Recommend $300 budget light..... For a friend

Blue back

Blue back

Well-Known Member
Flowki said:
I'd agree with two separate fixtures for that coverage as well if he can get them in price range.

If not I would personally go 3x3 with a single 315 then get another 315 next run, far better in the long run. He could get a 600hps to run the 4x4 now but it isn't going to yield vastly more as the light distance to get the coverage is going to make the edges suffer anyway.
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Funny you mention that. I'm running 1 315 at my personal grow 4 × 4. Will run 2 next time. Even though 1 covered the area fine. But not great. Rock solid nugs just not real big. I'll put pics up when I can.
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Flowki said:
I'd agree with two separate fixtures for that coverage as well if he can get them in price range.

If not I would personally go 3x3 with a single 315 then get another 315 next run, far better in the long run. He could get a 600hps to run the 4x4 now but it isn't going to yield vastly more as the light distance to get the coverage is going to make the edges suffer anyway.
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I get a half pound more under the 600hps over the 315 when I monocrop.
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Blue back said:
Nice! My fellow Michigander. The key to 315s are the massive resin coating if done right with the right bulb.
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I bought into that hype too but after going back to hps only for the summer I have realized that backing away the light during ripening (with both the hps and cmh) makes more of a difference than the included uv.

In blind testing my patients were split but the hps bud won on potency by a slim margin.

I think higher wattage worked right can make more and more potent flowers than spectrum alone.
 
tyke1973

tyke1973

Well-Known Member
Sunmaster 600 hps Cool Hood,it all depends how much else he wants to spend ,he will need a min of a 8 inch Vortex fan from a filter to keep heat down in summer and winter .He only has to produce nice quality bud .But a nice amount so he can sell a bit to up grade everything he needs ,also cover running cost.4 inch In let ,12 inch ossalting fan.If he's only wanting to produce small amounts ,because he is not a heavy smoker ,LED.You can hit 4/5 Oz every grow with a Mars Hydro 300,that's one plant grown in a Auto pot in a tent ,total cost of everything in the tent grow I did is in my journal come in around 120 pound,inc the Pineapple Express seed.
 
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TurboTokes

TurboTokes

Well-Known Member
Neither of us will ever sell it, just need to make enough to have excessive smoke gatherings day to day lol.

Seem him this morning and he is bias towards 2 seperate 600 hps/mh setups, since you can get ballast/wing reflector and 2 bulbs for $130. Said he will run one 24/7 and kick the other on during the cheaper electricity parts of the day and get more coverage. Maybe keeping the smaller plants away from the fixture on 24/7
 
Flowki

Flowki

Well-Known Member
MichiganMedGrower said:
I get a half pound more under the 600hps over the 315 when I monocrop.
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What is monocrop?.

600hps is double the W +extra cooling needs yet does not double the yield, it is also easier to get better over all quality out of cmh. You'd expect to get more yield out of any tech if using double+ the wattage. I'm not shitting on hps, just keeping it in context.

What I am getting at is if you (or rather OP friend) are going to buy a cheap hps bulb and hood then you must be broke, so fair play, do what you have to do. If you are investing in expensive hps bulb/hood then it makes more sense to get into cmh as it's just better (exceptions aside). If you plan to get into multiple cmh then start with cmh.. or else the expensive hps set-up you initially buy is a waste of money and will off set the extra initial yield when you swap it out.

As far as bulbs go I can only really go off what I've read. Cmh is suppose to last 1 year while hps bulbs are said to be done in 6 month. High end hps bulbs are not cheap while the cheap ones don't have as good a spectrum and/or degrade sooner again. You get what you pay for and with cmh you are paying for good spectrum longevity that should = more consistent yield and potency. By all accounts led/cob are yet another step up on that, uv arguments aside.
 
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MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Flowki said:
What is monocrop?.

600hps is double the W +extra cooling needs yet does not double the yield, it is also easier to get better over all quality out of cmh. You'd expect to get more yield out of any tech if using double+ the wattage. I'm not shitting on hps, just keeping it in context.

What I am getting at is if you are going to buy a cheap hps bulb and hood then you must be broke, so fair play, do what you have to do. If you are investing in expensive hps bulbs/hoods then it makes more sense to get into multiple cmh as it's just better (exceptions aside). If you plan to get into multiple cmh then start with cmh.. or else the expensive hps set-up you initially buy is a waste of money and will off set the extra initial yield when you swap it out.
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A monocrop of the same known seeds or clones I mean. I usually plant a different strain or cross each next plant and harvest a plant every week or two.

Well something like that.


And with limited plant count and reasonable electricity I will take the extra half pound for maybe $20 additional cost per month over cmh.

But I am not against cmh. It requires me to change my method though. Plants get much leafier and stay too compact for the 4-6 oz per plant I get with little to no veg time.

And I really like them together the best. I run 2 600’s and 1 315 in winter.

When I buy new lights I may take advantage of the cheaper cmh prices and go with 3 where I had 2 600’s.
 
Flowki

Flowki

Well-Known Member
MichiganMedGrower said:
A monocrop of the same known seeds or clones I mean. I usually plant a different strain or cross each next plant and harvest a plant every week or two.

Well something like that.


And with limited plant count and reasonable electricity I will take the extra half pound for maybe $20 additional cost per month over cmh.

But I am not against cmh. It requires me to change my method though. Plants get much leafier and stay too compact for the 4-6 oz per plant I get with little to no veg time.

And I really like them together the best. I run 2 600’s and 1 315 in winter.

When I buy new lights I may take advantage of the cheaper cmh prices and go with 3 where I had 2 600’s.
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Ah ok, never read that term before.

Yeah ofc if you have a setup/method that suites hps go with it. I just try to stay as objective as possible and then apply that to what one has to work with.
 
TurboTokes

TurboTokes

Well-Known Member
He bought 2 600hps setups. Plans to run one at 50% dimming 24/7 and have the other come on full 600watt for the cheaper power times of the day 12 hour's

I'd like to improve my veg tent since I use t5s right now. May get an hlg, gotta rethink the grow room
 
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