7' Parabolics with 1500 Watt HPS

[KongoBam]

I am curious what opinions people have on my situation. I have 4 1500 Watt HPS ballasts as well as 10 1000 watt ballasts. I have 4 - 7 foot parabolics as well. I cant decide what type of hood to use in my room. The room size is 13x13 with 8 ft ceilings. I also have 10 brand new 4 ft parabolic hoods. Im curious if 4 - 4ft hoods is enough for the room. I am worried about the 2 to 3 ft gap between each hood. Maybe Magnum XXXL hoodl. IDK....
Any ideas on the best lighting for my room would be wlcomed. Im new to the forum so hello everyone.
Thanks

 

[headfortrinity]

nine 1000 watters with nine 4 foot reflectors sounds good

OOO
OOO
OOO

 

[KongoBam]

Really? That much light? I was hoping to do 6 lights and 4 ligts in my 10x10 room for a total of 10. I was thinking the amount plants well make up for the yield per plant.

 

[desert fox]

I would ditch the 1500w..sell em on craigslist. Lack of bulb choices. I would also dump the parabolics. They are nice if you use them on a light mover correctly, but they really are ineffective at getting the most out of your lights in most cases. I would run 6 to 10 of the 1000w in that space. You may want to just start with one 1000w and go from there to get your green thumb on before you start shelling out money on gear and electrical upgrades. You will be pulling some serious power my friend. Why not learn how to use it effectively first. Growing pains and lots of kilowatts...What if you produce garbage weed? Sure you can beat Pedro and Pepe down in Mexico....but will the product sell for the price you want? People don't just decide to do a turn key 6-10k op on a whim. It takes knowledge and experience. Not saying it can't be done...but tread lightly. Equipment is expensive. I apologize in advance If I mis-read you and this isn't your first rodeo growing weed.

 

[KongoBam]

This will be my fifth crop. I have been using 6 parabolic hoods. I have 3 13 foot beds that are two feet deep. I also have one 10 foot bed thats 2 feet as well. I have plants that veg for two months in another location. So i can harvest every 2 months. What type of hoods do you recommend I use? As far as equipment goes, I have 16 unopened 1000 watt ballast set for 240. I have 4 of the 1500 watt ballasts and 5 hps bulbs to go with them. Wouldnt i have to use more hoods if i dont use parabolics? after two months of veg my babies are almost 3 feet tall. my clones are 10 inches to a foot when i cut them. I just want to get the most of the flowering room and i just dont know a lot about flowering in contrast to light. I know 9 lights in a 13x13 is good but do i really need that much?

One more thing. I have 4 7ft parabolics that i heard are nice with 1500 watt set-ups? I can return it if i dont end up using them.

 

[desert fox]

cool, cool not your first rodeo....something just struck me as you got them all the gear in an auction. 1500w are just not common. What country you live in? If you don't mind me asking.

The parabolics suck for getting the light where it needs to go (down). Now I have seen them used in a large area using 1000w that were wickedly close to the plants on a light mover. Like 6 inches from bulb to plant. The plants didn't bleach because the duration was shorter due movement of the light rail. He basically beat the whole inverse square law thing.

Mag XXL are very nice and a wise choice for 1000w. Super sun 2 are also top dawgs and a lot smaller to move or store. Pico did a very nice test of various reflectors. Try running a search.

Yes you will have to use more hoods by ditching the parabolics, but the trade offs will be great...better effectiveness at using wasted light and air cooling.

here is a great read for ya... http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/yor/yor.htm

do you need 9 lights in a 13x13...NO...will it help you on yield vs using 6...YES. I think 6 would be perfectly fine in your area. I used to use 600w over a 4X4 area years ago. Now the consensuses is 1000w for a 4X4 area. I still think a 1000w would do the most amount of damage over a 6X6 in relation to power consumption to yield in a SOG setup. It is all relative to what your working with and how much weed you want. So 6 is plenty fine if thats what your after.

You mentioned that you have 2 rooms. How are you wanting to play it? one flower one veg room?...or both flowering rooms? (Run fast and then relax semi-safe on pounds of smoke or move on to other business ventures ) I think I am reading you right as you want to make a 6k flower room and 4k veg.

