starting first indoor grow

magdraft

Member
hey guys, new to the forum and getting ready to start my first indoor grow. I am getting ready to order my set up which consists of a 3x3x6, 1000w bestva led light which is comparable to a 600w. is a 4" ac infinity with a carbon filter enough to scrub the air and provide a sufficient exhaust for this tent? I plan on growing 2 plants with a trellis, should I be using 5 or 7 gallon pots?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 

drsaltzman

Well-Known Member
Welcome.
4 inch fan is sufficient for your setup, though your lights may not be.
It is a 185W LED.
Don’t pay attention to equivalent numbers (600W).
LED should be minimum 30W per sq ft.
Your light would cover 6 sq ft.
You have 9 in your tent.
So the light is underpowered for your full space.
Try not to stuff the tent and keep your plants in the middle for best success.
If you enjoy the hobby and get good at it you can upgrade your lights at a later time, and use this one for vegging.
3 or 5 gallon pots is all you need in that setup.
Good luck.
 

piratebug

Well-Known Member
For me, a 2x4x6+, 3x3x6+,2.5x5x6+...

exhaust...

6 inch inline 240CFM fan, 6 inch to 4 inch (expander/reducer), hooked to 4x16 inch CF, works really well! It gives a great exchange rate, while maximizing the efficiency of the CF, because the entire surface of the CF will contribute to filtering, not just 1/3 of filter. because the exhaust fan is to small. (ie, doesn't have enough pulling CFM's to use the entire CF for filtering)!
 

magdraft

Member
Thanks for the replies! I have set up my tent and managed to germinate and sprout seedlings. The light definitely does not cover the full tent area. If I was to buy another of the same light and run two would that be sufficient to grow a full 3x3?
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the replies! I have set up my tent and managed to germinate and sprout seedlings. The light definitely does not cover the full tent area. If I was to buy another of the same light and run two would that be sufficient to grow a full 3x3?
I'd advise against wasting money on another of those lights. It'd still be short of properly covering a 3x3 area. The Bestva 1000w light actually only has a draw of 145w.

A 3x3 area is 9sqft and it's usually advised to have 35w per sqft of quality LED light, or 50w of subpart LED light. I'd put the Bestva in the subpar group so, you'd be looking for 450w or so of that kind of light.

I'd either spend more for a better light or save up for one and use less space to grow for now. If you plan to continue to grow then IMO more cheap light isn't going to be as cost effective as spending more for better light.
 

magdraft

Member
The Bestva says it has Samsung diodes.

would a mars hydro tsw 2000 be sufficient for a 3x3?

any recommendations that are decently priced?

Thanks for any help in advance!
 
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magdraft

Member
I ended up picking up a Meijiu qb288 240w with lm301h to use for flower. I plan on using my blurple Bestva light as well. Is their any side effects to combining these two lights? that will give me 385 watts in a 3x3. will that be sufficient to grow some dense flowers?
 
All of those lights were fine, hang them at the top of the tent and never move them. Being under lit never killed anyones plants, they just wont grow to their fullest potential, but they will still grow and flower just fine. For instance i also use too little of light, i have a Mars TSW2000 rated for a 3x3, inside my 4x4. I get decent results, and never burn my plants. Just remember that how ever many watts you use to veg, you have to double that to flower. Good luck
 
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