What is your biggest question about growing cannabis?

[Whitedog420]

Hi i was wondering if you can tell me if this black/purple inside bud is normal?
thanks!

[FurnaceBoi]

Yes I have a lux meter. It gives me a good rough idea.

[FurnaceBoi]

Inkbird is a humidity and ventilation controller. Basically auto on off for 2 receptacles within programmable ranges. Heat went way up with the second light as is. I'm currently redesigning. It's all going amazing tho. New Apple Truffle Breath strain is a beast. Super vigorous and roots in a week from clones.

[Rootsruler]

What does the Inkbird control?

Lighting looks good! Do you have a light meter to take readings in the corners and edges? Curious how much of a PPFD drop there is from your hot spot readings with both lights in the tent. How's the temperature with both lights running?

[FurnaceBoi]

Rootsruler this came in his care package also. Old school but it will do some work for me.

[FurnaceBoi]

Both lights in 2x4

[FurnaceBoi]

I just threw it in to analyze but here it is next to the quantum board as is. It's super hot in the box.

[FurnaceBoi]

Exactly my plan. That old type of panel cools better out of the box too. So I can reduce the fans by simply improving the air flow

[Rootsruler]

Since your an electrotech any way for you to rearrange the panels more like a bar light? You'll get better light spread if you can.

[Rootsruler]

Free is always good.

[FurnaceBoi]

Rootsruler there you go. Friend quit growing. All free. 300w old school light. 4 inch fan with humidity controller unit. Timers etc lol. Problem solved. Thanks Cory. 😊

[FurnaceBoi]

FYI. My friend just gave me this old school 300w. I'm an electronic technician. I'll ditch the box. Rearrange the panels, add a dimmer etc. Better cooling. That'll work.

[FurnaceBoi]

FYI. my friend just gave me this old style 300w. I'm an electronic technician so I'll disassemble it to 6 panels and ditch the box. Add a dimmer and better cooling. That'll work. And I like the free price.

[FurnaceBoi]

I get it on the brand name vs value lights. My phlizon lights have worked fine. Thanks for the calculation. That's helpful.

[Rootsruler]

I would start with figuring out what wattage would be appropriate to take my plants to harvest. The general rule is between 35 - 55 watts per square foot. You have a 2 x 4 so you have 8 sq/ft. 8 x 35 = 280w minimum/ 8 x 55 = 440w maximum.

Any light within those parameters should fulfill your power needs. Most grow lights fall within acceptable light spectrums so I wouldn't be too picky about what brand and focus on build quality and reliability.

Personally, I've used Bestva lights through most of my indoor growing having tried out most of the popular brands like Mars, Spider Farmer, HLG, etc. and not seeing any bump in dry weight production from using those lights. I've also experienced a high rate of reliability with Bestva lights. I still have one of their original Blurple lights from around 10 years ago. All diodes and exhaust fans are working. Build quality is also acceptable but I have seen others with better like from Gavita but certainly acceptable for the home grower.

My opinion would be to go with BAT-W400 from Bestva. 400w bar light. If you're in the continental US you can get it for $289.90. That comes out to .73 per watt. I haven't found another grow light that is that economical and perform the way it does. It's not the fanciest but it gets the job done without a hiccup.