Starting Bubbleponics

[BeaverHuntr]

Hello all new member here. I am starting a 6' x 5' x 8' high grow room using DWC Bubbleponics. What kind of lighting would you experts reccomend for vegging?? I cant decide if I want to go T5, CFL or Metal Halide.. Any recommendations? I will be using a 600W HPS for flowering.

 

[RoachClip]

Thier's so many variables & it all depends on your ryme and reason which would work best for you, this is a trial & error road for newbs so what might work well for me might not be suitable for you.

My $0.2 cents would be to use the T5's but you learn as you go and you won the first battle and that was stopping here at ICM you will have plenty of help and opinions from the best of the best my friend so use your eyes for reading and take notes! good luck and happy growing.

 

[El Toker]

I'd put them under the 600 W HPS as soon as they move out of the seedling stage.

The HPS will get you through vegging a lot faster than the T5 or CFL.

You may be slightly better results from a MH during veg, but not enough to justify the extra expense IMO, others may not agree.

You've got the HPS there and it's more than capable of getting your plant through the vegging stage as quickly as possible. Comparing a HPS with a T5 is like comparing a porsche with a pushbike.

Just make sure that you keep the lamp far enough way not to burn them. Put the light on, let it warm up, hold your hand at canopy height under the light. If the back of your hand feels uncomfortably hot, move the lights up until it doesn't.

 

[BeaverHuntr]

I'd put them under the 600 W HPS as soon as they move out of the seedling stage. This will give you shorter, stockier plants ready to move onto 12/12 a lot faster than the T5 or CFL. You may be slightly better results from a MH during veg, but not enough to justify the extra expense. You've got the HPS there and it's more than capable of getting your plant through the vegging stage as quickly as possible.

Thanks for your input. To be 100% honest this my first grow but I have spent months (over 6) reading and watching videos I have saved enough money to have spending room. I just got back from the hydroponics store and they had a used 1,000W HPS with ballast, hood and bulbs for 280 bucks. Damm cheap so now I want to buy it even though I had my heart set on a 600W. Basically the price is too hard to pass up on the 1,000W. What do you seasoned growers think about this??? I can then just change out the bulb to MH for vegging and back to HPS when flowering . Thoughts?

 

[El Toker]

Thanks for your input. To be 100% honest this my first grow but I have spent months (over 6) reading and watching videos I have saved enough money to have spending room. I just got back from the hydroponics store and they had a used 1,000W HPS with ballast, hood and bulbs for 280 bucks. Damm cheap so now I want to buy it even though I had my heart set on a 600W. Basically the price is too hard to pass up on the 1,000W. What do you seasoned growers think about this??? I can then just change out the bulb to MH for vegging and back to HPS when flowering . Thoughts?

If your extraction is up to scratch you'll obviously get more out of a 1KW than a 600. If everything isn't spot on, then the 1KW will make it much easier to toast your plants and ensure that you get nothing. A 600 will be a bit more forgiving.

I'd go for a 600 W in your position. It is easier to manage and if you decide to increase the size of your grow, I think that you get a much better light footprint from 2 * 600 W than 1 * 1KW.

Some ballasts will support MH and HPS, some don't. Most people don't bother with a MH. There's a few health and safety concerns with MH bulbs that you should probably be aware off as well.
Info

 

[BeaverHuntr]

If your extraction is up to scratch you'll obviously get more out of a 1KW than a 600. If everything isn't spot on, then the 1KW will make it much easier to toast your plants and ensure that you get nothing. A 600 will be a bit more forgiving.

I'd go for a 600 W in your position. It is easier to manage and if you decide to increase the size of your grow, I think that you get a much better light footprint from 2 * 600 W than 1 * 1KW.

Some ballasts will support MH and HPS, some don't. Most people don't bother with a MH. There's a few health and safety concerns with MH bulbs that you should probably be aware off as well.
Info

yeah thats what I wanted to do. I just got off the phone and they have a cool used 600W, ballas and bulb for 250. Probably going to go with that it just doesn't come with a hood but it does come with a cool tube! For the 1000W it didnt come with a cool tube but I was going o just fabricate a 4'' hole on the top or side to cool it off.

 

[sguardians2]

Great Idea using the 600 watt hps. On smaller sized grows it's more efficient, the 1000 watt lamps are great for medium to larger grows, but for your first few grows I would stick to the 600 hps, at abut 20" to 24" inches from the top of your plants, till the get larger then lower it to no more than 16" to 18", as long as it doesn't make the plants too hot.

I've done all of my grows under 600 hps, with good results, but if I decide to go big, I'll switch to the 1000 watt hps with a light mover.

You will be able to put the lamp to 18" easily with the cool tube venting the light.

 

[BigGreen]

I had a 3x5x7 space with a light rail and a 600. What I did was get a mh conversion bulb for my hps ballast for veg. Then swapped it out with a phillips son t bulb for bloom. I would average any where from 1.25#s to 1.5#s per grow. very simple very effective.
Any Qs just shoot
BG