Cant decide lol

I could go up to a 3’x3’x6ft tent I just remembered since I’m cleaning out the bigger closet and going to grow in there. Would a 600w cheapo Amazon led by “good enough” gonna 3x3 with 1 plant? I’m only shooting for 4 or so ounces

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You could get 4 or so ounces from one plant in a 3x3 relatively easily, even as a beginner. But you’re gonna need a bigger light. Something like double that or more if you want dense flowers and not a bunch of fluff. Bang for the buck, quantum boards are great. If they’re out of your budget, is a little DIY too much? I know a lot of guys on here use stuff they’ve pieced together at much lower cost per watt or however you want to look at it. I’m not the man to ask about specifics, but I’d stay away from the amazon stuff. Too much dishonesty about what you’re actually getting. If it’s $90, I’d guess it’s not more than 100 watts in reality. They add up the total, maximum wattage of all the diodes, and say it’s that wattage panel. But they run them at much less actual wattage.

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The 3 X 3 X 6 is a much better choice if only from the standpoint of more headroom. Remember that your lights need space above them and need to be as much as 24" away from the plants. In a 6’ tent that only gives you 3’ to work with.

You would be MUCH better served to wait until you have the wherewithal to pick up some better lighting than the blurple Amazon lights. Many of us (including me) went down that road and ended up spending money twice to get a decent setup. If you have to go that route it would be far better to find (for a 3 X 3 space) Amazon lights that don’t have a reflector and should plan on several smaller ones to fill the footprint. The rule of thumb is 50 plug watts per square foot of grow space so 450 actual watts is needed to illuminate your 3 X 3. Going up to higher end LED’s you can drop that requirement down to around 30 watts/square foot.

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That’s been my concern. I don’t wanna spend the money then not grow much. DIY is an option but I need the carbon ventilation I’m in an apartment and gotta keep it small so I figured a tent would be easier. I’ll start looking at more powerful leds then. I have more money to work with I was just trying to be cheap lol

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OK so thanks myfriend that information is helpful I’ll start looking for better leds

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Check out this thread:

@dbrn32 is our lighting pro; he’s currently chained in the basement with a soldering iron and a lit doobie haha! It may be that diy will work for you; it did for me and I’m thrilled by the lights. Halved my electrical demand at peak and have MORE light than before. Without fans or excess heat too.

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I can help you with lights. Will be much easier once you nail space down though. A 3x3 doesn’t seem a lot bigger than 2x2 but it’s more than double the floor space to light.

In terms of DIY, a good light for 2x2 will probably run you close to $150 right now. As opposed to 3x3 you’re probably looking around $300. Buying equivalent ready to go will run you more obviously.

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Cheap lights aren’t really cheap. However as a short term solution dollar store LEDs with heads removed have worked relatively well for me. I am in the middle of a diy build to upgrade my build will likely end up in the $270 per fixture range but will allow me tons more flexibility and a lot more efficient lighting

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I’m gonna look into DIY but I should be good I have around 500$ to work with. Gonna do the 3x3. Is a 4" ventilation still good for that? And any suggestions on lights, brands or even sites to look at?

4" should be alright I’m running a 6" filter on an 8" fan atm in an 8x4 x 6’6" tent not a bit of scent outside tent. That was ordered off Amazon … e bay has some decent prices as well it’s just a matter of finding the price your willing to pay
7 way splitters for e26 bulbs work wonders and can be found on Amazon as well for under 15 bucks

My blurple in the above post is a 15 w I got it from Costco

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I bought these boards from HLG,

QB132 QUANTUM BOARDS (4 PACK) for about $145 w shipping

One of these
Mean Well HLG-240H-C1750B

Data Sheet

Item #: HLG-240H-C1750B for about $75 with shipping

-$20 for aluminum from a local steel supply company that obviously carries aluminum.
-$10 for a few other odds and ends
and made this for half of my 4x4 tent. Guess I have about $250 into it. I’m only intending to veg w it as I’m moving things outdoors to flower. Also. I have no idea what I’m doing :grinning::grinning: I’m happy with it and it wasn’t bad to build. Probably better than most Amazon $250 lights.

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Hey @StephenBro, I just started my tent grow, and my research taught me that you put your money in your light. It’s your Sun in the little Solar System you’re building. I’d bet you’ll get a better crop with a mediocre system and a great light than you would with a great system and a mediocre light. Course, I’ve only been doing this for a whole month now, so I don’t have any results, but it makes sense to me. Don’t sell your dog or anything, but that’s my two cents. Good luck with your grow.:ok_hand:

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I’m in the planning stages of a new grow area, and just had this same conversation…lighting is very important, if not THE most important thing.

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What’s you budget? I built a QB for a 2x2 tent for 150

@Sixpackdad that actually sounds great. Any info on it? QB are really confusing. But I have about 200 to spend on the light

i use the volume x 4 to get fan size and put a speed controller on the fan,
3x3x6 = 54 qu ft x 4 = 216 cfm needed,
this allows for passive intake, duct work, filter…

u r on the right track by looking into great lighting.!!
u can try one of these for max lighting…
https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group/products/horticulture-lighting-group-320-watt-xw-quantum-board-led-kit-v2

one of these would work, it is the minimum for a 3x3…
https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group/products/horticulture-lighting-group-260-watt-xw-quantum-board-led-kit

i would go with 3x of these, one 4k and 2x 3k, (i like a lot of light)
start under the 4k, finishing vegging under the 4k and a 3k,
then turn on all 3 in flower.!
https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group/products/horticulture-lighting-group-100-watt-quantum-board-led-kit
u could get one 100w QB now and get started,
save up and get another for this grow,
then get the 3rd one for your 2nd flowering.!

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@SlowOldGuy what’s your opinion on the T5 lights? Just ran across them and I could potentially move up to like a 2’x4’ tent and run 2 plants. If those lights are good enough. All the 3000K 4000K stuff is confusing

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I’m on the road, but will show you what I got for my 2x2 and 2x4 grow tents when I get home

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@StephenBro,
i love t5 and t12 floro for veg, but i think they lack penetration for great flowering,
the t5 HO fixtures do okay in flower, but there r better options,
to use t5 properly u would still need to swap bulbs from veg to flower,
2700k, 3000k, and 3500k r for flower,
4000k, 5000k, and 6500k r for veg,
if u can only get one light (like QB) go for 3000k - 4000k.!

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Ok well that helps cause I didn’t really want the t5 it’s big lol now stuck between the 600w led actual 280w or something like that 169$ or HLG 135 V2 for 180$ really leaning towards the quantom board if that’s enough for the 27"x27" tent. @dbrn32 @SlowOldGuy sixpackdad any opinions? Also I stated I have 500$ budget but forgot to specify all together. So I’m shooting for 200$ light