Question about my plants!

PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
GBAUTO said:
Honestly, every plant I've grown indoors has always used an 18"x18" footprint sometimes 2x2. 3 plants will need 10-12 sq ft of floor space that you'll need to light. This where the question of 'how much' light do you need to flower that footprint comes in. All lights convert watts of electricity into photons of light. The challenge of answering the 'how much' is that the efficiency of lights vary widely.
An older 'blurple' led fixture may only produce 1.2-1.3 umole/watt, standard HPS run 1.5-1.7 umole/watt while current tech led's run over 2.5 umole/watt. That means a top shelf led produces 2 times the amount of photons of light for each watt of electricity you use compared to your old 'blurple' fixture.

Now that I've confused the bejeezus outta you, let me throw some simple metrics you can use to figure out 'how much'.
Older 'blurple' leds need approx. 50 watts/ sq ft of area.
HID(HPS, CMH) need 40-50 watts/ sq ft of area.
Current tech leds(COB, QB, light strips) need 30 watts/ sq ft of area.

So, if I was trying to grow 3 plants I'd shoot for 400-500 watts of blurples or 300 watts of good diodes.
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Well said man. I love my QB's and cmh. I actually have that same Vipraspectra 300 he has, still in an unopened box. I bought it for my veg tent before I did more research. Lots of people grow decent weed with them, but I don't want to look at the blurple light personally. Full spectrum white LED's don't cost much more anymore.
 
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dmatt0927

Active Member
PadawanWarrior said:
Well said man. I love my QB's and cmh. I actually have that same Vipraspectra 300 he has, still in an unopened box. I bought it for my veg tent before I did more research. Lots of people grow decent weed with them, but I don't want to look at the blurple light personally. Full spectrum white LED's don't cost much more anymore.
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Yeah my friend had given me this light and when I did some research it seemed a lot of people have had large quantity grows with this light by itself. Is there a certain light you would suggest for around my $150 price range?
 
Gentlemencorpse

Gentlemencorpse

Well-Known Member
Of the lights your looking at I'd also go with the Mars Hydro option, but to be honest if my budget was $150 for a light I'd just skip LED all together and get a 315 CMH. I'm running a SpiderFarmer SF2000 in my 2x4x5 tent and it's a great light, but I still think I'm going to add another light soon. So that's half your space and the SF2000 is almost the equivalent of both the Vivraspectre and the Mars Hydro. LED is awesome, but you get a lot more bang for your buck with HID.

All that being said, if your set on LED at your budget, grab that Mars hydro and roll with it. It will definitely grow weed for you, just don't expect massive yields right away. You can always add another light down the road.
 
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dmatt0927

Active Member
Gentlemencorpse said:
Of the lights your looking at I'd also go with the Mars Hydro option, but to be honest if my budget was $150 for a light I'd just skip LED all together and get a 315 CMH. I'm running a SpiderFarmer SF2000 in my 2x4x5 tent and it's a great light, but I still think I'm going to add another light soon. So that's half your space and the SF2000 is almost the equivalent of both the Vivraspectre and the Mars Hydro. LED is awesome, but you get a lot more bang for your buck with HID.

All that being said, if your set on LED at your budget, grab that Mars hydro and roll with it. It will definitely grow weed for you, just don't expect massive yields right away. You can always add another light down the road.
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i see. I just looked up 315 cmh on amazon and theres a ton of options around that 150 range. what is my best option for around the price range? which one should i be looking at if you dont mind me asking.
 
Gentlemencorpse

Gentlemencorpse

Well-Known Member

Amazon.com : VIVOSUN 315W Ceramic Metal Halide CMH/CDM Grow Light Kit, ETL Listed, High-Reflectivity Vega Aluminum Hood, 120/240V Ballast, Full-Spectrum CMH Hydroponic Grow Light and Suspension System : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : VIVOSUN 315W Ceramic Metal Halide CMH/CDM Grow Light Kit, ETL Listed, High-Reflectivity Vega Aluminum Hood, 120/240V Ballast, Full-Spectrum CMH Hydroponic Grow Light and Suspension System : Garden & Outdoor
www.amazon.com

I'd go with this Vivosun. At that price all the ballasts are essentially the same but Vivosun has decent customer service in my experience and is a fairly well know brand. I'd prefer a light with a 3100k Philips bulb but a quick Amazon search didn't come up with anything in your price range so I think the Vivosun is your best bet.

Fyi, never use the dimmer on a CMH, always run it at 100%. It's a useless feature. When you dim the light it affects the spectrum negatively.
 
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dmatt0927

Active Member
Gentlemencorpse said:

Amazon.com : VIVOSUN 315W Ceramic Metal Halide CMH/CDM Grow Light Kit, ETL Listed, High-Reflectivity Vega Aluminum Hood, 120/240V Ballast, Full-Spectrum CMH Hydroponic Grow Light and Suspension System : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : VIVOSUN 315W Ceramic Metal Halide CMH/CDM Grow Light Kit, ETL Listed, High-Reflectivity Vega Aluminum Hood, 120/240V Ballast, Full-Spectrum CMH Hydroponic Grow Light and Suspension System : Garden & Outdoor
www.amazon.com

I'd go with this Vivosun. At that price all the ballasts are essentially the same but Vivosun has decent customer service in my experience and is a fairly well know brand. I'd prefer a light with a 3100k Philips bulb but a quick Amazon search didn't come up with anything in your price range so I think the Vivosun is your best bet.

Fyi, never use the dimmer on a CMH, always run it at 100%. It's a useless feature. When you dim the light it affects the spectrum negatively.
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thank you! i appreciate it. im gonna put in an order now. when it comes in should i put it right in or wait until i put them in flower? about how high from the plants should i have this? 5-6 ft?
 
Gentlemencorpse

Gentlemencorpse

Well-Known Member
dmatt0927 said:
thank you! i appreciate it. im gonna put in an order now. when it comes in should i put it right in or wait until i put them in flower? about how high from the plants should i have this? 5-6 ft?
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Ya, throw it right in there. I'd start 36" above and see how they respond. Realistically I end up about 24" above in veg and in flower I end up only like 18" above the canopy with my 315 in a 32x32. But I'd rather err on the side of caution. If they are stretching can always move it closer. Better than burning them.
 
Gentlemencorpse

Gentlemencorpse

Well-Known Member
I think you'll like the CMH. It's a great middle ground between LED and HPS. I love mine. I've gotten really nice tight buds and the heat is easier to manage than with an equivalent HPS lamp. And as an added benefit the CMH spectrum seems to pull some nice colors out of the buds. I went LED in my new tent only because I'm running autos and they cost less to run 20/4 for months on end.

Your tent can easily handle two 315s so when you have the budget you could definitely grab another one to replace that Vivraspectre. Then you'd really be cooking!
 
Clumpyoyster

Clumpyoyster

Well-Known Member
My rule of thumb for pot size is once the fan leaves overhang the edges of the solo cup I transplant to 1 gallon. Once they overhang that I go 3 gallon and usually let them finish in that. I’ve been reading and have been told I should transplant again into a 5 or 7 gallon to finish but I’m lazy
 
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