If I just went and bought a 400watt HPS bulb, can I just buy a socket for a bulb, hook it up through a surge protector, and screw it in ? Or do i need a ballast.
Oh yeah bud, you most definitely need a ballast. You'll prolly need a large reflector to reflect the light as well.
http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/487373-ballast-grow-lights-hps-mh.html Read this thread. It has a lot of recent (like, today) info on good cost-efficient HPS shit.
Yes. I'd deffiently read alot more before investing in anything else, just to make sure your not wasting cash on uneccessary purchases.
Well this is my setup as of late... I just have no faith in it... I got a 300 watt bulb on the wall, 2 32wtt cfl tubes (daylight) A 150 watt cfl, two 60 watt cfls, and 150 watt reveal bulb. With a rotating fan.
With those CFL'S you may want to try and get those bulbs a little closer to get the best results. Not sure that bulb on the wall is doing too much for them. You got her growin so your on the right track and this place is LOADED with all the info you need ya just have to read, read, read and don't lose faith. Also if you can, get a ballast and a reflector for your hps bulb. They will love it! Have fun!
Yeah, you're really not all that well educated on how lighting works? Basically, I'm guessing you gave us the equivelant watts for your CFLs and not the real wattages. CFLs are completely ineffective if more than 3 inches from the plant top so get them closer. Also, those tube lights are absolute junk, ditch 'em. Also, your 300w bulb on the wall is probably costing you $20 a month in power and your plants are actually getting very very little light from it. I'd 86 that too. Judging just by your interaction here I'm going to suggest you just get more CFL bulbs, build a little homemade power strip fixture for them with some plug sockets, and deal with HID when you've done your homework enough to understand how indoor growing works.
I agree with all that stuff but keeping the light 3 inches away. I had a 100 watt CFL 6 inches to my plant and the tips of the leaves started to curl so I moved it back to 12 inches.
I'm not talking about a 100w CFL. I'm talking about 27w CFLs, which are much cooler and need to be much closer. A real 100w CFL at 6" should have been fine for an older plant, but might need to be more like 8" from a seedling. So that's wise advice for higher wattages... keep them further...
i put my plant outside today and the sun fried it: http://forum.grasscity.com/sick-plants-problems/488539-leafs-curling-up-much-sunlight.html