Lighting suggestion

Been at it for almost 2 years using 2 each Roleadro and 2 each Viparspectra '300w' LED's in a 2.5x5 tent. Running anywhere from 2 to 4 plants each time in either DWC or aeroponic. In the beginning, running just random bag seed, I was getting massive harvest of pretty decent green, but now I'm getting light and airy harvests using pretty good genetics. I usually use GH trio nutrients, but occasionally will use FF trio or AN trio. I'm thinking it's about time for a different lighting option, but I'm on a budget. There's so much misinformation out there about the pros and cons of LED's or HID. Any suggestions for options between 200-300 that will cover my 2.5x5 area? I figure I may keep my LED's for veg since I'm still getting great growth unless a better option is suggested. I appreciate any feedback you guys may have.

So you are saying that with these lights you got good harvests but now you aren't? How old are the lights (estimated hours of use)? Are you sure it's the lighting thats causing the change? Have you changed anything else over the years?

Two 400 watt HPS / MH lights would cover that area pretty well. It's a rather odd size for one HID to cover. You could try a HPS on one half of the tent and use your LED on the other side to see the difference. Or maybe put the HPS in the middle and the LED on the sides depending on their footprint coverage area.

The big downside to the HID is heat. Another downside is that you have brighter light in the middle of the footprint and less light around the perimeter.

Renfro said:

So you are saying that with these lights you got good harvests but now you aren't? How old are the lights (estimated hours of use)? Are you sure it's the lighting thats causing the change? Have you changed anything else over the years?

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I'm assuming it's the lights. They probably have a bit under 10,000 hours each. I've run pretty much nonstop over the past 20 months. The only thing that has changed has been the occasional run with a different nutrient trio or the one lackluster super soil grow. Each successive run has been worse. Hell, maybe I'm just not getting the nutes dialed in with these better genetics.

Renfro said:

Two 400 watt HPS / MH lights would cover that area pretty well. It's a rather odd size for one HID to cover. You could try a HPS on one half of the tent and use your LED on the other side to see the difference. Or maybe put the HPS in the middle and the LED on the sides depending on their footprint coverage area.

The big downside to the HID is heat. Another downside is that you have brighter light in the middle of the footprint and less light around the perimeter.

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I was considering a dimmable 600 HPS with a winged hood for a wider coverage area and using an LED on either side just to supplement the edges for my occasional SCROG grows. The heat is my only concern, but I think I can work around that with some modifications to my current setup. That may be my best option to not break the bank. I would love to upgrade to qb's, but I dont think I could properly cover my area with my current budget.

I wouldn't go with a single bulb option, just a daft thing to do with the space you have.

2x 315cmh would be great in that space.

As for your growing experience, some plants can thrive on lower light levels where others just turn out airy because they are light junkies and aren't getting their full fix.

BTW I assume when you say 2.5x5 you do mean 2.5 deep by 5 wide and not 2.5x2.5x5high

coreywebster said:

I wouldn't go with a single bulb option, just a daft thing to do with the space you have.

2x 315cmh would be great in that space.

As for your growing experience, some plants can thrive on lower light levels where others just turn out airy because they are light junkies and aren't getting their full fix.

BTW I assume when you say 2.5x5 you do mean 2.5 deep by 5 wide and not 2.5x2.5x5high

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Yeah, it's 2.5 deep x 5 wide and 6.5 tall. I'll look into the cmh's. I haven't really kept up to date on equipment until recently and I've been seeing alot more about them.

After a little bit of searching and making up my mind, I think I've decided to up my budget for such an important bit of equipment. Unless anyone may have any better options, I'm thinking either the 320w xl v2 kit from HLG or the Timber V4L or quintet of daisies kit. I'm also considering the HLG 600w v2 kit unless that's just too much light for my 2.5' deep by 5' wide tent. Thoughts?

I would go with the Timber personally.

Renfro said:

I would go with the Timber personally.

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I'm pretty torn between the ones I've listed. Between the two Timbers I mentioned, would one be better than the other for my space? Heat is also a factor for me due to the space I have to keep my tent so that my cats don't decide to have a feast.