Hey guys!
So looking at upgrading my tent and lights , last grow and also first grow went pretty well with all the help and Info I read on here! 1.2x1.2 m tent 600w hps yeild was about 21 dry ounces super stoked! So would love to quadruple this if possible ,bigger tent more lights etc , was happy with the hps but the power bill was definitely a bit higher than normal , so if I went for 4 x 600w hps I don’t think the wifey will be happy 
, so looking into hlg , just would love someone to point me in the right direction etc I’ve done a little bit of research and the cheap LEDs off Amazon look like they won’t cut it! I can do a diy no problem but would need help picking all the components , I live in New Zealand btw and budget is around 1.5k at this stage , even if I can only get a couple of lights to start , thanks 
There is a full DIY thread here by the light guru post in there and he will help you out. Definitely want to do DIY if your doing that big of a space wowzers I wish.
“let’s talk DIY lights”
Thanks @Nicky I’ll do that , yeah got a new house and have alot more space in the garage stoked!
@dbrn32 , hey bro I think your the light guru? Can you send me in the right direction? Post In here or somewhere else? Thanks 
It will be a while until I buy another house, the wifey in school for another 3 or 4 years but when I do upgrade and get a single detach I told her I’m turning a basement or a garage into a grow room.
I want to be able to grow about 8 plants continuously but at least I have I have wifey approval to get a new setup (grow legal limit of 4 all the time)
- AC infinity fan and a 4 board QB for the 3x3!
So that comes as soon as lighting can be sourced.
Get to put it on a cc then balance transfer it Intrest free for 12 months in Wich time we will smoke and put money into a jar rather than buying bud. All that $ goes towards paying the setup off.
Eventually I want to get rid of my first setup (2x4) as I like this new tent design sooooo much better so I want to duplicate it
Putting 4 600’s wouldn’t really do you any good anyways, way beyond light saturation levels for that space.
I think if you went with a solid diy build you could keep around 500 to 600 watts and maybe boost your harvest potential a little.
@dbrn32, ok sweet so Ive got a 2.4x2.4 m tent , and start with 2 new lights and my 600w hps and have 3 grow sites under them and a bit of room to move around to start with , I’m happy to do 2 diy lights , and see how they go and do a few more later to fill the tent , any links or suggestions to what I need to do would be awesome thanks bro 
@Nicky awesome yeah that sounds great! Yeah totally depends on life situations aye! And it’s so much better growing your own! Sounds like you have a good set up that’s the main thing and to duplicate it!
You posted above 1.2 x 1.2, moving to an 8x8 would be different story.
@dbrn32, yeah sorry bro , thought I put in my new tent space , must of been too blazed , so I currently have 1.2x 1.2 , but have an 2.4x2.4 on order and looking at led set up for the new one , thanks and sorry again bro
@dbrn32 would 8 of these lights be good? Pretty good price or rubbish?
I’m not really sure on the performance of those
They are also non dimmable…
Ignore pre made lights and DIY for sure, because as soon as you DIY 2 you will probably replace your other lights selling them off to fund your DIY.
Although HPS is really the gold standard it’s a hog on energy/heat. I’m Wich in turns costs you more in energy to cool/vent.
Buy drivers, heatsink, and chips/strips/boards yourself.
I strongly suggest you go to @dbrn32 lighting thread and read a bit of it.
Tbh I’m not familiar with the sources to purchase chips/boards and have them shipped but I’m. Sure there are international retailers as well as I’m sure someone on that thread is in NZ and has done this already.
DiY is by far your best option, if you have a little bit of time and a handful of tools it will save you money while producing some of the most efficient and bad ass lights out there.
If your going to buy prebuilt then that’s going to cost you $$$ for the same lighting at HLG (I did that with my 2nd light, went shitty COB’s first as a mistake to try and avoid amazon so at least I didn’t buy shitty amazon burples)
Or if you don’t care about heat and electricity costs /venting issues then the easy way is to stick to HPS/MH etc.
But scowering amazon for lights is a waste of time and money, by far your best decision is DIY. You will know exactly what your getting and you will get quality for a bargain.
You could roll the dice on knockoff QB’s from Alibaba (one of my lights is currently in that category so we will see what comes of it) but even from the most “reputable” sellers there are the odd quality issues, Wich are not backed by warranty even though they claim they will warranty items for a year.
So again, go DIY. Heck you have a garage man use it you will be sooooo thankful a year down the road when your DIY is still working efficiently and making you quality bud for cheap
@Nicky thanks for all that info man I really appreciate it! Awesome I’ll have a good read through that thread and get a list of stuff I need to get DIY underway definitely seems the way to go! 
More watts also means more heat to deal with, at some point its overkill. Although, I was looking at those individual strip panels for side fills! I’m thinking that would boost yield wouldn’t it? You could run them with a dimmer pack to keep the levels under control? Fluence also makes them, but I think they should be pretty easy to build.
They are very easy to build. Some grows benefit more than others, depends on exact details. I wouldn’t think you have enough room for improvement to justify doing/spending a lot. Maybe If you’re growing tall plants and not getting much light below canopy.