So I've been back and fourth on what lights I want for my first grow and I really like what everyone has to say about ceramic metal halide lights. They run cooler and seem to have a good spectrum for growing start to finish. All I can find however are the 315 watt sunlight supply kits for $500 or you can buy the bulbs for $105. That sounds crazy expensive. I each bulb is going to cost me $100 to replace that seems a little much and I'll just invest more up front and go with an led. I would love to go 315 watts if they make 315 watt magnetic ballasts and sell the bulbs for cheaper than $100. My plan was to get a 400 watt xtrasun ballast for like $120 and then a nice cool good for like $100 and then a bulb. The problem is I can not find 400 watt cmh bulbs anywhere. Are cmh bulbs even available anymore? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Less heat and better spectrum from what I've heard. Since they run cooler I would think I could get them closer to the plants as well as let me dim an inline fan more so I could have a silent grow. If they aren't too much more expensive I'd rather go with cmh for those reasons than a digital mh/hps setup. I'd go with a solis tek digital ballast if I went with the mh/hps Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
sadly Philips has discontinued them, you can still find stock, but i wouldn't set up a system at this point for them. there are other CMH type ballasts and bulb setups around, I.E. like a 315 watt? or something like that i read about around the web. HTH also note you cannot run them on a digital ballast either, solid state ballast only for thos conversion bulbs.
So Phillips was like the only company with 400 watt cmh? That would have been perfect for me. Yeah there are 315 watt metal halide systems but they are really pricy and I can't find any ballasts on their own that are 315 watts. I would only get the digital if I was going with mh/hps, I'm aware cmh only like magnetic. And if the cmh bulbs are gonna run $100 each I'm going to have to pass cmh Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Yeah for the prices a 315 watt is running for and no reliable source of cmh I'm going to go with a 400 watt mh/hps combo. I settled on a Solis Tek 400/600 watt ballast and a hortilux eye hps for $65 http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/growing-lights/hid-bulbs/hortilux-super-hps-enhanced-spectrum-bulb-400w/?catargetid=120146710000017241&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KEQjwjZefBRDfsY28oNjbgeABEiQA8kVt3VzbmkM9YSvAzfNlqYkWY1v48NSBGBwaGpzu0VK37uUaAtHH8P8HAQ. I still have no idea what bulb to buy for vegging though. Do I need a really nice bulb like the hortilux or is the veg bulb quality not so important since 400 watts should be almost too much light for a 2 foot by 3 foot veg? EDIT: CLICK THE LINK BELOW POSTED BY DENNIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. MY ANTIVIRUS BLOCKED 19 THREATS WHEN I OPENED IT UP SO IT MAY NOT BE SAFE
Hey Snoop do you recommend any brand or 400 watt mh in particular? I's a 400 watt mh gonna be overkill? And any idea on what the price point of that may be dennis and my antivirus blocked your website and found multiple threats (19 of them!). What's the deal? Everyone be careful clicking that link.
Bulbs brands, No not realy, spectrum is what you want. 6500k this bulb but a cheaper deal... http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-AgroMax-%20400w-Metal-Halide---6500K-Ultra-Blue-Daylight-Spectrum-Bulb
Awesome thank you! I will look for something around that color temp. Is that a HTG exclusive bulb because I can't find it anywhere else.
How does something like this look I can get one shipped for about $30 which is awesome if it looks decent. Its 10000k temp 32,000 lumens. I attached a picture of the spectrum and looks like it would be good for veg, at least it seems so to me and I'm new to growing.
Totally appreciate you taking the time to help me out @[member="snoopdog6502"]! I'm trying to set myself up for the best grow I can manage for a first time. I'm really hoping to pull at least 6 ounces off either 3 plants or 6 plants in either soil or possibly dwc but haven't decided yet.
I just stated growing hydro this year and its been awesome. Should have done it 10 years ago. Iv decided that if its going to be inside its hydro, soil in the garden or greenhouse.
From what I've been reading yields are significantly higher. Do you think I would have a better shot at hitting my 6-10 ounce goal with hydro? Which method would you recommend for a first time, dwc or something else?
DWC is dead simple. the toughest part is cutting and trimming it all at harvest time. Yes get closer to a pound doing DWC. too bad it 2 x 4. 4 x 4 would give you so much more options. I run 1,000w lights so I just end up with a lot. Dont realy have to try hard.
You're thinking I could possibly pull a pound out of the 2x4? Yeah I wish I didn't have to go stealth but once I'm on my own I'll have a legit setup in a 4x4 or something. I would die to be able to use a 1000w. I'm using a 400 watt for temp reasons and less notice on power bills which go through landlord who may not be super psyched about a grow. Are chiller required for dwc because they seem pricey and all my stuff already adds up to $700 without plants nutrients and little accessories like timers and such and I was originally trying to stay around $600 but if it means more yield it will pay itself off I suppose.