...but I wanna do things right. I was looking at some HPS bulbs today and realized I don't know shit about em. Lol. I didn't even know you had to have a special ballast to run them in. *sigh* I have a batch of 6 growing right now in their second weeks of vegetative with cfl but, I wanna do the flowering stage correctly. So, I guess my questions really are: How many watts of bulb do I need for six plants in a 5' x 5' area? Where do I get the ballast for the bulbs and what do they look like? etc? Thanks!!
$500 or so would just about be pushing it. And I'd rather not order the ballast from the internet. Ya know?
u can go to your local hydro store but i bet u any money u will save alot more if u order from internet they are relly good a stealth shipping but ya here is a 600 watt hps cooltube with digital ballst for cheap: 600 WATT 600W HPS DIGITAL GROW LIGHT AIR COOL TUBE HOOD | eBay
i would say get a 600 watt hps air cooled hood like a 6 inch or a cool tube cuz 600's can get real hot so u will need duckting and a ventilation fan
Awesome. I was thinking 400w would be sufficient so, I wasn't TOO far off. Is it still 100w per plant with HPS? Would it make a difference if I used two 300w bulbs instead of one 600w bulbs? Stupid question, I know, but I just don't know the answer. Lol. What's so special about the ballasts? I looked around the hardware store and couldn't find anything marked specifically for the high wattage HPS bulbs.
it would be better to use 2 cuz u can spread light further and more even over the hole box and u can run light ventilation right through both with one fan to cool lights down. what ballest are u useing a homemade one never seen a 300 watt system before? or u can do 2 400 watts cuz a 4x4 u can do a 1000 watt hps that would be the best.
u must go to a hydro store or internet or wire your own i would just get the hole system off the internet you will get more bag for your buck and u wont light your house on fire lol
I just got through looking at ballast prices. Too baked to pick my jaw up off the ground. Jebus, that shit is expensive!! I am now starting to have second thoughts about using HPS bulbs. I got all excited when I saw how cheap the bulbs were at the store but.....damn.
well you can also do a small grow like a 150 watt hps is only 60$ - 80$ bucks u can pull 5oz check this out: http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-g...ackberry-under-150watt-hps-holland-style.html heres my 150 watt grow so far 2ft tall: http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-marijuana-growing/786632-update-150-watt-hps-grow.html
I say get a 1,000 watt. Im going to be flowering 6 plants in a 4.5x4.5 tent and Im using a 1,000. I also want to add that my hood is air cooled! My airflow is like this. Carbon filter -> fan -> duct -> hood -> duct -> inline duct booster -> outside of tent
/\/\/\/\/\ i second the 1000 watter argument. 500 bucks is kinda cutting it close. i always recommend the magnum xxxl reflectors. air-cooled and HUGE! may not fit into your budget thoguh.