If your ducting is very long and especially if it has bends in it, you may need another fan in the duct to boost the flow Yeah glass does absorb and reflect light, so an air cooled hood does lower the light output. However, because you are removing that heat before it heats up the tent, you can use more watts than otherwise therefore your plants can get more light Edit... The amount of light that is lost through the glass is pretty minimal and not really worth worrying about
Thank you for the help guys, I think I have pretty much all I need. I am still debating from going with a LED light setup or a HID light. Let me know what you guys prefer, and why! -LED: California Lightworks SolarStorm 440W. $830.00; Im thinking this will be enough to replace the 600w-1000w HID I was planning on getting for the 4x4 space going to be used for growing. From what I can tell, the light has the required wavelengths used by ID MH and HPS lights, it has both the red/orange and the blue wavelengths, plus 2 UVB tubes to help increase potency as well as add other wavelengths. Seems like a good buy, and that it would replace the 600-1000W HID well. If I do go with the LED, I would also supplement with CFL's placed below the canopy level. ---Advanced Platinum 900 LED light: Been told this is a good LED. Not sure how much it would cover though. As I said, I want to cover about 4x4. -HID MH/HPS: Radiant Air Cooled 6" reflector hood. $119.95; As far as I can tell, this method of lighting is preferred by growers. Ive read it produces thicker buds and stronger plants(less stretching). >The other hood option ive picked is the Blockbuster 6". $149.99. They are both able to run 1000W bulbs, both MH and HPS. Both also have hinged glass. This link shows the tests done on each of these hoods and a number of others. -Ballast: I assume if the hood can run 1000W bulbs, then I should pick a 1000W ballast. Would It be better to pick a ballast with more wattage and run it at less power say 75%? -Cool Tubes: Actually just started researching these, do some people prefer these over regular cooled hoods. Im trying to think of what the benefit over these would be over regular hoods. All I can think is that they would have worse reflection and cover a smaller area, but maybe be easier to cool. Any information or opinions on these would be great. --Last thing: this a link with the testing done on a number of hoods, its where im basing some of the information off of, along with some other websites. http://www.greners.com/reflector-test.html EDIT: On the subject of Ballasts, what are some recommended brands? I am definitely going digital.
I've never grown with LED but I do know that you won't find one that performs like a 1kw hps without requiring an air conditioner. Air cooled hoods/cooltubes are so efficient at removing heat that my grow temps are only 4-5f above ambient and buds grow right up against the lens with no damage, using 2x 6" inline fans only. Even though I've never grown with LED I do know that you cannot achieve those temps with that wattage, without running an a/c (or a massive exhaust fan) and your plants couldn't get this close to the light, thus wasting vertical grow space. ^this bud was against the glass, inches from the bulb for about 6 weeks until it got weighed down. ^79f under 1kw, middle of August, no a/c lol Air cooled hoods have a bigger footprint than cooltubes, when running a 1kw you want the biggest hood you can get. Love my Raptor but there are other brands that perform just as well.
Good to know. As far as you say using 2 x 6" fans are they connected to the same ducting, if so how it is configured. Im thinking they might be separate though. --After doing some digging ive read a lot of people saying something about secondary lenses on LED lights, and that the California Lightworks do not have a secondary lens and therefore don't run very efficiently and don't put out much intense light. LED's seem like good technology but they also seem like they are a crapshoot. Like I said I wanted to replace a 1000w HID, but people say LED are good for the VEG stage, but not so good for flowering. One of the only reasons I would use an LED is because of less heat, so if I hae to run an a/c that kinda defeats the purpose. -Also, would it be more efficient to run, say 2x600w or 2x400w bulbs than 1x1000w bulb? Im thinking ill be able to get more grow space and more efficient lighting. Because, the info for my hood is baased on a 1000w bulb, but I would probably only use a 600w bulb, therefore thinking I would only need a hood that runs 600w. But, if I did run 2 400 or 600w lights I would need to buy 2 ballasts, so I think it would end up being more expensive. -I read that hoods ad HID's needed to be kept about 2' away from the plants canopy/tops, but youre saying that you can keep them closer if properly cooled, how close would you keep them? And the optimal temperatures for the room are like 76-79F?
