Hempstar 3 Stage LED Grow

Hudsonvalley82

Well-Known Member
180W Blackstar (get the six band if anything) only draws about 100W. I would go with that. I would much rather have the problem of having a more powerful light, and try to figure out a way to fit more plants, than having an under powered grow and have to get more lights. Thats just me. Also blackstar mixes its lens angles by spectrum. Some spectra have 120s, some have 90s, some have 60s. Depends on what wavelength.

ISIS has a 170W panel that draws about 120W, that is running $379 however.

But I don't want to take away from the thread too much.
Grow room, 2' X 2 1/2' X 7 ft closet.
Flat white walls
Grows 2 X 2 X 3 ft tall plants from top of soil pot.
Presently using a 250 MH/HPS and pleased with the results so far. Heat & fans are a pain though.

Not too sure about the 90 watt blackstar.

Thinking the
180 w Blackstar / Lighthouse, 6 band, 2 w, may be too much.

See a Dr. Growrite that only has 3 bands, but 3 watt LEDS at 150 watts.

Am I looking / thinking right here?
Seems the Lighthouse may be the better choice and just raise it if it's too much?
I'd prefer a couple of 50's but see none with anything other than 1 w LEDs. :roll:
If this is all wrong maybe you'd make a suggestion?
Thank you.
 

ledbudguy

New Member
180W Blackstar (get the six band if anything) only draws about 100W. I would go with that. I would much rather have the problem of having a more powerful light, and try to figure out a way to fit more plants, than having an under powered grow and have to get more lights. Thats just me. Also blackstar mixes its lens angles by spectrum. Some spectra have 120s, some have 90s, some have 60s. Depends on what wavelength.

ISIS has a 170W panel that draws about 120W, that is running $379 however.

But I don't want to take away from the thread too much.
I love how you always metion how either isis or 357 is more expensive than crapstar hudson... epic buildup for the eventual smackdown ;)
 

ledbudguy

New Member
Grow room, 2' X 2 1/2' X 7 ft closet.
Flat white walls
Grows 2 X 2 X 3 ft tall plants from top of soil pot.
Presently using a 250 MH/HPS and pleased with the results so far. Heat & fans are a pain though.

Not too sure about the 90 watt blackstar.

Thinking the
180 w Blackstar / Lighthouse, 6 band, 2 w, may be too much.

See a Dr. Growrite that only has 3 bands, but 3 watt LEDS at 150 watts.

Am I looking / thinking right here?
Seems the Lighthouse may be the better choice and just raise it if it's too much?
I'd prefer a couple of 50's but see none with anything other than 1 w LEDs. :roll:
If this is all wrong maybe you'd make a suggestion?
Thank you.
I'd run with ANYTHING other than a "crapstar"... stealthgrow, isis and 357 are your best bets... Buying LEDs is like buying anything else, you get what you pay for. Crapstar is cheap shit which is always an option but if you want results go with one of the quality lines out there.
 

dunit

Active Member
2 x 2 1/2 with 3ft tall plants is an interesting layout for LED's. You are looking for small footprint and big penetration which is almost the opposite of what most LED manufacturers cater to because everyone is always looking to compare footprint. To get what you need you are looking for something with 3W LED's, narrow lens angle and I would say you need something that DRAWS over 100 watts which means that if they are advertizing using the max wattage something close to double that.

Both Hudson and LedBudGuy are right in their own rights and I respect both of them as they are actual growers. The whole Blackstar issue constantly causes conflict on this site and I'm pretty sure their entire advertising campaign consists of having trolls on the forums threaten anyone who questions their quality or asks to see results (Hudson is not one of these trolls and has been objective in the debate). Both LedBudGuy and myself (along with other growers who've PM's me about the whole issues) have received hate mail for running different lights and suggesting that Blackstar users need to post proof before advising other consumers that their panels are the best.

So anyway, Blackstar is the cheapest and is in the power range you are looking for and no one has yet posted a completed grow running just Blackstar. ISIS has produced the highest grams per watt of any LED grow journal (or HID for that matter) and is also in the power range you are looking for and is more expensive than Blackstar.

Good luck and I'll get back to growing :-)
 

Hudsonvalley82

Well-Known Member
Appreciate the rational level headed response. Seems fleeting these days. Either way I actually wanted to comment on the grow and mention how well it is coming along. Looks like all the plants have to do is grow a little tiny bit more and start filling out. Good shit.

One last good humored jab though directed at ledbudguy in response to his "crapstar" name (which is pretty funny), all I have to say is I$I$. LOL

2 x 2 1/2 with 3ft tall plants is an interesting layout for LED's. You are looking for small footprint and big penetration which is almost the opposite of what most LED manufacturers cater to because everyone is always looking to compare footprint. To get what you need you are looking for something with 3W LED's, narrow lens angle and I would say you need something that DRAWS over 100 watts which means that if they are advertizing using the max wattage something close to double that.

Both Hudson and LedBudGuy are right in their own rights and I respect both of them as they are actual growers. The whole Blackstar issue constantly causes conflict on this site and I'm pretty sure their entire advertising campaign consists of having trolls on the forums threaten anyone who questions their quality or asks to see results (Hudson is not one of these trolls and has been objective in the debate). Both LedBudGuy and myself (along with other growers who've PM's me about the whole issues) have received hate mail for running different lights and suggesting that Blackstar users need to post proof before advising other consumers that their panels are the best.

