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HPS lights?

B

bcgoodness

Member
im only growing in a small place and people have been recommending no more than a 150w HPS for me. and for the 70w i meant HPS, sorry if it was not clear. I know im going to need an HPS but i dont think for the space i have and the size I want my plants that it will need to be more than 150w!

BC
 
H

halfbaked

Member
Hey Bc. Just to be clear, what size space are we talking about here? I'm growin in about a 3x3 with 400 watts. The plants are all close together
I can't draw circles here but imagine the mess below is 6 round pots. They are kind of off set and I try to keep them close to the walls with white paint/paper for reflection all around.

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one thing you have to keep in mind is, when they start to flower there is usually a stretch, that is they grow an additional foot or more.
Also the light has to get down below the top layers of the plant to the lower buds. or all you get is..well.
I don't know what to tell you. But in my opinion,with the risk involved in growing, just Growing a small amount is kind of crazy. I mean if your going to spend 3 months or more with an illegal plant growing in your house, to come away with a 1/4 oz or less is nutts. A 400 watt light alone is not going to grow commercial amounts of weed. The most I've ever gotten is a 1/2 pound. But that 1/2 pound let me put the lights away for a while. I know I enjoy the growing process but it still makes me nervous when I'm doing it. I want it to be worth my while and worth the risk.
You will do what you will, we all do. but we are trying to spare you the wasted time and expense some of us have all ready gone through. I started out the same. spent a bunch of money on all kinds of mickey mouse lights. Next thing I was buying a 400 watt light cause it's the best, most efficient lighting for the results. I spent $160.00 on my light with all kinds of extra stuff , 2 years later I'm still using it and when I grow I get a good amount of pot for my effort. Good luck.
 
Harry Gypsna

Harry Gypsna

Dirty hippy Bastard
Veteran
BC, My advice to ypu is this, get a 250w or 400 LOW BAY HPS light, you dont have to take it apart to begin with. The "Poot" light in holland also known as the producer has the ballast in the hood and is a great light. My veg room light is a 400 low bay hps, i did my 1st crop with it still having the ballast inside, but have since "Remoted" it, which was only a matter of rmoving the plate with all the ballast parts on it, and changin the connection between the ballast and the bulb from the short one thats in there, to a long one . then all u do is get an appliance connection kit, a male and a female and attach them accordingly. U can use allsorts of things to enclose the ballast, but to begin with, for your purposes, with good ventilation yopu could do it with the ballast still in the hood.
My 400hps low bay cost 57 pounds, and i live in "Rip-off Britain" remember, things r cheaper across the pond. Call a few electrical suppliers in ur area who carry security lighting, and ask about low bay hps, u will be surprised at the price. then when you get more confident with what you are doing you can invest in a specific grow light.
 
Joemutt1978

Joemutt1978

Member
1 plant sitting under a 70w HPS will not be sufficient. Go with the 150, they are $100 at Home Depot, if you don't want to rewire it, then it will look funny hanging in the closet but you can do it. I have 2 -150's and 2 -70's from the same place, 1.5 years and no problems.

A little more expensive, but you said you wanted to get it from a store.
 
B

bcgoodness

Member
Ok my grow space measurments are: 2'8" wide, 2'5" tall, and 1'2" deep.

I dont want to grow out huge plants, i was thinking of more like a few smaller plants, so i was going to stop vegging sooner so that they dont get too tall and what not! Im all new to this so any tips would be greatly appreciated. And if I only get 1 or 2 females then i will grow them out a bit bigger.

BC
 
G

Guest

compact fluorescent

compact fluorescent

I use 125 cfl's for vegging and blooming. They produce less heat and lots of lumens. Thye even have a 200w cfl for about $180. The 125w are about $70. Good light in both red and blue and low heat. An option for you to consider. Home Depot has 65w cfl's for about $40. Good luck.

Avid
 
B

bcgoodness

Member
Hmm that actually seems almost perfect for me. Is it as good as HPS? Say i were to get a 125w one of those...would that be enough to produce some good bud, and does it come with everything you need to run it?

Thanks Avid!

BC
 
R

Rellikbuzz

Active member
Hey BC- I have just read your thread from start to finish. Don't fret. We have all come through the very same thing you are going through. However, I have to echo the sentiments of several very knowledgable people who have already posted here for you (and I'm going to say this in caps so you get it clearly) - DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF UNDER-LIGHTING YOUR PLANTS!!

Even with your small grow space, the rule is and always has been "The more light the better!!" Now, I will pass on what the tech support guy (Mike) at Advanced Nutrients told me. He grew 4-6 short plants in a 2 1/2 foot wide upper kitchen cabinet with a 400 watt HPS with a remote ballast that was cooled with only a computer fan in the top and holes drilled in the bottom to let air in. His temps never got above 82 degrees and he consistently pulled 1-2 oz's of each plant! Like someone told you earlier, if you get a 70-150 watt light, you will find that you plants will be spindly and won't develop much bud at all if any. Since these lower watt lights are running 50-100 dollars at Home Depot, do yourself a favor and look on Ebay at the link below for a nice used 400 watt HPS. If you look, you will find them ALL DAY LONG for under 100 dollars. Maybe even more like 50-60.

