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help a vert-noob, how to safely hang my barebulb and other ?'s

frankenstein2

Astronaut Status
Veteran
Put a hook in the ceiling that looks like a J. Then get a yo-yo hanger , or rope ratchet style pully. I prefer the rope ratchet style. On the socket end where the bulb is, anything metel will work to use as a connector to the light hanger(yo-yo or ratchet). I used stove pipe wire and it worked great. Put another hook in the ceiling about six inches from the first one. Now you have a place to zip-tie your extra cord to, so it's not in the way, also this will help to keep the bulb level.
 

frankenstein2

Astronaut Status
Veteran
Here's a real crude drawing, in case you don't know what I mean.
 

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Greenheart

Active member
Veteran
I like "plumbers tape". Not the teflon kind but the metal strapping kind. It is inexpensive, metal, has numerous holes that you can count to get things lined up and level with. Works well with my allsystems cord sets. I just pop them out of the batwing and use the screws already on them to put them onto the metal strapping I have hanging from the ceiling in whatever length I cut it. The width fits in that reflector adjustment groove just about perfect.

On ushio vs horti I was told Ushio for digi's and Hortilux for mags.
 

soursmoker

East Coast, All Day!
Veteran
thanks frank, I'm picking up some ratchet hangers on my next order... I'll check out the "plumbers tape" greenheart...

any chance you got a pic of that situation you are talking about?

I could visualize frank's without the pic but I am a little stumped on yours...
 

soursmoker

East Coast, All Day!
Veteran
Alright vert guys little advice here...

Just got to thinking before I go ordering all this shit...

my dimensions are something like this... 28.5"x25.5" and around 4 ft of height...

A bulb placed in the middle will give 14.25"x12.75" of space around the bulb.... the plants need to be ATLEAST 6" away from the bulb correct? that leaves me with 8.25"x6.75" of space for plants... I won't yield shit if they can't stretch...

I ordered a replacement bulb for my 150w HPS tho... gonna try to remote ballast it and hang that VERT... still won't be nearly as hot as the 1000w dimmed as low as possible lol

I think I am going to order everything but might just leave it in new condition until we move to the new spot, to do it up right...

I'll post the 150w vert grow lol... sorry guys for bitching out... bobble sorry for the disappointment haha
 

Kit Kat

Member
Seconding the hook in the ceiling with a rope ratchet, that's how I'm doing mine right now and it's incredibly easy to work with. I keep the bulb level by moving where the power cord rests on my screens though, eventually something better'll come along for that, they tend to move a bit.
 

Big John

Member
Here's a couple of ideas for hanging the lights.



That's just a 1/4-20 drywall toggle bolt with an eye bolt, and a nut and washer for tightening, threaded into it. They are rated to hold a ton of weight, you could hang yourself off one.

The DIY lamp holder works good but all said and done it cost just as much or more than just buying the sunlight supply vertical lamp holders, and you need tools and basic electrical knowledge to build it safely. The 25' sunlight supply socket assembly is great, comes with 14gauge wire and easy to hang. About $50 depending where you find it. You could get away with the cheaper 15' version (16AWG) for a 150w hps though.
 

Greenheart

Active member
Veteran


I usually hang it from the ceiling with 3 drywall screws in the middle of a long strip of it so the ends hang down and become my mounting bracket. It costs about $2 a roll. The downside is if you want to adjust the height you have to break out the screwdriver.
 

soursmoker

East Coast, All Day!
Veteran
thanks, I think I have got the light figured out now I need to buy a tent that will be adequate size for my 600w dimmable... or maybe i should just go 1k after all since it's only $20 more... It kinda would be stupid not too...

so what size tent should I get for a vert donut? nothing fancy or anything just want to be able to fit a few nice size plants around the bulb and pull more then .5gpw. I don't have any crazy expectations for my first run...
 

soursmoker

East Coast, All Day!
Veteran
just regular single bare bulb vert donut...

lol idk the proper name... prob 12 plants or less around the bulb... not stacked, no racks, no Vert SOG... just some plants on the ground around the bulb?

don't need a precise measurement but just a good idea...

keep in mind no mattter what ballast I get 600w or 1000w i am running it at 50% power... maybe 75% if I get the 600... but I really don't feel comfotable running even 500w plus what I am running know on a SHARED bedroom circuit...

