Kosel Den Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Hi all, I’ve decided to upgrade my light from a MarsHydro ts600 (100watt draw), to a 600watt HPS with dimmable ballast. My question is, would this be the best next step up? I'm trying to find the right balance of light for the girls and manageable leccy bill. I feel that although the MarsHydro has done a good gob in veg, I’m not sure it’ll have the guts to do a good bloom without many extra weeks on top, or additional led’s thrown in the tent. Advice, knowledge and experiences are most welcome. Go easy, tis my first grow and am trying to dial everything in to suit my needs and situation. D 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRider Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Light power will depend upon your space. A 600W HPS is certainly going to out yield and out perform a 100W LED in the right setup. However it seems a bit backward to me to go from LED to HPS in terms of quality. I'd much rather LED grown weed to HPS weed. If you require more power, could you not consider a bigger LED? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosel Den Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 @SkyRider grow space is only small, 80x80x160. A LED upgrade was on the cards but after much searching and researching it seems that only pro and pricey LED’s will get good results. Where as I’ve always heard that HPS lights are the go to for growing and healthy yields. Id like to stay using LED’s but trying to find a decent and recommended one for my budget of £120 max is proving a little harder than I thought it would be. I can’t afford to waste money on something that doesn’t perform. Can I ask what you feel the differences are between weed grown under LED and HPS? Excuse my ignorance, I just always thought that LED was the ‘economical’ way to grow, and HPS was the way of more power & better spectrum for the plant. Thanks in advance 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 @Kosel Den Have a word with Adam or Craig (site sponsors) and see which led they can supply for your area. LEDs are higher up front cost but cheaper to run as you can dim them for a large part of the grow, they also give better coverage than hps and the quality is much higher. Yields are also higher with mine jumping up from around the 1gpw to 1.6gpw at their best. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilgePump Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 600w of hps in an 80cm² space is far too much, you'll cook yer plants , 250w would be much more suitable. HP's Vs led ... Remember a watt is a watt but LEDs use them more efficiently than hps. A gram per watt was always the benchmark for HPS grows nowadays lads are getting 2+gpw under newer led fixtures 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRider Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Just now, Kosel Den said: I just always thought that LED was the ‘economical’ way to grow, and HPS was the way of more power & better spectrum for the plant. LEDs will have a better spectrum than HPS lights. HPS are very old school now. If you wanted to go down the more conventional lamp route, then I'd look into CMH. They provide a far nicer spectrum than HPS and the quality of weed is superior imo. I personally think LEDs are far more flexible too. I'm not sure HPS provide more power either, I've heard of people obtaining some very healthy yields under LEDs these days. Generally the positive of HPS over LEDs is that they are cheap, which is what a lot of new growers want/need. Or commercial farmers, they still love them. I went from HPS -> CMH (did play with LEDs for a while before but they were still blurples) -> LEDs. 5 minutes ago, Kosel Den said: Can I ask what you feel the differences are between weed grown under LED and HPS? I think this is a debated topic. I've heard people say that growers just don't know how to grow under HPS to produce the same results. However from my experience, there was a vast improvement in terms of the quality (flavour and high) of the bud grown under LED/CMH compared to HPS. The improved spectrum from these systems more closely represents what the plant would get outside as opposed to HPS which is a very mono spectrum nearly - You can visually see this difference in the output of the light, yellow versus a more natural white from LEDs, so it makes sense that the plant would probably perform better under those conditions. 12 minutes ago, Kosel Den said: A LED upgrade was on the cards but after much searching and researching it seems that only pro and pricey LED’s will get good results. Yea, the cheaper ones you generally see on ebay promising the world for peanuts aren't going to do the job. I have a general rule, if somethings advertises itself as 1000W but only has a 150W draw, stay away. Look for the honest products. I have a PAR240+. Guess what it draws at the wall? Yep, 240W! Just now, stu914 said: Have a word with Adam or Craig (site sponsors) and see which led they can supply for your area. Top advice here @Ledgrowlights-Adam @ledgrowlights-Craig 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledgrowlights-Adam Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 A Good led for that area (250w) would be 180 is i think is the cheapest whilst still being a good product. Other wise a 400w hps or 315w CMH would be perfect. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosel Den Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 Thank you for all of your input guys, good points made and has given me more food for thought. I’m now swaying more to stay with LED, advice and situation calls for it really. I’m going to check out the diyleduk site and see what’s the best I can afford. To say I’m regretting wasting 70 quid on the Mars is an understatement, but armed with a little new knowledge and a few extra quid I can get something more suitable like I should’ve done in the first place 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRider Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 18 minutes ago, Kosel Den said: To say I’m regretting wasting 70 quid on the Mars is an understatement It won't be a complete waste bud. Usually you find in this hobby at some point things get a bit "out of control" and you end up having a few more plants than you intended Extra lights come in handy then 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Personunknown Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 I used hps for over 10yrs and led now for around the same time, i wont go back unless i have no choice (light breaks and skint so hps would then fill the gap till better off) LED for the win imho, Atb 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 @Kosel Den Buy cheap buy twice in this game bud, (I think most of us are guilty of that at the start)...as already said, all is not lost... The mars will also make a nice little light for starting seeds, clones and early veg, giving you a head start on the next crop. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey McBongface Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 The good thing about LED is it only takes 1 decent crop to pay for itself. If your Mars light is still doing the job for now I’d continue to save up and buy a replacement LED when you have the extra cash. Just checking out the AC Infinity Ionboard S33. It’s £280 but really does look superb. 2.7 240w be ideal for your space. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbal Kint Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Winter is coming am switching back to hps,or mix of led and hps.Like the idea using leds from April to October. Just my 2p 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Personunknown Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 @Herbal Kint makes more sense than heaters , if your in a cold space i guess with the mix you'd only need heaters on lights off instead of constant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey McBongface Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 South African sativas seem to cope really well in cold conditions, I suppose it makes sense considering how cold it can get there at night. Could be an interesting experiment, potentially a good way to avoid problems in the winter months without additional heating. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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