Led grow - less chemicals?

[Beginner101]

Hi guys, I’m a first time grower being supplied by a friend who grows using lamps. I have opted to LED’s instead but I’m not confident in his advice as he’s used to using the lamps which produce more heat.
We have mixed a and b with coco big bud and he goes off the reading on the wand between 1.6-1.8
would this be too much for my small grow tent.
I also think he was being a bit cheap only buying the 1000w LED’s so I have just ordered some 8000w full specrum. Would these have a better impact?
Any advice would be appreciated.

[dphipps1020]

What size tent are you using? I'm assuming you bought a blurple light? The price of those types of lights is appealing, but you probably won't get a good harvest from them. We can make a few suggestions for you if you tell us the size of your grow area.

[Beginner101]

2.4x1.2x1.8 roof tent. I’ll attach photo of lights I have in and light I have just bought.
I have 5 plants in and aim to have a 8000w light over each one?

[SoOrbudgal]

I'm sorry but you were sold very low end lights no where near the amount you need those would work for seedlings for first couple weeks.

[Xena]

I don’t know how many watts the first one is but I’ll guarantee it’s no where near 1000w or 5000w that is on the ad. The second one actually says, it’s 45w not 8000. I don’t think you’ll get a great grow out of either. They will probably work to some extent, people grow with cfl or t5 but there’s a reason most of them move to hps or full spec. leds.
Never look at the made up BS numbers that manufacturers put on there, look at what they actually draw from the wall.

[Farmbuck]

I'm sorry to say that for that price you won't get much out of it.

[echdk3]

It’s true that you can’t get anything out of a light that cheap, but look on the bright side: at least you didn’t waste too much money! I recommend you get advice from the forum before you buy a different light. Good luck!

[Beginner101]

Thanks, does this forum have a section about it do you know?

[echdk3]

Just post it in the forum the same way you did this question. If you’re trying to grow on a budget, CFLs are an option. They work and you can get a fine harvest. Check it out:

https://www.growweedeasy.com/cfl-grow-light-cannabis-grow-setup-tutorial

[Beginner101]

Yeah through looking it’s saying 45w would this be no good then?
just had a quick look over what you just suggested and the look pretty expensive for a first timer how many would I need?

[RetiredGuy]

This is a great site for learning about lights: https://www.cocoforcannabis.com/grow-light-guide/

[Beginner101]

Thanks I’ll have a look

[dphipps1020]

Yeah those are not 8000W equivalent, not even close. I'd ask for a refund and get something better. You're going to want something more like 2 of these... https://www.mars-hydro.com/mars-ts-3...led-grow-light

That space requires a lot more light than you're trying to give it. I'm trying to work out a better option for my tent still that's double the size of yours without tripping any breakers or causing a potential fire hazard. I'd love to have 4 of those lights in there but I feel like I would overload something if they were at full power. Any good quality lights for a 4x4 (1.2x1.2) will be adequate, but you'll have to have 2 of them and they're a little pricier than the ones you got. I was running 2 similar lights in my 60x60cm tent for my mother plants that were 45W each. They did fine in there but those plants stay small so I didn't have to worry about it. Maybe that will give you a sense of how little power those lights have.

Mars Hydro, HLG, Spider Farmer, and ViparSpectra are some of the lights people use around here. Any one of them will do better for you than the others. Like I mentioned before though, make sure you pay attention to the flowering footprint of the light.

[Beginner101]

Thanks for this, how many would I need for 5-6 plants do you know? My tent size is only 2.4m x 1.2m.
And sorry what do you mean pay attention to the flowering footprint?

[Beginner101]

Oh just seen the coverage comment sorry. So 2 lights would give me 2.4 x 2.4m coverage which is enough for my tent

[Beginner101]

Yeah I get that thanks. So the exact ones you suggest are what I should get, the Mars hydro ts300?
I’m guessing these are going to use a lot more electric at the same time?

[dphipps1020]

For that size tent, that's what I would recommend. Those will run you about 900W total, less than you would need for MH/HPS and with the same yields, if not better. For the price difference, they make up for it with the lower wattage so over time they end up cheaper all together. Your friend is going to be mad when you're getting more buds than him and spending less monthly on electricity 😂

[Beginner101]

Haha brilliant. Thankyou

[Xena]

Beginner101 you need to check out like the mars-hydro website and check out the lights there and you can see they give you the actual area that a light will cover in veg and also what it covers in flower. You don’t have to buy a mars but I know they have good info to show you what to look for. As stated above, mars, HLG, spider farmer, viparspectra all would be pretty good. Problem is I think you’re in the UK so a lot of us don’t know what you have available for a decent price maybe someone from on that side of the pond will weigh in.

[Beginner101]

Oh right, I thought I was in a uk forum. I’m sure I’d be able to find something simliar now I know what I’m looking for, thanks for the advice

[dphipps1020]

This is my TS3000 in my 4x4 (1.2x1.2) the day I got it and plugged it in. Only had it for a week so I don't know how I will like it but I can already say my temperature dropped drastically, it's super bright at 100%, and it's damn near the same size as the tent so I know I'm getting good coverage. Got some seedlings in there right now to do a full grow under it to compare to my 315 CMH lights. If you wanted to lower your electric even more, you could do 4 of the Spider Farmer SF2000 and that would only run you 800W total. That option is a bit more expensive though, but it's another option.

Edit: I know Mars Hydro delivers to the UK, and I believe Spider Farmer does as well.

[Beginner101]

Yeah that looks awesome. I’ve already been browsing, I can get hold of these from the uk anyway so all’s good. I will have a look into the other solution tomorrow. I appreciate the help, cheers

[quirk]

Go to the menu at the top of the page. It's the three horizontal bars to the left, in the green bar.
"Click on Growing Basics," scroll down to "Choose grow lights.
While you're there look around. You have all the information you need for a successful grow, right on this website,
Thanks to NebulaHaze and @Sirus Fourside, it's literally at your fingertips. Good luck.

[Beginner101]

Thanks mate I’ll give that a good read 👍

[changeofpace2014]

Hi guys, I’m a first time grower being supplied by a friend who grows using lamps. I have opted to LED’s instead but I’m not confident in his advice as he’s used to using the lamps which produce more heat.
We have mixed a and b with coco big bud and he goes off the reading on the wand between 1.6-1.8
would this be too much for my small grow tent.
I also think he was being a bit cheap only buying the 1000w LED’s so I have just ordered some 8000w full specrum. Would these have a better impact?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Is that your target ec or is that what you end up with. I had major potassium issues in mid to late bloom and started mixing in 2 gallons of distilled water with 2 gallons of tap because my tap water is .30 ec. My target ec is around 1.28 - 1.32 and you can see if the tap water is .30 to begin with can become complicated.