hi yall, looking for some opinions about the setup i'm constructing given my circumstances.
I have a 2x2x4 tent, currently rigged with a 600w equivalent VIparspectra LED, which claims to pull 276w. This will be my first start to finish indoor grow.
Tent has the standard features, 4 ports, two small, two large, two top, two bottom. I constructed a sort of barrier/mounting panel made of wood, on which the LED sits. The panel is 2x2 with a window cut in the middle for the LED, the bottom has the same reflective material as the inside of the tent.. The panel effectively functions as a ventilated hood would in an HID light. The heat from the light is isolated above the panel, allowing me to move lots of air around the light without pulling too much moisture/smell out of the grow chamber. I can adjust openings of the ports at the top/bottom to manipulate the ratio of air pulled from the grow chamber/hot light chamber, to control temps in the grow chamber. Primarily I'm wondering if that will be a good amount of light for a 2x2, or If i could benefit from adding some supplementary DIY COBs. I know 50w/sq ft is commonly the goal, but the spectrum on the Vipar looks a little blue heavy. I'd like, if it won't be overkill, to put a cob in each corner, to balance out the light distribution and get some more red spectrum in there for flowering. I've been reading a lot about DIY COB setups, looking at stuff from cutter/growmau5. I'm also wondering, if more light would be good, if I could manage to retrofit the wooden panel by mounting the COBs/heatsinks/driver directly to that, and cut some openings for the lights(instead of buying the aluminum framing.)
I'm also thinking about hedging my bets and running 1-2 plants in soil, and 1-2 in a small DWC.. Although I'm not entirely committed to that.. My water seems pretty hard, as I see lots of water spots on stainless steel kitchen sinks and pots and pans.. Haven't taken a reading yet. I could maybe afford a small RO system, but I'm not sure how economical that would be.. If the water is so hard that I have to replace filters too often, that might rule the DWC out, unless that's not a big issue.. Any input or advice is appreciated.
I have a 2x2x4 tent, currently rigged with a 600w equivalent VIparspectra LED, which claims to pull 276w. This will be my first start to finish indoor grow.
Tent has the standard features, 4 ports, two small, two large, two top, two bottom. I constructed a sort of barrier/mounting panel made of wood, on which the LED sits. The panel is 2x2 with a window cut in the middle for the LED, the bottom has the same reflective material as the inside of the tent.. The panel effectively functions as a ventilated hood would in an HID light. The heat from the light is isolated above the panel, allowing me to move lots of air around the light without pulling too much moisture/smell out of the grow chamber. I can adjust openings of the ports at the top/bottom to manipulate the ratio of air pulled from the grow chamber/hot light chamber, to control temps in the grow chamber. Primarily I'm wondering if that will be a good amount of light for a 2x2, or If i could benefit from adding some supplementary DIY COBs. I know 50w/sq ft is commonly the goal, but the spectrum on the Vipar looks a little blue heavy. I'd like, if it won't be overkill, to put a cob in each corner, to balance out the light distribution and get some more red spectrum in there for flowering. I've been reading a lot about DIY COB setups, looking at stuff from cutter/growmau5. I'm also wondering, if more light would be good, if I could manage to retrofit the wooden panel by mounting the COBs/heatsinks/driver directly to that, and cut some openings for the lights(instead of buying the aluminum framing.)
I'm also thinking about hedging my bets and running 1-2 plants in soil, and 1-2 in a small DWC.. Although I'm not entirely committed to that.. My water seems pretty hard, as I see lots of water spots on stainless steel kitchen sinks and pots and pans.. Haven't taken a reading yet. I could maybe afford a small RO system, but I'm not sure how economical that would be.. If the water is so hard that I have to replace filters too often, that might rule the DWC out, unless that's not a big issue.. Any input or advice is appreciated.
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