I know, I know... We've probably seen a thread like this a thousand times before, but I am completely torn here! Before yesterday I would have argued that you just CAN'T get a good yield blooming under T5's... Then I saw a grow journal (on another forum, mind you) that put that thought to rest. This guy yielded 25oz from 6 plants under the 12 bulb Badboy. The colas looked big and from his report, were nice and tight. I know there will always be those that argue that T5's just CANNOT beat HPS for flowering... But from what I have seen, they can do a damn good job. I am planning a 4x4 grow room and am wondering if I should go with a 12 bulb badboy or a 600watt digi-HPS.
if you can plan for high heat.. use the hid... if not use the t5's... its simple... allow the grow to make its own decision... i like having just one bulb... not ten... personal choice... rather than yield
I'm trying to take heat into consideration. I am going to build a grow room in my garage where it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. It seems that an HID might be good for winter, where temps in the garage easily get down into the 50's. But in the summer when we get hot weather it can easily get up into the 80/90's...... Not good. What would be the PROPPER way to vent out this room if I go with the HID? I have a SunSpot 6" air cooled hood and am considering either a 600w lumatek or quantum digi-ballast.
There are a lot of configurations that could be considered "proper". It depends on what you want to do, and how much you want to spend. I'm a huge fan of the Hydro Innovations, and use the entire line of water cooled components. If you are doing this professionally, and have the capital to invest, that is what I recommend. But you will hear a thousand other suggestions.
VHO T5 lights may be another consideration. They are comparable with HID lighting. My 8 tube VHO light is close to a 1000 watt HID. It consumes 840 watts itself, so it is basically just a 1000 W t5.
HID. Or, .. HPS. .. .. Same shit, .. different pile. T5'ies will get bud, .. But never the same as any HID Lighting Setup. My shot, .. .. Yeah .. .. .. ..
I am not doing this professionally, just as a hobby and to provide myself with plenty of good homegrown smoke. I do, however, want to get the best results out of my plants while keeping things budget friendly. What I need is to (A) air cool my hood (B) keep overall room temp optimal (C) have a carbon filter to cut down on odor.
if you like good weed, you want HID! just get a cool tube, its the cheapest and most effective way ive found to cool my 400w. also plan on spending about 100 on a good fan to push air thru. It sounds like a lot to begin with, but after ur first harvest the investment is laughable.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am going with a 600w HPS... It's what I know is proven and don't have to worry about "am I getting as big a yield as I could if...." How does an exhaust fan work in relation to a Carbon Filter? Do I need one fan to exhaust my light and one for my filter? Or do I run the filter and light exhaust all on the same ducting? How does one set this up?