Lighting choice and disposition

The wattage works out for the square feet but the heat, OMFG that’s gonna be toasty. If you already own those I’d say use them.

 

I would use ur 3 600w hps and get some qb to fill out the rest of space. If your not into qb I’d stick with all 600w

 

CMH do run cooler than HPS or standard MH of the same wattage, but it will get warm in there still.

Quantum boards are probably the best things out there. If you want to read about them, check out HLG's site to at least get an understanding of their benefits. Heat control is definitely one of the advantages along with many more.
They are pricey though, so if you already have the gear, I would run it if I were you.

There is always the Alibaba option. I went that route and saved a bunch. If you have more questions, lots of people to help in here.

 

Yes. But order from alibaba. Hlg cost twice as much for the exact same thing

 

I can confirm Shenzhen Meijiu Lighting Co is a good source. Rita Fang is my go to girl there.


Another called Bava and another called KingBrite. If you want full spectrum panels with IR and UV, and pretty much any combo you want, KingBrite is good for those.

These are what I use. I have 3 sets of these. 2 boards per set, 800 diodes per board. Each set handles 600w (actual watts).

One of these sets:
600w Fotop 800 Grow Tent Complete Kit For Veg And Bloom - Buy Grow,Grow Tent Kit,Grow Tent Complete Kit Product on Alibaba.com

Those are older V1 Samsung diodes but they still rock.

Two of these sets:
Meijiu Rita Fang Quantum Board 800v2 Samsung Lm301b With Red 660nm Led Grow Light Vertical Farming 600w - Buy Samsung Lm301b,Rita Fang Quantum Board,Hydroponics Growing Lights Product on Alibaba.com

Those are newer V2 Samsung diodes with added far red 660nm for flowering. Awesome lights.

Maybe the others can share what they found or use....maybe suppliers that are good. It was daunting for me the first time but I found Rita Fang and I have spent a bunch there and I am very happy.

 

I am not sure who it was, but one company used to be the actual producer of HLG'S lights. HLG had them printed in China, then shipped over, a couple holes drilled in them then a 'Made in the USA' sticker attached. HLG now supposedly prints their own.
The others in China copied that tech and started printing their own.

You've seen my current plants under them.


I have had one full run with just these boards. I screwed up and had a major P deficiency so it hampered my entire crop a bit. Eventually some went real yellow by the time the P def advanced. P is what gives you weight, so I really sand bagged these things right from the start.



That pile on the counter is from the one that had a picture taken in front of my tv. Just over 6 oz. of good tops.

If you stick with Bava, Kingbrite or Meijiu, you should be good. People are always gonna talk shit. Some on here probably have affiliate links to Amazon suppliers that sell HLG stuff so sales in China don't help them, some may be actual HLG dists or reps so same thing, and some are just p.o.'d they paid twice the price for the same tech.

They work.

Those ones you linked should be good. Looks like right supplier.

 

And that run was in organic soil, except for the occasionaI tea, I fed those things just water.
No hydroponics. No aeroponics. No DWC. Just ProMix and organic goodies.

 

It can be tricky first going to organics, but I find it far more forgiving than feeding chems.

I use a wick draw system now, so my plants sit on a pile of rocks in an oil drip tray, and some nylon rope wrapped around in the soil comes out the bottom of the pots. Capillary action draws the solution up the rope and into the soil.
It's more forgiving than top feeding, slower action. Doesn't compact the soil by always feeding from the top.


Organics can be tricky because you want a wet dry cycle, but not to the same degree of dry I have found. Going too dry hampers your microbial activity. So I decided to try this old tried and true method (been around a loooooong time), which I have used in the past to great success even with chem fed soil. Slow draw seems to keep everything nice and smooth. And it also acts as a catch tray for any runoff.

You gotta kind find what works for you, but lots of great threads for advice. I am new to organics so I may see things like that P deficiency here or there. I'm not the best to take all your organic advice from, I am sort of experimenting with it myself still, so a grain of salt.

Those lights look freakin' badass lol! I love the IR and UV option. Looks like they have it all covered. I'd have to do the math on your grand plans for a 12x12 but yeah, HPS/MH offer no real advantage anymore except heat in a low temp area.....that's really about it.

You want about 30-35 W /sq ft with these lights. Hit that, you're golden. Go with even higher wattage and throttle down, and now you're laughing.

That's how I like to do it. By severely overpowering, it allows me room to let the plants get bigger, move the lights a bit, turn them up a bit to compensate for the extra sq footage, and still be laughing with throttle to spare. And heat issues are virtually non-existent unless it's absolutely roasting outside and the house is hot. Those days I dial them down a couple notches, and lower the lights a few inches and leave the fan on and they don't even notice.

Basically since dropping hps, I never sweat in there anymore. I slog less water. I don't have crispy leaves. I can hear myself think in my room as opposed to fans on ballasts and cool tubes, no ducting in my room wrapping around everything......there is just no comparison.

 

Nice!
Yeah my plants seem to be loving it and the lights.
You should be happy with those.

Thanks for the kind words too!

 

Just for giggles.
Here's a shot of my heatsink temps right now. All 6 of them are within a couple points of a degree to eachother.

Now imagine them being the hottest thing in my room. Now imagine a fan blowout, or a thermostat failure. (I had a fan blowout recently actually)
It's only gonna get as hot as the hottest heat source.