is a 250w hps enough to carry three plants through to flowering? (possibly with some accompanying CFLs on the underside) and, could I use a 250w hps to veg my plants? or only to flower them? third question. for 3 - 4 plants should i use a 250w HPS or a 400w HPS my original plan was to use 4 85w CFLs to veg my plants and then I was going to put them under a 400w hps to flower. i am now thinking that I may not need 400w and that 250 would suffice. is there a benefit to using 400w lights over 250w lights when you are only growing a few plants? thanks to any who answer my questions! looking forward to posting here and growing better plants thanks to all of the posters here.
I believe 250 can sustain 3 plants, especially if you have supplemental lighting. 400w is simply more light, but more heat. If you can account for that, it'll be good enough on it's own for 4 plants. I don't recommend vegging under HPS though, because it has a very red spectrum that will stretch your babies. Use something with a 6500k daylight spectrum, CFL's, fluorescent tubes, or a MH bulb.
Thanks for the reply, man. Yeah, after reading your AMAZING sticky on CFL lights, I had originally planned to veg under 4 85 watt CFLs. I think i will be reverting to this original plan. Also, I decided to go with the 400w HPS because it was only $5 more. It felt stupid to get the 250 when the 400 was only a little more. (PLUS, BETTER PLANTS ) Thanks again for your help