I think the 1500w is just going to be a waste unless you are growing straight TREES.

What kinda service amperage are you working with? With all those lights you may have to resort to candle power for your personal lighting. TV is bad for ya anyway.

 

[KongoBam]

Thanks for the reply. I Live in Humboldt. I spent 2 grand on four 1500 watt ballasts. I was told running them with Magnum XXXL hoods is the best set up a man can get. I dont know if thats true though. All my equipment is brand new though. Not auction.

I have a 13x3 flower room and another 8x11 flower room. Veging is done somewhere else. I have a MCL 16 that I want to run 10 lights off of. The light controller is on a 80amp breaker so 10 would run very safely.

I have always used parabolich hoods and the coverage is good but it seems like a wate just like you were saying. I think im going to use two 400 watt parabolic hoods for veg thats it. Only thing parabolics are good for from my experience.


My veg room is a two month cycle, which is the same as my floweroom. You can see the rotation im sure. The babies are 3 feet tall after veg so i flip at the hight as well. Big babies.

I want to max out at 10,000 watts of light for power reasons. I am leaning towards the Magnum XXXL hoods i think eveyone seems to think they are the best.

ANything else you would like to know that could help you with advice for me? thanks a lot for the link as well

 

[desert fox]

yea big babies....I am not sure how the 1500w would fair. Those are trees. I would be more concerned with headroom with 8ft ceilings. I think that is the main reason nobody uses them along with heat issues. Most I ever used was multiple 600hps for flowering and 1000mh on a parbolic for veg.

parabolics do have their place as you stated for vegging. they do get great coverage if you got the room and plan accordingly.

You wont be disappointed by the xxxls. They are heavy mofos so don't use grow yos. Chains or a new product is out that are called easy gliders. I use the easy gliders and am very pleased with the product. super easy to adjust.

Since your using both rooms I would go with 6 in one and 4 in the other. No sense trying to cram all that gram in one room if you got 2 rooms. I like your thinking. I like your thinking even more by having a separate place for veg. Should a situation arise with rippers or other issues. You will be able to bounce back in no time flat with out loose of production. Godspeed at making a mountain of pot. I am jealous.

 

[Balance]

1500 watt HID's are stadium lights. They get super hot and must be air cooled. An enclosed fixture is a must because the bulb will cause skin burn and eye iritation if its cracked while in use. I would seriously suggest you dump the 1500's as fast as possible, they will be a huge hazard indoors. Additionally, 1500's are only rated for 3000 hours, as opposed to 15,000 hours for 1k's or smaller bulbs. All that for an extra 30k lumens, just doesn't seem worth the huge price.
Here's were I found the info:

http://genet.gelighting.com/LightPr...PRODUCTCODE=37405&BreadCrumbValues=Lamps_High Intensity Discharge^1001 and above Watts&SearchFieldCode=null

Good Luck

 

[Mr Celsius]

Amazing that people are moving towards 1500w, considering its been a fact for many years that 600w bulbs are most heat/lumen efficient...

I get that the hoods, ballasts and bulbs add up in startup costs, but over the long run they are much better.

Lets see... 2 - 1000w vs 3 - 600w. 600's have 3 points of light and less BTU output, similar lumens and 200w less power consumption. Now we move on the 1500w, it just gets worse...
[sarcasm]

G/l guys, Advanced nutrients, 1500w bulbs, aeroponics and the most complex system you can build will obviously yield you the most.

[/sarcasm]

 

[KongoBam]

6 Magnum XXXL hoods in my 12.5 X 11 room. And in my 8 X 11 room i will have four more. Thats 10,000 watts. If I put 9 lights in one room i will not yield as much i assume.

Now that I have decided to go with Magnum XXXL hoods, lets move on to pots or beds...

Beds are a pain in the ass, but you can harvest more plants at a time. I should be able to fit 20 5 gal pots under one light thats 120 in one room and 60ish in the other room for a total of 180 plants total.

So lets say an ounce a plant to be safe, thats 180 ounces divided by 16 which is 11.25 lbs. I was hoping to be around 15lbs which is why i was looking into beds.
Im shooting for 250 ounces out of 180 plants... thats 15lbs a harvest

I guess pots are cheaper and easier to move. Any thoughts????

