Hey, i was thinking about starting a hydro grow and had a few questions before I got started. I was wondering if a 600W light is good enough for a 4x4 space. Also I was wondering what the best medium was for a bubble bucket grow (the bb 101 thread didn't say), is 18/6 or 24 a better light cycle for veg and how long is it form start to finish? If anyone could answer these it would be great thanks.
I believe the 600 is rated for grow area of that dimension so yes it should be enough, I currently have a simular set up and I'm using a 4oohps and 200 fluorex, and things are going just fine even though I plan on putting a second 400hps I have at week 4 of flowering. As for medium I use rockwool cubes and grow rocks, just be sure to condition your rockwool. 24/7 if you don't mind the jump in elec bill. I use 24/7 and was able to start flowering after 27 days of veg. 2 things you absolutely need are a PH meter and tds meter. As for the TDS meter you need to know what conversion method they use. I got mine from control wizard and they use .5 to 1ec conversion factor. The reason why this is important is that for .5 conversion you will use a lower ppm level. Guess that covers it all. Oh, if you build your bubble bucket add extra air, I use 3 air dual outlet air pumps in my multi-bucket.(got three plants in 1 container)
Listen yo, if you don't want that jump in your elec bill you can use simple 42w cfls this will be enough to veg your plants and then use the 600 to flower. don't forget that it needs to be 17inches above the plants.