Well, as you can see from my setup this is how I'd go about it. (edit: 1 fan for the filter, one for the lights) Pump my heat outdoors in summer, indoors in winter because my basement temps fluctuate between 55f and 75f between the seasons. 1600w total, would prefer double 1kw but this is what I'm working with. I wouldn't buy a ballast that's limited to 600w after knowing what I know now... 1kw Eye Hortilux bulbs are usually on sale cheaper than the 600's. Amazon had them for $10 cheaper than a 600w Eye Hortilux just the other day, but if you look around you'll usually find them on sale somewhere. Second reason is most ballasts are dimmable these days so you can always turn it down if you need to. Keep in mind that air cooled hoods have glass in them that slightly reduces output as well, so I like to go with more wattage to compensate for that. And yes, as long as your light + grow area is properly cooled it won't hurt your plants. P.S. Check the fine print for the actual wattage on that "900w" LED, they turn them down to extend the lifespan. So you'd have to go with a bigger model to actually come close to 1kw.
I did have to straighten out and shorten my ducting to get those temps, but these are the only full pics I have of the ventilation.
Didn't see the latest responses. I gotcha man, So you run a 2-1k ballasts?(what brand? Looking for some good ones, lumitek is out of business) As you were saying, I am wondering if it would be more efficient to just run a 600w bulb until I actually needed the light from the 1k, instead of just turning the 1k bulb down to only running 600w. -Thanks for the tip on the bulbs! -Do you run both HPS and MH during Flowering? -Also what tent brands do you recommend? Because ive been looking at different ones, gorillas are too expensive and made in china. A lot of them have a big amount of light leakage. -How big of a space do you use your raptor(6" or 8" for)? -Looking at your picture, im kind of confused on how the ducting fits through the holes securely without leaking light.
I would suggest 2 600 watt hids over a single 1000 watt. 600's are the most efficient of the wattages and 2 600s have a larger footprint then a single 1000. Before you go sticking a 600 watt bulbs in a 1000 watt ballast yu ou better check to see if its a ballast you can do that with. Most ballast you would put a 1000 watt bulb in and it will dim. Very few ballast can run multiple wattage bulbs. There's a few ballast out there like the galaxy select a watt, that can take different bulbs.
Whats your view on the amount of power actually drawn with a dimmable ballast? EG dim the 600 down to 200 but the power it consumes is still more like 600?
no it uses whatever you dim it down too. A 600 watt light dimmed down 50% runs 300 watts and runs cooler
I just got this 600 watt Solis tek setup. Its able to run a 400 watt bulb. Other then galaxy and solis tek I'm not sure of any other brands that offer that. Even these brands are only with certain models.
No, I just use the Eye Horitlux full spectrum hps bulbs for all stages of growth. All of the ballasts I'm using are Lumatek, didn't know they had gone out of business. Here is an article that compares ballast brands if you're interested: http://growershouse.com/blog/1000w-digital-ballast... As for tents, I've always considered them the lowest priority. My 4x8 is called Earth Gro and was around $100 on amazon, which is about as cheap as it gets. Gorilla tents are considered the best and if I had extra money lying around I'd buy one, but like I said, not a priority for me. Any tent will do for me as long as it's sturdy. There are sleeves that extend from the portholes that are supposed to be tied around the ducting which would prevent light leaks, if you're concerned about them. I grow in a dark basement anyway, so I'm not worried about glowing seams or leaking portholes. Sometimes I just zipper the top of the opening flaps and let them hang like curtains. Sealing up my tent has never been a priority, and I never have a problem with odor escaping or hermies. If your flowering period is extended for whatever reason, including light leaks, then you have an increased risk of developing hermies. Hermies are always genetic btw, some just show up before harvest, some develop later than that. That's where the "light leaks cause hermies" theory applies, because a constant, direct light leak can extend your flowering period thus allowing the plant to reach the point where this self-pollinating survival mechanism kicks in. Any hermie that occurs before the recommended harvest time is genetically programmed to do just that, and any environmental issue that one happens to be dealing with at that time is merely a correlation. I've seen people blame their hermies on the tiny power strip light halfway through flower because they don't understand how light leaks cause hermies, they just heard that it does. Correlation does not imply causation, but that will never stop noobs from reporting that their bagseed hermies were caused by this or that ridiculously small light leak when that was never the case. If the light leak is extending your flower period then yes, it can reveal hermie traits. If your plants are finishing on time and they're hermies, then you have poor genetics and whatever tiny light leaks are present had nothing to do with it. You have a better chance of a failed timer extending your flowering period, or getting low-grade genetics, thus causing your plants to hermie early, than you do a tiny light leak. Not saying you can leave your doors wide open, they still need a 12hr dark period, but a small sliver of weak light coming through a seam or port hole from a cfl 10' away has never bothered my plants.
