Budget led

What led grow light and led bloom light would you recommend for a grower on a tight budget? Not interested in autoflower so I would prefer two separate. Considering clw ss400 with its advantage of switching between bloom and flower, but it is at the top limit of the budget with its gfb program discount. Tia.

dont know much about LED, tho one thing I keep see/hear is that you shouldn't go cheap, it a new technology and then cheap Chinese once just don't cut it, more like toys then actually grow lights, on a budget I would for sure look for a 400W MH/HPS that a good basic grow light that wont let you down

sumthing like this:



that will work all grow and cover a 3x3 feet space easily and cost less then 200$

then you just have to use another 100$ on a ventilation/filter

sumthing like this

Slipon said:

dont know much about LED, tho one thing I keep see/hear is that you shouldn't go cheap, it a new technology and then cheap Chinese once just don't cut it, more like toys then actually grow lights, on a budget I would for sure look for a 400W MH/HPS that a good basic grow light that wont let you down

sumthing like this:

View attachment 2455714

that will work all grow and cover a 3x3 feet space easily and cost less then 200$

then you just have to use another 100$ on a ventilation/filter

sumthing like this

View attachment 2455715

Click to expand...

My house has old wiring so I really have to stick with an led setup for a lower power draw. Thanks for the input, I may just have to pay the $599 for the clw ss400 :/

CFLs rule, they are easy on electricity and not a big heater. I love them and use them exclusively. I use a 55watt per plant in Veg then two 55watts for Flower.

Medigan said:

My house has old wiring so I really have to stick with an led setup for a lower power draw. Thanks for the input, I may just have to pay the $599 for the clw ss400 :/

Click to expand...

in that case I wouldn't hold back on the fixture, use the most money on a top of the shelf LED fixture, safe up if necessary, the good once can be as good as a HID light and can outlast em by years so in the end you you might use more on new MH/HPS bulbs then the LED fixture cost to start with specially when you count in the power use
also the fact that you only need a ventilation for fresh air/co2 so you can do with a small Etc. 4" vent that cost less and use less power

best of luck ..

Medigan said:

My house has old wiring so I really have to stick with an led setup for a lower power draw. Thanks for the input, I may just have to pay the $599 for the clw ss400 :/

Click to expand...

Hey Medigan here's something to think about with LEDs and your situation.

Houses with old wiring and LEDs aren't always the best fit from my experience. Poor/old wiring and cheap LED and/or digital timers are known to cause a situation where the panel can stay dimly lit during lights out. CLW panels probably don't suffer from this issues themselves, but poor wiring and cheap timers can still cause the panel to do this and staying lit all the time is probably not the best for your diodes, or your plants, in the long run. +1 on CFLs if you can't afford the electrician to come in and check out your place. How many plants do you want to grow in what kind of space? That will really tell you if the CLW SS400 is right or maybe another solution like 2 smaller Area51 panels for roughly the same price.

Good Luck on Your Choice and Happy Growing!

Blackstar seems to be the best balance of "cheap" and reliable with little problems for newer growers. Some brands to check out.. its all about what fits you so read up as much as you can about each option, journals are a good start.

-Blackstar
-Pro Grow
-Apollo
-Area 51

Couple of smaller LED companies that seem to be on the rise as well, couldn't tell you the names but browse it and you'll see. Ive been eyein' Area 51 pretty hard recently; seems to be the one stepping up to the plate this year.

I think a better way to go about this would be:

-Whats your sweet spot? (where you would like to be, $ wise)
-Now, whats your real cap?
-The grow space is probably the most important factor to consider

I am kindve shocked nobody else, or you, have not mentioned it at all?
-How many sq.ft. are you trying to grow in? cu. ft?

Need to take that into consideration before anything else, you need to determine your CFM's, ambient temps, and your system of dealing with exhausted heat then figure out what kind of lights could suffice for your space- HID, LED, or CFL.

If you need help figuring all this out; just ask, there are plenty of ppl on here that are willing to help, just be wary what you take to heart. I've found firsthand exp is the most reliable.

My previous house was built in 1909, as you can imagine I had the good ol' clothe covering my wires..no ground. sweet.

I don't have any expert experience with electrical work, but its not science to install a specific 30amp breaker for a grow, holds up to like 1800 actual watts of equipment without tripping..? Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that, somewhere around there.. anyways

Just practice caution, common sense, and problem solving; I stress caution, power the smaller breakers down first, then main, check for current, etc. Usually there are some extra breakers lying around inside the box once you take the panel off.

you gotttt it.

T5's are pretty awesome, I only use em for seeds, clones, and early veg; but they are efficient, but bulbs add up..
VVVVV

there is plenty, but if you watn budget, stick to hps... and t5

Scotch089 said:

Blackstar seems to be the best balance of "cheap" and reliable with little problems for newer growers. Some brands to check out.. its all about what fits you so read up as much as you can about each option, journals are a good start.

