Reddit reviews iPower 600 Watt HPS MH Digital Dimmable Grow Light System Kits Air Cooled Reflector Hood Set

Hey, I JUST came off building a setup and it cost me $750 total. We have 3 plants in there right now. I have the entire list with amazon links or store suggestions.

Item| Price | Where To Buy
---|---|----
Tent| $95| We bought this one, I don't know if it's worth spending a lot on anything more expensive. For a smaller option I just got a second with good reviews but can't vouch for it yet.
Lights/Hood/Ballast| $140| I got the 600W set, but 400W would make cooling MUCH easier and still get a big yield. For LEDs at similar price, Viparspectra 300W x2 or a single 600W eliminates need for extra cooling potentially (not included here, we used fans from around the house)
ph Test+Control Kit | $25| GET THIS. The water must be pH'd properly for your babies' health.
Cloth Pots| $20 | These are better for aeration, water flow, training, etc. Cheap and reusable too.
Nutrients | $50 | I got the Fox Farms Trio, but there are many good options out there.
Fan + Filter | $150 | This is huge and might be overkill for you. Make sure whatever you get fits your tent vents (This one fits the Apollo tent above with 6" vents).
Ducting | $20 | Connect fan to filter, to tent, to wherever. Might want multiple sizes, check tent vent sizes.
Foil Tape, Metallic | $10 | Here. Metal Duct tape is best duct tape.
Fan Speed Controller | $20 | Useful for if you do get a fan that is slightly overkill!
Fox Farms Ocean Forest | $15 - $40 | You can buy it online and I did for my first 3 bags....then I found it in a local store for $15. There is some controversy with FF lately, it's not organic FYI. There are tutorials on making your own soil if you care, but I like this because I didn't have to use nutes for 3-4 weeks.
Humidifier | $30 | This is the exact one I have. We're in winter so I need it to keep humidity up, you may not.
Dehumidifier | $40 | There are plenty for this much. You may not need this either.
Cal-Mag | $20 | I haven't needed it yet but it's best to have on hand if you do!
Seeds | $75 | I bought from Attitude, chose stealth, and bought like 15 seeds?, so it was expensive. You can get seeds for less.
Jiffy Pellets | $10 | Used to start seeds. There are other options.
Total | $745 | If you buy all this stuff, you have potentially even more than you need to get started, with room for 3-4x more plants than these boxes, and with nutrients to last you for a long long time!

Hope this helps! I'd hate to see you drop so much on it when you don't need to at all.

Had some fun with LST the other day and can't wait to work on the plants some more. I really love how quickly the plants bounce back from the training. I included some more details in the pics regarding what I believe to be a calcium deficiency. Plants were fed with 1/4 strength nutes for the first time last watering. I also sprayed both plants with neem oil as a preventative measure last night.

INFO

Plants: (1) Feminized Barney's Farm Vanilla Kush & (1) Feminized DNA Genetics Tangilope.

Tent: 3'x3'x6' Apollo Tent

Light: iPower 600w closed hood currently running at 100% power 15" away.

Fan: 440CFM exhaust fan

Carbon Scrubber: 6"x16" phresh filter

Soil: 3/4 roots organics & 1/4 big & chunky perlite

Nutes: General Organics GO Box 1 feeding of 1/4 strength calmag and grow veg last watering

Pots: RR > solo cup > 2gal smart pot (currently) > 7gal smart pot

This is the point where you should decide if you are going to continue this hobby or are you just going to keep "experimenting". So its either you can fork out around

$150 http://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLSETX400DHMCT6-400-Watt-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B005GYRB9S/ref=sr_1_6?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1369689863&sr=1-6&keywords=HID+light

or

$170 http://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLSETX600DHMAC6-600-Watt-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B005GYRZV2/ref=sr_1_8?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1369689863&sr=1-8&keywords=HID+light

I think CFLs are a great way of growing but has its limitations that might not meet with the growers expectations. No one wants to feel like the end product or experience wasn't worth the time and cost in the end.

True, usually that is during the peak of summer, and usually peaks at like 1300 w. Most areas will be accompanied by heat too. Those days usually are detrimental to plants. Difference could be, you may be supplying 24/7 light, at the perfect wattage. I have a 15x5x8 mylar covered room. Running a 400- 600 watt hps lamp in a 5x5 section, keeping it around 75°f, and having adequate air circulation, would be the equivalent of a perfect growing environment. In addition to that, it would be 24/7 growth. With that in mind, you wouldn't be recieving stretching, it would be optimal growth.


Another very important factor to consider. Light distance. If your 400 w hps/ mh is 18 in. Your plants may display stretching. If you can provide enough cooling to keep the plant from burning up, keeping your light at 4 in. Your light would be much more effective. The lights in this pic, id have about an in from the canopy, and a small desk fan to keep them cool.

Now, if you wanted to skip the heat issue, but keep the high wattage, id suggest higher efficiency led lights like quantum boards. Where you can give your plant 600w or more, without as much of the heat issue.

