my question is on lighting. i know you really shouldn't skimp on anything when attempting to provide oneself with with medication but budget is just an issue for me. i'd like to know what kind of light thats fairly inexpensive i could use for this. specifications and data are what i'm looking for but if anyone has a certain brand they prefer that will work too. i ask that you tell me your reason of preference. if you have a suggestion for an led light i'm looking to spend around 300-400. hps or mh i'll spend approx 200 for each. thanks for the help
Led. Is outta the question on your budget. At least one that works anyways. CFL. Are affordable. But lack oomph! And usually buds suffer from this lack of penetration. (people will argue this all day long) once u go HID u never look back to fluroros. They do serve well in veg rooms and for propigation. HID. Either way. Affordable or bling bling expensive. 2 choices in ballasts. Digital and magnetic. Electronic(digital) ballasts are quiet and save a bit in electricty, have pretty cases, and some have features like being able to dimm. If your gonna grow for a long time can save you alot in electricity. These units cost more. But just in your budget. Leaving very little for bulb and reflector. Magnetic ballast. Very reliable, off shelf parts, they buzz, dont look as pretty, dont put out stray EMFs that digis do. These will leave you some money in your pocket. Look for a ballast that can fire MH/HPS lamps. And make sure all wires are included. Dont forget a bulb. Id reccomend getting 2, dont want a bulb failure to ruin your grow. You will also need a socket and reflectorfor either ballast type. You can buy all this in a package. But tend to be inferior quality stuff. I bought my hid as rebuilt units. Work great and saved me a small fortune. 1000W mag with bulb socket and reflector $150. Lol i got 2 Look at my sig. They grow pot quite well
Id dump your LED idea you need to spend alot to get a good one. HPS probably is the way to go you can find cheap units pretty easy if you look.
Thanks for the help guys. I did a little more research lastnight and found that i can get the things i need fairly cheap but i'll have to do alot of wiring myself. No worries, i'm no stranger to electrical work. I found a good deal on a 400w hps flood light so i'm gonna wire it into a project box. You can always buy things pre assembled but you just dont get the "i made it myself" satisfaction. Lol. I know 400w is a little on the low side but i'm only growing for myself so i hope thats enough for two plants. Any suggestions on a reputable reflector manufacturer? Also, will any 400w hps bulb work or are there better ones out there that you guys prefer from personal experience?
im useing a t5 florecent 90 dollers grows them just fine. made a couple plants last year still useing it i use mirrors for reflecting and my electric bill didnt suffer either something to think about .
400w will work just fine. I will say however 600w tend to be the weapon of choice. You will be limited in the number of plants you can flower at a time, but arent we all? (either by lighting, space, expense) Parabolic - think of a umbrella, or a photographers light. Cheap, can be made yourself, very good light dist. Actually these are amazing for the cost. Downside. Heat like the batwing you cannot control, abd they often are huge. Vented hood - either a "cooltube"'or "box" relector. Cooltubes- round tube that houses bulb and socket. Connects inline to venting equipment. Light dist sucks balls but you can get them right into your plants faces. Box- like cooltube connects to venting, best light dist of all vented reflectors IMO, protects your skin from contact with bulb (this is a nice plus) expensive for what it is. Ask whats the best and you will get a slew of different answers. Its not a 1 size fits all question. Each growspace will Be different. And have different needs. Hope thats not too long winded.
To be honest I say save a little more. That will give you time to research what you really want. I went with a 1000 watt digi myself. I saved a little longer for my air cooled hood, etc. but after it is all done. I wont have to re buy or upgrade for quite a while.
thanks hemi, just went through your whole grow log and i have to say that i'm pretty impressed. i like your bore scope too, i didnt know dewalt made those. i just picked one up myself from matco. i'm a mechanic at an aamco trans shop. beautiful dart btw. i've got three plants now that came from some hermie bud. guy called it trainwreck. got three beans from an oz so i decided to stick em in the dirt and let them go. i'm using ffof and some grow big right now. they've been deprived of attention so i'm not expecting much. i live in an apt right now so these ladies (hopefully) will be transferred to an undisclosed location once i think their big enough to be on their own. the lighting questions are for me to get my ducks in a row. i'll be moving back to the coast at the end of the year and thats where i'll set up my indoor operation. thanks for all the info though, you're alot of help.