Can't decide lights!!!

[ajc0k]

Need some suggestions.. I'm moving into my other house soon and I'm using the garage to grow. It's small for a garage but would make the perfect grow room, 16x10x8 ft i'm planning on sectioning part off for moms/clones etc. I'm going to buy the 12 site ebb and gro like this for $400 on another site.http://discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?navid=4&pid=18

I need help with deciding lights. I don't know the measurements of the bucket set up but do you think a 1k magnum hood light would work for scroggin that many plants? If not I'm highly considering 2 600/400 hps nextgen lights for 800 watts mh veg and 1200 flower,the price of those electronic ballast w/ hood it's $314 each so $628 for two. BUT i was thinking if i'm spending that much already, for $200 total more I could buy 2 1000 watt magnetic ballast ($200 each) and 2 eight inch cooled magnum hoods($200 each) for $800 total. It's bugging the hell out of me haha. I really like the 600/400 so I don't have to run 2000 watts mh in veg for less monthly elec bill but the 1000's for not much more cash seems pretty nice. What do you guys think?? Im going nuts HOw much typically would 2k watts cost monthly? And do electronic ballast really produce 30% more light like they say, are they really worth the extra cost?

 

[Philosophelon]

I'd go with 2x1Kw, forget about SCROG, and just grow big plants. You've got the space, and you'll get a higher yield than with 2x600s -- plus 1Ks have good penetration and then you don't have to dick around with all the training (i.e. extra labor) involved in SCROG. Just pinch and/or top a little. Remember, Less pruning/pinching/topping=Less Stress=Faster Veg Growth.

Also, and I don't mean to be a dick if you swear by it or something, but I worked at a growshop for quite a while, and out of every hydro setup I've ever used the Ebb & Gro is tied with the Waterfarm 8 as my least favorite. Serious PITA to clean, and poor performance compared to virtually any other systems, especially early on before plants have good root development. For my , you will get better performance from a drain-to-waste (or recirculating, if you must) setup with coco -- plus it's totally customizable to whatever size plants/canopy you want, WAY easier to set up and maintain, and alot cheaper.

If you want to run hydro (coco is actually alot more like hydro than soil, but I digress) later on (in buckets, anyway) I'd go with a recirculating DWC, it will significantly outperform the ebb and gro -- but you'll probably have to build it yourself .

 

[strydr]

I'm with Philosophelon on this one, go with 2x1K. Buy a light mover if you want to run less light for veg (use 1x1K MH on the mover). For the price of the ebb & grow, you could build a nice DIY DWC bucket system that would produce huge trees.

As for digital Vs. magnetic, I doubt it produces %30 more light, or uses that much less elec.. I currently am running a 600 digi, and a 400 mag- the only difference (I notice) is the size..

Costs depend on when you will be running your lights- power companies charge different rates at different times of the day, as well as different rates with higher consumption. My bill is about $100 more a month with 1.5K worth of light, and a few fans running.

 

[ajc0k]

I'm honestly scared about building the recirc dwc because I'm scared of dumping money on all that and ending up with some kind of leak, and spending $300ish on a water chiller. do ebb n flow tables work pretty well though?.. just want a clean simple set up for 12 big plants, could a 4x8 table grow 12 pretty big plants under 2k watts?

 

[strydr]

Bud size is a direct correlation to root mass (my opinion..), so with a table, you are using smaller containers= smaller yield. Really, building a bucket system is not that hard. For the $400 you planned on spending on the ebb & gro, you could buy a chiller, and 12 buckets (plus all needed hardware). I built a nice 2 bucket system, and love it. I'm using coco right now only because my grow is upstairs, in a carpeted closet, and I have roommates who are a bit paranoid about leaks. I will say, after working out all the bugs, I never had leaks (quite a few during my testing phase though). Once the system is in place, don't move anything= no leaks..

 

[Philosophelon]

If you are new to hydro, and don't want to try and build your own recirculating DWC, ebb and flow is an easier alternative, but like stryder said, it isn't suitable for growing large plants.

I strongly recommend using a coco drain-to-waste system over E&F tables, because it is very easy to use and maintain, the nutrient ratio in the rhizoshere is always ideal, and you can grow large plants. Imho, you will not realize poorer performance with DTW Coco drippers than E&F, and you may well realize better performance.

I've always run either organic soil or traditional hydro -- I decided to try coco for the first time in a new location I just set up, and I am REALLY impressed with the perfomance after the first month; the root development is amazing, better than anything I've seen other than aero and recirculating DWC. Look up Gr3atfulH3ad's thread "Head goes Coco" for a good coco grow thread, and maybe lurk around the coco forum.