Links for cheaper quantum boards

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link for hps/mh lights(less efficient)

Link 4(no vent)

Link 4(vent hood)

I can't speak to how this compares to LED as I'm on my first grow and have never used LEDs but I'm using this light at 75% in a 4x2x5 tent with this fan/filter combo. Currently in flower and the temps have never gone above 82. Hope this helps.

While I'm not sure how much you are looking to spend on this project I can tell you have already spent a couple hundred, sadly not as efficiently as you should have.

The space you have looks pretty large, I would guess 3x7 at least. To properly light that area in veg I would either move the plants much closer together and put them under one something like this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000AXTNCS

You could also get two of those and use the whole space like you currently are. Cfls are good for newbies in a small space, that's really it.

That light will only really cut it for veg so for flower I would recommend something like these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005GYRZV2?cache=94ec3d3c76af2956089a92af8b0d91c8&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70#ref=mp_s_a_1_5&qid=1393808368&sr=8-5.

This setup has bulbs for both veg and flower and could be used for both parts instead of the t5 I linked.

I bought this kit (minus the timer). It looks like they don't sell it without that timer included anymore. Mine was around $140-$150: Light setup

I have a mother tent, but I built my flower room myself using my very limited skills and Mediman's book, Marijuana Made Simple, as a guide for a few hundred.

Yeah, it also could have been just bad luck.

You're probably right about the hoods, too. I remember now that they were different types of hoods. I just looked, and the shitty one is also sold as an iPower.

Though it was missing about half the screws it was supposed to come with. It just felt cheap and shitty and took a long time to put together. I mistakenly put it together before testing the ballast and after the ballast didn't work, I had to take the whole thing apart again for shipping. I couldn't get it to fit back in the box properly and kinda just jammed in in there. Luckily, Amazon didn't seem to mind and still gave me the full refund. It's a shame too, because I really liked the size of the hood.

That really helps, thanks. I want to do my girls proud when the time comes.

I looked at the sidebar on MicroGrowery and saw the brand recommendation is iPower for HPS. I have these choices available to me.

iPower GLSETX600DHMAC6 600W Light Digital Dimmable System for Plants-Air Cooled Hood Set

iPower GLSETX600DHMWING20T 600W Light Digital Dimmable HPS MH Grow Light Ballast System for Plant with Wing Set

iPower GLSETX600DHMCT6 600W Light Digital Dimmable HPS MH Grow Light System for Plants-Cool Tube Set

iPower GLSETX600DHAC6 Digital Dimmable HPS Grow Light System for Plants with Air Cooled Hood Set, 600W

iPower GLSETX600DHCT6 Digital Dimmable HPS Grow Light System for Plants with Cool Tube Set, 600W

Which do you think would be the best for the 47x47 area?

And I will follow your advice about getting the inline fan with carbon filter.

I'd get a 600 watt combo instead like this
i'd recommend some fem seeds from nirvanashop.com for your first grow. is there a specific reason you can't let the plants veg? DWC needs very little veg time. learn to clone as you go. it's easy to build various diy cloners. a bubble cloner is super simple. use air stones because they're cheaper to replace regularly, clogging will happen.

those buckets are a scam, i personally just made them myself with a 4" hole saw and home depot buckets, run the air line through the lid. i guess you could use them, theyre not bad, but look out for other things the money could be better spent on.

will you need a carbon filter?

is there a way to vent the lamp hood outside the grow area? i suppose with those low ambient temps you'll be fine, but you don't want them getting too cold in their dark period either.

Glass, it's sealed. This heat damage showed up almost overnight. They looked ok, fed them, the next night they were fubar.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GYRZV2

This would be a more reasonable comparison: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005GYRZV2/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1380846081&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165

Lol no worries. No I'm too careful to touch the light while its hot. Its this 600W light set. I have it set at 75% and it was probably at about 12 inches at the time.

I've got this one on its way from amazon right now @ $214

I've heard good things about them over on grasscity forums.

Woot, just checked ups and apparently it is waiting at my door for me when I get home from work!

How big is your tent?

Multiply length by width to get square feet. Divide the total draw of the LEDs by the square footage to get watts per square foot. Is to at least 70 watts per a square foot? If not, you need a more powerful light.

As a first timer, go with a 600 watt metal halide lamp. Yes, you will use 30% more power and heat, but you will get real 600 watts of MH light. You can always upgrade later!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005GYRZV2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481229999&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=600+watt+grow+light&dpPl=1&dpID=51I4i8fTXVL&ref=plSrch

You can buy something like this [I power 600w kit] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005GYRZV2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481363203&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=B0052AGBRO%7CB005DOS0R8%7CB005GYRZV2%7CB005HB33J2%7CB005HB3L6W%7CB006DS3BA4%7CB008H15WFM%7CB00A3679Z0%7CB00CQ8ROYO%7CB00CQ9JYGY%7CB00E5O82XE%7CB00E5PCI2E%7CB00E5PFJYS&dpPl=1&dpID=51I4i8fTXVL&ref=plSrch&th) for 160$ I haven't used it so I don't know about it

CMH: https://amzn.to/2TNnKrM all around great light, people really like them for their light spectrum and efficiency as and HID type of light.

