Hello growmies wanted. I want to grow 2 maybe 3 plants i only have a bestva dc series 1200w led light my tent is a 4x4. Im worried my light is not enough for 2-3 plants in a 4x4 tent. Is this enough light? All help is appreciated i know nothing about growing this is my first indoor grow please help me
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Looks like a Blurple. There’s a support group somewhere in the forum.
I don’t believe that light is adequate for one plant.
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Burples are generally adequate for 1 small plant. The Bestva is only a 160 watt light. As a general rule, cannabis requires ~40 watts per square foot of canopy, so the bestva will cover 4 square feet (2’x’2). The thing about burples too is that a bigger portion of that wattage goes toward producing heat rather than light as compared to a quality light.
You can get a better light from Spider Farmer (SF series only,) or HLG. These lights provide a better spectrum for cannabis and not so much wattage consumed goes towards producing heat.
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Ok I’m kinda understanding this sorry not 100% i’m really stoned pretty much all the time and I’m really high rn IV been doing dabs all day. I know most the Amazon lights are not the actual watts in the title. I look for the true watts but I was under the impression LEDs didn’t need as much watts? What if I purchase another bestVa dc 1200 so there’s 2 lights, will that be enough for 3 plants in 4x4? Or am I going to have to get a bigger light? I really can’t afford anything else at all besides I hope to get pruning tools. I can’t believe I rushed my buying my light I always buy crap too fast before doing my homework and comparing. I really rushed because it was such a good price and a YouTube video said it was his #1 pick out of a list that almost every other one light was hundreds of dollars so when his #1 was just a lil over $100 I jumped on it. But I haven’t used the light at all n I just received it so I may be able to return the light and have a total of $200 budget for something better or should I just buy one more bestVa dual chip 1200.
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What if I just get a smaller tent? I haven’t even opened that yet I could send back just about everything I guess seeing how it’s all from Amazon and I just received it last week
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A 4x4 is a good size tent - I’d rather have a good tent and only fill half of it than downsize. You can always add more light later down the road as budget permits. One brand folks around here swear by that is a true budget light is the KingBrite LEDs. They’re cheap but the exchange is they take a while to arrive because they come from the manufacturer in China. Apparently they can be purchased on Alibaba from the manufacturer- a good 320watt from them is $200 plus shipping (I think $70) - a 240watt runs like $150ish with $40 shipping - I had to hunt around the site some because different lights have different shipping costs. Anyway, either of those will produce more power than what you’ve got now and they are full spectrum + some various combo of reds.
Or save up for an HLG.
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Why not just curtain off a 2x2 area and grow one plant while you save a bit for a better or more light.
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I’m broke now I have no more money at all I’d have to return everything. I just got another light(another impatient impulsive buy) the same one again so now I have 2 bestVa dual chip series 1200w in a 4x4 tent, is 3 plants in 7gall fab pots with SoHum living soil good am I going to get a good yield? GG#4 auto fems from growers choice. I also need room for my heater, dehumidifier, and fans in my 4x4 tent.
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Probably won’t make bud of the month but you’ll likely get something that’s not horrible. Work with what you have.look at keeping the vpd in the target area and look at getting them the DLI daily light integral and keep on top of water feed with proper ph and you’ve done all you can with what you have and you won’t be disappointed until you can get better lights. I’ll keep watching, share your progress plenty of help here
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It looks like it’s got an actual power consumption of about 165w - so 2 would get you to 330 watts. I’m not an expert but based on the 40 watts per square foot rule, you’re going to come up short - you really want 600+ watts for good coverage. It will probably have a yield, but it may be light, airy, or loose buds as the end result if you try to fill the entire tent.
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Save up? Those are hlg prices… I use two of these for a 3x3. 3 of them would kill a 4x4. Meaning you can kill a 4x4 with hlg pretty cheap.
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Also. Wattage per square foot depends on efficacy. Which is larger than 2 in leds. So if the worst leds can flower at 50w/ft. Then the best can at 25. Personally I don’t think 50w is enough under a blurple. Which is why I estimate v2 quantum boards to probably be closer to 35. My two v2 rspec boards put out about 20% more light at 240w than my spider farmer sf2000 at 250w. Which is as high as the sf2000 can go without voiding warranty, I also built my hlg for $50 less than the sf2000 is now… it was more then. I can crank that hlg safely to 270, well minus the top of my girl in there.
so I’m doing that with 238.8 actual running watts in a 3x3.
So consider 80 watts of hlg to be superior to 100w of spider farmer which is superior to probably much more in king. Probably 150. Honestly the numbers are getting a little crazy. Since everyone chases old numbers including the companies that make the products. Just be careful with companies like sf and king. If you don’t find 2-3 different numbers for the same claims. You weren’t paying attention. Spider farmer my favorite. Those umols change by the ad. I almost died laughing when on the first page they claimed 2.9… sure typo. Actual. 2.6.
