Current Best veg grow light under 600watts

[GET MO]

I need a veg light to veg plants no longer than one month span to fill in a 4.5x4.5 area. The veg will take place in a sun hut, most likely 4x4 but if i have room I'll use my 4x8, which i plant to build a wooden housing for outside off the side of my work/flower shed. Im basically trying to get a perpetual system going.

Now I need no more than 600 watts because of power bill and heat issues.

Im wondering what is the current best veg light on the market for this amount of wattage, or if I could get away with something even lower that would be even better.

Appreciate any input, ive been out the indoor loop for a while and the variety of different fixture types and watts just gave me a headache. I usually veg under my 4 light 4' cfl fixture but thats not cutting it.

 

[stoney917]

Those new ones LECs kick ass... but do generat heat n r pricey.... u actually sound like perfect person for leds.... ive had great success veggin with them in tha past... but def wont recomed anything but hid n de for flower. ..

 

[GET MO]

yeah man this strictly for veg. Since the setup will be directly off my shed I think i could put a hole and run some ducting from my air conditioned shed with an inline fan n cool it off. Id rather not but its always an option. Im not tripping too much on the price, if the system is right.

 

[stoney917]

Well i guess how big u wantem .... lec n hps would get more aggressive growth... led floro dont have the penetrating power for trees.... but are excellent for up to 2-3ft... the led sounds like the best option for u imo.... less heat n very capable of doing the job u needem for..

 

[DunHav`nFun]

Hey Mo....The thing a lotta folks don`t know is that you HAVE to keep the lights right down on top of pre-veglings to retard stretch , stack nodes , and promote lateral limb growth up front before pullin the trigger ....that said.....

The ONLY light that fit the bill for me and my flip rooms 20 yrs growing small-med sized plants without heat scorching or light bleaching , were the 8 bulb 432 watt T-5 fixtures with all the enhanced grow bulbs mixed in for full spectrum of light till put into bloom....now....

Led`s may very well be better for spectrum , but still need to be comparable in wattage to the T-5`s or HID fixtures to be effective with dope cultivars from what I`ve seen , and they`re expensive as fuck to match watt for watt I assure you.....IOW.....

If you`ve got a 18 sq ft +/- lil tent for pre-veg , for proper watts per sq ft you need 50 per so right at 900 watts , and 2 T-5 2 x 4-8 light fixtures side by side fit perfectly and get close to optimum wattage @ 864 , but environmental control must be handled as well.....anyways.....

The Bad Boy ?/name T-5`s are open above the bulbs if memory serves to help vent heat , but air exchange twice per minute will most likely control your heatgain from the fluorescents....

All mine had enclosed boxes above with mirrored finish and never bothered me with extra heatgain , so find the best deal and handle it ...aight....nuff today....

Good luck and holler if I can help Mo...

Peace....DHF........

Edit< Go look at billyboat`s thread and ask about those 315 watt fixtures he`s using....might be better and cheaper with same comparable wattage....but....T-5`s rock....

 

[Treetroit City]

As fred said, hard to beat an eight bank of t5's.

 

[Pro Headies]

Digilux 600 MH, as far as i know its the only true metal halide 600 on the market. I love mine! Way brighter then any conversion 600s ive seen

 

[GET MO]

That LEC 315 looks pretty nice, says it covers a good 3x3, well if i stuff a 3x3 area then spread um out for flower they should spread there wings about enough in stretch to cover the whole 4.5x4.5 is what im guessing.
Anyone whos ran a LEC 315, how is it with heat and coverage?

 

[Treetroit City]

Digilux 600 MH, as far as i know its the only true metal halide 600 on the market. I love mine! Way brighter then any conversion 600s ive seen

I've been using 600 watt 7000k halides from plantmax. Picked them up for $35 a piece at 1000bulbs.com

 

[420Stylez]

I like using the sunleaves pioneer 8 2x4 8 bulb unit...

