Need help on decision. 1st grow.

I have scoured the threads on what would be my best option for LED. I will be using a 36x20 tent. 3 plants max in a triangle formation. Left corner, middle, right corner. I am all ready to go except for lighting. Short and sweet now. Blackstar 240 or Pro Grow 180. How much better its the PG 260 than the 180? Thanks to all in advance.

a 240 black star would be fine but im not a massive fan of led

I'd go for 100w Advanced Diamond Series. I have 2 and they work great. But hey - a lot of LED fixtures will do the job.

Stay away from Blackstars unless you get a deal on one and/or are willing to do some modding to get a little more performance. Trust me, I just spent half the night with a 2012 BS240 rewiring, removing and reinstalling parts of it to get it to work "right". After all this time they still don't know how to ground the frickin things though at least they use wire fan covers for better airflow. Can't speak for Pro Grows but they do have their fans and seem to be a better panel.

Area51lighting.com is having a clearance on their remaining panels, they have some smaller panels that might fit your tent. Email them for the clearance code, could be a good deal and be a better long-term investment since they may have an upgrade package for them later on this year. Good Luck and Happy Growing!

Thanks. I think I'm going to go with the PG 180. Be on the lookout for my journal soon.

i would want way more than 160w of led for flower
ive seen a few guys with the blackstars with no issue must be lucky i guess

The blackstar only draws 135w. Its not the wattage that is the end all when it comes to effectiveness of an LED from all I've read. Not trying to grow the Everglades, just some personal. Thanks for the posts.

Since I can't really find many PG grows I'm still in between about the 240. Are there any goods grows with only one BS240 on here? Sorry. I researched alot but I'm only limited to phone for now so searching all day is a pain.

i still like blackstar but have a look at grow northern the seem to have some nice gear including new 5w leds

to be fair theres nothing wrong with a 250w hps and it would cost 1/4 of the price

Out of the two I would definitely go with the Pro-Grow. I was in your same shoes about 5 months ago. Same size tent.
I got lucky and got a good deal on a better lamp, but before that I had my eyes set on the Pro-Grow 260x which is perfect for a 36x20 tent.

check out this guys grow. Simulated closet space in 36x20x63inch tent. See the results for yourself.

I'm actually going to be adding another tent to my small operation. For the source of light, it's pretty much between the Pro-Grow 260x or a mix of Area-51's.

Good luck.