I am about to start back up In am looking for ideas for my new set up.I am starting form scratch.I have a few years experience but have been away from the scene for a few years now so technically may have changed.Is their anything I need to know about.Please give me some ideas or lead me in the direction of better products that I might not be aware of.Thank you...
5x5 set up...looking for ideas?
- Thread starter J-jizzel
- Start date
I did a grow in 2017, archived my tent, and then started growing again in 2021. My recollection is that the biggest changes in that four year gap were the movement away from blurple to white LED's and tent automation was just starting up at that time. It's a very different story for the changes from 2021 to 2025.
The plant is the same but there seem to be a lot more strains available. Autoflowers have improved and the disdain for them appears to be on the wane.
The biggest change is in the grow equipment. Covid money drove a lot of demand. That, coupled with the relentless march of technology, have driven an explosion of growth in the different categories of products and the number of products in each category.
Soil growers now have SIP's available to them (it's still soil but there's a shallow reservoir below the soil container which allows the roots to access nutrients more quickly and it increases water/nutrient uptake rates). More companies are offering bucket style hydro systems with good features and attractive prices. Blurples are long gone, HID still has a few adherents, and the grow light market is dominated by white LEDs with additional lights in UV, red, and far red (IR) bands. Many light manufacturers have come and gone. The level of automation has vastly increased in terms of functionality and quality. AC Infinity, a new player in the marketplace, with a large number of products and has lead the way with an AI-based controller that will adjust up to 32 devices to optimize the grow environment. The number of companies offering tent kits has expanded with Mars and Spider getting into the market. Nutrient manufacturers are still selling their…"wide range of products".
Despite the prohibition by the federal government here in the US, more research is available, with the most common topic being grow lighting (mostly the impact of spectrum and light levels), some of that research coming from outside the US, notably Canada, Holland, and Israel.
RIU has changed, no surprise. I used to think of it as a place where "they throw a lot of elbows" but that's been dialed back. And when a newbie asks "how much weed will I get", the chorus of "About a pound" has a lot fewer voices.
The plant is the same but there seem to be a lot more strains available. Autoflowers have improved and the disdain for them appears to be on the wane.
The biggest change is in the grow equipment. Covid money drove a lot of demand. That, coupled with the relentless march of technology, have driven an explosion of growth in the different categories of products and the number of products in each category.
Soil growers now have SIP's available to them (it's still soil but there's a shallow reservoir below the soil container which allows the roots to access nutrients more quickly and it increases water/nutrient uptake rates). More companies are offering bucket style hydro systems with good features and attractive prices. Blurples are long gone, HID still has a few adherents, and the grow light market is dominated by white LEDs with additional lights in UV, red, and far red (IR) bands. Many light manufacturers have come and gone. The level of automation has vastly increased in terms of functionality and quality. AC Infinity, a new player in the marketplace, with a large number of products and has lead the way with an AI-based controller that will adjust up to 32 devices to optimize the grow environment. The number of companies offering tent kits has expanded with Mars and Spider getting into the market. Nutrient manufacturers are still selling their…"wide range of products".
Despite the prohibition by the federal government here in the US, more research is available, with the most common topic being grow lighting (mostly the impact of spectrum and light levels), some of that research coming from outside the US, notably Canada, Holland, and Israel.
RIU has changed, no surprise. I used to think of it as a place where "they throw a lot of elbows" but that's been dialed back. And when a newbie asks "how much weed will I get", the chorus of "About a pound" has a lot fewer voices.
Yeah LEDs have been popular. Check out the LED forum for DIY LED setups and some ideas to save some $$. Many members have bought components and built what they needed for their particular situation. I assembled 1200 watt HLG light with quantum boards from HLG and other parts from other suppliers.
DISCLAIMER: I am an expert on nothing but screwing up!
DISCLAIMER: I am an expert on nothing but screwing up!
MooseTheGoose
Member
I just put a hlg 600 r spec over a 4x4 area and plants seem to be loving it. It's recommended for a 5x5. You'd probably want a good 3 foot of distance between lights and the plants to truly cover a 5x5 with a good spread. I'm new to this so don't take it as gospel. There's alot of bar style lights out there now if you don't have much height to work with but it seems most of them are designed for a 4x4. I think the growers choice roi e 720 is made to flower a 5x5. I used the roi e 420 in a 4x4. And it did pretty well. You could try searching 5x5 led on the fourms and check out what others are using with success. A lot of good information on here if you don't mind digging a bit.
cannapotimus
Well-Known Member
Grandmaster tent ultimate is the best light out there for growing in a tent. Perfectly even light distribution with no hot spots. They don’t get much love on this site for whatever reason but they are putting a lot into moving led grow light technology forward
coreywebster
Well-Known Member
If you look at their refurbished rspec boards and their heat sinks you could build something for cheaper than there actually fixtures that would suit a 5x5 better, because tbh their lights aren't well spread , especially for 5x5 spaces.
I'd go with 3 triple hat sinks with 3 boards each and then figure out a driver for each set of 3
The GM Tarantula 4' light is superb, no question about it. The others have "no hot spot" but their PPFD maps aren't as good as the Tarantula. I wouldn't buy their 2' x 4' light because it's just another 2' x 4'.
One of the reasons why GM isn't selling like Mars or Spider is that GM is a premium-priced product. It's got a lot of high end features but those features add a lot to the price. And growers tend to vote conservatively with their checkbooks.
If I was growing in CO2, I'd write the check for the Tarantula because the $400 difference in price isn't going to break the bank and because I grow at 1k so the almost perfectly flat PPFD map of that light might make a difference. But, would I but the Tarantula for two tents? Nah, I can get two Mars FCE 6500's for the price of one Tarantula and that Mars will pump out a huge amount of photons.
cannapotimus
Well-Known Member
That’s fair enough if people aren’t looking to spend a lot, but for someone willing to pay for quality, grandmaster is way ahead of everyone else. HLG seems to have just stopped innovating at boards. They have one bar light but they aren’t playing with spectrum or diode placement. They do have cheaper lighters as well. I just have two of the torch 730 that I picked up during a sale that cost me 1700cad. They have all the top notch parts in them as well. I’m super happy with the value of them, and they come with 5 year warranty.
I hear yah.
I paid for Growcraft back in 2021 and I think it was money well spent. It's got solid construction and lots of diodes so it should last forever. The pisser? The $10 dimmer switch crapped out. I've got a veg light and a flower light so I leave the driver and the dimmer in the tent and just swap lights but it's nuts that the dimmer was the weak part of the design.
The 730 looks like it will do a good job. The PPFD map is nice and the spectrum is intriguing. Have you been able to compare the results you're getting from the 730 vs other lights? Are you using CO2 or running in ambient?
Re. HLG - yeh, they're getting a lot of mileage out of the board light design.
cannapotimus
Well-Known Member
I just upgraded from some 6 or 7 year old cobs to those so not much to compare. I only run the lights at about 40-60% and the plants love them. I have a 4x8 no till bed that I’m sure is constant letting go of co2 from the biology but I dont have a sealed room.
I had a driver go on me on one of the lights in the first run with them. I contacted Thomas(the owner) on Instagram on a Friday night. He was super apologetic that there was no way to mail it out until Monday morning. I had the new driver about 4 days later. That’s the peace of mind I don’t mind paying for.
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