Im looking for help on my first grow. I’m having a hard time with the light research due to the fact that there are so many options and costs. My setup is a 60" x 35" x 80" (5 ft x 2.9 ft x 6.6 ft) tent with the intention of growing between 3-6plants, I will be doing soil and my plants will be in 3 gal pots. I’m growing in a side room in my basement and have the temp set to 70 in the house my budget is 1.5k, I have already purchased a bestva 3000w light but I was stoned and tired at 4am when I ordered it and after doing research on it I found out I’ll probably need a second light for the flower cycle. I’ll probably end up keeping it and use it as a backup or something. I would like a light that I can use for 6plants with no problem but won’t be overkill for 2or 3. Energy efficient is a must I want to keep my e bill low.
Cheers! You tent is a good size. large enough for 6 plants. A 2nd tent is really nice because you can use one tent for Veg and clones while using the 2nd tent exclusively for flower. I use 600w bulbs. 2 of 600's is much easier on your A/C bill than 1k lamps. Remember it is a hella lot easier to add to your soil than it is to subtract. Meaning go easy on water, soil should not be like mud or close to it. Good luck. It's just a weed.
Hello! So keep the bestva and get a second tent with a 600w light for flowering? That soil is crap its the miracle gro organic, its kinda an experiment to see how it works while I wait for good soil to come in the mail. That pic day 6 or 7 and its only 2 inches tall or so. I didnt think it would germinate and when it did I wasnt ready for it. So now I'm just gonna see what happens with what I have while I wait.
Your tent (2 ft x 1.2 ft) is too small for any more than 1 plant. If you don't mind no plant reaching its full potential, then 2 might fit. The height (2.7 ft) is woefully inadequate. 1 ft tall bucket plus 1 ft light distance leaves 0.7 ft for plant height. I'm not a dirt grower, but many experienced growers recommend adding something like perlite to soil. Your light is 615 watts of lower efficiency, outmoded blurple that few experienced growers would buy. It's also much more power than you'd need. 35-50 watts per sq ft of blurple is enough. $1500 is much more than you'd need for a good setup that would include a better tent and light.
Sorry thats in inches so it would actully be 5 ft x 2.9 ft x 6.6 ft. Yeah Im not happy I spent the money on the blurple light, thats why Im looking to get something better.
You could pick up 2x qb 96 elite and a hlg 320-54a driver which has dimmer screws on it so you can use the lights at lower strength if you want.
Yeah, I suspected inches. My experience is that a plant needs at least 4 sq ft to grow as a christmas tree, or more if training. So I'd only do 3 plants.
With today's best LEDs, 25-30 watts per sq ft will suffice, so you'd need about 400 true watts. Although not the best lights available, MarsHydro has good prices, and probably higher quality than most on amazon. I just got one of their smaller lights to use for emergencies. Two of these would work: SP 250 Best Led Grow Lights for Indoor Plants, Sunlike Spectrum with IR, UV for 2'x4' - Mars Hydro for sale,buy SP 250 Best Led Grow Lights for Indoor Plants, Sunlike Spectrum with IR, UV for 2'x4' - Mars Hydro - Mars Hydro The most popular brand is probably Horticulture Lighting Group, and they have a better price on this light than on some of their others. HLG 550 V2 ECO For the adventuresome, the cheap chinese knockoffs can work, something like this: Samsung Lm301h 480w Led Grow Light /monster Board Kit V4 Led Grow Light Hlg For Grow Tent - Buy Grow Light,Led Grow Light,Lm301h Product on Alibaba.com
That 550 looks good I’m gonna do some research and make sure but it looks like it’s what I want thanks for the advice