LED or HPS? New grower looking for advice

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DanMJman

New Member
Hello 420 mag!
I'm new to the forums and looking for some advice on my future grow setup.

I'm from the great white north(Canada lol) where marijuana will soon be LEGAL!
At least within the next year roughly - our government promised it would be legal by July 1st, 2018 or sooner.

I have outdoor grow experience over the last few summers but no indoor experience.

What would you all recommend for an ideal indoor setup?
(We will be allowed 4 plants per household growing at any one time)

I was thinking a 4x4x7 grow tent.
Soil based grow unless coco is easier for a beginner ?
I'm torn on what light setup to use ... I can't decide between LED or HPS!?

I was doing research on the forums - I was thinking a 600w LED or a simple 400w MH/HPS ....

Anyone have experience with these lights and their performance ? Would they be good enough to cover 4 plants in a 4x4 or would I need two of each LED for that?
 
I've been wondering the same but with a 1000watt hps or a 1200watt led. I have about 40 1000watt hps bulbs just sitting in my shed(my father used to change bulbs at a local high schools football field) I have a 4'X4'X6'8" grow tent. I'm afraid it would get to hot but I have 2 6in 440cfm fans( I only use one for now).
 
I'm based out of ontario. Outskirts of Toronto area.

My temps stay about 68-70F in my basement where I also plan on growing. RH is between 50-70% currently - might need a dehumidifier for flowering stage.

I want to grow 3-4 plants at a time.

I feel like LEDs could be good to save on power but I'm thinking I might need to purchase two units to cover a 4x4 tent which would offset the savings. Any good brands out there ?? I was thinking viparspectra or Platinum ...

A 400w MH/HPS only costs about $200 versus a LED setup which would be much more expensive.(especially if I need two units to cover a 4x4 properly) Would a 400w HPS cover a 4x4 by itself?

Thanks guys!
 
Research LEC/CMH GROW LIGHT and get back to me grab a 3k bulb if you decide it's for you and it comes air cooled from sunsystem I got a 315w for 575.00 and can always get them
 
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even have a conversion kit for any reflector
 
Thanks bignugs, I was actually looking into CMH lights as well. I live in Canada and I found a Canadian site selling 3000k and 4000k bulbs plus the ballast and fixture for $550 CDN as well.

Do you have experience with CMH lights? I've seen promising results from the few grow journals I've checked out.
 
So many factors play into choosing lighting. Heat generated, energy efficiency, and initial cost are the primary considerations. Using HID, i.e., MH/HPS is the least expensive but generate the most heat. For a 4x4 you will need 600W. CMH is more expensive but is very energy efficient, produces less heat, and doesn't distort colors like HPS. You could use a 315W CMH/LEC. LEDs will be more expensive by an order of magnitude if you do it right, but produce the least heat, are very efficient, and grow great plants.

I started out with a 600W MH/HPS system in a 4x4 tent. I'm now running 16 Cree 3590s (one COB/ft2) with plans to double that number for my 4x8 flower tent. Figure 35W to 50W per square foot with LEDs. It's a chunk of change to do LEDs right and can't be justified by energy savings alone, but the LEDs don't need to be changed out every grow or two. Don't even bother with blurple lights or any of the "1000W LED Grow Lights" you see on Amazon. If you want to learn more about LEDs check out GrowMou5's videos on Youtube.

If you're not looking to DIY with LEDs I'd suggest the CMH/LEC. They're very good grow lights. On a tight budget or if you need the heat, stick with MH/HPS.
 
Thanks saibot!

I think I decided on a CMH 315w light set up. It seems to be about $550 CDN and produces good results.

Now it's time to slowly start buying all the equipment so im ready once it's LEGAL!!!!!
 
DanMJman said:
Thanks bignugs, I was actually looking into CMH lights as well. I live in Canada and I found a Canadian site selling 3000k and 4000k bulbs plus the ballast and fixture for $550 CDN as well.

Do you have experience with CMH lights? I've seen promising results from the few grow journals I've checked out.
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I have a sunsystem LEC/CMH air cooled sealed hood, they just released it. The glass only takes 3% of UV and IR from light, I am ordering a 3k deep red bulb from grower's choice for flowering and my tent doesn't get hot at all from a 4k bulb currently, so don't worry about heat it's not a issue, I wish I would have gotten a 3k bulb from the jump but I thought a 4k and hps mixed spectrum would be nice but HPS is getting stored for summer and getting my LED and LEC GOING STRONG!!
 
DanMJman said:
I'm based out of ontario. Outskirts of Toronto area.

My temps stay about 68-70F in my basement where I also plan on growing. RH is between 50-70% currently - might need a dehumidifier for flowering stage.

I want to grow 3-4 plants at a time.

I feel like LEDs could be good to save on power but I'm thinking I might need to purchase two units to cover a 4x4 tent which would offset the savings. Any good brands out there ?? I was thinking viparspectra or Platinum ...

A 400w MH/HPS only costs about $200 versus a LED setup which would be much more expensive.(especially if I need two units to cover a 4x4 properly) Would a 400w HPS cover a 4x4 by itself?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
I live near toronto as well here is my 4x4 with a 600 watt mh

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Hey JP , I use both LED's and HPS's in cool tubes and like them both equally.

Best bang for the buck is a Digital 600w ballast and a 6 inch CoolTube

Using a cool tube will keep the space much cooler cutting down on exhaust fan costs power draw and noise.

A 600 Cool tube would Rock a 3x3 tent or if you wanted more space a 4x4


A 4x4 would work perfect with four plants but a 1000w HPS would fit it better then a 600w imo

4x4= 16 sq.ft divided 1000w = 62w per sq.ft
3x3= 9 sq.ft divided by 600w = 66w sq.ft
 
I am looking forward to being able to legally grow. I am also building my set up in anticipation. I am curious as to the other part of your question; what is the best way to grow 4 plants? 1 mother and 3 veg/flowering? Or perhaps stagger their growth to continuously have a plant in flowering? ...not that all Canadians will follow this 4 plant law...
 
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