Hello! I am for the first time getting into growing my own marijuana, as it is likely about to be legalized in my state (MI). As of right now I am planning on setting up a 4'x8' tent, I am very interested in setting up an LED grow, however, I am completely clueless about what exactly i'm getting into. That's where i'm hoping you all can help.
I have been looking a little bit into the CXB3590, as well as a few quantum boards but I'm not totally sure what I should really be looking for in a quality LED. If you all have recommendations or suggestions on a setup, or could point me in the right direction of a solid resource I would really appreciate it. I'm not opposed to doing a DIY setup if it can save me a decent bit of money. Ideally I think I'm shooting for ~35 to 50 watts/sqft although, it seems that every resource that I visit has a differing opinion on what wattage is ideal.
How many plants would fit well in space like this? I'm thinking that I would like to be able around to produce ~1000g in a 3 month period, if that is attainable with my budget. I have never done any indoor growing before, I was thinking of starting off with 6 plants to begin with and see how things go from there.
I have many more questions and I'm really hoping you guys can offer some input. Thank you for your time.
First time grower here
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unkle_psycho
- LED Wizard
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- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:49 pm
Hi, welcome to the forum!
As you might have noticed, there is little agreement over the exact light levels needed with leds. Most people seem to settle this problem by leaving little to chance... Thus in forums it is easier to find references of too much light, rather then a search of 'acceptable levels'.
Leds have gone through quite a bit of evolution, which leads to some confusion. There were quite a few years when leds were trying to prove themselves against HID's. Finally COB's delivered the goods consistently. Cobs also offered great penetration, and with multiple bulbs, better light distribution then HID's, but they were still producing serious hotspots, and were expensive due to the heatsink needs. Then smaller white diodes kicked in, and QB's became quite famous, with good reason... still they were just a small step up from COB's, they still imitate the form factor of HID's and still create a serious hotspot compared to strips.
Strips are really a game changer because they hit a market of scale, being useful for general lighting, and LED-TV's. They use the same components as QB's, but they are significantly cheaper, and can be spaced out for more even light distribution. The downside is a little more DIY, but sticking a pcb onto an extrusion with sticker tape, and then using a quick connector for wires is a lot more simple then the electronics kits I built as a 10y old kid. I feel quite shy to act like there is much building or electronics involved when talking to my friends who design, repair, or restore electronics.
As you might have noticed, there is little agreement over the exact light levels needed with leds. Most people seem to settle this problem by leaving little to chance... Thus in forums it is easier to find references of too much light, rather then a search of 'acceptable levels'.
Leds have gone through quite a bit of evolution, which leads to some confusion. There were quite a few years when leds were trying to prove themselves against HID's. Finally COB's delivered the goods consistently. Cobs also offered great penetration, and with multiple bulbs, better light distribution then HID's, but they were still producing serious hotspots, and were expensive due to the heatsink needs. Then smaller white diodes kicked in, and QB's became quite famous, with good reason... still they were just a small step up from COB's, they still imitate the form factor of HID's and still create a serious hotspot compared to strips.
Strips are really a game changer because they hit a market of scale, being useful for general lighting, and LED-TV's. They use the same components as QB's, but they are significantly cheaper, and can be spaced out for more even light distribution. The downside is a little more DIY, but sticking a pcb onto an extrusion with sticker tape, and then using a quick connector for wires is a lot more simple then the electronics kits I built as a 10y old kid. I feel quite shy to act like there is much building or electronics involved when talking to my friends who design, repair, or restore electronics.
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted"
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unkle_psycho
- LED Wizard
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- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:49 pm
About growing there are so many ways you can go about it. Just for the hell of it google Sannies seeds, you will see each seed has a recommendation of how many plants per m2 depending on the length of the veg... and the number varies by strain, and the length of the vegetative period.
I am trying to have just two plants, because its illegal here, and they just count 25g per plant, regardless if its a monster, or just an unrooted clone. I don't really expect to yield too much less then running many plants, I just need to balance all the variables. I guess finally I will just have 1 plant flowering and another doing a two month veg... but it will likely take 2-3 rounds of testing to get the right genetics, light placement etc.
Now a 4x8 space is huge. My advise is whatever approach you take to it, keep it simple at first, and involve some type of automation for the watering. If you don't increase your risk by using high plant counts, it might be a good idea at first, just to gain more experience and stay busy with useful basic stuff. If you mess something up, statistically you would probably loose less of your plants, and you would have less time invested in your grow... the longer the veg, the higher the stakes get.