So anyway, Blackstar is the cheapest and is in the power range you are looking for and no one has yet posted a completed grow running just Blackstar. ISIS has produced the highest grams per watt of any LED grow journal (or HID for that matter) and is also in the power range you are looking for and is more expensive than Blackstar.

Good luck and I'll get back to growing :-)
 

dunit

Active Member
Appreciate the rational level headed response. Seems fleeting these days. Either way I actually wanted to comment on the grow and mention how well it is coming along. Looks like all the plants have to do is grow a little tiny bit more and start filling out. Good shit.

One last good humored jab though directed at ledbudguy in response to his "crapstar" name (which is pretty funny), all I have to say is I$I$. LOL
Your I$I$ is very appropriate...............because right now they are pure money with the weights he's pulling....lol
 

username474

Active Member
Can someone point me in the direction of the isis grow journal that you are refering to? I have spent 30+mins trying. Any help would be appreciated.
 

username474

Active Member
Thanks man. Great to read. I was very close to purchasing 16 stealthgrow SG 602's. But now I have to strongly consider going with ISIS. Do do see any reasons for me to rule out stealthgrow?
 

ledbudguy

New Member
Thanks man. Great to read. I was very close to purchasing 16 stealthgrow SG 602's. But now I have to strongly consider going with ISIS. Do do see any reasons for me to rule out stealthgrow?
I don't have a bad thing to say about the isis panels I am running with. I think that these 357 magnums that dunit is running are going to knock the ball out of the park, they are made by the same company as isis. I've been talking to dave on their toll free looking for a deal on setting up a pretty serious room and this dude knows his shit when it comes down to growing bud with led. And he's pretty receptive to cutting me a deal.
 

dunit

Active Member
Thanks man. Great to read. I was very close to purchasing 16 stealthgrow SG 602's. But now I have to strongly consider going with ISIS. Do do see any reasons for me to rule out stealthgrow?
I really like what Stealthgrow has to say and from my research before I bought my panels they have a great product but I had two issues. First was price. Someone on the LED USERS UNITE thread did a dollars per watt comparison and Stealthgrow had the most expensive panels out there. Second was lack of results. For as long as Stealthgrow has been around and for as great a product as they claim to have, I was really disappointed that I couldn't find a single journal running those panels. If I owned that company and stood behing my product claims I would have found an established grower (like GLH did with IrishBoy) and had him journal a grow. There is a guy on this site who has a friend running two SG602's over a 4x4 area and he has posted some pictures but that's all the intel I could find.

In the end if I'm laying out that sort of cash I'm gonna go with whoever has the best results that I don't think are corrupt. One of the things I liked about LedBudGuy's grow, and I've said it on his thread, is that with the space he has you can't even sneak HID's in there and cheat the results. That was one of the reasons I went with that Company. I'm not saying there couldn't be a better product out there, just no one has put up results and those speak louder than all the manufacturers claims combined :-)

Whatever you pick, if you can avoid any security issues to do so, please post a journal so we can all learn
 

username474

Active Member
Relpy to Ledbudguy. (Apparently I do not know how to reply to your response)


Has Dave said that the 357's are more advanced then the ISIS? Your journal and grow has been the first thing I completely believe and trust wholeheartedly, so it is hard for me to make this investment on anything other then the ISIS. I didn't know 357 was made by ISIS intill you told me though. Everything that I have read about stealthgrow prior to these journals had stealthgrow as the top dog on the block.

Sorry for hijacking this thread OP. And thanks for everything.
 

ledbudguy

New Member
Relpy to Ledbudguy. (Apparently I do not know how to reply to your response)


Has Dave said that the 357's are more advanced then the ISIS? Your journal and grow has been the first thing I completely believe and trust wholeheartedly, so it is hard for me to make this investment on anything other then the ISIS. I didn't know 357 was made by ISIS intill you told me though. Everything that I have read about stealthgrow prior to these journals had stealthgrow as the top dog on the block.

Sorry for hijacking this thread OP. And thanks for everything.
From what I understand the 357 is their new flagship that the isis paved the way for. I'd call the dude and let him explain it to you. I can without a shadow of a doubt tell you that my isis-1's work unreal for my application. I am redesigning a new room for my grow that should be good to go for next grow. I will be going with a combination of 357's and isis 170's in my new room, after discussing it with dave I am 110% convinced that this is the way to go. It's going to be a $10000 investment running 12 357 magnums and 6 isis-fx1 fixtures. Total maximum rated wattage is 5304w, the actual power draw is around 3000w. Based on what I already know growing 12" pecker poles I fully expect (based on my previous grow) to pull down in the 170 oz range @ .9g/watt.
 

rasputin71

Well-Known Member
Sick brag. I really want to get 3 of these and a 4x8 tent but dont think I can afford to do it all at once. I might DIY a flower room to save a little bit and get 2 of the 357's to start. If I only get 2 of them I will probably run them with my 600 hps until I can save for the 3rd 357.
 

ledbudguy

New Member
Sick brag. I really want to get 3 of these and a 4x8 tent but dont think I can afford to do it all at once. I might DIY a flower room to save a little bit and get 2 of the 357's to start. If I only get 2 of them I will probably run them with my 600 hps until I can save for the 3rd 357.
My buddy just ordered 4 357s that he is gonna run in conjuction with 3 600w HPS, I'll see if I can get him to start a grow journal.
 
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