I went to store and found a couple of 50 watt hps bulbs...i didn't even know they came this small in wattage but it clearly says 50 watt right on the glass of the bulb. One says 50 watt hps..the other one says sylvania lumalux 50 watt....theres more of these bulbs where i got them from too and i got them for free. Where can I get a ballast or whatever you want to call it to plug this in and use it as a light?! I know you are going to say its weak probabley but i'm curious as to how i can use this.... thanks
also...to let you know that this was a reuse type junk store so they just had torn apart lights....alot of lights where you had to wire your own cord...but they had alot of light fixtures...so i have a gut feeling that they DO have the light ballast(i think thats what you call it) to plug the bulb into so i can use it...but i just need to know what to look for. i've heard that if you try and plug a hps bulb into a normal house socket it will start a fire! i am not even tryin to mess around. i am trying to get all the info on getting this solved. i have very little money and i figure this is a great suppliment to the 3 big huge floro tubes i have already. they had lamps right under the box of bulbs that i figured were probably for the hps 50 watt bulbs, but i'm not sure how to tell what a hps ballast looks like compaired to just a regular light socket. the guy said if it fits that it fits...but i already have been warned about the fire hazard of just using a regular socket for hps! some one help me out with all this if you can.
Don't bother with HPS smaller than 400w. 23-27w Screw in CFLs are the best for micro grows if you want screw in. If you're looking for maximum efficiency and potency in a micro grow you should check out Remote ballast CFLs. The 55w PL-L (Dulux-L) lamps are the most efficient CFLs in production today. Use 3000K lamps for flower and the 5600K or 5400K lamps for veg. I recommend the Fulham Workhorse 8 ballast as it will give you the greatest number of options for your $ in the long run. It will light up to 6 lamps at 220w max. (I run 4 55w lamps) Check them out, you'll not be sorry. Oh, if your space is smaller..... Look for the 36w bulbs as they're only 17" long. The 55w are generally 21".