Questions about lighting / grow box

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by CrossGore, Aug 8, 2011.

  1. Okay so me and my friend FOUND a 400w HPS system in this guys trash.... of course we took it, and it WORKS! :]

    now i have a few questions, as of now we have 4 (seed bank) seeds

    Can you VEG on a HPS light? (were vegging for a month)

    Is 400w HPS, and 104 CFL (Flower) enough to run about 4 plants?

    Were kind of on a tight budget so were going to build a lockable wood grow box (Mylar on the inside of course), My friend just wants to run the light in his closet with pretty much 100% light leaks lol, so should we build our grow box?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Nice find! That should be able to run 4 plants under it. Unless they're feminized seeds you'll probably only get two females (could be more or less). I've heard to rules of thumb to go by with lighting. 1) At least 100 watts per plant. 2) 150watts for the first plants and add 50 for each additional plant. Either way I think 4 plants is fine under a 500 watts unless you let them get big. The light leaks will be a problem though. Either build a grow box or duct tape the leaks.

    ps - you'll find a lot of good info in the lighting section.
     
  3. okay thanks! and yea they're all feminized!

    One more question!
    Will i have a lot of trouble vegging them out?
     
  4. What do you mean trouble? You could start them under the CFL's and move them under the HPS when they get a little bigger and tougher. The HPS is hot so it may be hard on seedlings.
     
  5. what i mean is, HPS is used for Flowering and MH is used for Vegging
     
  6. They will veg under the hps. Some say they will be more stretchy and have more distance between nodes, but I have no idea. I have had my seedlings under a 400w mh conversion since day three (they were outside on day 1 and 2 under direct sun while waiting on my light) and they have done fine. Just watch your canopy temps and adjust your light accordingly. I wouldn't waste the veg time running a small cfl only when I have an hid light sitting there, but that is just me.
     
  7. I veg and flower with a 400W HPS. My screen is about a 5 square foot rectangle, and the light footprint just barely covers it. I run 2 plants in that area. Check my sig for pics of my setup.
     
  8. Yeah, you can use the HPS for both. MH is supposed to be optimal, but if you just have one light, by all means, use it for veg and flower.
     

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