First timer looking for lighting advice

[101]

Kind folks on Reddit sent me here. Sorry if I sound like an idiot. I’m a noob.

I’m building my first indoor setup (in a tiny NYC apartment) and am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Especially choosing lights.

Considering a Gorilla or AC Infinity tent, either 2’x4’ or 3’x3’ could get away with a 4’x4’ if I push it.

Gonna do Grassroots living soil fabric pots or bed using no till organic.

So my initial idea for lighting is Green Sunshine company’s Electric Sky 300 V3 » Wideband LED Grow Light.

But Reddit panned this as too expensive. Lighting is my #1 priority for budget. My budget is generous because I’m growing my own medicine and have saved a lot of money not using my MMJ card because… here in NY the dispo quality is hit or miss at best. (I don’t want to be too dismissive because for lotsa folks it is their only option. Apologies if I offend!)

Because I’m a noob I bought a bunch of Mephisto autos before I knew what autos were. I now appreciate these are not ideal for noobs like me. Sour Orange Diesel Kush, Mango Smile, Northern Cheese Haze, Sour Stomper, Crème de la Chem, Three Bears OG, Skywalker and Forum Stomper.

What lights do you recommend? Thanks and hello world.

[vincentadultman]

Hey 101, glad to see you posting on here! I am not an expert on the higher end lights as I pretty much buy whatever is cheapest that will still work. You should stop by Introduce Yourself @OG and introduce yourself if you have a chance.

[Cormoran]

Too expensive for a 330w, certainly. I’m using one that’s about the same wattage from growlightscience.com, it costs about half that. Most of the best deals are in that same range, $1/watt or slightly more. Spider Farmer, HLG, Mars Hydro, and Solstrips are all solid, probably plenty of others as well.

You also might have more success with photos to start; as you mentioned, autos are pretty unforgiving if you don’t have everything exactly dialed in. If you want to buy some photos immediately, Mark or FDM on Strainly are good options where you can get them for about $1 a seed. You can also probably get some for free just by introducing yourself in the intro thread, then hanging around here for a few days until someone does a seed run and wants to send out testers in exchange for trivia questions. Good to have something cheap, or better yet free, to experiment with first before burning up those expensive, unclonable autos.

[DougDawson]

Welcome to OG @101 . Hey bud, there are so many lights out there. HLG are a great brand I have used. I am currently using the Mars Bar lights with great success. If you choose a specific size tent I will give model recommendations. Also there is nothing really wrong with autos and Mephisto is a good brand to go with if you are heading down that road.

[Jango]

Hi 101, good that Reddit sent you to OG, theres a whole community of experts and noobs like us here, welcome to where you need to be.
As for lighting, full spectrum LED is probably your best bet, I have a 400w power draw led in a 4x4 tent and its a great combo, and a 4x4 tent is more versatile than a smaller one, think future proofing. With that in mind you could go bigger with your led as they have dimmer controls. Dont get a blue/red (blurple) light, full spectrum should look white.

[Loggershands]

Hey @101! Welcome to OG!

It’s a really good question! Lighting is arguably one of the most important parts of growing top shelf medicine. I did a thread on lighting deals that has a bunch of great lights in it. Hope this helps - Black Friday Deals - lighting edition

[Kami]

@101 welcome, If this is your first grow I would recommend that you would get a four by four tent and also a two-by-four tent because you would want a flower and you need to veg mother’s clones Etc at the same time to keep your strains going you have no problem filling a 4 by 4 tent with 3 female plants LED lights you get what you pay for sometimes in terms of electricity than more efficient you get the less it will cost over the long term but you’ll probably have a higher upfront cost hlg just came out with the new blackbird and that seems to be perfect for a 4 by 4 tent for veg to flower in terms of the smaller tent I would just get a small T5 fixture because they are very cheap off of Amazon A-6 bulb would be perfect for the two by four tent I would go with the AC Infinity tents and don’t forget you’ll need some fans and ventilation probably carbon filter as well even though it’s legal I don’t want to draw too much attention best of luck with growing you could go with feminized seeds that means you won’t have to grow extra plants to get rid of the males but I feel like regular phototropic plants offer the best selection of genetics it just takes a little work to get through

[Gpaw]

Electric Sky is a good light but it’s older technology, I think it came out in 2017? You can get similar quality for le$$

Pick the tent then pick the light, The AC Infinity is a good tent for the price. You want 30 watts/square foot. Dimmable is important feature.

