lights

[Sticky_Budz]

im not good when it comes to lights lol anyways my buddy at work said he had four 200 watt hid lights. fixture and bulb for a 100 dollars is that a good deal? i mean should i jump on that? any feed back will be great thanx

[Trailer Park Boy]

I wouldn't ge anything less then a 400W but a 1000 is where it's at.
Just gotta worry about what you are going to do with all that heat.

A 400W is great for a 4 x 4 space, 1000's upto 6 x 6 ish. Could probly go a bit bigger, if ya wanted.

You need to figure out how many plants, and how much space you are going to use. then figure out how many lights it will take to light that area, then figure out how much ventilation you will need to keep the humidity and temps down and keep the fresh air rollin' in.

[Sticky_Budz]

so are u saying that it isnt worth it for those lights and whats the price range on the 600 watts and th 1000 watts? oh by the way thanx for the info peace

[Trailer Park Boy]

if you were doing a cabinet grow a couple of those 200's would be sweet ass. I dunno about 200 watts though, I think they go from 175 to 250, but then I lost ten bucks on a bet that HID lilghts don't come in 1500W (Murc Vap, no good for grow), so what do i know, lol.

I picked up a pair of 1000W MH hydrofarm ballasts on ebay for $110 CDN shipped. Got the hoods for free from a growers ex girlfriend I was seeing. The electrical boxes I got at home depot, under $20. And the bulbs, well I use sunmaster warm deluxe. Them bulbs ain't cheap, but worth every penny.

On the other hand my local hydro shop has 1000w MH/HPS switchable with a bulb of each in an air cooled hood for $300. Nice deal.

There is a website, called 'hydro university' that covers all the basics in a much more detailed fashion than I. Try googling it. I like it because it has allot of nice basic info all packed into one spot.

I'm no pro but I read allot. ask anything you need.

[CB]

do it your self 1k under 200 no problem :)

so like a bit less for a 600 :D

intensity is the key to big buds not the wattage ;)

grow on


:pass:

[gorilla]

Four of those lights for $100 is a good deal as far as money is concerned. You can probably get a 400watt hps on ebay for around $100, not sure. But as far as growing is concerned i think you'll wish you had just bought a more intense bulb from the start. just my thoughts.

peace - gorilla.

[eyeseaire]

Bro, that sound like a killer deal, but you will wanna make sure the lights are in good condition, and if they are suited to your needs. You say HID light, but what kind if HID light is it? You need either HPS(High pressure Sodium) lamp, or Metal Halide for these purposes, anything else ain't gonna cut it. They also need to be made to exist in a damp enviroment.
Personally I've never heard of a 200 watt HPS, and HPS is more ideal for flowering, which generally is more important to the small scale grower. Metal halides are more suited to veg, but I've seen good buds from them.
If they are legit 4 200w would be 800w that can be split up many different ways. The only drawback is you won't have as much light penetration as higher wattages, which would keep you from growing plants much past 3-4 feet, which is fine for a lot of indoor strains. Hell thats so cheap for 4 lights that even with my excess of lights I would get them just to not pass up the deal, I'm sure I'd use them eventually...as long as they are suitable, as not just any light will do. Look around at some lamps so you have an idea of what you want.


P.S. For something used all the time I would never use an internal ballast light as they produce too much heat. An External ballast will save you a lot of trouble.

[swissmj]

great reply eye.
as you said it depends on what spectrum the hid is
metal halide is a blue spectrum and high pressure sodium is a red spectrum.

after a couple grows they tend to put out less and less lumens, although the deal sounds good do you know how long those bulbs have been burning for? its pretty possible that they have been worn out and putting out alot less than they should.

just my 2 cents
cheers swissmj