Growing to make cannabis oil. I actually have no idea yet what yield I will need to make my medical supply. Starting small, maybe 3-4 plants?
I went the lazy and cheap rout with my “build” compared to even the solo strips. I’m using bathroom vanity light strips mounted to a few strips of wood. Then I got some household LED light bulbs, took the plastic domes off them, and screwed them into the light sockets. Very modular, but get quality bulbs. I got some cheap bulbs at a habitat for humanity store, $2 for a 4pk. Getting all the bulbs sealed out to better bulbs will prob get me better results. But I kinda want something nicer looking too lol. I also added a few reptile UVB cfl bulbs.
Maybe I need to get different fert blend (organic amendments in promix), and dialing in one or two strains will help vs playing with a single clone of each is also prob a big part of my problem lol. But most are recommending a new light instead, so not going to argue lol
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Around here we call that wily! Sweet shot. Thanks for sharing. Honestly looks pretty damn cool.
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Well it’s one choice anyway. This is what I got using an HLG 550 Rspec in a 4x4. No room for microgreens though. It’s defiantly a good light in that space. There are cheaper alternatives that will do just as well.
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:::: eyeballs pop ::::
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That’s a sweet setup
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I honestly really like how flexible the setup is, but replacing all the bulbs with spectrum tuned “grow bulbs” will cost more than getting a new fixture. But I think I can also achieve more desirable results (potency and yield) with better quality household bulbs, just don’t want to do all the trial and error, or wasting more time/money.
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I’ve used these for extra light there bright bulbs
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EBay specials lol
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They can be hard to lightproof as well
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I am a reef keeper and I have used a wide array of lighting and researched lighting heavily since my teens. I don’t skimp on my reef lighting, CRI is important as is maintaining intensity. There are some good arguments to be made for why lighting is more expensive in that world and it’s often worth it if you can afford it. However, with how quickly LED lighting changes and prices go down, and the simpler needs of cannabis I just don’t think it’s worth it. I have some Kuarez lighting from amazon that was $120 and it fills my 2x4 with more light than needed and I’m roasting some plants with this light in my big tent. It also hasn’t missed a beat with 24/7 service for a year.
As for the tent, my cheapo tent has served my well. My AC infinity, a small step up gets here tomorrow, we’ll see if if the thicker canvas was worth it…
Mephisto is a great choice for genetics from all I hear. I’m about to start an all or mostly #mephisto run in a couple weeks in my 4x8.
I’m running a few different ones from you, Jammy Dodgers 2, Strawberry Nuggets, Skystomper 2.0, CDLC, Double Grape, Northern cheese Haze, and then some crosses from some members here and/or mephisto freebies. Let me know if you ever want to trade some seeds, I’ll teach you the hard lesson I just learned on how not to do it 
Lastly, welcome to the community! I’m fairly new myself, but I think you’ll be blown away by what a great place this is.
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A lot more intensity than I was expecting, only negative is the dimmer is on the back side of the driver and when mounted isn’t accessible. I’ve got one running in a closet at 48” and the 1 beside it off just to get the DLI down to 35 
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I’d recommend you go with an electronic ballast like a lumatek 315W and a CMH bulb. They give you a lot less heat than an HPS would but still a lot more than LED which is notoriously deficient in heat for the plants, except perhaps the lights you mentioned, though I haven’t yet seen it with my own eyes, I could see what they are promising coming somewhat true. BUT, being one that bought into the led craze at HLG, I gotta say that honestly, no LED set up has been able to truly cope with the results gotten from an HPS type set up, and that does seem to ring true for CMH. CMH was being touted as the next big thing in lighting, but somehow didn’t really catch on, despite having excellent results, perhaps because of the higher initial cost vs HPS. The led community WAS ready to pay up the big price for this though, and they, me included, kinda got fucked sideways for it, to put it bluntly.
I mean, yeah, my highest rate was 1.7g/W with these boards, but that’s counting a lot of popcorn bud and a long vegetative phase just to get a high and even horizontal canopy. Time is money though, says the light as he chomps on my wallet, so having a light that penetrates to a reasonable depth becomes all the more interesting.
Coupled with a Secret Jardin umbrella type hood they run about 300 bucks per 315W light, or you could go with the 630W version if you like to go big. Either way, if you use an electronic ballast (recommended as it’s more silent, no hum, and is dimmable) you can, on some ballasts, boost the power up an extra 10% should you feel the need to, raising the possibility of using 1 room for veg and bloom, just changing out the lamp, or simply using one that has an in-between spectrum for the entire grow.
But hey, I’m just one not that satisfied HLG customer, running 2 of their boards. I doubt I’ll be a repeat customer.
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@reefer I think you win the award for perfect handle for two contexts. And your job sounds fascinating. I assume you saw this? Was it as big a deal as the BBC made out?
Thanks for the comments and warm welcome. Excited to have found where the cool kids hang out. The Mephisto seeds I have are: Skystomper 2.0, Skywalker, 3 Bears OG, Creme de la Chem, Northern Cheese Haze, Samsquash OG, Forum Stomper and the two I’m most excited about: Mango Smile, and Sour Orange Diesel Kush.
As I live in an area where energy costs are high, my driver for light selection is running costs over 3 years. I’m probably going with a Migro light.
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Awww design fail!
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Thanks for the feedback! It is a dizzying world to wrap one’s head around. I am eyeing the Migro right now because I want to minimize the ongoing run costs. Usually we have an excess of heat (classic overheated NYC apartments). I am gonna be on a giant learning curve for a while even after I manage my first harvest. I don’t smoke so I will be enjoying cannabinoids, terps and flavs via sublingual oil dosing. I’m like the guy in the epic who slings his sack over his shoulder and heads for the hills for the big adventure…
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I have a buddy that uses the 315 cmh and his stuff always looks nice.
Just remember with any light there is a learning curb because they all grow differently.
I currently use mars led and before that I used cobs. It took some getting used to because of the different light spectrums and the difference in how they produced heat.
The cobs produced nice buds but a plant can only take so much of them.
The mars produced a much nicer colored plant that has better bud structure. Plus I only run them @50% power.
Nothing lasts forever, and I noticed from the cobs that leds loose intensity over the years. Im not telling you which brand to buy because those boards pretty much all come from the same manufacturer. Whatever you decide, just take the time to learn how it works. They cost too dang much to just be sitting in the closet going unused.
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Whatever you decide, just take the time to learn how it works. They cost too dang much to just be sitting in the closet going unused.
Ding, ding, ding. I’m really keen on going with Migro because I know I can email Shane for help. It’s a big expense but I have a kid who does windowsill science with microgreens and I think he would have fun… this is also pushing me to go 4’x4’ rather than my original 2’ x 4’ plan. Just make a fun place for the whole family to play, ya know?
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He does sell other suppliers, yep. I just need to pull the trigger and go go go. I’m pretty sure a dozen different lights would work for me. I’m so overthinking it.
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