150w HPS Club and Resource Guide......

[DiscoBiscuit]

Guys, I can't decide! I gotta choose between a 150w hps or 250w hps. My place is 60x60x180 (cm). Which should I choose? I wont have a cooltube.. and I'm planning on growing like 4 plants. No more, no less. Help is much appreciated!

A 250 will give you around 65wpsf and a 150 less than 40wpsf. If you go with the 150HPS, you might want some supplemental (cfl, etc) lighting.

 

[Toaster57]

Toaster...whatcha got for ventilation and air movement?

How you gonna grow? SOG, Scrog, Vertical scrog, full veg?

ehm, that didnt say much to me :/ But anyway, I've got a 12cm computer fan as output and I'm gonna make a passive input for fresh air. If that isin't enouth, I'm thinking on facing another fan directly on to the bolb towards the output fan. And if that doesnt help, I will just put in another output fan.

and the growing style? ehm, just let them vegg as normal (but I will try to FIM them) then when I think they are big enough I will go 12/12

Got it?

 

[Frankenstein]

Ok so i thought bout what Disco Said lol, Since im not vegging anything might as well hook up my new vegging lights and throw em in the flowering room, it will get both spectrums that way =D

 

[komrade komura]

two fiddy is my vote.

 

[hilbie]

vinter i do understand the need for air, its my 4th indoor grow but with some special challengers i have to work with or around, i was wondering if you guys think three 68watt cfls would be as hot as say one 150hps?

 

[vintner]

vinter i do understand the need for air, its my 4th indoor grow but with some special challengers i have to work with or around, i was wondering if you guys think three 68watt cfls would be as hot as say one 150hps?

Well, you didn't mention anything about 3x68 watters in your first post, I was not trying to insult your inteligence. You just made it sound like you're plants wouldn't be getting much in the way of fresh air. Your 6x6 + space is pretty big for a 150, so (I know it's wrong) I assume power or ventilation is an issue for you. I do not dog you for that Bro. You work w/what you got. The fact that you're growin it, & not buyin it is what's important, Soo's I'm just tryin to lend a helpin hand.
FWIW: a 150w will put out a bit more heat that your 3x65w cfls. For a bit a bit more heat, and a bit fewer watts , you'll get much better light penetration which is what growing w/HPS is all about. Light penetration.

Just my but I hope it helps. Stay safe and high all

 

[hilbie]

i wonder if a 250hps would be even better for my space, as i think a 150hps will be a little on the small side and to add another one if the temps alow it might not be as good as just one 250. this will be a vertical grow probally two levels.,also just found 4ft 2 bulb 108watt (t-5s) on sale for 50$ each, i could probally get 300watts of theese at 30,000 lumens and still be cooler then a 150hps or am i way off?

 

[Jstone]

Hey all! I was part of the club a few years ago, it didn't end up working out to well and it's time for a fresh start. I'm just finalizing my newest set-up. I'm in an apartment and have a 2x2x2' veg box with 3-23W CFLs in my closet and a custom 1'x3'x3' cabinet outside with the 150W HPS (and maybe a CFL or 2). I'll have a post coming up soon with a detailed description of everything but have a few more finishing touches to spend my time one. The grow will be perpetual, probably 6 plants in the flowering cab at once therefore a wide range of plant sizes.

I'm not sure the best training method for a long narrow cabinet like this but have been topping to keep height down and get more bud-sites so far.
I still need to make a reflector for the cab and was wondering what type of shape people like for a longer cab like this. The bulb is horizontal, centered, and the correct orientation (perpendicular with the length)

Thanks!

 

[hilbie]

anyone????

 

[vintner]

anyone????

hilbie: Again, no offense. Just trying to help. W/that kind of space, you could put much more than a 250W HPS in there. Especially if your plans include a vert set up. Why don't you tell us a bit more about your power and venilation constraints.

 

[hilbie]

i told you the size of my room in three post back i believe, i have no power constraints just ventilation probs as im just going to crack the door occasionally for air, its winter here so the ambient room temp is probally in the low 60s and probally just going to get a little lower as winter progresses, this is a huge issue i realize thats why im stressin and i do appriciate the help. like i said two post ago, i was condering maybe 300 watts of t-5s but that might be to hot, or starting with one 150hps and seeing if i could run another if it does ok, or just use some 68 watt cfls if another 150hps after the first one would be to much, then theres also single bulb 250hps run, but yeah im going to hang the bulb vertically with no reflector, the height of this part of the room is 4ft with a length of about 5ft, im runnin autos so heights wont be an issue. im basically going to surround the bulb with as many plants as i can which im guessin from what ive seen others do here with far less space around 16 in 1.5 gallon grow bags which are tall n narrouw. this will leave me with around 40 percent of the space being unused, ill be running 25 fem seeds, i know its alot but lets face it 25 seeds doenst always turn into 25 plants so with the extra 6-8 plants ill need more light and im wondering how ill light theese substantially without creating way to much heat. i have no experience with t-5s and their heat, i was even thinking about going with t-8 but fear fluffy weed, in shooting for atleast ten grams a plant-

 

[hoosierdaddy]

I suggest boning up on air flow and what it takes to cool a grow. Cracking the door occasionally is unfortunately not going to allow you to produce what you are envisioning, no matter what lights you choose.
Instead of 25 plants, you may be better off thinking 4-6 plants.