Cheers
G

[Dirt_Wizard]

I agree I just got one of these, and while I think it could have better light sealing around the zippers, it’s not bad, and the overall footprint and setup is really good for a small space, I think. The fabric is extremely high quality, and the zippers seem good. The steel frame and corners seem very strong, and since it’s designed as a two chamber tent, it has an extra set of bracing poles on the roof that make it very rigid once together. It also came with a nice ski-style bag to pack everything back up in, made of the tent material. I like how many venting options it has, since there are a few extra vs a single chamber tent. I haven’t used the split chambers yet (comes with a divider) but it seems like a good format for a small NYC apartment:

CLOUDLAB 743D, 2-in-1 Advance Grow Tent 4x3, 2000D Mylar Canvas, 48" x 36" x 72"

[Sasquatch]

@101 , I have grown indoor and outdoor off and on since 1983. Lighting is an important factor. The dollar a watt or a little bit more is a good guide currently. Avoid no-name alibaba brands, look for recent generation Samsung diodes. You can build a light for less than you can buy a light, but if you don’t trust yourself for wiring something that CAN start a fire, like me, I would recommend Solstrip.com, one of the principals is one of the original guys at Overgrow 1.0. I have their least expensive lights (x2) and working well for me, on my third cycle with them. My first LEDs, used metal halide and HPS in the past, with good results but the heat issue with those may be something you want to avoid in a NY apartment. Have heard that the AC Infinity tents are good bang for the buck, and you definitely want good ventilation and probably a carbon filter by flower time to keep the smell under control. If autos are what you have, use them. A PH pen is key!!! I grow in soil and check solution PH and runoff PH. If you are in the zone, don’t overwater( a common mistake ) and pay attention to what your plant is telling you, you will be just fine with autos. Everyone who has posted on your thread here is on point. Remember, help is just a few posts away in this community . BTW, T5s are cheap and can get you thru seedling and veg, but LEDs and/or High Pressure Sodium are key for dense and productive flowering. Good luck!!! Nothing more rewarding than producing your own medicine IMHO!!!

[Dirt_Wizard]

I have had good luck so far with my lights from HLG, I have a 550 R-Spec that’s a good match for a 4x4, in the 3x4 I have a 135w QB panel kit from them for veg, and a homemade build with their emitters that’s 320w for flowering in there. There are cheaper and better options for DIY, but if you wanted to try it, I think they’re the easiest option for a beginner. A 320w light kit with the XL heatsink so the three panels are better spaced out for an elongated space would fit the 3x4 well:

And if you want to read or ask questions about DIY using the popular Bridgelux strips, there’s a very active discussion here:

Cheap LED Strips : A Viable Alternative

I have no problem with ‘farmer engineering’ so long as it holds together… Cheers G

[Kami]

@Sasquatch I agree nicely worded and nice pics

[anon98660487]

I don’t have any dimmers on my lights,and all my grows are fine
Think that’s an old wife’s tale,and I grow autos and photos

[anon98660487]

I use these $40 on eBay they don’t come with a dimmer and I grow dank weed been using these lights over 2 years

People think to much about growing weed it shouldn’t be hard to grow weed,you don’t have to sell a kidney to pay for a setup

I have $60 Walmart tents and cheap eBay lights
Go look at my grows plenty of photos on here

[Pawsfodocaws]

I use two 600 watt hps for one 4x8 tent. And 1 1000 watt hps for 5x10 room. The 600 watt lights are in enclosed hoods with ventilation, as is the 1000 but I managed to get a xxxl dominator hood for it, and well I love it. Does wonders. I stick with hps because I got a ton of ballasts and bulbs for free. Can’t beat free.

[Neb]

Knowing how much you smoke would help us tell you how strong of a light to go for and some tips on ur setup.

[anon98660487]

I smoke shit loads of weed what’s that got to do with lights

[Neb]

like i smoke around a oz a week atleast and would be hard pressed to cover that with a spider farmer1000 or whatever for example.

[Gpaw]

Dimmers are not necessary but they are a sweet feature.
For me, it saves a lot of fiddling with the light hangers. Now my light is 42" x 44|" it’s more of an effort to re-jig the lights.

Cheers
G

[anon98660487]

I probably smoke
More than you
I use $40 alights I have 2 of them in my 3-3 tent
These are all 6ft tall plants