-I gotcha, I think I might try just using HPS bulbs for veg and flower since it will be cheaper than buying both. As far as I know, the ballast can run both MH and HPS. But your saying it would be more advisable to just run a 1000W bulb at 600w than taking a chance with a 600w and sticking it in there? -Am thinking about doing the 2 600w light think that way I can have a little more space, but cost might be an issue. all the hoods I have been looking at have been 6" hoods and im pretty sure are for 1000w bulbs. And I guess I wont worry about the hermie thing, ill just make it as light proof as possible. Also, can you link me to the bulb you use, I want to see if im looking at the right bulb for "full spectrum HPS". They also make a hybrid of hps/MH bulbs but they are ridiculously priced.
http://www.eyehortilux.com/products/High-Pressure-... http://www.amazon.com/EyeHortilux-HX66785-1000-Wat... I'm not saying one way is better than the other, this is just how I do it 100% problem-free and with good results. I have plenty of MH bulbs, I just don't bother switching them out because it makes no difference. The blue/yellow chart in that link is merely a percentage of output, these bulbs put out more than enough blue spectrum for fast vegetative growth, they just put out a shitload more yellow in comparison. I think you should just go with 2x 600w ballasts and be done with it. If you want the option of running 2kw down the road then go bigger. You can use any hood with any bulb, I just feel that a lot of the energy from 1kw bulbs go to waste in a small hood. No reason you can't use a 600w bulb and ballast on a Raptor.
I have a 600w MH for my 600w ballast, but I rarely use it. HPS gives off around twice the light compared to MH and the speed of growth reflects this A duel spectrum HPS bulb may be worth getting, but I haven't tried them. The combination bulbs are really expensive and in my opinion not worth the cost. I'm not sure how the dual spectrum bulbs work, I only use standard HPS. But I am due to buy a new bulb soon, I may try a duel spectrum as they are the same price as a standard HPS
'https://youtu.be/IkLVQa5KN3E.%27>https://youtu.be/IkLVQa5KN3E.'>https://youtu.be/IkLVQa5KN3E.'>https://youtu.be/IkLVQa5KN3E.</a></a></a> This is an interesting video I saw about choosing grow reflectors. this gives a different view about large grow hoods in smaller places. This along with some other info swayed me away from buying larger hoods like a raptor for my small grow.
I've got 4 plants on the go at the minute under a dual bulb cool tube. Ive been doing 7 days 600w hps + 200w hps then in reverse for the next 7 days. 100% the plants in the HPS side have miles more growth. I'm going to persevere during flower (mostly because I dont want to have to faff about taking the cooltube down to change the bulb. All this white light during veg is a load of old bollocks if you ask me.
-Alright. Still stuck between the 2x600w and single 1000w. Running 2 ballasts would use more power and such, but 2x600w would cover more space. Like I said im definitely going to use a 4x4 or 5x5 space for this. I mean, I would think a 6" hood with a 1000w bulb would be more than enough to cover that, or maybe just enough. From my measurements, a 5x5 with 2x600w bulbs would be kind of uneven as far as light coverage. Thoughts? -I will definitely look into using those super bulbs, because from what I could see most people use MH and HPS in unison with eachother. -I might go with the 1000w hps with a digital ballast, and only use the power as I need it, i.e. putting it on 600w until I need the full 1k of light, that way I can save a little money at least. Im thinking of going with a solis tek ballast(made in japan so kind of weary about that) as they are good from what I can tell, and gonna go with a can lite or can filter, not sure if the regular can filters are worth the price difference, It comes down to me not knowing if I should try to match the CFM of the filter with the CFM of the fan as close as possible, or if I should have a 600CFM filter with a 400cfm fan..Ive recently stumbled upon Ostberg fans, so I was going to go with 1 ostberg fan for cooling the hood and get 1 can fan for the carbon filter. -that got me thinking, would a 4" filter be good for a 4x4 or 5x5 space, or should I go with 6" just to be safe?
Don't get Japan and China confused. The majority of ballasts are Chinese. Theres absolutely nothing to be weary about. Google ballast comparisons and reviews gavita, Solis tek, galaxy, phantom and a few others are always at the top of the list. I had no need to change out my equipment. The cheaper brand I started with and have been using ever since has not failed me once. For the price I was 100% satisfied every time with my old lights. I took lots of time and spoke with several people before making my decisions, so should you. Find whats right for you, not what someone tells you is right for you. Listen to what people have to say and do some research online. I got shelves lined with crap I thought or was told was right for me when I first started. Even still every once and awhile I get a wild hair or hear about the latest and buy something I shouldn't. I'm sticking with the proven from now on even if it is a few $$$ more.... As far as uneven coverage. No to some extent. There's always going to be a bit if unevenness even with 1 light. Its all about the footprint of the reflector and how you use it to your advantage. do your research on hoods. I was about to buy a different hood based on what I was told I needed until I took the time to do a bit of research. You can never stop learning.