First time grower needing advice

[Sugarleaf]

Hey whats up guys. Been lurking around here for a couple months now and finally decide to join here. Its looks like a great board.

Anyhow i just started my first grow exactly 5 weeks ago and i have a question about lighting.

Right now i have a 2x2x3 tent with hydromars 300w. From what ive read its not a true 300w, so ive been contemplating buying another 300w unit or adding in some supplemental cfl's as my 4 plants are beginning to flower and i want to maximize grow. If this is only going to make a small difference in grams of course ill keep it as is, but if there is potential to yield a good few more ounce it might be worth the investment. What do you think? My plants are all about 12-16 inches tall and equally as wide as of 5 days ago** pics below. Im also utilizing lst, super cropping (and just snapped one of my main stems and a few side branches f-me and my heavy hand haha). I also just did a light defoliation to lower and middle portion of plants to also enhance growth.

A little off topic looking back now, I wish i had gone with a slightly bigger tent with stronger lights straight from the get go, but at that time i didnt know how much fun this was going to be (i feel like a kid at christmas right now), plus the chicken shit side of me wanted to keep it discreet as possible.

Anyhow Thanks reading and those who have any feedback/ suggestions on lightning recommendation i really appreciate it.

 

[Sugarleaf]

Btw i have an led panel hanging on the side of the tent. It used to be an aquarium canopy light to a biocube 32. I dont know how many watts it pushing but im sure it probably not a whole lot. I thought i throw it up in there instead of collecting dust.

 

[HonestGR]

Cfls wont make a huge difference, but I would buy another light. Without looking the MH light up, I would guess it is pulling approx 100ish watts. Generally leds, you will want to pull 32watts (or more) per square feet. So a 2x2 = 4sq ft x 32 = 128watts should be your starting goal
Your tent is pretty full now what type of plant are they? Autos or Photoperiod?

 

[sirsmokealot]

Your plants are looking good there actually. Assuming you have the Eco 300, that is a bit weak for flowering your tent. Not saying it won't grow some decent bud but the ideal flower footprint for that light is 1.5x1.5. For optimal coverage you'd need something like a TS-1000 or the Mars COB, either one would be a big step up. Mars Hydro has a summer sale going on rn, you can get them for a really good price. If you don't want to go Mars Hydro again, look into quantum boards or COBs.

 

[AutoWonders]

I wish i had gone with a slightly bigger tent with stronger lights straight from the get go

I would always go for two lights of lesser wattage, over one stronger light. I much prefer a better light throw. Check out the Autocob from www.shopcob.com. Outstanding lights, small and easy to move, low electrical draw, no fans so no noise, .49 amp. Especially good for small tents.

 

[Arthur]

Cobs or quantum boards. With hps the target was 50w per square foot. Quality cobs and QB will provide very similar results at 25-30 watts per sq foot. Now this is for cobs and QBs that are running quality components, citizen, cree, or Samsung LEDs. Cutting edge right now is the Samsung 301B diodes.

 

[Sugarleaf]

Thanks for all the help guys and considering all of it. Right now my budget is pretty tight. I have to keep it under a $100. What i have now although mediocre, cost $70 and doesny get too hot. Do you think this would be the best bang for the buck right now? From some of the advice above it doesnt look like i can find a quality cob without it being very low wattage. Also my temp hovers 77 -79 with good.circulation- intake and out take fan setup.

I hate a gut feeling my wattage was low so ive been slowing closing the distance from light to canopy and rotating plants around each watering I had lights strung at roughly 30 in in the beginning and now have been acclimated to about 10 in. Without any burn as you can see from the photo.

Someone ask early about strain..there autoflowers from 420newseedguy. Being a newb it was one of the few usa guys i found through goggle that i thought would be legit. Strains are 2 white russian, blue diesel and skunk haze autos.

Again guys i can thank you enough so for your advice. There is just so much conflicting info out there plus i feel its come down to an individual situation where i need to seek one on one help.

 

[420Forever]

heya @Sugarleaf and to afn! tbh, me can't give any advice on all the newfangled lighting & such, cuz me old school & poor, lol, but me wish u luck all the same & me subbed up

ppp &

 

[sirsmokealot]

Thanks for all the help guys and considering all of it. Right now my budget is pretty tight. I have to keep it under a $100. What i have now although mediocre, cost $70 and doesny get too hot. Do you think this would be the best bang for the buck right now? From some of the advice above it doesnt look like i can find a quality cob without it being very low wattage. Also my temp hovers 77 -79 with good.circulation- intake and out take fan setup.

I hate a gut feeling my wattage was low so ive been slowing closing the distance from light to canopy and rotating plants around each watering I had lights strung at roughly 30 in in the beginning and now have been acclimated to about 10 in. Without any burn as you can see from the photo.

Someone ask early about strain..there autoflowers from 420newseedguy. Being a newb it was one of the few usa guys i found through goggle that i thought would be legit. Strains are 2 white russian, blue diesel and skunk haze autos.

Again guys i can thank you enough so for your advice. There is just so much conflicting info out there plus i feel its come down to an individual situation where i need to seek one on one help.

Well if you are that short on cash and in a hurry then get another ECO 300 for 70 bucks, you can even daisy chain the 2 together. Or wait a while until you can raise more cash and get something better. For example the TS-1000 is one helluva light for just 130 bucks. You could also get 40-50 bucks easily for your ECO if you sell it, should be almost new right ?

 

[Sugarleaf]

Well if you are that short on cash and in a hurry then get another ECO 300 for 70 bucks, you can even daisy chain the 2 together. Or wait a while until you can raise more cash and get something better. For example the TS-1000 is one helluva light for just 130 bucks. You could also get 40-50 bucks easily for your ECO if you sell it, should be almost new right ?

This is my first grow and would like to have a decent yield for my first time, so i made a purchase for a second mars eco 300w which i will daisy chain just as you suggested.

My plants are beginning to flower and my grow window is just to short to wait out another few weeks for the more expensive light. I definitely dont want to remember my first grow as only yielding a measly 10 grams a plant. I think 2 mars eco should work pretty well. It will put me right at 50w per foot. I guess ill find out soon enough.

Thanks for your help.