 

[desert fox]

???err?? mabee for SOG 20 5 gal under one light...I could see some chaos with 3 foot vegged plants. May want to rethink that a little. I have never grew trees, but I would guess your plant count should be cut at least in half of your estimate.

11.25 pounds...is nothing to shake your dick at. Dont be greedy.

 

[KongoBam]

I clone the bottome half of my plants as well as cut off all the fan leaves. I think its doable. Ill try and get a pic of how bare my strand is once the huge fan leaves are cut off.

 

[desert fox]

ah so more of a lolipop. I would guess your on the right track of thinking then. You may want to rethink your veg wattage considering that you need so many plants. I think this is where the trade offs of SOG and lolipop come into play. Makes me still think SOG is more efficient overall, and easier to transport too. I like easy.

Can always remove them if it gets too dense with pots. I have never seen too many indoor beds. Root problem if you need to thin out the heard early is scary with such a big harvest at stake.

 

[Macster2]

Well if your going to sog there's no point in vegging for 2 months.if you keep the trees you should leave your fan leaves on,they're there for a reason.Lollipopping them you should have huge numbers probably 300-400 plants.IMO anyway.

 

[KongoBam]

I have never lolipopped before...
WHat exactly is this? I might of done it without ever knowing it was called lollipopping
lol

 

[desert fox]

yep you probably did lol. since you say its so bare. I have never did it. I also agree with leaving leafs on...you want photosynthesis to happen..right? Also your plant uses mobile elements from the lower leaves as needed....no sense in starting your plant off with a broken leg, one crutch and bottle of wiskey and a missing tooth and say PERFORM NOW DAMNIT. People do it with good results, but I dont dig the concept.

 

[Cutty]

It seems that a lot of people are reluctant to recommend the 1500 watters.

Some are unaware I guess:

1500 watt HID's are stadium lights.

and others seem to have no experience

Most I ever used was multiple 600hps

Given your description of the 2 month vegged trees that you will be growing I think the 1500's are designed for this, especially coupled with other multiple 1000's.
Growing SOG or another method that results in plants under 24-30 inches I doubt they would preform any better than a 600, but big ass trees, oh yeah.

I grow with 1K's and love it, there is an obvious difference between buds grown under 600's and 1000's. I imagine there would be an improvement with the 1500's too.

I have picked up one of these 1500's at my grow store and considered buying a set, set it back down though.

 

[Lazyman]

Yeah I actually was considering using 9 X 1500w lamps for my new setup, but I think you need at least a ten foot ceiling height to run them. They will light a 5.5' square, and with a good hood would be pretty efficient. Not quite as good as a 1Kw bulb, but close (137 lumens per watt vs 140)

Good lights for warehouse grows I bet.

 

[KongoBam]

Here is the deal. I have two houses.

HOUSE NUMBER 1

16 outlet box, can run 16 1000's
This house has a 13X11 room with 9 foot ceilings. Lights well be hung from a 8ft beam though. The other room is 8 X 11 with the same ceiling.
Original thought was 6 lights in one and 4 in the other. Havnt decided on beds or pots though.


HOUSE NUMBER 2

Has meter in house with 30 outlets. Can run 30 1000's
THis house has a 20X20 garage.
I can have 16 lights in this garage I was thinking. Ceilings are 8ft.
XXXL look great but are speny when you are buying 28 of them.Parabolics are cheap and seem to be great as long as the wasted light hits plants under another light.

I have 15K to spend on equipment. I can get 1000 watt ballasts for 165 each new. Parabolics are 2 for 300 with sockets. XXXL's are 220 each. These are my discounts from a local store because I buy so much shit from them.

Both houses have 200 Amp service.



I have a garage which is across town for vegging. Its 50 X 30 so im set there.
I also have a 215 and a caretaker card which allows me to have 500 plants total with both. LAWS ARE DIFFERENT IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY.


I rather find used ballasts because i think digitals are pieces of SHIT and have to many problems.


NOW that i have spilt the beans, let me get a final awnser on what people think I should do if yield is all im concerned with. I do have 4 1500 watt ballasts and bulbs for them as well. Havnt decided if i want to use them...


Thanks everyone and sorry i wasnt completely clear on my situation. Just not used to talking about this shit online...