Apologies in advance

Renfro said:

HLG, Timber, Gavita... Those are what I would spend my money on.

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I'd throw atreum and danklightco.com on that list as well

Can we all agree to stop derailing the OP's original quest for help...


My personal choice as im more than comfortable building things and working with electricity is to DIY strip build or board build.

If i had a problem doing DIY id turn to


If budget wasnt a concern and i wanted an easy just plug it into the wall and go with a good warranty then id go with any of those name brands.

B_the_s said:

then at what level do you classify CFLs? or blurples? and flourescent tubes?

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Useless.

Horselover fat said:

Every watt will become heat - never mind the tech.

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but more efficient lights will make more light and less heat per watt used. plus some don't make infrared and others make a lot.

ThatGuy13 said:

Exhaust system no idea.

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You want an Inline fan with a carbon filter attached, also want a few decent oscilating fans inside the tent to create air movement. Youre 4x8 tent has 192 cubic feet in it. My rule of thumb for exhaust purely for smell is exchange at twice a minute will be enough when peak flower so youd want at least a 400cfm fan and carbon filter six inch at the minimum. Personally i perfer to buy bigger than required for fans and have a 400cfm in my 4x4 because you can always turn it down when not needed but if you need more airflow because of humidity its nice to have extra power.

AC Infinity was recommended. Cloudline S8? smaller mounted fans for air movement? Assuming 2 should be enough? Looking into the alternate lights now. Thoughts shortly

Haze, very thankful

ThatGuy13 said:

AC Infinity was recommended. Cloudline S8? smaller mounted fans for air movement? Assuming 2 should be enough? Looking into the alternate lights now. Thoughts shortly

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I dont know much about individual brands on fans. The key metric for inline exhaust is the CFM, after that the difference between cheap and expensive from my experience is usually just how noisy it is and how long before it dies.

For inside the tent air movement helps prevent humidity based issues and things like powdery mildew. For a tent as big as a 4x8 if its small fans like those 6 inch ones youd need more than a few. Id go with the larger ones because losing a whole crop to PM over a $30 fan will just ruin your day.

Looked into HLG last night from a different forum, Timber seems nice, costly and heavy though. Gavita looks like they need to be kept a decent distance from the plants. considering the tent environment that seems like a bad idea. not to be a pessimist and shoot holes in everything. Looking into danklightco.com now. can i post a link for the fan im looking at?

also, what's the current general opinion on a few large lights vs. more lights of a smaller size?

Fans
I hesitate to bash ANY brand --- if it grows weed for you, good for you!

BUT - I'm on my 3rd vivosun 4" fan. They've all lasted about 2 weeks before the impeller loses balance and it rattles itself to death.
edit - Vivosun has been good about warranty service, but 3 fans (and this one is starting to rattle too)?

@haze010 's post above hit like a rock to the forehead - I think I simply underestimated how much air I need to exchange in a 4x4.
Considering adjustable fans capable of moving 400cfm on intake and exhaust - balanced for slightly
negative pressure.

Forgive me, I'm so lost....

what's the basic formula to go by?

ThatGuy13 said:

also, what's the current general opinion on a few large lights vs. more lights of a smaller size?

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From what I've read, general opinion is that there are a lot of opinions
Here's one of the more recent threads:

I go by the cubic feet of your area, for your tent is 192 cubic feet. With the stinkiest ive ever grown 2 exchanges a minute was more than sufficient, so anything with a 400 CFM (cubic feet per minute moved) should do the job for odor. Higher than that is a good bonus if you live in a humid climate like i do.

Lockedin said:

From what I've read, general opinion is that there are a lot of opinions
Here's one of the more recent threads:

Bars vs Boards

I started into led with hlg 132,288 boards and they are still going strong today. Later I brought some Chinese 312, 288, 800 boards. Haven’t been reading around the forum lately but recently have seen these beautiful bar grows. I’m considering doing a 3x3 bar light to try it out. Which side are...

www.rollitup.org

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The reality is any of these in a strips/bars type configuration or a board config will grow fantastic flowers. The way some of them obsess over having the best light or the highest efficiency reminds me of car guys bragging about their horsepower. The best of the best just seems like a waste of resources, doubling your cost for an extra few percent efficiency, but thats just my opinion, take it or leave it.

ThatGuy13 said:

AC Infinity was recommended. Cloudline S8? smaller mounted fans for air movement? Assuming 2 should be enough? Looking into the alternate lights now. Thoughts shortly

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This filter


Phat Filter 39 inch x 8 inch, 950 CFM
growershouse.com




This fan, 8''


Vortex Inline Powerfans VTX Series 10 year warranty!
growershouse.com

This fan speed controller

https://www.amazon.com/Beleeb-Voltage-Transformer-Variable-Regulator/dp/B07JYBB1HS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=variac&qid=1598934067&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyS1RBSjhCUzJKQlcmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAwOTk3MjQzSVdZOEJFQlNCSlgyJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyMTY0NTAzVFY5TUczMDYzNThPJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Growershouse.com has a 10% off promo code if you search for it. That vortex fan has a 10 year warranty on it. Phat filters are the best, just ask @Renfro

With that setup you should only have to run it at about 30-40% power which will keep it extremely quiet. A 6'' fan at 100% sounds like a jet engine. A 8'' fan at 50% will move just as much air but only produce less than half the noise.

Yeah vortex for sure makes good stuff, i dont have one of their inlines but i have an air circulator and its easily the best quality ive ever owned. Im just a bit more of a cheapo than that haha. 10 year warranty tho i should be buying those.

That seems kinda expensive for a carbon filter tho, i always just go cheapo on those and never had an issue, i think mines a cheap vivosun there too. The 8" ones are like $100USD on amazon.

myke said:

Thers a thread in organic section on how to grow with FFOF without adding the liquid nutes.Cant remember what its called but it is a good read.

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Fox Farms guide - this helped me a lot.

using happy frog and photos but I'll be sure to give this a read