 on Amazon though.

Then the paranoia I have about digital ballast and rfi is insane it's bothersome.

Get rid of those CFL's and replace them with 2 120w equiv LED flood light bulb.
Something like thishttp://www.homedepot.com/p/Euri-Lighting-100W-Equivalent-Warm-White-PAR38-Dimmable-LED-Narrow-Flood-Light-Bulb-EP38-1000e/206495478?MERCH=RV-_-rv_nav_plp_rr-_-NA-_-206495478-_-N

Only 2? Seems like I would need more, the cfl's I have now are 23 watt=100 watt equivalent and there are 8 of them.

nevergoodenuf said:

Get rid of those CFL's and replace them with 2 120w equiv LED flood light bulb.
Something like thishttp://www.homedepot.com/p/Euri-Lighting-100W-Equivalent-Warm-White-PAR38-Dimmable-LED-Narrow-Flood-Light-Bulb-EP38-1000e/206495478?MERCH=RV-_-rv_nav_plp_rr-_-NA-_-206495478-_-N

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he`s right find some flood lights using around 100w to 300w per unit and get 2 to 4 of them

take away the front glass and some of the casing get some air moving around them

3000k led flood lights will grow some nice bud, you`ll get 50cm to 1m of canape penetration if you get them close even if there the older less focused types

but you can buy cobs with screw terminals now but I get some people can`t be asked to wire up a ballast

But I have nabbed a 300w induction lamp on ebay new for £30 no wiring was needed and induction is 2x to 4x better than cfl, induction with some red leds is pretty killer for a hobby set up

or yeah just go with 200w to 400w of hps if you wanna take the easy way, but watch out in a small space hps are a fire risk

40w of induction kills 105w of cfl I know I`ve used both, and 40w of good led is easier to aim then induction and is a wee bit cooler, you can pump around 60 to 100w of led and get the same heat as 40/50w of induction but you get more uv`s from induction and for winter I like induction for veg for the extra heat over led

leds are easy to aim, unlike a cfl or hps or induction lamp, leds emit light @ 180 degrees max so they are far easier to aim

only time hps is better is hanging a bear bulb with plants around it, 360 degree lighting is the main time hps and even cfl`s can have a benefit over leds but then you just build a triangle or square "tube" of leds, lol


You might be able to do something with smd strips or they sell led bulbs with the same e27 and bc caps as them clf`s your using the 30w to 100w led bulbs put out a lot more light and a lot less heat than cfl`s do but I`d get a flood or spot light or a proper lighting unit it`ll give you more light and less hassle than using 4 to 8 led "bulbs"

So many options,lol. Me trying to wire anything is a fire risk. I may try those flood lamps you all are talking about. Led sounds good but they are so expensive. Also led has so many choices for certain needs.

I only think that little tub would need 2 or maybe 4 90 watt equiv. With this, it should be possible to hit one gram per watt. You might need to put the reflector back on the holder and cut 2 holes big enough to mount the reflector mostly outside of the tub. Glue the reflector to the tub for a bit more height. All this light is directed, so it should still out produce your cfls.

Roll_that_shmoke said:

Then the paranoia I have about digital ballast and rfi is insane it's bothersome.

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You can throw the paranoia in the trash, ballast with excessive RFI is from 2002.

For the next grow I was gonna upgrade to a tent. Right now I'm just unsure about what size one.

@SPLFreak808 well thats good to know what's a good brand to go with? A switchable ballast is desirable in my situation.

Roll_that_shmoke said:

@SPLFreak808 well thats good to know what's a good brand to go with? A switchable ballast is desirable in my situation.

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I've had good luck with sun systems and solistek. I even used an apolo before with great ballast reliability but i didn't like the bulbs from them.

If you are going to use bare bulb without ventilation then you might want to make sure your at or below 60f ambient.

How about LED vs. T5HO? I have HO and have to balance the heat and elec expense with light. I want to add some extra plants and am considering LED, weighing $$ vs heat/elec. expense over time. Is it worth it to transition to LED, light wise? I have money for maybe one LED and am debating 400w vs 600w. Has to be under $1000.
And is it feasible to exchange t5 ho for LED replacement bulbs. My company does not supply them and so I wonder about the results.

@SPLFreak808 reminds me of my old debates from when I used to keep saltwater tanks. Always a thing between led vs mh. Almost wish I would have kept at least my lights. The funny thing is I had a mh and a led set up for multiple tanks and never worried about rfi... Hell I didn't even know about it back then. Lol, I did notice the uptick in my electricity bill though.

SPLFreak808 said:

You can throw the paranoia in the trash, ballast with excessive RFI is from 2002.

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Uh uh. Bought a Lumatek in 2015 and had the cable company come calling just days after i hooked it up.

pooka47401 said:

...And is it feasible to exchange t5 ho for LED replacement bulbs. My company does not supply them and so I wonder about the results.

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I'm not sure what you're asking. I have both T5 and LED's and they are pretty equal as far as growth.

Gquebed said:

Uh uh. Bought a Lumatek in 2015 and had the cable company come calling just days after i hooked it up.

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Care to post pics of the install?

Not sure if you know this already but you could have had a defective ballast/hood or improperly wraped up slack from excessive cable and that will surely spit out OTA RFI