Tagging @dbrn32 right off the bat. I’m not sure who else might be able to provide real-world comparisons, but any input is welcome.
I’ve decided to supplement my 4x4x6.5 tent with a 2x4x5 so that I can use the smaller one for vegetative state, and then move the plants into the 4x4 tent for flowering state - hopefully allowing me to have 2 growth stages going on all the time.
I’m debating what I want to do with the lights. I don’t want to spend a ton of money on this, as tempting as those Quantum Boards are.
For $275, I can get a Vivosun tent, a 400 watt Quantum digital dimmable ballast and an XtraSun air cooled reflector, and a 400 watt bulb.
For $145, I can get a Vivosun tent and a Vivosun 300 watt (135 actual) LED light. I would supplement this with a second light for $80, making it a grand total of $225. I don’t know enough about LED lights to say for sure, but I have little doubt this is a blurple light for that cost. It’s on the Vivosun website if anyone wants to look at it.
I’m looking for opinions. So, the question is - which one is going to produce better growth? A 400 watt Metal Halide Bulb or 270 (actual) watts of blurple light? I would like to get a taste of the LED world, but if the MH will be a better producer than blurple, I’ll stick with that.
Yes, there’s no doubt about that. I just don’t want to spend the money for them right now.
I know a 400 watt MH will work perfectly fine… but I want to know whether the blurple or the MH will produce more.
the 400w HID will out perform the 270w Blurple.!
it is simple math, both HID and Blurple need 50-60 watts per square foot in flower,
two 400’s is minimum for a 4x4 and a single 1000w would do better.!
i know u r against spending the money, but…
CMH, Dbl Ended HPS, COB, and QB r the best lights right now,
the HLG kits make the QB’s cheaper then the others,
even cheaper then HID if u figure in good bulbs, 80-120 each = $400- $600 in 5 yrs.
get a 135w QB now and save up to get more,
each one covers 2x2 area and 4 of them will rock a 4x4.!!
the 260w QB that Covert linked will do what a 400w HID will do, maybe more.!!
For my 2x2 veg area I just bought a clearance 304 4K board and heat sink from HLG for $70 with shipping, a meanwell 120h-c1050a for $50, and power cord, wagons, and wire from amazon for $20. They are out of 4K boards but still have 3.5. Buy 2 saves you on shipping, and if you are a DIY person you could wire it with only one driver. Just a thought.
You just need a veg light for the 2x4’ then? I’d grab some measurements from the inside and see if you can fit a 4’ t5 fixture in there. Not gonna do you better than some good leds would, but they’re cheap and effective for veg.
I use a a combination of fluorescent bulbs for seedling stage and a viparspectra 300 blurple light for veg and have had good results . I only do one plant at a time so not sure how it would perform with more than that. I’m currently also setting up my second cabinet to do a continuous grow/harvest set up.
sorry Tom, i usually try to pay attention.! LOL
i thought u had the 2x4 and getting a 4x4, oops.!!
either 2x 65w or 1x 100w HLG QB will work for a 2x4 in veg.
personally… for a 2x4 veg cab (going into a 4x4 flower cab) i would do a 2-3 week rotation to keep the 4x4 full and use 2x HLG 65w 4000k QB’s, these would be set up to cover a ~2x3 area and the other ~2x1 area would be for cloning and germinating.!
