okay now that i'm lucky enough to be working again its time to pay some bills save a little and most importantly to me ....buy a new fancy grow light and ditch my 100 watt hps flood light and gang of cfls. i'm probly just going to buy a 400 watt hps or maybe 250 because i really only want to grow one huge plant this time around i want to know if i should buy a switchable ballast so i could run metal halide for veg or could i get away with just using a conversion bulb all the away through do conversion bulbs work as well for veg and flower as the adds say they do i know theres probly post about this but its fuck'n early and i'm stoned bout to leave for work pretty soon any opions from people who have used thes bulbs would be appreciated
If you can afford the switchable, go that way.......conversion bulbs are a little more expensive, and deliver less (not much) lumens than regular bulbs.
I agree with chunkdaddyo. Just square everything he said. Just get a digital ballast. They are so much sexier.
this is the light i'm most likely going to buy because its a compact ballast that you can just hang and go sun system two 400 watt hps i really kinda wanted a switchabla one but i dont want to go digital and those things cost so much more so i think i'll go with this one and a conversion bulb for veg, anyone think i should switch the bulb to staight hps for flowering or just use a conversion all the way i know those bulbs can get kinda pricey too but its still be cheaper than buying a switchable digital ballast and than a metal halide bulb as well not to mention shipping............ thoughts? i really just cant wait till i get paid i'ma pay some bills real quick than go buy me this present has any one grown with these conversion bulbs
I have been using an Argosun 400w bulb and it seems to work fine. I may switch back and see if the yields are any better with the MH and HPS which I used before.
If you get the 400 watt HPS system, you might want to consider a ceramic metal halide bulb by Philips........I've read some good testimonials on here about their effectiveness. They work on an HPS ballast......