i went out and got 4 150 watt hps lights and put them into my hanging lamps but they will not light up. I can not find an indoor light fixture that will fit them at the home depot or sears near by so what do you guys suggest?
Any HID (Metal Halide/HP Sodium) lights require a ballast to regulate the amount of electricity they consume. Some Flourexcent lamps requires them as well, most tube fixtures have them inside. Go back to the home depot and see if they have ballasts that support the exact wattage output your bulbs are. You could also buy the full fixtures there although they are only 100W. They come all in one, you just need to wire a power cord and off you go.
which do you guys think is a better idea to grow four plants with. a 150 watt metal halide and a 150 watt hps. or just one 400 watt metal halide?
you gotta do some serious research and read up but good at least you posted here first.. metal halide is good for veg- hps is good for flower- you need to learn about lumens/light spectrum (wavelengths, kelvins) etc to be effective at a grow. i mean you should seriously spend about 8-10 hours of your time doing some solid reading and homework, after all your doing a grow that will provide you with possibly thousands of dollars worth of medicine. you can find a lot of info in here but do a google on cannabis grow lights or something and go from there...
in a matter of speaking yes. but you're far better off buying a real light that has a proper reflector and everything. i would not say those lights are suitable for growing. you can try it if you want. if you're gonna bother spending money on that, save up an extra $20 or so just buy one of these http://www.insidesun.com/ecc584ec06d4630abdc6908519b10cb2.item. it's refurbished but has a 3 year warranty. i was gonna get one of these but i ended up doing something totally different.