HELP! How dumb was this lighting decision

[Allenpro]

I started out cheap and then upgraded about 10X before I bought lights to do what I want and now I have a closet full of LED's with probably 2-3X the $ invested in them as oppoised to buying the good ones on the 2nd round, Lights have changed a lot over the years too,

 

[Bluey]

I did the same. When I started out I bought 14 blue lights around 405nm 12 watts, 6 deep red & far red lights 30W from China, 6 or 7 150W highway lights & 5 or 6 80W food lights for a total of 30 odd different lights in the one space.....lol. But they worked well for about a 1lb a plant after 135 days. The light racking was a bit rough too.

I learnt that saving money on lighting by doing it yourself was far from ideal, but it was fun.

 

[Gingerbeard]

The only reason I have a badass light is because of a Covid stimulus check.
My first was a pieced together 'bank' of 3, 18" t5's in the 1'x2' side of my 2'x3' perpetual grow tent. Got me a few weeks of good fem veg until my very first actual grow worthy LED.

 

[Smallgrow]

That’s all you can do, we’ve all been there.
I bought too small and led to start , then a CMH 315w ballasts and reflector and jammed it in a 3’x3’x6 cause it was locally made and available, then I moved to a quality LED before I settled in. Would have saved some money and heartache had I done better research and had more patience.

The number one thing you need in this hobby is patience, lol. Just keep at it

 

[Smallgrow]

Second what Bluey said about Migro or Dr. Coco, they both do plenty of reviews of budget lights that you can trust, google them

 

[Bluey]

Yes. And download a light meter phone app and calibrate it to your ight in a tent...use either of those sites for the nubers