Moving from CFL's to HID's

[Preston12]

Greetings all!!

Im new on the forum, but i've been growing in a cheap DIY CFL's setup I made some time ago, thanks to Nebula's guides.

Right now, im planning to renew my setup, using MH and HPS lights. I've read some articles on the site and the recomended sizes of the space is like 4'x4' or 3x3' the least. The space i've avaible is 2'x3'x6'... is it worthy to move to HID's ligths? What have been your experience? Im open to hear any recommendations and tips you have for me.

Thanks to all in advance! Be safe out there!

[Smokesteve]

LED might be better suited in such a small space.

[Farmall]

I agree with Smokesteve . I switched from HPS and CMH and blurple led and the newer led full spectrum lights can produce comparable end results with greater efficiency and less heat. Yrs back HPS was the king but technology has trumped that option today.

[Farmall]

Preston12 I have gained a bit of experience using leds but I have only built my own. I know there are a lot of great manufacturers out there but it is driven by your personal budget as well.

[JDU]

Mars Hydro makes a good LED light for the money

[Ejay]

Just switched to MarsHydro TS3000 in a 4x4 tent, was using 2 blurple (235 actual watt each). I have noticed a huge difference in my plants, did it in middle of flower.
I am impressed so far. My son just ordered 3 TSL 2000, can't wait to see how his turns out using them from start to finish.

[Eliot Pryor]

The height and the heat. I've been growing in a 18 inch x 27 inch 6 foot space for almost 7 years with 2 135 watt ufo leds. I think its too small a space for HID lights.

[Preston12]

I'd surely install an exhaust system, but i've considered LEDs as well. What model would you recommend for me?

[Eliot Pryor]

It is hard to pick from all the good ones available now. It depends on your budget and values. You can grow good pot with cheap lights, shoot I've seen some given away. Heat was what kept me away from HID lights 7 years ago but now I think LED's are the way to go. Chilled Logic or Quantum board types might be the most efficient to run but they cost more up front. I got a Viparspectra 450 14 months ago for a tent I have now. (I'm still running that little cabinet ) It's doing a good job and at 100 bucks it cost about half what 2 Black Stars did 7 years ago. By the way I grow in water, in soil I don't know. Have a great grow !!

[Toker1]

I like HID lighting! For single ended bulbs...A 250w system will work well in a 2x2 space. I use a 250w MH to veg in my 3x3 and a 400w HPS for flower in that same space.
You can do a 250w in a 2x3 but will have some extra space to fill. My recommendation would be to take your old cfl lights and fill in any extra space that the light won’t reach.

[Smokesteve]

I like HLG or Spiderfarmer

[Farmall]

I have my own DIY system but I keep up on developments in LED and I too like those spider farmer light sets. Meanwell is a major producer of quality LED drivers and their footprint specifications seem ideal.

[JDU]

Spider Farmer is good- Mars Hydro same size lights have a slightly larger footprint & cost a few $ less.

[NuggetMan]

I am just a home grower using a small bedroom for my "garden". I am using, believe it or not, t8 shop lights. Each one hold 4 tubes and I have 4 of these in use. For vegging, I use 6500k tubes, then I switch to 2700k for transition and flowering. For what I need, I get very good results in my small space. I keep my lights 3-4 inches from the tops of the plants because heat output is very minimal and they don't burn plus a ceiling fan to keep the air circulating. Here is a picture of my most recent grow... is this what you are looking for?