this is the reason I thinking 600w on 50% dimmed for 300watts plus a 150w HPS plus 110w PL-L Plus say 200w in random shit (fans, pumps, etc) still leaves me with around 700watts of safety for computer/phone chargers, tv, video games, and window A/C.

toughts on this tent?

http://www.amazon.com/Grow-Hydropon...-Mylar/dp/B00725XBMK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

or do I need to go bigger?

how do you find out the whole watts per sq ft thing for vert? is it a different formula from horizontal? you have to take the height into consideration too right?
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Sorry I have not run that low of wattage. Talk to Armrnius he was running 600 watt tied to screens in a doughnut.

As for wattage in vert, well that is still in debate. I run about 30 watts per square foot of canopy and it works good. What I have noticed was a considerable increase in yield by stacking bulbs.

My thread verticle scrog came out at around 3 pounds for 1600 watts. Before this I was running a 1000 watts without stacked bulbs and was getting about 22 oz. Currently I am running 1600 watts in a double stack and averaging 4 pounds. These numbers come from a mix of plants that are both heavey and light yielders. Point is that if you could get better crossing of your light pattern by double stacking you will see a generous increase in yield above what is expected. That is if you just go by gram per watt with your callculations.

Not only will your yield go up but the quality of the finished product will increase. Your buds will be more dense and frosty deeper into the canopy.
 

soursmoker

East Coast, All Day!
Veteran
hmm double stack would be an idea... but don't have room for extra watts like I said... which is why I want to go as low as I am speaking...

I could possibly stack my 150w somewhere in there but that's the best I could do...


so how do you figure out your watts per sq ft for Veg?

Do you think the 32"x32"x60" tent would be a good size for the 600w dimmed down to 50%?
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
I run 30 watts per square foot of canopy measured at the back of the canopy. Since I run screens that are 2 foot wide and there are six of them I just multiply 2X6X hieght of my final canopy. For me that comes out to 2X6X4.5=54 square feet of canopy. I run 1600 watts so 1600/54=29.63 watts per square foot.

As for the wattage you are running that is out of my area of knowledge as I have not run anything under 1000 watts.
 

soursmoker

East Coast, All Day!
Veteran
Alright so here is the final list... putting up one last time for any suggestions before I go ordering anything... i know I have changed my mind a million times but this is it...


Galaxy Select-A-Watt 400-600W Electronic Dimmable Balllast
$129.90


Vortex 6 inch 449 CFM High Power Inline Fan
$139.99


Phresh® Filter 6in x 24in Virgin Carbon
$129.90



Phresh Duct Silencer 6in x 18in
$69.90



BioAg TM-7 Humic Acid with Micronutrients 100g
$8.90



Rapid Rooter 50 Cell Tray & Organic Plugs
$13.90



HiLux Opti-Red 400W Enhanced Spectrum HPS Grow Bulb
$39.90


Smart Pot 3-Gal Soft Growing Container
$13.80


15 Ft. Lamp Cord w/ Mogul Base Socket

All the above is from PLH which comes to a total of $600 including shipping...

and then from amazon I am getting...

5 gallons of pumice rock

2 pairs of ratchet hangers

SE Stepless speed controller

and prob some more caliber hygrometers...

Any final suggestions or anything?
 

jm420

Active member
Veteran
pull the trigger bro,then go from there :)

I'm not familiar with the galaxy ballast but seems like a waste to buy diffrent bulbs for each setting,what turned you off from the quantum?
 

soursmoker

East Coast, All Day!
Veteran
galaxy lets you change your bulb size while quantum's let you chose A bulb size and Dim it down to the percentage you want... the only problem is when you dim a bulb it fucks with the shit inside the bulb and in turn does not produce full spectrum and hurts the life of the bulb...

If I bought a quantum I would buy the 400w... but then I wouldn't have the option of a 600w later... this is exactly what I plan on doing... going 400w then when I am ready to go bigger all I need is a fresh 600w bulb and I will already have a ballast to run it...

have heard nothing but good things about the galaxy and the fact that you don't HAVE to dim a larger bulb you can replace with the right size bulb is perfect!
 

bobblehead

Active member
Veteran
Why would quantums only drive 1kw lamps? They work just like any other digital ballast. That said, galaxy is good too.
 
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