Yeah that’s definitely how I feel about a grow, budget costs become a burden not a blessing but when you can do some of it yourself and not pull out a bag and get results then we finally got somewhere we needed to be atm !
Lighting Please Read, in need of information on a product
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Thems comparing apples and apples, add 60 lbs to one of those photos and its closer.One is a pair of expensive jeans and the other is a cheaper pair of Levi's. They both do the same thing.
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I drive a 00' Xterra, not a tricked out 74' Bronco. Same principle.
I have 450w of DIY cobs because I can't afford a ChilLed setup. And they work just fine, but it could be better.
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I hear ya. I’d like to have that new 21’ Bronco but at about $50-60k I’ll just keep driving the F150.
Gitano all day and twice on sundaysOne is a pair of expensive jeans and the other is a cheaper pair of Levi's. They both do the same thing.
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What kind of budget are you working with exactly? Covering a 4x4 is expensive even if you DIY it.
There are several issues with using a cheaper light especially one poorly built.
Cheap diodes may degrade faster and are less efficient with less efficacy. What this means is that there is a stark contrast between a 1.8umol/j light compared to a 2.7umol/j. Testing may very well be inaccurate compared to a more expensive reputable company that can afford to tell you the truth.
Which type of light you use is important because price really does matter. Have you considered running a CMH? Two 315s would cover that space OR you could check out kingbrite or another vendor on alibaba.
Another option would be getting a few autocobs every now and then. Better than maxisun, vipar, and Mars which are all questionable Chinese companies with questionable marketing and testing.
A light isn't a light isn't a light. The difference between a Horticulture Lighting Group 650r and a Mars hydro FC aren't apparent but there's a reason. I suggest you take some time to familiarize yourself with grow light metrics and make informed decisions for yourself.
Growing on a budget is difficult and runs counter to trying to provide an amazing environment for your plants to thrive in. Ultimately, you decide the end quality of your bud and I think that is worth learning how grow lights work.
There are several issues with using a cheaper light especially one poorly built.
Cheap diodes may degrade faster and are less efficient with less efficacy. What this means is that there is a stark contrast between a 1.8umol/j light compared to a 2.7umol/j. Testing may very well be inaccurate compared to a more expensive reputable company that can afford to tell you the truth.
Which type of light you use is important because price really does matter. Have you considered running a CMH? Two 315s would cover that space OR you could check out kingbrite or another vendor on alibaba.
Another option would be getting a few autocobs every now and then. Better than maxisun, vipar, and Mars which are all questionable Chinese companies with questionable marketing and testing.
A light isn't a light isn't a light. The difference between a Horticulture Lighting Group 650r and a Mars hydro FC aren't apparent but there's a reason. I suggest you take some time to familiarize yourself with grow light metrics and make informed decisions for yourself.
Growing on a budget is difficult and runs counter to trying to provide an amazing environment for your plants to thrive in. Ultimately, you decide the end quality of your bud and I think that is worth learning how grow lights work.
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@damien50 said it... covering a 4x4 is indeed expensive, even with DIY. I started with a 4 cob setup that was 200w. Cost me almost 300 and covered one corner of the tent. Then after a few runs I added an additional 250w. All together there is 450w costing 700$ in DIY to cover the 16sq ft. Works great for autos, it is marginal for photos. Needs another 150w to do photos well, all the way to the edges.
While 700 is a fair bite at the wallet, in 2 chunks it wasn't so bad, and am confident that my light is better than what I could have bought for the equivalent price. There are still lots of better lights... I'd love to be running the hlg 600 v2.... or like I said a while back the grow mau5e ChilLed lights would be a major upgrade.
Ran HPS/MH for a long time, watching growers struggle with the poor led lights on the market... led has come a very long way, it is unfortunate, but there are people that are just waiting for the "new growers" to come along to sell their poor performance lighting too... you've never seen a harvest under good conditions, so you won't know better... and when you only get 200 grams off 4 plants in a 4x4 (less than half what should come out of 16 sqft. I average right around 550 grams per run of marketable buds and feel I'm low about 200 grams per run) you won't know where to start to get the weight up... was it the nutes? The medium?
I have a hundred dollar tent that's lasted now 5 years.
I have an old 6" exhaust fan that was a cheap one... it still works.
There are lots of places to cut corners...
Lighting needs to be the best you can do.
When I was looking at all this, I got on YouTube and watched reviews for days. I noticed many reviews showed fantastic results thru veg, but never showed late flower or the harvest results... that is a red flag to me.
I may be a bit more selective in bud, have been 30 miles outside San Francisco for the majority of the last 50 years. I expect better weed than I can buy, and that means ticking all the boxes. Smell, potency, bag appeal.
Power here is outrageous, .29cents a Kw. That has made me a bit sensitive to lighting costs... I need best bang for bucks. Cheap lighting could actually end up driving the final cost per gram UP.
Am gonna go smoke now and slow my roll a bit.... sorry bout the long windedness!
While 700 is a fair bite at the wallet, in 2 chunks it wasn't so bad, and am confident that my light is better than what I could have bought for the equivalent price. There are still lots of better lights... I'd love to be running the hlg 600 v2.... or like I said a while back the grow mau5e ChilLed lights would be a major upgrade.