 

[Scrappy-doo]

315 with the cycloptics hood will easily fill a 4x4.

 

[the gnome]

my 1st seedling/veg lamp was a 6bulb HO T5 from Ebay
I was impressed when i saw what it could do loaded up with spectralux tubes
i now have 3 8-bulb units
put the height 2-3" above the tops and run a fan in between
and they'll stack nodes as tite as you've ever seen.
never had a prob but if your in a cramped space and you have heat issues you can cut a 4"hole on top and install a 4''flange/collar with an inline fan. ive seen these at a few gro sites.
I agree with fred and tree city..
I can't recommend these enuff

 

[Pro Headies]

I've been using 600 watt 7000k halides from plantmax. Picked them up for $35 a piece at 1000bulbs.com

Those bulbs only put out 56,000 lumes compared to 75,000 with a digilux. Ive seen side by side of conversion and digilux is almost as bright as 1k mh and conversion 600mh was barely brighter then a 400 mh at 45,000.

I like the girls to get to 28'' or so and bushy. Digi does a 4x4 room decently.

 

[Treetroit City]

I suppose maybe I should revisit the Digilux... Haven't used them since they were being marketed by C.A.P. and truth be told, I never had one last more than three months. Maybe they are being manufactured in a better facility these days, I don't know, but I've been thru a few of them and they were crap at the time.

 

[Pro Headies]

I suppose maybe I should revisit the Digilux... Haven't used them since they were being marketed by C.A.P. and truth be told, I never had one last more than three months. Maybe they are being manufactured in a better facility these days, I don't know, but I've been thru a few of them and they were crap at the time.

I get a year out of a bulb. Wish it was more time but i think there still worth the results. I only buy them through my local shop not online. I was told if your ballasts are cheapy ebay ballasts that they burn them out alot quicker like 3-6 months, but not sure if thats true cause other 2 guys i know that run them have cheap $100 digital ballast with no issues. When you go to buy one look at the date tag inside the bulb to make sure your getting a new 2014-15 bulb too.

 

[Treetroit City]

Will do that. I'm due to get three for my veg as my plantmax bulbs are now 14 months old. A little more pricey but if they last no big deal.

 

[GET MO]

Keep in mind this is just for vegging to fill a 4.5x4.5 flower area. I know plants stretch so a 4x4 or maybe even 3.5x3.5 could be thrown into the flower room and fill in perfect.
I was also looking at LED lighting.

Also, these plants will be going under a gavita after the veg faze, does the kind of light it was vegged under influence the transition? I mean if they vegged under t5s or leds then moved to under the gavitas will the lighting method of veg effect how quick/well they adapt to the the high powered light?

 

[DunHav`nFun]

Well guys....I`m all for the new technology with DE fixtures and all , but DAMN if the Gnomester don`t show the proof in da pudding bout stackin nodes and building laterals BEFORE goin into the big light rooms to explode during stretch guaranteed.....

T-5`s RIGHT down on top of the plants till put in the bloom rooms worked for me whole lotta yrs , and I`m not sure you can do that with any other HID fixture without heat scorching and light bleaching , but time will tell once these new lights become more mainstream....me ?....

T-5`s w/enhanced bulbs FTW....and Mo....lumen shock does indeed exist , but if you pre-veg , veg with the same watts per sq ft as the bloom rooms then it lessens the possibilities of the transition .....

Peace....DHF.........

 

[Buddler]

Ive always use T5 as well and CFL but then I found LED cheap directly from China and love these things for vegging cheap to run no heat . Bud

 

[RoostaPhish]

I like to mix the bank with grow, bloom, and also the new hortilux t5 bulbs. They have a very high uv content, the only one with any really. I have always noticed that the plants reacted different to the hps only light after being in a room with a more balanced spectrum. Adding a few of the hortilux t5 bulbs or mixing in mh bulbs for flowering helped with that immensely. Kinda also depends on heat issues really eh? With regards to what light would be good.