whats your opinion on this light? Obviously the 600w in the description means nothing to me… i’m just looking for something cheap that will work for me in an are no bigger than 2x1.5. Ive been doing some reading about leds and just some general research and i’m still unsure of what the best route for me to go in. MY budget is rather small at the moment so low price is key. I know when asking for something cheap that the quality isnt going to be there. So family, how can i get the best bang for my buck?
For what you want to do it’ll be fine… usually people will tell you that what you’ll get with the cheap lights is about 1$/watt… but you might be really pulling 200-250…
And as far as your budget goes my whole grow room cost me less than 800$… I’m pretty cheap as well lol
But get growing lol
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Have you got any special reason to choose LED?
If you are on budget, I’d go with HPS lamp.
I’d say that this YGrow for 89$ will be sub par 100 watt LED of unknown quality. LEDs are good but only if you invest little bit more and know exactly what type of chips you are buying.
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my reasons for choosing led is i’m growing in a small space and trying to not run into heat issues with the HPS, cooling the area would just be another cost, upfront and monthly itd cost me more.
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Well, you get what you pay for. This light says it uses 150-watts (to equal 1000-watt HPS) which for a 2x1.5 is about 50-watts / sqft. You could use it temporarily, but you will want to upgrade it eventually.
Personally, for that space, I would spend a few extra bucks and get an HLG 135-watt Quantum Board.
https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group-quantum-board-led-kits/products/horticulture-lighting-group-135-watt-quantum-board-led-kit
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Thanks @ReikoX that light looks awesome, sadly it is more than what i’m looking to pay for.
Right now i’m just trying to get something set up for fun and some personal smoke. I just looking to get a little bit of free smoke every coupe months and have fun while saving money on my electric.
Craigslist is worth a look, search on “grow light”. The local one has everything from Fluence to Gavita to cheap LED’s on sale for less than 50% of new.
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That light I liked uses one of the most efficient diodes in the market (Samsung LM561C). It is also powered by one of the most efficient drivers (Mean Well HLG series) This means you get more photons and less heat.
Seriously consider spending a little more on an LED. That light you linked is not using efficient LEDs or drivers. Compared to the HLG-135 you will have more heat and less light, guaranteed.
I know I started out with cheaper LEDs, bought a second one to “double yield” even. Ones is ripped apart and the other I’m giving away. I spent close to $500 for both lights. If I would have spent a little more up front, I could have the light I have now (4x Cree CXB3590) instead of spending that money twice.
Heck I’m even considering buying a $1500 light for my new 5x5 room. I’ve easily spent that much on DIY LEDs for my garden over the last couple of years.
Think of it this way, I can get mid grade flowers for around $10 a gram here. If you grow a single ounce you will have paid for that light and then some. Plus you (hopefully) won’t be smoking miss either. 
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This guy is selling two SpyderX+ for half price, are you anywhere near CT??? This fixture is too heavy for my ailing back to lift or I’d already have them 
https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/grd/d/fluence-bioengineering-spydrx/6553355379.html
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lots of thanks for the link muleskinner, found good tips here, appreciating a lot.
generally thanks for all the tips i found here!
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If I’m looking for cheap I’d buy something that can be upgraded later.
In that price range on Amazon take a look at the ones with"cob" chips, so later you can swap out the chips for more efficient ones.
Plus even the cheap cob chips are better than the diode designs.
Gromau5e on YouTube does some cool cheap budget minded led upgrade videos.
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Thanks for all the ideas guys… For right now a generous fellow at here is helping me put by sending me a light they don’t have use for now… Thanks @ReikoX again! So I’ll be using my remaining budget for other things for the grow but I of course will continue being frugal in the future so all the advice is greatly appreciated.
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