New Grower 1st time autoflower + LED - setup advice

[8ball]

Hello to all AFN members,

I would like to start my first grow with autoflowering seeds and LED.
I was reading on AFN (and also some other places) last two weaks to get some information about it.

Now I decided what i would like to do and would like to ask for advice before buying the equipment.

Strain:

I would like to use the autoflowering TD from DP.
http://www.dutch-passion.nl/en/cannabis-seeds/product/think-different/

Tent:

GrowLab Growbox Homebox 120 L
120 x 240 x 200 cm

Pots:

Superoot Airpot Hydro-Kit 22,5 L

Lights:

I decided to buy Mars II (5W) from topled.
Now my first real question about it is, which setup would be the best for my tent.

4 x 400W
4 x 700W
2 x 1200W

The most economic setup would be the 4 x 400W Mars II.
It wouold be the cheapest to buy and also would use less power then the other setups.

Additional information:
I would like to grow 14 plants in 2 rows a 7 plants.

So i'm tending to the 4 x 400W setup because it's the cheapest and i see people growing with 180W and 300W LEDs here, so 4 x 400W should be enough or did i miss something?

2 x 1200W: Two lights maybe ain't that good as four lights beacuse of the spread?

4 x 700W: Strongest setup, but also costs a lot of money and keeping them on with 380W each also seeking the most power so not very economic i think.

I hope you guys don't fool me for this question but since i have no experience with LED lights i ask before i do something stupid or just throw my money around without a point.


After clearing the question about which lights i'd also like to ask if i can use those airpots without a DWC/Hydro system because i would like to start with soil first.
After gaining experience i may also think about growing with DWC.


And basicly the final question, does this setup fit together? (Tent size, lights, 14plants)


Thanks for teaching me

8ball

 

[Gloomshade]

I have 3 900w in a 2x2x2.3 and will get a fourth before my next grow. I kinda wish I went with 700s though. If you go with 4x400 you could still add another 2 later or something though.

 

[8ball]

I have 3 900w in a 2x2x2.3 and will get a fourth before my next grow. I kinda wish I went with 700s though. If you go with 4x400 you could still add another 2 later or something though.

Hello mate, thanks for reply.
So you say i should take stronger lights than the 400W?

Why you wish you would have took the 700W? In case of they are cheaper and use less power?

If you buy another 900W Panel you have 4 x 900W is way stonger than 4 x 700W.
In point it costs more money and also needs more power that's true.

In case i don't want to save money at the wrong place.
Since i will grow those plants for me and my friends (no commerical, private use) we will share to costs of equipment and power so i am able to spend some bucks.
And I am sure it's worth it since we would become independent from dealers and would have lovely grown weed

Maybe the thread should be moved into the LED section

8ball

 

[robwars]

More lights are better for coverage, You may need more then 4 (400watt) lights for that tent. I'm thinking 6 would do it but 8 would be killer. I'm not that familiar with topled but I would guess the coverage of those lights is somewhere around 40 square cm or less which in my mind equals to 1 plant. Not saying that you need a light per plant just trying to give you an idea of what you are getting into. Maybe start with less plants.... We'll get you going bro :Sharing One: Welcome to the site

 

[8ball]

Thanks for reply.
Really interesting point with the lights since I really don't know about the power and coverage of those.
So you say it's better to use small power lights (400W) but more of them?

I guess it would be better for me to buy a smaller tent, four lights (400W) and only grow 7 plants in it?
Is it smart to use more powerful lights than those 400W LEDs or are those strong enough?

8ball

 

[Gloomshade]

More lights are better for coverage, You may need more then 4 (400watt) lights for that tent. I'm thinking 6 would do it but 8 would be killer. I'm not that familiar with topled but I would guess the coverage of those lights is somewhere around 40 square cm or less which in my mind equals to 1 plant. Not saying that you need a light per plant just trying to give you an idea of what you are getting into. Maybe start with less plants.... We'll get you going bro :Sharing One: Welcome to the site

Dude my mars ii measures over 40 square cm...