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You guys are awesome thank you so much for all the help. I’m not ignoring the info I couldn’t respond and im really impatient. I went and bought another identical light before I even got a response.(Ik im a idiot) Here’s my thing I can’t save up for a light but I do have 2 now. I’m disabled with zero income. I think I might be able to return everything.
I’m not sure, I opened one light but I didn’t use it or plug it in yet and I purchased everything on Amazon. In total with everything I purchased, I spent $420.77 on setup. I thought it was sign 420 on my set up lol and I only started with $400. I luckily came across $400 and I was going to re up for me personally, but due to my new situation with zero income not even SSI yet.(due to I just became disabled recently) So I figured I’d use the money on a grow instead and start supplying myself instead of needing to buy it. Now I have a total of $676 invested now and believe me that’s a miracle for me to come up with. I live month to month now this was supposed to help me out not bug me out and waste money. I’m a nervous wreck now, I thought I had a decent light and I get another one just to be safe and now I feel like I just wasted my money. No more money so with what I have, 2 bestVa dual chip series 1200’s in a 4x4. How many plants should I grow? Should I just grow 1 at a time? I only planned on 2 plants maybe 3. Im from n live in CNY so I can’t grow outside in #1 snowfall city.
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You could easily exchange the lights on Amazon - I have two used VS1000s (they’re meh lights) that I picked up from Amazon, so I know they’ll take back even opened products. One of my lights is even bent in the corner. 
that’s why it was cheap, I suspect.
With $200 you can find something better than those blurples. I would listen to @Budz about building one. I actually need to get a panel and a driver for one more HLG QB288 - it’s way less expensive for me to add on to my existing heat sink by hunting drivers from wherever and grabbing the lights from HLG directly.
Anyway, folks around here are great with lighting. In terms of priority = HLG > Spider Farmer > any other legitimate Samsung 301H Board (some Vivosun, Mars Hydro products) > blurples, offbrands, and cheap imitations that won’t be up front about what they have to offer. With that information I’d go search around on Amazon, and see if you can get any “used” or “open box” lights - saves $30 to $50 and may get you the wiggle room for a good quality setup.
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Tysm im going to look into that. I am not good at much it’s hard for me to learn. I made a mistake rushing to buy a light I wish I had waited but I didn’t. I’m under the impression my lights are 235w each am I wrong? I don’t understand watts and all the test numbers either. If I just use what I have now, how many plants can I grow? Why is burple so bad idc about pics not being as enticing. I just want a good amount of good buds covered in sticky trichomes.
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If you can return your lights and get back $282 go to the HLG website, a 260 xl rspec diy kit using the discount code “dude” will easily cover half your tent to put 2 plants under. I am 2 months in to my first grow and one of my 2 HLG lights had a problem with the driver last week. I called them and 25 hours later there was a new driver at my front door with a prepaid return label for the faulty one. That is service. If you can’t return them, go with what you have and do the best you can. I am in a similar financial situation as you and would not have my equipment I got except for the relief checks from the government we all got this year ( in America). There are also options for HPS lighting that are inexpensive initially but use more electricity and produce more heat. I am also growing in canna coco with Jacks nutrients, and today is 2 months since seeds sprouted.
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@iDontKnowGrow Its ok steep learning curve, I’m NEW too, Im in same spot. Bought spider farm 27 27 63 kit not knowing anything. Came with sf-1000 not a bad light for that size, but should only have 1 plant in that space, I put 3. I didn’t know, spent 120 got another light, and going to upgrade tent 4x4, or 4x2, what ever I can afford when the time comes. Just trying to piece together, it’s ok just roll with it
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My budget is only a strict $200. Is this light ok for 4x4? VIPARSPECTRA Newest Pro Series P2500 LED
It has a power draw of 250 watts, give or take. 4x4 is gonna be 16 square feet, or 640 watts for optimal growing. You decide.
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Tysm for helping me. So really your lights watts is the #1 thing for growing quality and quantity? Even for just 1 plant you need that amount of watts? Is space my problem or is it just the light? I thought with the net and Lst I’d get least 2-3 plants plus all my equip in 4x4. including a heater. I really don’t have much to choose from now I only have $200 on Amazon. I could get a smaller tent, I got the 4x4 for the extra room. I’m already returning my lights so I could return my tent. Idk what to do now i have almost $500 + the $200 for my light in this with zero income. This was supposed to be calming and fun. I knew I wasn’t going to get some cannabis cup buds but I really thought I’d get my money’s worth at least and learn how to grow too.