As a final recommendation, let one newbie grower (Me) give a little advice to another newbie grower. Do your homework first! I have spent almost 8 months now reading eight different books on growing cannabis, watched every grow video on Pot-TV.net and all the videos at AdvancedNutrients.com and have read and re-read thread after thread on growing here at ICMag, Cannabis World and even some at (sorry Gypsy) even Overgrow. While all this information has given me a pretty good idea of the "critical path" of growing some killer bud, it certainly won't have prepared me for everything I will encounter in my upcoming first grow. But it sure as hell has given me a MAJOR "heads up" over someone that has not taken these same steps, that's for sure.

I don't mean to sound condiscending in anyway, BC, but I can tell that you haven't taken the time to do much research. If you had read books or looked over the many threads here regarding lighting, you would have seen for yourself that these low watt lights are only going to end up giving you substandard results. These plants are "light whores". I mean, consider the fact that they have survived for centuries under the brightest light of them all . . . the sun! As indoor growers, all we are trying to do is to emulate mother nature in an artificial setting. Even with 1000 watt HID lamps, we fall WAAAYYYY short of the affects of the sun. So you can imagine how "wimpy" a 70 watt light will feel to your plants. So, do yourself the favor that we all have been trying to bring to your attention. If you are going to spend even one dollar, put it towards a 400 watt HPS w/remote ballast. Especially if you go through Ebay (which I have for many of my grow items with no problems whatsoever), you should be able to get a great 400 watter for less than you would spend on these cheap Home Depot substitutes.

Spend 50-75 bucks on your HID on Ebay and then spend another 30-50 on some good seeds (good genetics) from Seedbay and you'll be well on your way to a great first grow. Best of luck :yes:
 
R

Rellikbuzz

Active member
Oops!! I got on such a rant that I forgot to post the link to Ebay where you will find the grow lights. Sorry!!

http://search.ebay.com/Grow-light_W0QQsokeywordredirectZ1QQfromZR8

Here is an excellent package that includes a 400 watt conversion bulb which is an excellent bulb to use (usually the conversion bulbs are 75-100 bucks themselves). There's 4 days left on this auction but the price is only at 35.00 right now. Check it out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42225&item=4348504425&rd=1
 
B

bcgoodness

Member
I hear you man, but ive had bad experiences with ebay so i cancelled my account, plus i dont have a creditcard ne more....and i dont really want to be delievered something (not because of privacy...i just try not to get stuff delievered if i dont have to). I have decided that since i do not need it yet because my plants are just seedlings...i will save up to get one from a store around here! And trust me I have some good seeds! thanks to good old BOG i got 25 Bogbubble seeds...2 are growing now and 1 is still germing almost ready to be put in a pot!

THanks

BC
 
Harry Gypsna

Harry Gypsna

Dirty hippy Bastard
Veteran
BC, ill say it again and again m8, lol, LOW BAY hps, lolu will get them at an electrical supplier who deals with the trade. just get ur yellow pages out and star making calls, i bet you find one within 20 minutes.
 
M

mauricio

Member
For your florcent light, get High output instead of the regular one and its few $$ more from Home Depot.

Get Allumnim rolled flashing to build a reflector from Home Depot.

Cover the walls will Aluminum foil (not the shiny side).

Walmart has regular bulb reflector for less than $10 and energy saver bulb 45 w -->150 w

HPS is a most and MH conversion bulb is great

Get bone meal for Nitro, your plants will cry for it withing 2 weeks

Cheers :wave:
 
B

bcgoodness

Member
wow, that hhydro website has good prices...i came up with 2 nutes and 1 soil med. for 35, but when it came time to checkout....SHIPPING WAS 182 BUCKS....thats REAL expensive just for canada....that costs more than getting an HPS set!

thanks ne ways

BC
 
G

Guest

www.everybodysgardeningcenter.com is a nice growing buisness. Was under a different name years ago when I first started using them. They are in state of OR and ship in plane box's and never a problem. Damaged bulb was recieved once, got a new the new in two day's time no question's asked.

www.bchydro.com is down in passadena CA and were the same, ordered the new Gavita bulb and got one that had a factory flaw and I got it replaced faster than I got the first oder, excellent service and I like their price's. This place seem's to carry most all bulb's, if not in stock they get them for you.

I like to vegy my girls under a bank of flurescent bulb's, 80 watt's of them does the trick for me, a pain to get all wired and set up on my home made reflective shield, but it was all worth the effort.

grow safe.

realhigh.
 
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