4 900w in a 2x2x2.3 = 50 watts per square foot... which I think is the magic number or something like that. Power usage is the only reason I wish I went smaller. I see guys growing monster plants with heaaaaaps less wattage than me. But then again as a noob grower throwing more watts at my tent probably makes up for my noob moves like nute burning and stuff.

 

[8ball]

So i guess 4 lights should be good for me.
I've also been watching this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJIjJ5nZUZw
The dude is explaining how he puts his lights so the lights can cover the space between them.

I'm pretty sure now that i will start to frow with the setup above, just thinking aout using 4 x 400W or 4 x 700W now, maybe i'll give those 400W lights a chance. If i'll be successful with it would be great (less power usage), if i won't get a good yield i still can upgrade for my next grow!

It might be interesting for other AFN members too.
If the results of the 4 x 400W will be good than it is really economic grow!
Cheap costs in buying those lights (205$/each) and also cheap in power usage (200W/each).

8ball

 

[robwars]

Dude my mars ii measures over 40 square cm...

Why don't you enlighten us with how many square cm it covers instead of trying to get a rise out of me, dude.

 

[Gloomshade]

Why don't you enlighten us with how many square cm it covers instead of trying to get a rise out of me, dude.

I'm not trying to get a rise out of anyone...Not sure why you would take it that way... I'm just trying to help old mate out with his setup *shrug*

I'm covering 100cm square in flower with my 900w mars ii. Probably cover the same with a 700. Haven't looked at the 400w but I know my light is overkill for the space the only way you're only going to cover 40cm is if the light is hung at 1inch these 5w diodes have a high penetration so you can get a better coverage by hanging them higher and still theoretically get good growth.

Manufacturers specs state 400w will cover 100cm squared... They're optimistic about that I think. The actual measurements on the 400w version is Dimension:340x340x90mm.

The specs on my 900w say they will cover 120cm squared and the measurements are Dimension:420x420x90mm

So I guess the 400w will cover 1m in veg and like 80cm or something in flower when hung closer.

 

[Gloomshade]

So i guess 4 lights should be good for me.
I've also been watching this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJIjJ5nZUZw
The dude is explaining how he puts his lights so the lights can cover the space between them.

I'm pretty sure now that i will start to frow with the setup above, just thinking aout using 4 x 400W or 4 x 700W now, maybe i'll give those 400W lights a chance. If i'll be successful with it would be great (less power usage), if i won't get a good yield i still can upgrade for my next grow!

It might be interesting for other AFN members too.
If the results of the 4 x 400W will be good than it is really economic grow!
Cheap costs in buying those lights (205$/each) and also cheap in power usage (200W/each).

8ball

These TopLED Mars II lights are good, and they punch out the light and grow big buds easy enough. And they're cheap. But as far as efficient goes I'm not so sure. I've read studies saying that 3w leds are more efficient for growing...and especially so if you grow in a scrog. The 5w diodes have the penetration so theoretically you can hang them higher and get larger coverage...but at a higher electricity cost. I did a fair bit of research before I got mine... And had just sort of decided that 5w diodes must be better... But in hindsight i dont think that's necessarily true. Like if you had a watt for watt grow off with 3w vs 5w diodes I've got a feeling the 3w diodes would win over a scrog. I'm just speculating really....Bang for buck you won't be dissappointed with the Mars II.

GrowLab Growbox Homebox 120 L
120 x 240 x 200 cm

4x400w won't give you full coverage of a tent this size though, even using the manufacturers optimistic estimations. If you take a look at the website and the manufacturers estimations, i'd take a foot off each for flower. So my 900's say 4x4, for flower i'd call it 3x3, 400s say 3x3, for flower i'd call it 2x2. I think you could get away with 4x700w, but 4x900w would be even better... Its all about balance heh... Then I guess you could go 6x400w on the other hand...so many options lol