You are over stressing this imo. The plant will take advantage of any light given to it. Even Halogen and Mercury vapor with a bunch of floro's if that is all you got to work with. At some point efficiency comes into play. Which I believe is your conundrum.
If you are just in it for yourself go with the gut and have fun. If you are trying to make a living off of this go with what is proven and experiment when you have the funds.
Intensity is a consideration I cannot believe otherwise. The lower leaves may look shaded to the human eye but nm wavelengths that comprise light spectrums will penetrate to varied depths according to wavelength and amount of energy level used in the generation of them.
Is the extra wattage a waste if it gives you intensity in the spectrum you want?
If 1 ballast makes a slight hum will 3 ballast's be louder? Honestly my mags are silent and the 1000w is about to see a 3rd year of action for my $400 original investment on the build your own kit I assembled. Even tag in the extra $100 I spent on a new bulb this year and it is still alot cheaper than spending all my time, money and risk tracking down bags.
To give you food for thought my first setup consisted of 1200W of floros in a 3.5' x 3.5' showerstall in my master bathroom using box fans and emergency blankets for reflection on the stall door and ceiling. Held in place by duct tape and a hot glue gun. It worked. I got great nugs. I thought this isn't so hard. The wife liked the nugs so much she decided the 3.5'x7' closet was worth sacrificing so I could keep up with our needs. Tax time rolled around and I convinced her that the drop in the powerbill would be worth it if I invested in a "real" light instead of all those halogens, twisties, and t8's I had managed to accumulate to give that closet what it needed. Look thru my taboo lighting album for the proof if you like. We all get our start somewhere. This should be a fun experience with self reward and gratification. Don't obsess and stress it unless of course that is your thing life.
If you are just in it for yourself go with the gut and have fun. If you are trying to make a living off of this go with what is proven and experiment when you have the funds.
Intensity is a consideration I cannot believe otherwise. The lower leaves may look shaded to the human eye but nm wavelengths that comprise light spectrums will penetrate to varied depths according to wavelength and amount of energy level used in the generation of them.
Is the extra wattage a waste if it gives you intensity in the spectrum you want?
If 1 ballast makes a slight hum will 3 ballast's be louder? Honestly my mags are silent and the 1000w is about to see a 3rd year of action for my $400 original investment on the build your own kit I assembled. Even tag in the extra $100 I spent on a new bulb this year and it is still alot cheaper than spending all my time, money and risk tracking down bags.
To give you food for thought my first setup consisted of 1200W of floros in a 3.5' x 3.5' showerstall in my master bathroom using box fans and emergency blankets for reflection on the stall door and ceiling. Held in place by duct tape and a hot glue gun. It worked. I got great nugs. I thought this isn't so hard. The wife liked the nugs so much she decided the 3.5'x7' closet was worth sacrificing so I could keep up with our needs. Tax time rolled around and I convinced her that the drop in the powerbill would be worth it if I invested in a "real" light instead of all those halogens, twisties, and t8's I had managed to accumulate to give that closet what it needed. Look thru my taboo lighting album for the proof if you like. We all get our start somewhere. This should be a fun experience with self reward and gratification. Don't obsess and stress it unless of course that is your thing life.
