I am looking to upgrade to an HPS, but I'm not sure what to do. I want a 1000w digital ballast but some people say they have crazy RF interference, but other people say they haven't had a problem. I would prefer the 1000w digital because it can be dimmed. I'm not ready to use a full 1000w yet, so I can dim it to 600w. If I have to go magnetic, I would have to buy a 600w and be stuck there. I've been looking at the following ballasts because the reviews say they don't have problems with RF interference: Phantom 1000w Digital Ballast Solis Tek 1000w Digital Ballast Can anyone confirm whether either of these will have RF interference? My hydro store uses several Phantom ballasts in their demo units and my AM radio still worked fine a couple hundred feet away in the parking lot, but I'm still paranoid. My next issue is what bulb to use? I'm gonna go HPS the whole way through, so what's a good, relatively inexpensive ($100 or less) 1000w HPS bulb that is made for digital ballasts? And finally, I need a hood. I'm using a 4x4x7 tent, and I'm gonna use a 6 inch cooling line. I don't want to spend more than $150 on a hood. What would the best hood be for that tent within my budget? Thanks in advanced for your guys's help!
Galaxy select a watt... Best ballast. No rf interference. Can run mh or hps. Can run a 400, 600 or 1000 watt bulb. Just google "galaxy select a watt" Sent from my Nexus 5 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Bulb, you can get a hortilux for less than 100.. As for hood, "great white 6" is a very nice hood at 150.00.... Sorry for not providing links, but if you google it, you will find it. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Do you have personal experience with that ballast? And can anyone else vouch for it? (not meaning this in a rude way, I just wanna be sure) And will that hortilux bulb be fine with a digital ballast?
I have a 1000W HPS and a 400W MH both with these types of kits. The 1000W throws out a lot of heat so be prepared, I suggest a 600W for the energy savings and you can still do good pulls with a 600W. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/600W-400W-250W-Digital-Dimmable-Ballast-HPS-MH-27-COOLTUBE-Grow-Light-Kit-/121428979819?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item1c45bb306b
The kits I got came with Digibrite ballasts, which are supposed to have internal RF sheilds. I dont dim or run out of spec bulbs in them though.
You wont get RF interference. The new shit is real good. People have trouble when they have bad grounds and ghetto ass wiring.
Well hell, with 11,000 posts I guess I can trust you!! So basically it's just about what features I want from my ballast?
I have an old magnetic 1,000w MH and 2 digital 1,000w ballast and never had and RF troubles. I have a thunder and an ipower, The Thunder has 1150W overdrive. kind of a cool feature. Some have dimmers that are for 600w and 400w too, others have 50%/75%. Then you can use those bulbs where you dont want to run a 400w bulb at 500w or a 600w bulb on 750. I dont use the dimmers much LOL.
So just wondering, would you pick Solis Tek, Phantom, or something else? And for my hood, I can get a Sun Systems XXXL for the same price as the Great White would cost, so I assume the XXXL is better because of the reflective coating?
The Solis Tek, good unit. it has the 400w 600w and 1000w all in the one unit. The extra big hood is a good investment, My buddie got one and did not like how big it was at first but he found the plants could get right up close and use the light very effectively. You picked out very good stuff.
Well thanks! I couldn't have figured it all out on my own, so I'm glad I'm a part of this awesome community! I'll try my best to let you guys know how the grow goes but I can't guarantee anything since I can't seem to get pictures to upload right :/
you have 3 months or so to figure out how to do pictures grow some fat buds, you are not skimping so the plants will grow like wild. Good luck, do a grow journal.
I never actually paid attention to the post dates, but I just assumed a grow journal was a post as you go kinda thing. Do you save it all for the end and make a summary of the grow all at one time?
No you show it start to finish and update it every couple days. This is mine. http://forum.grasscity.com/hydroponic-grow-journals/1280176-snoopdogs-hydro-2000w-grand-finally.html/page-42#entry20415650
for a 4 x 4 area you want an og style vertical hood. i personally would by 2 vertigrow hoods. at 140 a pop. i would run these on a solis tek 1000 watt matrix ballast set at 1040 watts (solis boost) i would then split the wattage through a solis tek splitter to (2) 600 watt solis tek bulbs you cant go wrong with this setup.....google solis tek og 600 watt challenge
I attach them just like you would an e mail. Hit the more options on the bottom right and then the attachment button on the bottom left.
Yeah, I tried to post a thread about my sick plant, and I tried to upload a picture by doing that but it kept getting an error. I have no idea why. I'm also having hard time finding a tall 4x4 tent. I would like one that's at least 7ft tall, and it needs to have 8 inch ducts on both the left and right sides for my light, and also an 8 inch out the top for the filter. Could someone please link me to a tent that matches my need? I've spend a good hour on Google and I can't find a decent one for under like $150.