I've got a flower space of 2.5x2.5x4ft, and the 150 isnt quite getting it done. I also need the ballast separate. Should I go w the 250 or 400? Keeping in mind heat. Is there a big difference? Space is also a concern. Getting it all to fit, fan and all, will be a challenge. Looking at a lumatek setup. Prices are fairly close with these two.
IMO i'd go with the 400w. I just upgraded, from a 250 to a 400, and the 400 is SO much brighter! 400w are supposed to cover a 3x3 area, up to a 5x5 area... So in your 2.5area, you'd be getting TONS of light... Ive only had my 400 setup for 3 days now, but my temps havnt risen at all ((Also, you get more then DOUBLE the lumens with a 400 compared to 250)) -edit- If you wanna look at what I got, I got a HTG supply 400w... the ballast is seperate, the light isnt HUGE, its actually smaller then my 250w + ballast
I've been lookin at htg, their prices are great. Which one did you get? The lum or theirs? What type of fan setup did you go with?I've got a 4 & 6 inline, but I don't think I can squeeze the 6 in there. Its also fn loud.
Your box is exactly the size of mine, and I recently traded up from 250w to 400w. I recommend you get an air-cooled hood to manage temps. Measure everything first, it's a tight fit for some hoods/tubes at 2.5x2.5 footprint. Put the fan outside the box if needed. I can do 4 nice plants in 5-gal buckets each in there. Tip: use plastic kitty litter bins, since they are rectangular rather than round they fit in better, and since they are tall and narrow you can get 4 of them in that footprint with a little room to spare. HTG's own brand is OK but if you can afford the Lumatek definitely step up.
Yeah, I went with THEIRS, not the lumitek... and I love it so far! Shipping was fast, even got a free lighter! lol. My air situation is different from other peoples, so I just got the regular wing that comes with it, and it works perfectly fine... my plants are like 16in away from them, and all the leaves are pointing up towards it -edit- To view my shits.. check the "trees" link in my sig down below
Hahaha! I get my litter containers at Sam's. I like their shape the best. You guys should've seen the crap I tried before stumbling on those. Sounds like some common ground. What's the temp increase from, self contained 150 to Sep ballast 400 hps? Will a 4 Pincher be enough for the 4?
That is from heat stress, therefore bring the light further away from the plants. In all situations now, you could add more plants
One thing to keep in mind with HTG's own brand of light kits -- their ballast is remote, but it is hard-wired between the ballast and the socket. In other words, it's not a plug-in cord. What this means is that, in order to keep your ballast outside the grow space (which you do want to do so as to keep the heat from the ballast out of your grow space) then you need a hole big enough to pass the entire ballast through (not just big enough to pass a cord with a big plug through). And being a magnetic ballast, they hum and get hot.
Like many have said grab the 400 Wer. You don't want to get the 250 and think ' gee, I really should've grabbed the bigger one'. As Toasty mentioned be sure to address your cooling issues at the same time, don't overlook it No good having great set up with dead or dying plants in it.
Ahhh. I haven't been considering the remote bit. Carving a big hole in my setup isn't on my wish list. Thanks for the save. So what brands are good? I've been looking at lumatek because of price. They're solid?
I'm definitely going with the 400. Like you said, I don't want to wish I'd gotten it. A steep learning curve can get expensive, in this area!
Hey pdub, I've been using kitty litter bins for years, so a few tips and tricks: - First off, what size are you using? Mine are the "super-size" ones that hold 40 lbs of litter, and I've measure those out to hold 5 gallons up to the top (I saw in another thread you said yours are 4 gallons). - I also drilled holes all around the top edges for LST anchor points (I saw you mention that in another thread). - Use 2 buckets per plant, an inner one with drainage holes and an outer one to catch the runoff. - Wrap at least one of the buckets in duct tape or similar to ensure no light is getting through the plastic to the roots. - You are right, the rectangular shape is great for ensuring every last square inch of light footprint is utilized (no dead spaces in between like with round containers). - You didn't mention another key feature -- handles! - Because these containers are tall and narrow you can get a lot of root volume into a relatively small footprint, and also you will need to water less often because the ratio of the surface area of the soil to the soil volume is very low, meaning you lose much less to evaporation and your soil does not dry out as quickly. - BTW I have seen stickers on the plastic bins lately (I get mine at Costco) saying that they are going to switch to a more eco-friendly packaging, sounds like those plastic bins will be disappearing soon, so stock up!
Toasty: Ive been using "litter clean", I think its the Sam's brand. They're not the super tall ones.their neon green/yellow. I put the hydro clay pellets in the top two and a half inches. This helps me with drainage and roots can use more soil near the surface. After those theres a little over four gallons left. I hadn't even considered the double bucket system, that's perfect! Goin go do that now. Great tips! Thanks for the heads up. Don't know what I'd do w/o my litter buckets! Its gonna look funny when I walk out with crap load of litter! HOW COULD I FORGET THE HANDLES? ! Those suckers have saved my ass and back more than I care to mention. Lol
How about this? I've got the 15o hps going, and it'll be a few weeks till I can get the 400. I've got a 125 w cfl (2700) laying around. Would this help in the meantime, or should I not mess w it? Hey toastybiz ...what strains you been doing?
Absolutely use that 125w CFL, you'll add about 10,000 lumens I believe. My tastes lean toward sativa, I've worked a bunch of strains that are at least 50% sativa.
Did six plants with 250 Watts fat colas! On all plants... just need to keep light from escaping.........Cali tips