I found a 100watt metal halide flood light for sale, ive used a 600watt hps before and the heat was too much, are metal halides just as hot as hps because i just want a discreet grow box for getting plants ready for the outdoors?
Metal Halide is prob just as hot My MH bulb created too much heat so I got an air cooled reflector and it has solved my problem I don't think a 100 watt bulb will be to bad though with proper ventilation
what he said plus the blue light from the mh instead of the red light from the hps is much more sutable for your vegging plants. yes a 100 watt light will be cooler. the key then is ventilation
Unless you have proper ventilation a 1000 watt is way to big and hot for a grow box. A 400 watt with cooled hood and good intake of fresh air would be ideal for just starting plants. But be sure use MH to keep plants short and stocky. And if you can't ventilate properly just build your box big enough to fit 4 flourescent 40 watt fixtures and keep them as close as possible to the plants and you will get some decent results.
Blue spectrum is hotter then Red... MH bulbs are hotter then HPS bulbs. I thought opposite because red looks hotter, get good ventilation tho. The spectrum will also grow your plants healthy, because blue promotes foliage growth. and if you have good ventilation they will have thick and healthy stems for outdoor conditions. hope that helps a little.