HPS: https://amzn.to/2UUK0QM comes with MH and HPS bulbs, MH for veg, HPS for flower typically.

COB LEDs: https://www.sungrownled.com/product-page/s4-cob-led

Quantum Board LED: People really like HLG like here: https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/all/products/hlg-300-v2

If its pricey for your taste, Alibaba has some chinese companies that do great work: https://kingbriteled.en.alibaba.com/product/60810713298-806952836/300W_QB288_KingBrite_samsung_lm561c_led_quantum_board_3500K.html

It was this kit

Its worked well for about 18mo, but I'll be switching to LED after my next grow.

You can find some photos in my post history. They're not great for examining my setup though.

if you want something simple and insanely well priced when compared to other nutrients then check out dyna-gro.

dynagro foliage pro + pro-tekt and you will be years above most other growers. just focus on your environment which IMHO is the most important thing.

what is good about dynagro is it has everything in it as a base nutrient. with most other products (botanicare, GH, and famously Adv Nutrients) the base leaves out C and MG and micro nutrients.

Protekt is a silica additive that makes the plants noticeably stronger and thicker healthier stems.

If you call dynagro's number you can get a starter kit with a PK booster (used around week 4 and 7 of flower).


If you only want to water once every few days I suggest a hempy bucket https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=98419

You can do a coco hempy bucket too and is very popular as well. if you decide to go that route make sure to grab some botanicare Calmag. So your list would be dynagro foliage pro/dynagro protekt/botanicare calmag.

You will 100% need to buy a PH meter and I strongly advise an EC/PPM meter. These are the ones I use

https://smile.amazon.com/Oakton-EcoTestr-Waterproof-Tester-Range/dp/B004G8PWAU/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1479005211&sr=8-13&keywords=ph+meter
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FPG89CE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In a hempy bucket and coco always PH to 5.5-6.2

If you were to put the plants in your pic in to a 3 gallon hempy bucket with vermiculite and perlite for the first 2-3 weeks you are going to want to water once every 2/3 days until a little bit of water flows out. Then when they get big once per day.

I would strongly, strongly suggest not using CFL's. It would be a better investment to get a 250-600w HPS. they are really cheap on amazon. If you go with 250w you dont want the plants to get bigger then a foot or so before you flip the schedule to 12 hours on and 12 hours off.

150W - LINK - Grow 1-4 small plants

600W - LINK - Grow 4-6 medium plants


Dont spend so much time on nutrients and what type of grow medium and focus mostly on keeping a good enviornment in terms of temp and humidity and fresh air. You also need to consider when you flower the room needs to be 100% dark. Even a tiny pinhole of light coming in can be very bad

iPower 600 Watt HPS MH Digital Dimmable Grow Light System Kits Air Cooled Reflector Hood Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GYRZV2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_VMnElrNdwb561
2x BESTVA 1000W LED Grow Light Full... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01871AHTC?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I could honestly use 1 more 600 hps light to get the most out of my area. I can dedicate an entire room, so I have veggie companions.

As for the trichs, you'll want to measure calyxes on your mature buds (the one you pic'd).
You already have a good amount of amber, so if the rest are milky you'd want to harvest.

4x4 tent with 4 plants and a decent veg time and you could get about a lb or maybe a little less every 5 months.

4x4 set up is a lot less than $1000

tent $100 https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-Hydroponic-Indoor-Growing/dp/B00H9O6UJ0

light $170 https://www.amazon.com/iPower-Digital-Dimmable-System-Reflector/dp/B005GYRZV2

exhaust fan $100 https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-ACDF6-Active-Air-Inline/dp/B00KWYJQYA

clip fans $20 - $40 https://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Zone-Clip-Stands-anywhere/dp/B000U9V47E

You still need buckets and soil as well as seeds or clones, but the bulk of what you need is right there.

You could swap out the HID lamp for some leds easily enough. Or upgrade to slightly better quality items, but you can get started for pretty cheap if you want.

Add a second set up like this and you can go perpetual grow and harvest several times a year.

Interestingly enough, most of my store-bought lights like this one or this one put out way more than 5000 lumens. The T5 puts out 23000 and the HPS puts out 37000. Granted, they're not 1 inch x 1 inch in size.

I've heard that a good aluminum heat sink will work just fine for one of these, so I got this guy here along with some thermal compound.

Haven't put it all together yet, but I need to figure out a solution for mounting the driver. I'd like it to be one solid unit but I don't think I want to mount the driver to the other end of the heat sink for fear of overheating.

Do yourself a favor and get a 600w HPS with an air cooled hood and a good inline fan and filter.

I have the one that came with this kit https://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLSETX600DHMAC6-600-Watt-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B005GYRZV2/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1474585165&sr=1-1&keywords=ipower+600w

Well, I just found this one on amazon, for 167, it seem to include everything one would need for it.

https://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLSETX600DHMAC6-600-Watt-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B005GYRZV2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1483990400&sr=8-8&keywords=High+Pressure+Sodium+Lights

That is a lot cheaper than my system was, for about the same thing.