My planned grow. Looking for opinions

Yeah you right about the canopy blocking the light, but as far as I know HPS doesn't really have that problem, and a tent is very reflective, I couldn't believe how my growth shot up after I put them in a tent, and I am on cfl's so, yeah. I would start with the HPS and see how it goes, if you want more light later you can add it.

I reckon if you going to use LED, then use them everywhere, they are cheaper to run and some of the grows I have seen yielded very well,but be careful when purchasing LED only go for a brand and model you know works, apparently there are a lot of dud's out there.

For me LED is attractive for one reason only, it looks fucking cool man, like you in space or some shit like that. hehe

There are a few brands which work great apparently, but they all cost somewhere in the range of $1000 to $2000 which is very much out of my price range for a lamp. I'm hoping to have the whole show set up, seeds and all for $2000.

But I think even if the LED's aren't all that great it can only add to the energy the ladies get, and in return the more buds they'll produce. I'll certainly invest a bit though. I'm looking to get 300w for $200 a pop. They certainly do add flair, though

Gordo here, I'm looking more at lumens and K numbers than at the wattage of the bulbs. My flower room has about 60,000 lumens in eight square feet. Three 150 watt mini sunburst (broad spectrum of K numbers) and 40 watt cfls (6500K) . The temps in the room run from a low of 64 F to a high of 80 F. Two small stationary fans provide air movement. The veg room uses divers cfls and 2 LED bulbs. Don't have the total on the lumens but they are all different K numbers. One small oscillating fan provides air movement. Don't have a temp reading for this room but it is cooler than the flower room. Hope this helps.

1000 watt is complete over kill your gonna burn the shit out them things let alone bleach leaves etc you jeed to cut back to atleasr 600 watts you wont xontrol heat at all unless you can stuff ac in that area your doomed

Kshanti said:

I've done a little research on LED's as I was originally going to use them to keep the power bill down. I've come to the conclusion that they aren't going to be powerful enough and if I want larger yields I should use other light sources. But I figure it can't hurt to have extra energy for the plants. At the very least, its not going to hurt them, and having them as extras may increase the yield without driving up the price and heat.

I'm not hooked on it per se, but I've read countless times that the larger the canopy gets the less light penetrates the lower branches. I didn't want to make that mistake. Would the canopy be a problem in this sized tent? At the very least it can't hurt to place the LED's there.

Click to expand...

Eventually we will all use LED's.
Less energy, less heat, less bulky....
They are DEFINATELY the grow lamps of the future.

As old school growers laugh with nostalgia about using MERCURY VAPOUR before METAL HALIDES became popular
Our generations will explain the quirks of HID's to a younger generation who have known nothing but LED's.

But, IMO, the future isn't here, yet.
Buying a serious amount of LED equipment now runs the risk of it being obsolete in the next few years.
Betamax was a BETTER system than VHS,
Some folks ended up with little square satellite dishes (BSB v SKY)
and RECENTLY BLUE RAY v HD posed similar problems to the consumer.

We do not yet know which LED's are here to stay.

Sidelights/Canopy Crowding
Have you thought about pruning/training techniques?
600w plus a few T5 tubes could be your answer....?

The T5's could have a secondary use for cutting. seeds, mother.....

Kshanti said:

There are a few brands which work great apparently, but they all cost somewhere in the range of $1000 to $2000 which is very much out of my price range for a lamp. I'm hoping to have the whole show set up, seeds and all for $2000.

But I think even if the LED's aren't all that great it can only add to the energy the ladies get, and in return the more buds they'll produce. I'll certainly invest a bit though. I'm looking to get 300w for $200 a pop. They certainly do add flair, though

Click to expand...

$2000 is enough for a set up
But remember the little things also add to the cost.

A air pump, air line and air stones - if you're using hydro?
Yoyo hangers for filters and reflectors....
Extra ducting (maybe even acoustic ducting) and spigot reducers, jubilee clips and contactor relay electricity cables.
Timers, hygrometers, pH and EC pens, pH and EC calibration fluids.....

Make sure you have EVERYTHING before you go buying the sexy big ticket items (which are more desired than actually NEEDED) like LED's.

I have 3 x 600w ballasts with cheap aluminium open reflectors.
Then 2 x 1000w DIMMABLE LUMATEK ballasts + lamps became available on Ebay for a reasonable price.
I went as high as £300 and was outbid.
I was about to go to £320 when I started to think about how little cash I would have left.
That, the 3 x 600w set up I have may be a Lumii, a Maxibright and an equally budget thing BUT THEY ALL WORK and I DON'T NEED TWO MORE 1000W LUMATEKS!
I WANTED THEM....!!!
3 Purple dimmable ballasts.... Sexy to growers.

Now I search ebay for the extra's I need OR will need.
Spare water pump impellers, cable tidies, yoyo hangers, spare IEC plugs....

The fantasy of matching 1000w Lumateks and matching POWER PLANT aero wing closed hoods will wait until this grow starts to pay me back.