potential yield for 12x12 w/ LED'S?

9dual spectrum air cooled adjustawing 1000w hps wud probably still be cheaper than 9 430w led panels. And if u do use co2 then 9 would be better than 4. That wud put u at 62 watts per square foot which is a good starting point when working with co2. What is ur budget? Imo thowies are the dance I'm currently in the process of upgrading to 1000w cooltube with adjustawings

cheneybarczewski said:

6 different strains, Jack Diesel Express, Wild Thailand Ryder, Easy Ryder, Afghan Kush Ryder, Candy Kush, Pineapple Express Auto. 12 plants, soilless Roots Organic medium. 1300w in the tent.

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A friend of mine put a auto cheese in his veg room under mh and pulled 1 1/2 oz without really paying much attention to it

led buds are small and the plants take a week or two longer to fonosh then hps

I have a little experience growing, a little less harvesting lol... Problem is I've only grown guerilla. Its a different beast.

Odanky, I'll take your word for it. I've seen your mammoths bushes. I may need you to school me in the CO2 department. I've read up, but it seems complicated... I was originally thinking (if I decide the hps route) 2 1000w + 2 600w, with maybe a little supplemental lighting, but I found a 1000w package over at texashydroponics.com for like $250. comes with hood and cooling tube, ballast, hps and mh bulb, timer and hanging cables. sounds like a good deal. I could easily swing 4 of those... Again my concern, being that I'm in a rental, is heat, ventilation, and electrical use. With the cooling tubes and some daisy-chaining, I think I can handle the heat. Its just me living there, and I don't use a lot of technology, so I think I wouldn't raise any alarms with usage.

for medium I was planning on using coco loco, then adding a soil addiment mix for micronutrients and a little self sufficiency. I mix 50% organic potting mix, 30% texas native top soil, 10% cow manure compost, 5% sand, 5% perlite then sprinkle in a handful of organic fertz (bone meal, blood meal, chicken manure, and bat guano). Ill water it down, let it cook, then mix it prolly around 50/50-40/60 with the coco loco... If that doesn't sound right, let me know por favor

IF you don't use C02 on such a big grow you better be pulling in fresh air at all times so the ppms stay around 400. I don't use c02 because my operation is not big enough to justify it. If I was doing a 12x12 it would be a nobrainer because those plants can suck the c02 like my grandma sucking a golfball through a garden hose. (trust me grandmas got lungs she does it easy)

Blue brother said:

9dual spectrum air cooled adjustawing 1000w hps wud probably still be cheaper than 9 430w led panels. And if u do use co2 then 9 would be better than 4. That wud put u at 62 watts per square foot which is a good starting point when working with co2. What is ur budget? Imo thowies are the dance I'm currently in the process of upgrading to 1000w cooltube with adjustawings

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Sorry. Just noticed this post.... Budget right now is very limited. Like I said, I'm growing outdoors also, so that'll give me disposable income. I want to spend as efficiently, yet still have my space as productive as possible.

LEDS are going to be a higher initial investment and the coverage is less, however that said you won't need a huge ass air conditioner in your room if you have proper ventilation. With HPS I need an air conditioner for one bulb... Low ceilings trap the heat.

I wasn't planning on using CO2, well at least not initially. If it seems easy and cheap enough to handle, I'll add it to the ingredient list... I was thinking of building a second temporary doorway about a foot or so deep into the room, with 2x4's and the polymer liner. I was going to pull the intake air through the enlarged doorway. Also figured it would give a buffer zone for smell, noise, and heat to help prevent that from lingering into the living area. With the exhaust, I'd run through carbon filter of course, then into a attic space above a walk in closet in the room, that I was going to use for vegging and cloning.

oh and lots of fans

As long as you have a stable flow of air coming in the plants should be fine, the boost in c02 increases yields and lowers sensitivity to heat but I have had 0 need for it. The ppms of the atmosphere are quite enough to keep the plants thriving.

ok... if its just me there. I can just leave the whole door open, I just wanted to avoid problems while I wasn't home, or have guest that don't know about me growing.

mista sativa said:

Sorry. Just noticed this post.... Budget right now is very limited. Like I said, I'm growing outdoors also, so that'll give me disposable income. I want to spend as efficiently, yet still have my space as productive as possible.