 

[hilbie]

there is a grow on this thread with 16 plants around an hps, its possible. but i do know that im being ambitious, and most of the 150 grows do have much smaller numbers, but i see wasted space in alot of them, and ill probally lst the crap out of my girls to keep such a low profile plus for sure have two levels if i run a 250 and get some ventilation going. actually i cant say that most of the growers waste space, their space alot of times is just very small.

 

[Pipedream]

Yes, most of us have much smaller grow-spaces, or spaces with unused areas. This is because of the useable footprint of the 150w HPS. Understanding how light falls off as distance increases is key to setting up any good working growing space. I've only seen a couple of successful grows with a 150 that had more than 4-6 plants at the most. All of them were set up in a true SOG (sea of green) style, using 16-20 ounce drinking cups holding single stalk/cola plants no more than 10 to 12 inches high. Doing so, you can get as many as 24 plants in a 2x2 foot area. A good SCROG set-up will yield about the same. The trade off tends to be easier care and maintenance with the SCROG vs. the ability to have flowering ladies at different stages with the SOG. In either case, ventilation is a major issue, as it is with any grow-space. Keep in mind we're not only talking about keeping your temps in check, but providing a good supply of fresh air for your plants to breathe. Even without any air movement, a 150 will not likely heat up a large closet too much. However, what good are bright light and comfortable temps when you're suffocating?

 

[hilbie]

plans are changeing, im going to build a small cab now and hook up 2-4 pc fans and really get the air moving properly, the thing i dont like about most smaller hps or mh users is that they never seem to get gpw averages, i mean most of the 150hps growers usually pull around 60 grams, to me that horrible , its under .5 gram per watt, beekaas grow journal with 72 watts of t-8s pulls 60 grams, i figure a 100 grams per 150 is good and around 180 -200 for a 250hps is good, keep in mind ill be growing vertical half to full circular so one bulb has 2 to 4 sides of growing space which gives u much more efficient use of the light and surface area to work with as well as increasing numbers without the inverse sqaure law increasing anymore. air really is crucial though, thx for reminding me.

 

[catman]

I'm two weeks away from harvesting the 3rd time from cut down 2L bottles. I have plants from 24''-34'' I have to lean a couple at 45 degrees to fit, hehe. I have 11 2L in the cab right now and for my next run I'm going to use all 16oz party cups which will put me at about 25-30 plants if I can pull enough clones off in time. My grow space is a 150w hung vertically in a 18''x16''x28.5'' area so 2 square feet. I tested some plants in 16oz cups my previous run and they got to over 30'' and when I checked their roots at harvest they weren't bound at all. I'm using 1/2 Ocean Forrest and 1/2 Sunshine Mix #2.

I've got some empty kitter litter tubs so that I can just dunk the plants when I water them. It is going to be a little more work and we'll see how much it pays off.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

plans are changeing, im going to build a small cab now and hook up 2-4 pc fans and really get the air moving properly, the thing i dont like about most smaller hps or mh users is that they never seem to get gpw averages, i mean most of the 150hps growers usually pull around 60 grams, to me that horrible , its under .5 gram per watt, beekaas grow journal with 72 watts of t-8s pulls 60 grams, i figure a 100 grams per 150 is good and around 180 -200 for a 250hps is good, keep in mind ill be growing vertical half to full circular so one bulb has 2 to 4 sides of growing space which gives u much more efficient use of the light and surface area to work with as well as increasing numbers without the inverse sqaure law increasing anymore. air really is crucial though, thx for reminding me.

60 grams? You should be able to get much better yields with a 150HPS.

 

[Shred42O]

yea 60 grams is pretty bad maybe you saw somone who can actualy grow decent pull 60 with t-8s but i bet you if that same dude had a 150 he could pull 1g/1watt

i got 130 my last run with a 150 and i still have tons of room for improvement

 

[MN Lights]

What up fellow 150's? I just purchased a 150w hps sun system set-up for $85, I can't build shit and I am afraid of wiring. Anyway, I'm thinking of running a small grow (1 or 2 plants) in a GrowLab GL40 (roughly 1'5" x 1'5" x 3') with a 4" vortex fan. A couple questions:
(1) Will heat and air flow be an issue? (I'm thinking no, but secondary input from seasoned growers is always helpful and appreciated.)
(2)Does anyone role 12/12 from seed?

Hopefully, my first grow and post will be up and running at the end of December. I plan on growing a DNA feminized Lemon Skunk and either a Brainstorm Haze or Double Kush from Delta 9 Labs - as of now I'm leaning towards the Dub Kush. I will most likely be growing in soil. Thanks in advance, I'll continue to lurk around. Peace and prosperity.

 

[Shred42O]

you shouldnt have a heat issue as long as you have the fan blowing right on the bulb
for the 12/12 from seed it might be better or worse to do depending on the genetics you get but with that much space i wouldlnt do much of a veg if any