First LED grow. Need advice.

So I've been going back and forth on what led and grow tent to buy. I'm on a budget or else I would get some top notch shit. This is jist going to be for personal use so I don't anything crazy 2 plants at most scrog style. I would also like a small grow tent but they don't really make more.

Here are some links of stuff I thought was considering. Let me know what you think.

http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-AgroMax-Window-Grow-Tent---Original-Short-Stack-(53x28.75x78.75)

http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Grow-Tent---Size-S-22-x-36-x-63---Silver-Lined

http://m.ebay.com/itm/131261424419?nav=SEARCH

http://m.ebay.com/itm/371216741557?nav=SEARCH

http://m.ebay.com/itm/181535758573?nav=SEARCH

http://www.amazon.com/GalaxyhydroTM-Spectrum-Greenhouse-Flowering-Growing/dp/B00INM0750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423043705&sr=8-1&keywords=led grow light full spectrum 300w

if you can afford it, don't look past these....They are the Blackdog 450, just Blackdog advertises them according to their true watts, and Mars(China) labels it to their total diode watts. My mate has two Blackdog 450s and after he paid $3500 to get them in Australia, I told him about the Mars II and he denied it with many many tears and an empty wallet

I'm a little confusedby your comment. It sounds like you saying to go with black dog but at the same time it sounds like you were against it. And there's no way I can afford that right now. My budge is at most 180

sorry to confuse, what I am saying is that the Mars Hydro II 700 and the BlackDog 450 are the exact same light (minus the CNC cut out on the Blackdog chasis). The Mars Hydro II being less than half the price of Blackdogs.

Marketing difference between the Chinese LED lights and the so called Top Brand lights is that the Chinese will take total diode wattage, ie. 100 x 5watt diodes = 500 watt light, when in fact the driver chips only allow them to run at about 50%-60%. The Top Brands actually advertise them according to what the drivers allow the diodes to run.

Ooh ok got you. What if I got this one and added a couple of cfls?

http://www.mars-hydro.com/reflector-led-grow-light-48-3w-98.html

Confused yet.......? Hey get what you can afford to purchase......I started with a 180 watt Blackstar and then added another used them for a year and this past year upgraded to a
California light works 220 no complaints to this point....did loose a cooling fan on one of my blackstars at the end of this past fall.......just research and get what u think will do for you for every positive comment on this site there will be a negative about the same product......makes it a little difficult when you're first starting out.....I'll say this again do your research and get what you can afford in your range.
Good luck !!

SuperKush89 said:

Ooh ok got you. What if I got this one and added a couple of cfls?

http://www.mars-hydro.com/reflector-led-grow-light-48-3w-98.html

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I actually have the 450watt panel just like this one. I did a couple full cycle grows with it, and can say yes it grows and blooms with satisfactory results. I have now moved back to 600HPS lighting for Bloom and use the LED panel for vegging. So for personal use, yes I recommend those Mars Green panels

Cool. What about those grow tents? Are they a decent size?

That tent in the first link is a shorty, would barely have any room to hang lights, fans, carbon scrubber. Even if you do a Scrog, you need the pot height (guessing around 8 inches), plus 10-12inches above the rim of the pot for the net which puts you at ~20inches, leaving you with ~10inches to add all that stuff I mentioned ....So I would probably be more inclined to go with the other, taller option, or if your good at DIY, make a tent out of timber framing and Panda Film, use velco tape on the door to your DIY cabinet

I own 6 Mars lights and 2 diy Cree 3590's. If you look at the black dog and the Mars they look almost alike. Black dog you're paying for the Black Dogs cut out vent's

Look at vipar also, my friend has two running with no issues for about a year. Decent price. His grows look pretty good

Find this one

http://growace.com/grow-tent/yield-lab-32x32x63-reflective-grow-tent.html

I'll go on ebay and amazon later see if there are any cheaper ones

BAMS said:

I actually have the 450watt panel just like this one. I did a couple full cycle grows with it, and can say yes it grows and blooms with satisfactory results. I have now moved back to 600HPS lighting for Bloom and use the LED panel for vegging. So for personal use, yes I recommend those Mars Green panels

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Hey bro I'm just curious why u switched back to 600 watt hps for flowering if u were happy with mars? I am running 4 mars 198x3 panels and 2 mars II 700 panels and am a lot happier with how they look compared to the 4 600 watt hoods I use to veg under.

Probably because of limited resources. It's better to use your most efficient lights for veg since veg lamps are on for longer periods of the day. He said he uses the mars panel for veg.

Tyson457 said:

Hey bro I'm just curious why u switched back to 600 watt hps for flowering if u were happy with mars? I am running 4 mars 198x3 panels and 2 mars II 700 panels and am a lot happier with how they look compared to the 4 600 watt hoods I use to veg under.

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After doing a few full LED grow cycles from the same strain (just different clones from same mother at different times), I find that the vegging plants under the LED are a lot denser and shorter node spacing, less chance for a rouge branch that was supercropped to rebuild its cell structure and stand upright again and get too close to a HPS lamp, reduces adding to heating during the Australian fucking hot summers so the AC doesn't have to work as hard, and what churchhaze mentioned, because they lamps are on longer I am conserving power (electricity bill) as well as buying new HPS globes as often.

Now why I use HPS for bloom, I find that the buds are tighter/denser buds, I get a marginally larger yield over LED, and on the opposite side of the table, I use them to take the load off the heaters during our bullshit winters.

I do find that going back to HPS sacrificed resin production, as I found buds to be stickier after blooming on LED

before arguements break out, this is my personal finding and opinions and I don't go preaching one is better than the other, trying to get people to switch. How can I, I like both styles of lights but I find one does better for veg than the other and the other does better bloom.

Any recommendations on a hydro set up or kit with scrog in a 3x3. Just one or to plants tho

I just bought 2 of the mars reflector 300 watt pannels for a 3x3 grow tent. Using them to start plants for my outside grow this summer whn they get here, and then planning on trying my luck with some autos after summer in the tent.
Glad to hear mars lights are working good for everyone- just wondering how high above the plants you hang the lights?