Hello,
I am looking for advice on a small tent grow setup I want to build. My main goals here are to build a respectable soil-less LED setup inside a grow tent.
Grow tent size will probably be a 3X3. For plants I'm hoping for 1-3 within the tent.
I am committed to going LED for this as I want to both keep temperatures much lower than with HPS. I also like the idea of LEDs lasting so much longer without needing new bulbs.
For growing itself, I'm thinking of building a DWC out of a rubbermaid or going a bit slicker with a waterfarm for each plant. Trying to avoid soil so that I dont have to do a lot of repotting, removing for watering, etc.
My main question is on lighting. I'm aware there is no real way to do LED correctly on a budget. I also know I dont need 1000WHPS equivalent lights for a 3X3 grow tent.
I've been considering some of the higher-end LEDs such as the Amare SE250. My light budget is probably somewhere in the $500-$700 range. That being said I think my entire budget is probably in the $1000 range for this setup, if that helps.
I'm not that interested in building my own LEDs. I'm happy paying a bit more to save my own time and get something proven and reputable.
I've done 400W HPS grows before and know generally what to expect in terms of growth and yield. I'm hoping something with around 300W in LED will at least be comparable in yield.
So here are my questions:
-What is the best light within my budget that would work with a 3X3 tent?
-How much heat can I expect to be output by a 250-300W LED? Do I need high CFM fans like with a cooltube and HPS or are LEDs more of a "small fan venting air out the top drawing air in the bottom" cooling task?
