400 hps overkill?

[gwhiz]

Hello friends,

First post here but I've been lurking a while, there is so much great info here!

I'm getting back into growing after about a nine year hiatus and looking for a bit of lighting advice. I currently own a 400w hps and have an air cooled hood (the hood is unused and been in the box for 9 years!) the hood is approximately 2' x 2'

I don't wanna grow huge amounts and am planning a perpetual sog in 4 square feet. Is this light way overkill? I'm seriously considering just buying about 6x 42w cfls instead in a smaller footprint (i.e. 2 square feet or something with the lights cooled with the grow box exhaust.). I realize it's much less lumens but I don't want huge tall plants, I'm planning on following the Dr. Bud method.

Thanks for your help.

g

 

[Pompey_Monkey]

I'd say a 250W would be more than adequate for your needs in that small area and save a few bucks in energy costs. You could still use your reflector, but would need a new ballast and lamp.
Not sure how much they cost, but I believe that dimmable ballasts are now coming onto the market...
Or just go with the 400 (It'll need some cooling in that space too!) and see what happens. There are growers on these boards that blast their plants with 100W per square foot, but to me that seems like overkill!

 

[bucks8n]

if you;ve got a 400w use it - overkill ROCKS! (if you can keep it cool)

 

[Phedrosbenny]

I use a 400 watt Hps.And I have used it in a closet grow that was less than the 4 X 4 you mentioned with good results.And all I used for cooling/ventalation was a box fan and I left the door cracked.You could use a 600 watt,but because you already own it and it will work well for the space and amount of plants you would be working with.A 400 watt Hps would not be considered overkill for a space that size.

When I first started growing I was using a 250 watt mh.When I started using the 400 watt Hps the difference was like night and day.Either one will work...The 400 will definetly work better though.

Welcome back to the garden..

And Good Luck with your grow.

 

[gwhiz]

thanks for the advice!

Still not 100% sure what I'm going to do, i'm in an apartment and a bit concerned about smell & ventilation. the closet i want to grow in is in the middle of the apartment so not that close to outside air.

but i will definitely consider "overkill"!

G.

 

[Fat J]

My 400 did awesome in a 4x4... just about right, if u can vent it - using the aircooled hood, the hot air wont smell if ur running an isolated duct. If u go with less/smaller light, you will get more stretch - unless u use LED. Underlit plants will stretch way more, unless u keep the lights very close and risk burns if it has a growth spurt.

 

[Phedrosbenny]

My 400 did awesome in a 4x4... just about right, if u can vent it - using the aircooled hood, the hot air wont smell if ur running an isolated duct. If u go with less/smaller light, you will get more stretch - unless u use LED. Underlit plants will stretch way more, unless u keep the lights very close and risk burns if it has a growth spurt.

 

[Marn]

I'm gonna bump this thread instead of starting my own.

I just put a 400 in a 2x2 area. Overkill? or as long as I keep temps low I should expect fat colas?

 

[tr1ck_]

I'm gonna bump this thread instead of starting my own.

I just put a 400 in a 2x2 area. Overkill? or as long as I keep temps low I should expect fat colas?

Well I think most people will agree it is little bit overkill (A lot of people recommend 50-100watt per sq ft, you are right at 100), however if you can keep the temps in check, there is no way that light will be your limiting factor

I am using a 400 watt in a 2.7' x 2.7' and its working out great

 

[hippydan]

If you want to overkill on the light, be prepared to overkill on ventilation/cooling to keep your grow area in a reasonable range. Not sure how you can be considering CFL's or 400watt HID. Get a 250watt and supplement with CFL's if anything.

 

[Marn]

I got the 400 because it was more powerful while being cheaper at the same time. I figure I can always build a nice big grow room if I need to or want to maximize the potential of the light but this 2 x 2 cab is already here and put together. The 400 fits in there without problems and so far the inline fan exhausting into a cool attic plus 3 PC fans have done the trick keeping it under 80. The electric bill between a 250 and a 400 ain't shit so if I can get a nice considerable personal headstash with a 4 plant ModScrog i'll think i'll keep running it like this.

 

[thesloppy]

I'm in an apartment, have a 400HPS jammed into a 15" X 30" cab in my closet, and it works wonderfully....that said, I also vent to the outside, have an AC in the attached room for the summer, and am using a dimmable ballast that I will often knock down to 300watts, so I suppose I am putting a little extra effort/thought/space/cash towards cooling.

I'll just echo everybody else and say that a 400watt HPS will be fine in a 4X4 or 2X2 area, just as long as you cool it adequately, which shouldn't be too hard with any kind of air-cooled hood. Even in a tight space like that, a 400W will achieve significantly deeper vertical penetration than a 250W (which I think peters out at a couple feet, in the best of conditions), which can be useful regardless how small your flat coverage is, and I certainly don't consider it overkill. I've got an identical cab 15"X30" with a 250W HPS sitting next to the 400W HPS cab, with shared, identical ventilation, and can vouch for the difference in yield, for whatever that's worth to ya.