Most Effective Lights

[Dooby420]

hi everyone, i was wondering what are the most effective gro lights that can be used for a setup. please post your opinions :teef:

[ShadowYeti]

Depends on the size of space you want to illuminate and How many plants your looking at growing. The basic general rule is 50W per Sq ft. but that depends on many variables like size & shape of grows and your ventalation.
For the most part,
A 250 watt HID will illuminate a 2' x 2' garden.
A 400 watt HID will illuminate a 3' x 3' garden.
A 600 watt HID will illuminate a 3.5' x 3.5' garden.
A 1000 watt HID will illuminate a 4' x 4' garden.

Floros are good for clones, seedlings and mothers to some extent and I often grow right into the floro fixtures because light from floros decreases in intensity very quickly the farther you get away from it (and floros give off little heat), the HID's do to but to a lesser extent(light intensity)

Hope this helps. :D

[Dooby420]

thanks alot man :rasta:

[Dooby420]

by the way how much would a 400 watt HID run me at a hardware store?

[tHEaNIMICnEEDLE]

proabably close to 300 buck USD

yup man

for flowering i think HPS would work better overall than the HID or floros

[Cranky]

hid?think ya meant mh mate....mh and hps are hid's;)

cranky

[tHEaNIMICnEEDLE]

:crazydan: AHAHAH

Thanks Cranky

This shaman has me retarded today

:crazydan:

[CB]

by the way how much would a 400 watt HID run me at a hardware store?

not sure about hardware store prices but ya can get a 1k sun system hps complete for under 300.... and if ya on the west coast ship'n is very little ;)

grow on

[Cranky]

aye my mind was thinking like yours needle.twas CB that put my brain into the right gear...lack of smokes my excuse.:rolleyes:

all the best buddy

cranky

[Dooby420]

i think im just gonna have to work something out with the fluorescents instead, cant really afford to drop 300 right now :(

[midwestbluntman]

I put my 400 watt hps together for under 100 bucks,If you are some what electrically inclined.the ballast kit was about 70 bucks the bulb was extra,put it together in an evening but i stayed pretty high while i was building it.If your interested in something like that i'll post a few links for ya.

[Jasper]

Has anyone tried the T5 lights yet? My local hydro store has them, 4' ones for about $35 each and they can be daisy chained together. I have 2 of them for clones and vegging and am very impressed.

No heat, cheap to use, and plants respond nicely.

I imagine they would be awesome to use for some additionaly side lighting in flowering also but have not tried that yet.

[Dooby420]

Haven't heard of these but it sounds like a good investment. Have you tried them for flowering yet?

->midwestbluntman - that sounds great, although i wouldnt call myself very electrically inclined but im willing to try it out for under a 100 bucks :share:

[CB]

Has anyone tried the T5 lights yet? My local hydro store has them, 4' ones for about $35 each

havnt tried em yet becouse i can never find a good price on em, but i have shecked them out in action at my local hydro and i must say they seem to kick some butt indeed and there is allmost no heat from them at all


Dooby420 pretty sure westy can have you a ghetto 400 watter setup in no time at all ;)

grow on

[gorilla]

ebay has plenty of competetive prices, just so you know. You dont have to spend 300 dollars, and CB was speaking of a 1000 watter. I bought my 400 watt HPS, not from ebay, for $180 or so including shipping. It's a sun system though and thats a good brand name, you can find what you need.

[midwestbluntman]

here is where i bought my ballast kit from,the bulb you can get here also.
Econolight (http://www.e-conolight.com/Product/EProductDetail.asp?ProductFamilyID=3&FGNumber=E-HC1H151Z
)

Here is a thread were i posted the build for another DIYer.
Wiring a ballast (http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153)

If you have any questions please post them at the wiring ballast link to help preserve the thread.One day im going to make a tutorial out of it and the questions will help that emincely.

EDIT TO ADD: Disregard the switchable part at this point it is un tested and un recommended.Its based on concept not facts.

[Dooby420]

thanks man that is great info 2thumbs

very appreciated :D

[Dooby420]

do you think this light would work well for about 2-3 ladies?


EDIT:sorry the link keeps taking you to the menu page.
anyway its the 175w MH for security lighting and general purpose lighting

says: "HID Floodlight with quad-top ballast, includes 175-watt MH ED17 medium base lamp."


Aluminum housing
Tempered glass lens, thermal-shock and impact resistant
Hydroformed, anodized aluminum reflector
1/2 inch NPT die-casting swivel fits standard J-Box
UL-listed for wet locations


This seemed like a pretty good light to get for $62.90. ;)
Just wanted to make sure this is good for a small grow before I paid for it :D

[Dooby420]

here is another one i just found from inside-sun its a 175-watt Mh ready to go

http://www.insidesun.com/index.php/action/item/id/433/

:teef:

[Dooby420]

Alright well check it out:

I found a 400-watt HPS off InsideSun. ;)
The ballast has been refurbished, comes with a brand new bulb, 3 year warranty on system, and chrome reflector - for $100.
I can also get the 400-watt MH conversion bulb which fits into the HPs ballast for another $40. :)
Sounds like a good deal to me, eh. :cool:

Also a question: is there a difference of light reflectivity between chrome and white paint?

-DooB

[Jasper]

I had posted about the T5 light previously. I delayed in getting them too because of the price. $500 for an 8 stick unit was not in my budget. Recently I was at my hydro store and they are now selling T5 in individual sticks, 2' and 4'(ballast and lamp). Not sure of the the price of the 2' as I didn't buy any but the 4' was $40. Do the math and that is a savings of $180 over the cost of the complete unit of 8 sticks.

The individual sticks just plug into each other - daisy chained. They are so light and easily mount to a piece of plywood. The ability to mount these for side lighting is awesome. A person could actually design a unit that encircles plants with very little heat or cost.

When I go to buy new products I periodically pick up another 4' unit but will also be getting 2' soon.

I haven't used them for flowering and not so sure I will, not convinced there is enough light penetration - but they are perfect for adding additional light around the sides.

I will try to find an online pic or site that handles the individual units and post

The store is now testing LED lighting, not sure if anyone here is considering that but I highly advise walking away. So far their tests are less than good at all.

[Jasper]

Found a link with a unit I was talking about

check this out

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=STF104

it appears they are cheaper than the ones I purchased but given shipping costs I am satisfied. It appears they also offer a 3' unit.

[drumin]

I'm in sorta the same situation as Dooby420 in that cash is tight right now so I'm looking for the best fluoro bulbs I can get which work in a standard commercial housing. Currently I have 40watt cool whites. Not great but better than darkness ;)