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4 1000s or 9 600s would be adequate

If can get by without air cooling them then don't but if u have to do it you'd be better off doing that first so u can start to dial ur environment now instead of now and again later. If u don't need to air cool them make sure u get decent reflectors either air cooled ones or ones that can be used in conjunction with a cooltube. So when you eventually want those extra lumens you won't need to buy a new reflector.

When working with a square space I like to have my lights set up in squares eg. 1 light, 4 lights, 9 lights. This ensures the most even spread of light.

Adjust a wing defenders are a very good choice of reflector imho, they spread light far more efficiently than most others and they're quite cheap compared to some of the others, and when used in conjunction with a cooltube make for almost unbeatable hidlighting efficiency.

Its not allowing me to pull up the link... but the 1000w kit I was thinking about is @ texashydroponics.com, if you want to take the time. Small hood, and a glass cooling tube... I'm guessing you just chain them with duct work, then attach a few exhaust fans (How much do those run btw?) then sit back? or will it require additional cooling with those lights in that size room. Keep in mind that I'll have a 6x4 walk -in closet for vegging and clones, to cool also.

Checked it out bro, http://www.servovendi.com/uk/stuco-cooltube-glass-reflector-e40-adjustable-wings-500mm-o125mm.html

That's a link to a 5 inch but you'd want a 6 they make them too but ul hav t look for one.

Usually thowie ballasts are cheaper in the us than where I sit so shop around. You want approx 1 6" centrifugal fan per run of 2 bulbs. These need to be independent in the sense that they have their own air supply which never mixes with that of the grow room.

For example you will have an air inlet with a fan in it sucking cool air from outside the rooms airspace. This air will be blown through your ducting through one cooltube through more duct into the next cooltube through more ducting and eventually blown outside both the grow air space and intake air space. If I've made this sound complicated sorry I'm not the best writer.

The reflector you are looking at will be insufficient at spreading all those lumens around a 6x6 space, you really will need something a lot bigger.

Like I said before the large adjust awing defenders are great and will cover 6x6 very nicely.

your doing 4 1000w

here
http://www.solis-tek.com/digital-ballasts/matrix-1000-digital-ballast.html
get those ballast .........u will love how they work plus they are designed to work together .....in the end u can do 1000w 600w 400w this is a true dail a watt ballast

the next thing u need is 4 hood system
http://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLCLTB6XL-6-Inch-Reflector-26-Inch/dp/B00BDGHIBE
that is my fav hood the area it covers and the fact it is in a cool tube

after that it gets simpler u need air over the tubes to cool them .............4 is to many for just one fan it will shut off (140 degrees the motors turn off to save themself)
so u need 2 6 inch fans that would be a 800 cfms total or 880 cfms
so u will need 2 carbon filters
if this is a actual room not a tent then u can then about getting some real fans in there u know the 12 inch wall mounted ones that u tie into a stud

nah you made perfect sense... I get the general idea, I just never done it, or watched someone do it.

Well the ballast came in a kit. I think from a company called cali ballast. The whole kit is $290... I believe.
As far as the setup, that is what I was wondering. Like how much duct, or how many fans/filters. Also, if this will eliminate all heating problems or just alleviate some.

But if its one thing I have is fans... I have fans for days playboy!

so far everything I've read about leds in this thread is complete bullshit. Obviously no one here has any experience.

yield.depends on genetics mostly. Then lighting. There are crappy leds out there. Then there are high quality leds that out perform hps.

area 51 led, apache tech inc, amare technologies, Inda gro, Hans (bonsai hero) , onyx (rapid led) and the #1 killer of all lights DIY Cree cxa cobs. anything else is crap.


go to the led section and read up.

whoa whoa easy bud... we are just having a friendly conversation here. No need for mudslinging, Just throw your two sense in. I asked because a lot of threads that are posted are old. I've heard of broad advances in the LED field... that's why I ask from ppl with experience. Also, I'm trying to determine cost difference between the two... I have heard tho that LED work better for SCrog or sog setups because of penetration. What would be the benefits of hanging small, intermittent hps bulbs in between the LED's for penetration and side branching? I've seen some of the commercial grows out in Colorado with a setup similar...