Indoor Need some advice on picking light for closet grow

[TshirtNinja]

honestly the unit i recommend is generally 270 shipped from the guys at gotham hydro. i have ordered 5 times and no issues with the panels. they still put out heat but its nothing close to that of HID systems. I run 4 240w in my own closet but again i have a 4" exhaust fan that i knocked a hole through to the adjoining coat closet to vent out my hot air.

 

[agito]

but when we hit led sort of money that open up the options for 400-600w hps/mh with an air cooled hood (like i have) which could light the whole tent it boils down to budjet

 

[Hermitian]

As a consultant, I visit almost a hundred Cannabis growing environments per year, plus another hundred sites growing produce and fruits. For the same amount of wattage per square feet and much less cost, I have yet to see any LED system come close to T5 HO 6500K lamps. Further, I always have doubts when someone says "mine are doing great" -- because the unanswered question is: compared to what? In commercial agriculture where quality and costs are of high importance (a) sodium and mercury lamps are only used as supplements to sunlight coming through the glass or plastic roof, (b) T5 HO "full-spectrum" 6500K lights are the mainstay, and (c) nobody is using LED in production. Further, they buy their lamps from a lamp dealer: not a general-purpose wholesaler or retailer.

 

[AndyBotwin]

Further, I always have doubts when someone says "mine are doing great" -- because the unanswered question is: compared to what?

That's one reason why we have this site. The more people that post grow journals and share experiences with different strains, the larger the pool of data becomes that we can use for a frame of reference. Obviously the vitality of each individual plant is different (since we're dealing with seeds not clones) and each grower's environment is unique, but worthwhile comparisons can still be made.

 

[TshirtNinja]

well there are dozens of documented grow logs amongst photo and auto's with blackstar with nothing but good grows minus the few that killed them with love (watering too much or over nuting). i've seen no bad reviews so far on blackstar and he cant run vented hoods if hes talking about a closet. mine is a fluke that i can do it that way.

 

[IZNICE]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Thats why i love this forum its full of dedicated , passionate growers who are open to sharing knowledge to teach to and learn from each other so we can overall achieve our individual goals....anyway.. I am talking about a closet but its on the second floor and i am pretty handy so i feel confident putting a hole in the ceiling to put a inline fan and ducting to vent out heat in to the attic. I am also gonna run about 8 3" pc fans throughout the closet run off a pc power supply with a led fan controller with 5 temp sensors to constantly circulate air and push the hot air to the top to be vented out. I think this will solve any heating issues. I will be posting some pics of the closet later so u can see what i am working with. Right now i am leaning to the side of a 250w cmh. I just don't know if leds are with it TshirtNinja is one of the only person I have ever heard say nice things and i am trying to get enough herb to last me a month out of 2 plants so i need to maximize my yield. I just now started looking in to T5s has anybody did a closet grow with these? Do these really work as advertised? Cause to me if they do what they say I cant help but assume everyone would be using them and that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[agito]

that cmh looks quite special there a new one on me it one of those things if you had a 150 it will be in the back of your mind that the 250 would have better penertration and a wider area. there is a few good t5 results knocking about try the t5 section but if your splitting your room in 2 it would require 2 sets of t5's as the plants have to be close but you could use seedlings and flower plants under the cmh as your light will be higher for the flowering plants but an further enough away for seedlings. if your doing autos a 400w could light all your plants in one go and a 250w could light most of the room benefiting the seedlings with the indirect light

 

[TshirtNinja]

please get 1 4" inline fan instead of pc fans. your ladies will surely thank you. hid lighting is ok but you MUST exhaust more than you think. i couldnt get enough air out with 2 high output pc fans in a rubbermaid tub if that tells you anything on the volume rating of pc fans. led is actually matched for autos quite well. they are made for bushy short plants. genetics are whats going to matter quite a bit if your riding on 2 plants sustaining you a month.

 

[Muddy]

Go to the Indoor Grow forum or do a search for "LEDs" and you will get dozens of hits for grows being done with LEDs. I've been using a 180 watt GLH for over a year and have been consistently averaging about 2.5 oz. per plant in an area about the size of yours. I can easily grow 3-4 plants at a time, depending on the strain, and get some nice big, fat buds. I have another area that's about 3' x 4' that I was using a 400 watt HPS in. I recently bought two of the Blackstar 240s and replaced the HPS with them. Heat control was a big issue for me in both areas and switching to LEDs has not affected my yields and has solved the heat problems. Even though the up front cost is more, there is considerable savings on electricity and replacement bulbs. Also, if stealth is an issue for you, I've found I can run my exhaust fan on low and it will provide enough ventilation and greatly reduces the noise from the fan. A 4" fan running full blast can be fairly loud.

I just don't know if leds are with it TshirtNinja is one of the only person I have ever heard say nice things and i am trying to get enough herb to last me a month out of 2 plants so i need to maximize my yield. I just now started looking in to T5s has anybody did a closet grow with these? Do these really work as advertised? Cause to me if they do what they say I cant help but assume everyone would be using them and that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[Muddy]

As I said, do a search for LEDs or go to the Indoor Grow forum and see for yourself. Lots of people here getting results equal to or better than HPS and/or T5s. While LEDs don't yet have the penetration to grow a good photo strain, they are perfect for growing autos. After all, we're not commercial growers, just med or hobby growers. Mine are doing great also, here's one of em grown under LED.




Wasn't even my best, only yielded about 2.5 oz.

Further, I always have doubts when someone says "mine are doing great" -- because the unanswered question is: compared to what? In commercial agriculture where quality and costs are of high importance (a) sodium and mercury lamps are only used as supplements to sunlight coming through the glass or plastic roof, (b) T5 HO "full-spectrum" 6500K lights are the mainstay, and (c) nobody is using LED in production. Further, they buy their lamps from a lamp dealer: not a general-purpose wholesaler or retailer.