Lights?

[igethigh23]

I am looking to buy a 400 watt light system with everything and i am having trouble with which one i should buy? Money wise i am trying to spend no more than $300.... I will be useing the light for the flowering and will just most likely keep useing my 8 t12 flourescent light fixture for the veg. but am not sure yet if i should or just buy the MH and HPS light system and just use the MH for the Veg. and the HPS for the flowering? My room size is about 7ft by 10ft atleast and like 8ft high... i need to measure it when i get home.... Any help will be great...... thanks alot...

 

[Dee9]

Hi igethigh

Some ppl recon it is better to get more smaller lamps than one big one:

advantages:
can hang lights closer to plants
accumulatively provides more lumens to the plants

this way you could buy a couple of lights every month - starting out with fewer lights and plants and building your opperation up over time.
Rome was not built in one day -

MHLamps are fine for vegging and flowering - the light spectrum changes slightly for each light and apparently flowering favors HPS, but you can do both cycles on MH.
You will find a lot of HPS users here, and they might differ in opinion from me.

Flourescent is fine for cuttings, but you will do better with MH for vegging. For now you can flower with MH too, and maybe later get a HPS.

Enjoy building your own personal Rome! Great fun. It never stops - as you go on you always find ways to improve -

 

[kallenavndk]

Dee9 i agree im growing plants under hps and i got heat probs and can hang my lights close because then they will burn...i can get a ventilator and a hole to suck in cold fresh air but hehe like u said rome wasent build on one day things will come when u know the strains and cap u want to use..For my self i will grow mostly Indica dominant strains in the future and Low Ryder Crosses they will Provide any noobs a ok harvest and a easy one to ..Not like them sativas they are for more skilled growers i think

 

[messn'n'gommin']

The amount of choices one has for a light source can be pretty overwhelming at times. Most have their own preference of flour's, HID's, or a combination of both and for valid reasons, but, claiming superiority, one over the other, fails to take into consideration someone else's circumstances. Most have found what works for them by trail and error. But, I believe in teaching someone to swim before throwing them into the deep end, so, I hope you are not insulted by my posting the following link. The first half of this OP is a good point of reference for anyone...beginner or seasoned pro. The second link is not as much a recommendation as it is an option to be considered. If you are handy, putting together your own kit can save you some money and may be enough of a savings for you to get two.

Starting a Med Cab
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=89615

CMH thread
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=72215

But, whatever you do, do not become so discouraged that you give up all together. Good luck!

btw: Just my two cents, but were it me, I would keep using the flour's for veg and buy the best HPS (kit or complete) I could afford. But that's just me.

Namaste, mess

 

[igethigh23]

ya think my 4ft. 8 bulb t12 fixture is good enough for vegging about 4 plants? it gives off 320w and then i will just buy a 400w. HPS light system for flowering them... what do you think?

 

[messn'n'gommin']

I use two 4' T12 40W Coolwhite tubes for four plants and it is more than enough. It keeps internodes short and I can, literally, keep them right on top of the youngsters (I only use a cup for germination and at about two inches tall, into their permanent home they go). So, yeah, I think your setup is more than adequate. You might even want to consider taking out a tube or two. It will save on energy use and cut down on heat (and ya, those two suggestions are relative as to your circumstances). As a matter of fact, If I weren't conducting my own experiment (don't want any RL), I would use a CMH from start to finish. Good luck!

Namaste, mess

 

[Anh Bi]

The thing is that fluorescent lights don't give no where the intensity of HID. You also need to get them really close to the plants in order to get most of it. There was a noticeable increase in the growth rate when I switched to fluorescent to CMH during vegetative phase.

I am working CMH from start to finish. But because CMH works on HPS ballast, you can veg with CMH and flower with a HPS bulb (instead of acquiring another or switchable ballast).

 

[igethigh23]

nice thanks for the info. i think i will just use the flourescent lights for veggin and get a 400w hps for flowering them for now.... any suggestions which 400w hps system to buy?

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I use a 8 bulb T5 for vegging and it works pretty good. Of course I only veg for a bit so plants dont get real big

 

[Beanfish]

Why not get a digital ballast that can run both? I just bought a 600w lumatek. Digitals are a little more $$$ but I think they're worth it because of the versatility. You never know how you might want your grow set up in the future (Most run both MH and HPS).

 

[Beanfish]

any suggestions which 400w hps system to buy?

I'm not affiliated with ANY store or website. That being said, I've had great luck with mdhydro. Super fast shipping and great prices on most things (not a good reflector selection though).

If I had to build a sub $300 400w system:

http://www.mdhydro.com/noname.html - select Lumatek 400w Digital ballast ($133) from the drop down, and also a SunSystem Adapter ($2), and finally BOX OPTIONS - brown box ($4) call me paranoid.

Then add a 400w "Enhanced Bulb" from the drop down window here: http://www.mdhydro.com/enbu600hps.html
It's cheaper to add it separately because they're on sale ($30).

My 600w and 3 bulbs shipped to the midwest for about $20 all in the $4 plain brown box.

I just ordered this reflector yesterday ($90 plus $13 to my zip code). It's alot of reflector for the money. Add a fan and you're air cooled.

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics...preme-reflector-wlens-ac-fittings-p-1947.html

There's great a sub $300 system... $292 shipped to be exact.

I would take the lumatek any day over a generic, but if $$$ is a huge concern you could shave $47 off here:

http://www.mdhydro.com/ht-high-pressure-sodium.html No Sunsystem adapter needed so $49 actually.

Hope this helps...

-Beanfish-