Need a good light 600hps?

[~fvk~]

There is no bias to my opinion. If I'm interested in purchasing equipment I'll research other people's experience with whatever I'm thinking of getting first. HTG digitals were the first digitals I was looking into because they're cheap. The word cheap is key... Lots of people have had theirs break down, only to be replaced within a couple days or so, no questions asked. Like I said, as far as I know the guy at HTG is a good guy. I just wouldn't want to deal with a broken down ballast due to Chinese manufacturing when the light it produces it vital to your plants... When it comes to digital ballasts, you will most generally get what you pay for... The warranty is also shorter than major brand ballasts so what does that tell you? Hippy says his Galaxies have been running for 4 years and they come with a 5 year warranty. I'm sure he's got more than his moneys worth from them.

You know what I'm saying man?

 

[smokadepep]

oo no i totally understand you, i just didnt want to be steered away by the first argueement i hear, are the digital ballasts even worth it yet? do they save that much electricity??

 

[ItsGrowTime]

how good are those cooltube reflectors on HTG, i was thinking of getting one with 600watt ballast for a 3.5ft squared sog, how good is the light distribution on them?

If you get a Cool Tube GO WITH THIS ONE! http://www.plantlighting.com/Sun-Tube-Reflector-D_1955.html

I just got one and it's a great reflector and miles above most other Cool Tubes in build and size. I now have 3 diff kinds and its by far the best.

And for the record, my MDHYDRO brand digi 600w's have been awesome. Nearly a year and a half with no burps. Good, cheap ballasts.

 

[smokadepep]

how big of a footprint does the suntube give you? would it cover a 4x4??

 

[ItsGrowTime]

how big of a footprint does the suntube give you? would it cover a 4x4??

I think it's the only single bulb Tube that could come close to covering 4x4. It's a very generous footprint for 3x3 if the only light. Overlapping of multiple lights matters of course. I may just buy 2 more to replace my other Tubes. The wings work well. It's also very well built. Quality connectors, build in cord, etc. Btw, if someone could engineer a Cool Tube that does NOT lose so much light out of the holes they would clean up.

 

[Wonderon]

With the galaxy, will I need a conversion bulb or will it run both hps and mh?

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Electronic ballasts can handle both HPS and MH bulbs. Some may not like certain brands of bulbs though so YMMV.

 

[~fvk~]

If you're getting a 600 you'll need a HPS to MH conversion bulb. Otherwise, in 400's and 1000's you can use regular MH bulbs.

 

[Wonderon]

..

..

The only MH conversion bulb I can find is this one:
http://cheaphydroponics.com/store/imported-products/optilume-600w-mh-conversion-bulb/prod_621.html
But it also say this next to it:
Conversion lamp is not recommended for use in electronic ballasts.
Would of been nice to know that finding a 600w mh conversion was going to be hard. Now I'm wondering if the 1000w was the better buy, might have to do an exchange. Would I regret going 1000w instead of the 600 considering I may get better yields with the 1000 and I can find bulbs for it?

 

[Wonderon]

I am considering going for a 1000 instead of the previously stated 600 due to the reasons in the post above. I was thinking of doing a 6-9 bucket dwc or swc. I don't have exact room dimensions but I expect around 4x4 or atleast big enough to fit the buckets. Would I see a big difference in growth between the 1000 and the 600 in a 4x4, what about a 3x3? What type of ceiling height would I need to run a 1000?

 

[~fvk~]

Dude, first off, what are you working with as far as grow area? Do you have somewhere where you can veg without security compromise? Do you still have your 400 MH? If you don't already have a veg area and still have your MH, I'd just throw one together real quick and use the MH for veg. Keep the 600w Galaxy and forget about the conversion bulb. Digital ballast technology isn't that great yet and it has been said that shows most in the 1000 watters...

But if you're thinking of going tree in DWC maybe the K's will suit you better. All I know is I've seen some great, if not the same results in the yield department from 600's compared to 1000's. 600's are definitely more efficient energy wise and 1000's have better depth penetration. You probably already know this.

 

[Wonderon]

Damn, thats an idea I hadn't thought of. I was trying to avoid using it but I could till I get a bit more established, it gets real hot though and has no glass cover (use to burn my head when under it) so not so sure its a good idea. I am hoping to get some high quality stuff this time around so I don't know if the 400 would make it easier or harder for me to achieve as even with the 600 I was wondering if I would have enough light.

The idea here is that I am trying to plan for a basement setup that I will be doing soon. The size will be figured out later but I think 4x4 with 6 plants in flower would be decent for me to start with, can a 600w handle this? I don't want to overkill with light but I want enough to make the most out of the garden. If I need to run a veg room too then I will probably make two separate sections or use a closet.

 

[~fvk~]

Yeah, I burn my head under mine too. The ballast I'm currently using is a DIY in an ammo box with holes drilled in it for heat dispersal. The ballast gets pretty warm but I could probably keep my hand on it as long as I like without suffering burns. I look at it this way, it's a cheap solution to a good and healthy veg without having to shell out for a brand name or house brand ballast. If the ballast goes out on me, I'll just replace and rewire. As for not being AC'ed or glass covered, have you had a problem with it yet? I haven't really with mine except minimal heat stress from the light being too close and they're starting to recover from it...

I have a veg closet and a flowering closet that are both 13 sq ft. The veg closet is pretty filled up at the moment with plants in various stages of their lives and I'm not having a problem with not having enough light. 30 watts PSF for veg or so the say... Save all the bad ass equipment for your delicate flowers... Or start making the chop and expand into better shit.

4x4 is perfect for a k, a tad too much for a 600 for it to be close to what you want as far as watts PSF. I'd try cutting it down to 3x3 or 2x4 if it's possible. Peace man.

 

[Wonderon]

I got the Super Sun 2 reflector and a galaxy 600. The SS2 was bigger then I expected but very nice, seems like a beast and make me wish I got the 1000 but hopefully I can achieve some nice things with the 600. What would be my optimal grow space to use with this setup? I was thinking a 4x4 area and hoping to have atleast 6 plants. I know I would get more wattage per foot with a smaller room but I want to do a recirculating DWC or possibly try Blaze69's magic trays haven't decide yet but either way I may need the room. I could do something like 3x4 and that would give me 50w per foot, might be an idea. I did find a few 600w mh bulbs on ebay that aren't name brand but might work.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

i dont want to get too involved with any arguing, but ive seen a few cheapies and ive never seen the amount of blue the sunmaster has, anywhere

(i bet its in the 1k eye 'superblue' @ 200$ but thats a dif case)

even compared to my 1k MH (syvania[sp?] bulb) my eye can see a boat-load of blue, and its almost as bright.

and there is an old saying, "you get what you pay for"... regular bulbs may verywell 'get the job done' and you may save a few bucks, but you also may not be running at peak effeciancy, and then again that may not matter.

check out the brilliant white/blue light it does give off though.

off the lumin meter @ 24" away....



super-stout nodes.



and again over a year later, still brilliant white/blue...



you can barly tell the differance between 600/1K....




im sure going to run this bulb into the ground. ill run them all day long, worth the few extra dollars $$$ IMO
DH

 

[Wonderon]

I know what you mean about getting what you pay for. The problem I am having is finding a 600w mh bulb, ebay seems to be the only place. As far as HPS I think I am going to give these a try, cheap but hopefully efficient:
http://www.hidhut.com/catalog/full-....html?osCsid=adc8a08520f2af00371b042dcc4cfe7d