-Blackstar
-Pro Grow
-Apollo
-Area 51

Couple of smaller LED companies that seem to be on the rise as well, couldn't tell you the names but browse it and you'll see. Ive been eyein' Area 51 pretty hard recently; seems to be the one stepping up to the plate this year.

I think a better way to go about this would be:

-Whats your sweet spot? (where you would like to be, $ wise)
-Now, whats your real cap?
-The grow space is probably the most important factor to consider

I am kindve shocked nobody else, or you, have not mentioned it at all?
-How many sq.ft. are you trying to grow in? cu. ft?

Need to take that into consideration before anything else, you need to determine your CFM's, ambient temps, and your system of dealing with exhausted heat then figure out what kind of lights could suffice for your space- HID, LED, or CFL.

If you need help figuring all this out; just ask, there are plenty of ppl on here that are willing to help, just be wary what you take to heart. I've found firsthand exp is the most reliable.

Click to expand...

I am not sure what tent I will purchase or if I will Mylar my space. It will be my first time indoor growing, anything(newb)but I am an avid gardener. I could get by with 1 plant growing at a time, easily.(about an 1/8th a month). My top would really be maxed at $700, but I would be really happy to have a full setup around 500. If you have links to great tents that would also be appreciated. The ideal set up for me would be to have one plant. Veg and one in bloom, I would like to keep a variety of strains on hand to help keep my tolerance down.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140899069604?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

eBay is where it's at for these kind of things... especially the Blackstar's I had mentioned earlier, these tents go dirt cheap too. Dono what size you're thinking.

snag a tent- $150
blackstar 240/Pro Grow/A51-60- $200-300
generic fan+filter combo- $140

so for a decent starter one-site grow youre sitting at $490 if you go with whats ^^ but if you are smart you could low ball it.

(Basic: tent, blackstar, f+f)

That would all be shipping free, again, shop it and be smart about it. its not to bad.

Once you start that initial setup, then you can think about snagging up a second tent and light and run a perpetual little shindig.. trust me you say nawwww naww... now, just wait. All time favorite hobby.

Medigan said:

I am not sure what tent I will purchase or if I will Mylar my space. It will be my first time indoor growing, anything(newb)but I am an avid gardener. I could get by with 1 plant growing at a time, easily.(about an 1/8th a month). My top would really be maxed at $700, but I would be really happy to have a full setup around 500. If you have links to great tents that would also be appreciated. The ideal set up for me would be to have one plant. Veg and one in bloom, I would like to keep a variety of strains on hand to help keep my tolerance down.

Click to expand...

well with 500-700$ and a green thump you should be on your way to a good start ..

but agin research research research and once your done do some reading

here is a great place for many basic questions (even them you did`t know you had)

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/frequently-asked-questions/83112-how-grow-cannabis-everything-you-need-know.html


but in the end the only real way to learn and find out what works for you is by doing it yourself. there are many ways to "Rome"

if it was me I would build myself two rooms. or buy two tents, one 1/3 of the other
and use the small one with T5HO tubes/CLFs for Veg. and use the bigger room/tent with the LED for flower..

I would buy one big LED fixture but the best I could find and it would be there most of them 500-700$ (400$) would go to..

and maybe think forward so the room would be able to keep two of them if/when I decide to upgrade..

fit both rooms with a cheap 4" ventilation (no need for big ventilation systems here just need fresh air/Co2 heat control is mostly for big HID systems)

Ooh yea and a filter in the flowering room for odour control ..

and then grow them in some kind of a SoG (SoG = Sea of green with many small plants grown fast)

or scrog (one or two big plants grown under a net) both ways, and there are many more, do one thing, they keep the plants small and busy..

one thing you REALLY need to consider growing indoors using artificial light no matter if its LED CLF or even HID is light penetration, you wont be able to provide tall plants with enough light on the low Bud sites to grow good smoke, agin do some research and agin, in the end you have to lean by doing so after you had a few grows under your belt you will know what is the way for you and what kind of gear works for you (I still like my T5HO for Veg and my 600W HPS for flowering)

also as somebody els said, don't just take every thing you are told in here or any other Bord as 110% there are many opinions (and nubs)
and agin many ways to "Rome" do some research ask questions (after a lot of research it is also much more easy to ask the "right" questions and get good advice)
and find your own way, logic and common sense with a green thump will get you fare combined with a lot of reading/research

I'm surprised no one has mentioned going down the DIY road. MUCH cheaper, fully customizable spectrum and did I mention it's cheaper? Seriously though, do some reading around these parts and get an idea of what everyone is doing, in some cases home made panels can easily outshine a generic panel if put together the right way.

Just my 2 bucks.

The size/shape of your grow space is fairly important so you need to work that one out first. Height of your grow area and how tall you want to grow your plants?

Also, I'm not sure are you talking about having an ongoing separate veg and separate flower grow area? Generally, you can veg with a bloom fixture but you can't bloom with a veg fixture. Two grow areas with two sets of equipment could get to be too expensive for your budget in a hurry.