Ran HPS/MH for a long time, watching growers struggle with the poor led lights on the market... led has come a very long way, it is unfortunate, but there are people that are just waiting for the "new growers" to come along to sell their poor performance lighting too... you've never seen a harvest under good conditions, so you won't know better... and when you only get 200 grams off 4 plants in a 4x4 (less than half what should come out of 16 sqft. I average right around 550 grams per run of marketable buds and feel I'm low about 200 grams per run) you won't know where to start to get the weight up... was it the nutes? The medium?
I have a hundred dollar tent that's lasted now 5 years.
I have an old 6" exhaust fan that was a cheap one... it still works.
There are lots of places to cut corners...
Lighting needs to be the best you can do.
When I was looking at all this, I got on YouTube and watched reviews for days. I noticed many reviews showed fantastic results thru veg, but never showed late flower or the harvest results... that is a red flag to me.
I may be a bit more selective in bud, have been 30 miles outside San Francisco for the majority of the last 50 years. I expect better weed than I can buy, and that means ticking all the boxes. Smell, potency, bag appeal.
Power here is outrageous, .29cents a Kw. That has made me a bit sensitive to lighting costs... I need best bang for bucks. Cheap lighting could actually end up driving the final cost per gram UP.
Am gonna go smoke now and slow my roll a bit.... sorry bout the long windedness!
I’ll take notes of all these because this was more challenging then my math homework... and auto cobs I heard only good things come from them and we all want good things to come around anytime anywhere lol cheers y’all I appreciate you guys for the information that’s also why I said the Chinese equipment they have on Amazon isn’t just a light and I know how some people feel about it... and things tend to get expensive and everyone wants to save and have sum reliable that’ll get us from seed to harvest I didn’t have a clue about grow lights and now I’m trying to figure out myself and get the best information I can so I can start breeding the right way... with autos I can see how important lighting matters to folks and that’s why I asked the community and you guys are a big help I live in Colorado so everything is pretty much solidified on finding the right things and using the right products I have an HTG supply that opened and they have sum nice products .... better than sum of the Chinese equipment possibly on the scales..... but yes Expensive....
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Cobshop has good stuff, and they're individual, which allows you to work up... owner is also a great guy, helped me figure out some of the math I needed to build my setup, here on afn in the DIY section.
Cobs are great, technology has gone a little farther, but top end cobs will not disappoint.
At least it's not a regular cost! Once bought you should be able to run it for a long time.
Another reason to bite the bullet... with cheap you end up buying twice.
Cobs are great, technology has gone a little farther, but top end cobs will not disappoint.
At least it's not a regular cost! Once bought you should be able to run it for a long time.
Another reason to bite the bullet... with cheap you end up buying twice.
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I'm in Colorado, too.
Keep in mind that there are 9 key parameters involved with growing MJ, and light is the most critical. If you have your RH dialed in, etc., but you are not giving them enough light, and quality light, then you are not going to end up with great yields.
Also keep in mind that a lot of hydro/grow shops will be having 420 sales, so keep a look out for some good discounts. My light is on the pricier side, but noticed an online retailer had it at $200 off recently. Good luck!
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I built my 480w fixture three years ago to cover a 4x4 to the tune of around $500 but I don't have horticulture grade lighting and I can tell. For more money I could have had waterproof housings, better connection options, wider spectrum, etc but it all ends up being nearly the same when you want them majority of the benefits.
I really agree with @Arthur on cutting corners in other places. I have a $100 4x4 and a $500 5x5 - I equally hate all grow tents so it doesn't matter how little I spent cause they all suck. Bought my fans used from the hydro shop with cheap controllers from Amazon. I spent good money to heat/cool/Humidify my room but managing the environment, including light, has been worth it.
My
Coming from buying several ozs a year and determining whether I could ever buy a # for medical issues - what's $800 for a quality light setup? I average a # per run but it only justifies to my wife how much it takes to grow. Everyone gets hung up on the cost of growing but cheap solutions tend to offer cheap results.
If a high end LED or even mid-range is out of the budget, 315 CMH still do really well with efficacy around 1.8-2.0umols/j and can be found at better prices used. They also have a superior spectrum to most other lights but you'll use less energy/heat and see better gains as you increase that number with LEDs.
chilledgrowlights.com
That's my fixture for a 4x4 and it can be made for around $450. I've yielded 1000g in one go under that light. Do your research and determine for yourself what you need for your grow.
I really agree with @Arthur on cutting corners in other places. I have a $100 4x4 and a $500 5x5 - I equally hate all grow tents so it doesn't matter how little I spent cause they all suck. Bought my fans used from the hydro shop with cheap controllers from Amazon. I spent good money to heat/cool/Humidify my room but managing the environment, including light, has been worth it.
My
Coming from buying several ozs a year and determining whether I could ever buy a # for medical issues - what's $800 for a quality light setup? I average a # per run but it only justifies to my wife how much it takes to grow. Everyone gets hung up on the cost of growing but cheap solutions tend to offer cheap results.
If a high end LED or even mid-range is out of the budget, 315 CMH still do really well with efficacy around 1.8-2.0umols/j and can be found at better prices used. They also have a superior spectrum to most other lights but you'll use less energy/heat and see better gains as you increase that number with LEDs.
Understanding LED Grow Light Metrics
Metrics Matter… Wait, What Are Metrics? Trying to find the best grow lights for your application can be an overwhelming process. In fact, researching the topic might leave you with more questions than you started with. After all, not all of us are qualified engineers or plant physiologists, and...
chilledgrowlights.com
That's my fixture for a 4x4 and it can be made for around $450. I've yielded 1000g in one go under that light. Do your research and determine for yourself what you need for your grow.
