Sunburst and iPower are the two I see on amazon. Are there any better brands? Tryinna spend under $200 with shipping. Prefer something dimmable with mh and hps capability. Is the reflector with ballast in one like the sunburt systems less reliable? Does it get too hot?
eBay. Found a 400 for 178. That's for the a cool tube with a good reflector. We're you looking at a cool tube or basic wing. They dim too.
Doesn't matter really I don't think it will put off THAT much heat. I think I found one on ebay someone is selling with mad hydro equipment for $150
check craigslist. depending on your area, there might be a surplus of gently used equipment or none at all
my bad bro. my first bundle was ultilumanex. complete garbage! if i were you id wait and double your limit. your gunna get what you pay for. and speaking from experience, nothing sucks worse then a ballast goin out mid flower!
It's not my wallet to dig into unfortunately, and if its only $150 for everything this guy is including I can go through 2 or 3 ballasts to break even with MSRP
ok dude, your grow not mine. tried kickin some knowledge from experience. best of luck with that china garbage!
600w HPS Digital Grow Light System - Cool Tube 8" - Specials Not 'exactly' what you were looking for, but would just need to get a 600w mh bulb in addition.
That was exactly why I figured it was worth posting. That link was originally shared by JaksterJammin in one of his journals. He actually purchased it. I didnt, though... didnt need it.
In case you haven't got one yet. There is this one too. Amazon.com: Purple Apollo brand 600w Watt Digital Dimmable Ballast Hydroponic Grow Light System with Gull Wing Reflector and Metal Halide(MH) and High Pressure Sodium(HPS) Light Bulbs, Cord + Rope Ratchet Hanger: Patio, Lawn & Garden I got the 1000W Apollo and haven't had any issues. This one also comes with everything you need including hangers, timer, and MH and HPS bulbs. Good luck.
Literally just had an Apollo shit on me after only 6 months. But they carry the 3 yr warranty so it's not a total loss. Just inconvenient. Also just grabbed te newest Apollo xxxl hoods. Thins are fuckin beast! Also just read some very interesting shit about lumatek ballast and back feeding cable lines. Got so bad the cable company was able to tell the owner exactly what time lights came on and off. Really makin me rethink my choice of digital ballast. Search the lumatek thing here on gc. Shot was trippy.
Yeah, that's what I'm going to do for my next light. I had originally bought some T12's for veg, but those suck. Then I figured I'd just get a 400W MH/HPS then I have an extra, but after shopping around it's not worth it. I already plan to switch out my hood with an XXXL hood by next year. I'll get the hood for $160 (BTW, LilJ how much did you pay for the hood), and use that with my 1000W, but then I'll have my hood left over that I currently have on my 1000W, so I'll just buy another ballast and have 2 1000W lights. I'll just keep my veg light on half power. It seems like those XXXL hoods are worth the money though. How do you like yours? I've heard they about pay for themselves within a grow or two. What do you think?
I paid $340 for the 2 xxxl hoods. Love em!! Coverage like I've never seen! And their hinged and have support wires built in for easy access to the bulbs. Just tossed up a few pics in the link in my sig.
Yeah, I'm definitely planning on getting the XXXL. That's what I heard that coverage was awesome. I like my 1000W I have, but the hood is pretty small. Not an issue for this grow since I only have 3 plants that were bagseed for my first grow, but my next one will be 10 plants in a DWC. I plan on using the light I have now for that grow. What I've heard is that the outside buds won't be nearly as big. We'll see, but if that's the case then I'll definitely have the hood by the grow after. Can't wait to grow those good genetics next as well. lol.
I bought one of these for 25$ on craigs list, 400w hps. Lengthened the cord from the ballast to the socket and made my own cool tube. Think I spent like 60$ on the whole thing. Instead of using a separate setup for MH I'm just going to run a CMH on this setup for the whole cycle. I have not had a chance to test it much tho.
Those things say 400 but they will pull much more and get ungodly hot. When I first started this shin dig, I ran with an old street light ballast! Lmao if you can control temps it'll work, but gunna cost ya more then its worth as much juice as it'll pull.
I do plan on upgrading down the road but for now this will let me invest in a better carbon filter setup.