HPS lighting questions

[snowcruiser]

hey guys new to the site, lovin what i see.
thinking of buying a 250 watt hps system from sun systems. i thought it would be adequate enough for 3-4 plants yes? also what do you guys think of the light itself? and wat type of bulb would be best suited to use over the whole grow process. trying to only use the one light. thx and cant wait to hear repsonses.

 

[spliffbazz]

you can get a electronic ballast that can use a hps bulb (for flowering) and a metal halide bulb (for veg) they cost a bit extra but supposed to put out 30% more light so well worth the investment....and a 250 watt will do for the 4 plants grand man.....

spliffbazz

 

[mud1dnot2]

IMO, 250 watts will probably give you a good amount of personal supply. A 400 watt is more ideal for 3-4 plants. Given your space restrictions and all. A 400 watt is typically easy to keep cool. Also, I would suggest getting the Grobright mh conversion for veg and Growbright or Agromax HPS bulb for flower. Check out HTGSupply.com They have good pricing for what you may need as well.

 

[snowcruiser]

very cool. thx for the input guys. if anyone else wants to chime in im all ears

 

[snowcruiser]

also i was curious if i were to have say 4 plants with the one 250 watt hps only the whole process through without changing bulbs, only the timing of light, i kno its hard to say , but a yield guess?

 

[Resident Kush]

either HID will do fine for both processes, the norm is mh for veg and hps for flower, the quality of bud is actually better with mh in flower, but yield is less. Mh will keep your plants short and green while hps will stretch them, and leave them paler than the mh. You can also get conversion bulbs which will give you both spectrums when you want, but any HID is good for both as well as certain fluoros. Any questions pm me.

yield depends on strain and pruning, and length of veg.

 

[bricktown73]

either HID will do fine for both processes, the norm is mh for veg and hps for flower, the quality of bud is actually better with mh in flower, but yield is less. Mh will keep your plants short and green while hps will stretch them, and leave them paler than the mh. You can also get conversion bulbs which will give you both spectrums when you want, but any HID is good for both as well as certain fluoros. Any questions pm me.

yield depends on strain and pruning, and length of veg.

This is just his opinion. There is no factual info or any proof that this is the case.

I would suggest, in the interest of being economical, buy a HPS bulb first. This is a great bulb to use throught the growing stages. Then, after you have seen the end result, and if you are selling, buy a MH buld and use to compare.

In my opinion, I have used both. I have used MH throught over 16 plants, and have used HPS throught over 16. I have also used MH for veg and then HPS for flower and vic versa, and I can tell you I saw very little difference in the quality or yeild. I don't think it is worth the cost of buying MH bulbs, but you be the judge. Good luck.

 

[snowcruiser]

sounds good. thx for the input fellas. cant wait to get growin already

 

[Andre Linoge]

If you go with the 250-watt keep in mind its amount of light penetration while vegging. Don’t bother to veg much beyond about 10 inches because when the plants double to triple in size in flower they will outgrow your light penetration and the lower portion of the plants will produce popcorn at best. Vegging longer with a lower wattage light only adds to the overall length of time until harvest without giving you a return in increased production that is worth the additional period of time.
　
Everyone wants to grow 4 and 5 foot tall plants, or taller, but if only the top 2 to 3 feet of your plants are giving you decent to good production what value is it to grow anything taller considering the increased length of time until harvest that could instead be used in a next veg period?
　
A 400-watt light would be a better option but for the area of coverage you are talking about a 250-watt will be fine as long as you do try to make it do more than it can do.

 

[rocweiler]

I agree with andre about the light penetration being one of your biggest issues with the 250w. The coverage area won't be to good, but in my opinion if you are going for overall yield I would try just 1 plant under the 250w. With a good amount of veg time and some really good training you can really use the full potential of a smaller light with just 1 plant to focus on maybe 2. There are alot of examples on here of trainned Scrog set ups that yield very well.