What size HPS to light 50" x 25" ?

[Blunt Africa]

Howdy Y'all

I'm gonna be moving shortly and want to have a slightly bigger grow area to get some higher quntities of bud.

I'm gonna get a built in cupboard that will have about 5ft headroom and measures roughly 50inch wide by about 25 inch deep. I'm thinking of either a 250 or a 400W HPS in there.

I've been mostly growing stealth up to now and enjoy it, but I do want to grow a nice indica (or indoor sativa) without topping or training to see the plants's full unadulterated potential. This means that penetration is important, I would like the light to get quite far down the plant. I also like to keep things simple so don't really want to piss around with CFL sidelighting and such...

Would 400W be overkill in this space with a 250W doing an optimum job?

FILL ME WITH YOUR WISDOM!!!

 

[Guest]

hiya Blunt, what's up buddy?

let's see, you got 8.68 square feet there, so @ 50 watts per square foot, a 430w grow lamp will be spot on, otherwise a 400w will be fine.

 

[Guest]

The footprint of the room is not square so 2 250 lights would give you even light coverage in both length and width over your space and about 57 watts per square foot. With the depth being only 25" I think that's a bit narrow for a 400's footprint and the lenght of 50" will leave the edges with not much light.

 

[Guest]

The footprint of the room is not square so 2 250 lights would give you even light coverage and about 57 watts per square foot. With the depth being only 25" I think that's a bit narrow for a 400.

sure, but the footprint of the light is oblong anyway, and you can always adjust your reflector accordingly.

 

[Guest]

Or you can buy the lights that will cover the 2' x 4' area perfectly. Does not make sense to use a single 400 in that area unless it's on a mover. My opinion.

 

[l_d_d]

^^I agree with GroNut, unless you have a mover you should go with dual 250's in that space for the best coverage.^^

What lights are you talking about GN? Fluoros? Or special kinda reflector?

 

[Guest]

I'm voting for the 2 - 250's.

Bh

 

[Blunt Africa]

Wow guys, thanks for the swift answer. Nice to hear from u Sat...

I'm gonna have the light adjustable so can raise and lower as I need to, this should also help with coverage.

Problem I got is that I can get a 400W at the same price the 250W (weird huh?), so buying 2 250Watters will be twice as expensive. It's gonne be either one or the other, and by reading the replies above the consensus seems to lean towards the 400W.

 

[Blunt Africa]

Edit that:..... The 2 250's seems to be preferred. I'd prefer them also but don't want to doll out twice as much loot...

 

[Guest]

i guess you guys are right about the dual 250's, my metric brain was thrown off by the inches, but after converting i realize that 50 inches is too deep for a 400w.
unless you have a light mover. i'm constructing one for myself as it happens, so blunt, when it's done feel free to copy my design, it's gonna be the shit.

 

[l_d_d]

gotta pay to play.

...yup your not paying for the wattage, or the price wont reflect, 600's are usually more than 1000's, cause of the technology or sumpin like at.

youll WILL be much happier if you shell out for either a mover, or another light.

Sometimes you can find good deals on used gear.

 

[North34West122]

Hey BA, I know this dilema well. If you can only have one light then it's a no- brainer to use the 400w. the light thrown down by any HID light that is mounted horizontally in a reflector will have a rectangular footprint. the effective footprint for the 400w is about 3x2+. So, the depth of your space is perfect for the 400w. You will not get good penetration beyond 18-20 inches from the bulb so, rather that use the entire 50" I would section off and light proof some the cab's width with plywood/mylar etc. and use the rest of the space for mums, clones veg etc.

Good luck and post pics when you figure it out!

Peace out...

 

[Blunt Africa]

What about if I added a hydro purpose reflector to the setup? And not use the one supplied?

I think I'll get a slightly different cabinet though. One that has the set of shelves running up one side when u open the doors, the other part is wher u would hang your clothes. This would give me bloom splace of about 3x2 and also a set of smaller sections where I could veg and clone/mother plants.

 

[Dr.Feelgood]

I agree with GroNut. Always think about the distance from the edge of your garden to your bulb. With a single 400, the plants in the middle would be fine, but the plants at the ends of that rectangle would be too far away. Two 250's would work really well. Distance of all plants from bulb = closer.

 

[Guest]

Because of the odd shape of your space and lack of head room, I think two 250's would be the way to go. BUt if you keep the plants short enough you could get a light rail and use one 400. You can get the 250 ballasts kits and save alot that way by assembling them yourself. It's very easy to wire up.

Cheers,