flowering under a 600 watt HPS bulb with ballast dimmed down to 400 watts

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
no, the maximum, anyone who say different like the other fellow should maybe learn to calculate pars before giving people retarded advice
3x3 with a 600 will give you 96 par which is the min you want
I am saying that I somewhat agree, but all strains/genetics react differently to light intensity. I have been able to get a handle on temps and in return my plant is able to handle the light in my 3x3. The reason that (the manufacturer) says that a 600 watt hps should be used in a 4x4 or larger is due to the heat that it creates in a smaller tent.
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
Yes you can run a 400 watt bulb.
Yes you can dim your 600 watt bulb to 400.
It's up to you,either choice works.

Changing the bulb or changing the setting on your ballast is not gonna make or break your grow.

A 4x4 tent would be a good option for your light.To me a 3x3 space is a waste of 600 watts.

By the pics your issue isn't lighting.

You haven't mentioned your feeds and feed schedule.And what about your humidity?
It turned out to be nutrient burn, most likely caused by the the plant transpiring at an increased rate, causing the roots to absorb nutrients too quickly, causing the burning. My pH was also off. I have flushed twice to correct this and fixed my temps. Now the plant is handling the light better. Thank you
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
This thread is funny. The OP posted an identical thread a week earlier. Glad to see others corroborating my assertion in that other thread that the lamp ideally should match ballast output.

That said the info the manufacturer said about pulling 600w from the wall even when dimmed is straight up wrong. Plug in a killawatt and see. I would stay away from that manufacturer in the future.
Safety is my biggest concern, I have spoken with a few different hydro shops that had nothing to gain by telling me the same thing. A 600 watt ballast will still ignite a 400 watt bulb using 600 watts, possibly causing it to explode. Also the ballast will still pull 600 watts from the wall regardless of it's dimmer setting. The dimmer is designed to cool the bulb and cause it to put out less lumens. It will still arc at 600 watts regardless.
 
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rob333

Well-Known Member
Having a lot of light stress week 3 of flowering under 600 watt HPS in 3x3 tent, so I finally decided to dim it down to 400. Has anyone done this and did it effect yield and quality?
i use to run 2 600w in a 1.2x1.2 space they use to be fucken tanks
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
I thank you all for your help though, I appreciate it very much. I will not post another thread about this matter.
 

rob333

Well-Known Member
Having a lot of light stress week 3 of flowering under 600 watt HPS in 3x3 tent, so I finally decided to dim it down to 400. Has anyone done this and did it effect yield and quality?
and yes u will lose yeild going from 600to400
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
Yeah that was a weird claim to make from the manufacturer. For sure the bulb should match the ballast for max life span and performance, they used to tell you this when they first brought out the digi dim ballasts but that was when it was the big name brands and then the cheap ones flooded the market and seemed to forget to mention it these days.




Yes lets just agree to disagree, lifes too short to spend time arguing on the internet. :bigjoint:
better yet, light one up and pass it around :joint: bongsmilie
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
digi ballest suck sorry to say there good but crud i have had 4 in the past 3 years all have failed yet my jb magnetic is going on 15 years old lol and still punches out pounds
Next time around I may go with a switchable magnetic ballast, if they still make them
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
the magnetic ones do seem like they are built better, never had one, so I can't attest to which is better, but you are correct, they are tried and true. sometimes newer technology doesn't last as long as original equiptment
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Hey so you said your height limiting factor is the fan in the way. Try doing a fan and filter outside of your tent to increase vertical clearance maybe you can get away with the 600

if you are going to get a new ballast you should get yourself a dual ended CMH 315w like others have suggested. Put a little extra $ in there. You could always add a few leds on the sides if your worried about yield
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
Hey so you said your height limiting factor is the fan in the way. Try doing a fan and filter outside of your tent to increase vertical clearance maybe you can get away with the 600

if you are going to get a new ballast you should get yourself a dual ended CMH 315w like others have suggested. Put a little extra $ in there. You could always add a few leds on the sides if your worried about yield
thanks for the advice, I have the light as high as I can get it in my tent. I really don't want to mess around with exhaust at this point, as it really does draw a lot of air through the tent. I am going to go with a 4x4 next time around and I have boxes full of cfl's from years ago that I could use as supplemental lighting. Thank you for replying :peace:
 

Mcoocoo

Well-Known Member
It's funny that you should mention the 315 cmh, because I almost bought one before I decided to go with the HPS. I just have to make do with what I have for the time being
 

Lord Bonkey

Well-Known Member
the magnetic ones do seem like they are built better, never had one, so I can't attest to which is better, but you are correct, they are tried and true. sometimes newer technology doesn't last as long as original equiptment
mag ballasts were great, but the digital ones are much safer and easier on your electric system.
with mag ballasts when you get close to max amperage on a circuit they would blow the breaker on start up.

also they dont get as hot,
but yes mag 1ks were/are beasts

a cmh and a 600 are not even close to equal in par.
cmh is a bs light
 
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