I grow with LED and fluorescent side lighting....going all LED here soon. LED works best with multiple small fixtures since LED light doesn't spread off to the sides of the fixture like HID lighting. Whatever any one claims (and all manufacturers that I've seen stretch the truth like bad dogs), the fixture is only good for a few inches of spread...varies a little with fixture but not a lot. IF you have multiple fixtures then you can cover the plant better. Take a look at growershouse.com or area 51. They have some decent LED fixtures at a reasonable price. If you want to go LED in the long run then buy a nice fixture that you can add to later. Put in fluorescent side lighting to augment the LED and then you can add more LED light when you have more money.

The one thing that I can recommend that you do not do - purchase a cheap UFO style light (or any other LED) from ebay. You'll almost assuredly have wasted whatever you spent. Buy one good fixture and add to it later.

If you are really only doing one or two plants, maybe you should consider building your grow area and put the tent money to buying a better light. A small wooden frame built of two by twos and then use foam insulation sheet with shiny aluminum face on one side for your walls...or maybe a repurposed and gutted chest of drawers...or...?

DIY is a cheaper route than many, but going onto alibaba and contacting various manufacturers can land you about .8 Watts per dollar or better. Also, I stole this from another thread:
http://www.cidly.com/?page_id=61

Sounds pretty cheap and by the look of it very nice quality panels.

There are other options, imo. It depends on what you're looking for, form factor, grow method, etc.

Thanks, everyone. I would like to keep this as inexpensive as possible but all the led DIY threads are killing me. I plan on doing a two Rubbermaid stacked stealth and a pc. Pc will veg(likely t5). The led would be in the stacked rubber aids, hydro in coco, scrog. I am wondering if I am stuck with auto flower since I will not have a higher power for bloom? Anyone know of a hybrid auto, close to 50/50? Keep any advice or tips coming, please! I tried reading over the DIY led threads and all are Greek to me. I know I would need to solder but I do not have a background in any wiring or electronics, so it seems a bit over my experience.

Medigan said:

Thanks, everyone. I would like to keep this as inexpensive as possible but all the led DIY threads are killing me. I plan on doing a two Rubbermaid stacked stealth and a pc. Pc will veg(likely t5). The led would be in the stacked rubber aids, hydro in coco, scrog. I am wondering if I am stuck with auto flower since I will not have a higher power for bloom? Anyone know of a hybrid auto, close to 50/50? Keep any advice or tips coming, please! I tried reading over the DIY led threads and all are Greek to me. I know I would need to solder but I do not have a background in any wiring or electronics, so it seems a bit over my experience.

Click to expand...

Also the pc will only be for clones, germination or small starts-no need for anything fancy in that box

Bumping Spheda said:

DIY is a cheaper route than many, but going onto alibaba and contacting various manufacturers can land you about .8 Watts per dollar or better. Also, I stole this from another thread:
http://www.cidly.com/?page_id=61

Click to expand...

How do you create and order? Do they have a good reputation for quality(always worry when i see China)

superfoxwon said:

CFLs rule, they are easy on electricity and not a big heater. I love them and use them exclusively. I use a 55watt per plant in Veg then two 55watts for Flower.

Click to expand...

That seems pretty reasonable. Do you have any grow journals? How is the heat? I will be in a small space

Medigan said:

How do you create and order? Do they have a good reputation for quality(always worry when i see China)

Click to expand...

I haven't read all the way through this thread. I'm guessing people start out skeptical yet end up saying, "Hey, that's a pretty good deal." This is just my guess.
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/514465-apollo-series-led-panels-cidly.html
Lots of good info, regardless. I recommend a brief skim at the very least. Check out the pictures, etc.

To order from them you have to contact them. From what I've seen their prices are very reasonable. Also, I've contacted a few manufacturers on Alibaba and many of them sell disturbingly similar looking panels for around 1W/$1. I think you'd be hard pressed to beat this figure even taking the DIY route. Now, whether or not the LED's you used are more efficient, you made smaller panels to get more even coverage, you used passive cooling so your panels are 100% dead silent, etc. I couldn't tell you.

Random note:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/merryday168/m.html?item=180883991045&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1d86aa05&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
I bought from this eBay seller. I told her what color LED's and the number of LED's that I wanted, where I wanted them to go, etc. She soldered all the LED's to her "heatsink cores" herself free of charge (of course using thermal grease under the LED's), she crunched all the numbers and recommended me an LED driver to mate with each panel, and she has a good selection of LED colors (she has more than just what's listed in her online store). All that's left for me to do is find a proper heat sink to thermal plaster the heatsink core onto, and then wire everything up. The cheapest route? Probably not. But it should suit my needs very well and I can add more panels at very low cost whenever funds allow.

If you were interested in this I might have a thread detailing construction later for you to reference, although there's already a plethora of information available to you on DIY LED's, and I'm sure all of us would be more than happy to help/answer any questions you might have.