I am going to be growing around 10-15 plants in my room. They will each be started from seed and have a 6 gallon box to grow in (each). That makes 10-15 6 gallon boxes. These will take up around 14 square feet or so. My question is which lights are best? I was considering getting a 1000 watt hps/mh combo off ebay for $320 shipped. Is this a good idea? Would It be best if I had both of the types of lights? I have read on some posts that the mh is good for vegging while the hps is good for flowering. And, also, will the 1000 watt light be too much light or good for (let's say) a minimum of 8 plants? Thanks a lot.
Sounds good to me...what are the dimensions of your growing room? A 1000W in a 14 square foot room will give you 70 watts psf...hope you've got your ventilation thought out. The MH/HPS combination creates a great spectrum of light. I remember seeing one of these kits and they called it the Super Spectrum System. It had a 600W hps and a 400W mh. Is this the lamp you're refering to?
The room I will be growing in is my room and is far larger than 14 square feet. I will have decent ventilation. The grow light is NOT a combo but rather a switchable lightbulb kit that comes with both a 1000 watt hps light and a 1000 watt mh light. Would it be best to use the mh light for vegging and the hps light for budding? That's what I've heard you should do. Or would it be better just to use the HPS light ONLY? Thanks.
Since you got such a big room, I would think coverage would be a problem. 1000w light provides alot of intense light(lotsa lumens), but in a limited area. If your grow space cover's a large area, you might benefit from getting 3-4 cheap 400w HID lamps(MH and HPS). You'll get less intense light, but alot more coverage.. oh yeah.. ebay fucking rocks..
You see, here is my situation. My "grow area"-the floor space my plants will take up is going to be approx. 10-17 square feet. If I just raise the light 3-4 feet above, won't it cover the whole area or no? Thanks. I did not really want to get several smaller lights because I have heard you get higher yields from more intense lighting. Advice?
Yes more yield from more intense lighting.. but raising the light will decrease intensity and intensity will decrease as you progress outward from the focal point. I have no experience with 1k lights, but the exact same question was asked over at cannabisworld. Here is the link http://www.cannabisworld.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/005791.html The gist being that the higher amount of coverage was favorable to a directly more intense light.
if your area is 3 x 4 feet, try using two 95 watt CFL (each provides about 450 watts of lighting!...the advantage of CFL's) mounted on each end will work. If your area is 36 inched one center mounted with reflector will work best. check out www.envirolites.com for particulars.... the big advantage of this solution is NO heat, lumens are 3500(min) to 15000(max) and much less power use...
There is a problem with the larger watt CF's...it is heat..and airflow..to the ballasted area...The larger watt 200/43w etc. do get warm on the bulb glass....airflow(out at highpoint/in at lowpoint) is very important with using the high watt CF's to prevent early burnout...I will show pic example later ..gotta go
These bulbs are not actually designed to be mounted horizontal,,although they test them in all positions at factory,,they are meant to be operated at base up,or base down..for maximum output,cooling. When mounting these horizontal,in an enclosure the operating temp does go up,,,you must have proper airflow(ventilation)to keep the ballast cool,vented,it is electronic,and the drivers used get very hot,and have cracked the driver first in line on the circuit,after smoking up the place..these units will not burn ,,but it will stink the place up for days.. The arrow in the pic shows the location of the problem....
Also...it would be cheaper and more effective intensity,to buy hps than the bulbs at envirolites.or even standard tubes,,.....think about it,,,,1 tandem 4' flouro tube fixture emitts 80w ,and there is much more surface area to dissipate light.they can be purchased for less than $20 each....
you could solve your problem by downsizing your containers from 6 gallon homemade ones to a 3-5 gallon grow bag and then you could put your plants closer together and adjust your light as your plants get bigger