Running lots of plants allows you to choose lots of different strains, and you will find that some grow easily for you, and others feel alien.
If you want to get to good yields, you need to use time dialing in your setup and strains. In the 90's I used to get 950-1050g from a 1m2 organic soil grow with a 400w HID. I just found a strain that grew in a 5l sack and produced 1oz each. Stuck about 35 in the cupboard and voila!. I did spend a year growing shitty plants, until I found the one that was satisfied with so little soil, but really that was all. 1m2 is 9 square feet, and 4x8 is 32 square feet
I am trying to have just two plants, because its illegal here, and they just count 25g per plant, regardless if its a monster, or just an unrooted clone. I don't really expect to yield too much less then running many plants, I just need to balance all the variables. I guess finally I will just have 1 plant flowering and another doing a two month veg... but it will likely take 2-3 rounds of testing to get the right genetics, light placement etc.
Now a 4x8 space is huge. My advise is whatever approach you take to it, keep it simple at first, and involve some type of automation for the watering. If you don't increase your risk by using high plant counts, it might be a good idea at first, just to gain more experience and stay busy with useful basic stuff. If you mess something up, statistically you would probably loose less of your plants, and you would have less time invested in your grow... the longer the veg, the higher the stakes get.
Running lots of plants allows you to choose lots of different strains, and you will find that some grow easily for you, and others feel alien.
If you want to get to good yields, you need to use time dialing in your setup and strains. In the 90's I used to get 950-1050g from a 1m2 organic soil grow with a 400w HID. I just found a strain that grew in a 5l sack and produced 1oz each. Stuck about 35 in the cupboard and voila!. I did spend a year growing shitty plants, until I found the one that was satisfied with so little soil, but really that was all. 1m2 is 9 square feet, and 4x8 is 32 square feet
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted"
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QuantumMechanic
- LED-Curious
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- Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 8:19 pm
If this is your first time growing, I'd recommend a bit of homework for you. There are a lot of ways to grow cannabis and you'll need to pick a style to emulate that works for your situation.
Have a look at GrowWeedEasy.com. They explain things pretty well.
As for lighting, I'm working my way towards having a bunch of HLG quantum boards over my grow. Seems like a lot of folks are happy with them and the results that they produce.
Good luck.
Have a look at GrowWeedEasy.com. They explain things pretty well.
As for lighting, I'm working my way towards having a bunch of HLG quantum boards over my grow. Seems like a lot of folks are happy with them and the results that they produce.
Good luck.
Thanks for your input guys. So it would seem that rather than COBs, I should probably go with QBs or LED strips. Which quantum board would you recommend for 32 sqft? I'm almost thinking the most cost effective setup that I could go with to achieve decent yields would be to maybe get a 1000W HPS and supplement it with maybe 3 or 4 QBs. What do you all think of that idea? I've been seeing a few forum posts around where people say they really enjoy the broad spectrum offered by mixed lighting, if possible I think that is how I would like set this up so I can save as much money as possible.
https://growerslights.com/products/hort ... rd-led-kit I see on this website they list the flower footprint of the qb 288 to be 2'x4'. Would I be happy running two qb 288s, or possibly a 600W HPS in the center with the two 288s on either side of it? Ideally I'd like to be spending only around $800 to $900 on my lights at the most, obviously if I can get by cheaper than that and still be producing dense quality buds then I will go with that route.
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/c ... lamp-combo I've also been looking at this, typically I try to stay away from the packages like this because they are rip-offs but this almost seems like a decent deal to me. And I could definitely swing that budget. Do you guys think this is decent setup? I'm very concerned with producing quality buds, ideally the only real handicap to producing decent yields of good quality that I have when I do actually begin growing, is my lack of experience.
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unkle_psycho
- LED Wizard
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- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:49 pm
Damn, seems like a lot of money to me, though perhaps well spent.
I brought 750w worth of drivers and lots of bridgelux vesta strips, I think it cost me 280$. Naturally framing etc adds to that. Surely your budget should be enough, especially if you can use strips and find cheap extrusion for frame/ heatsinking.
I brought 750w worth of drivers and lots of bridgelux vesta strips, I think it cost me 280$. Naturally framing etc adds to that. Surely your budget should be enough, especially if you can use strips and find cheap extrusion for frame/ heatsinking.
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted"