HID vs CFL

IndicaFatnHeavy

IndicaFatnHeavy

Active Member
im so fucking overwhelmed.. at first i wanted to cfl grow cuz i thought it was cheaper.. then i find out no1 near my town sells 65+ watt bulbs.. so it isnt worth my while... on this one site it sells 105 wats for 90 bucks each... which seems really expensive...

seeing how i could get a grow set for 400-500 bucks with hids... .thing is, they always come with either the MH or the
hps... never both of them... and i need both right??


im going to be growing 4-6 plants in a 6 foot tall, 4 foot wide 3 feet deep closet.. if i was going to go hids... id have to get both bulbs/ ballast/ and alot of fans... if i did this.. shud i get 400w 600w or 1000w for 4-6 plants

If i went cfls.. id want to buy 1x 105 2500s per plant.. so thats already 400-600 dollars... not to mention the flowering lights id have to get.


fuck.. i just wanna buy a kit with everything i need.. not most of it... any help?? sorry for rant
 
G

gangjababy

Well-Known Member
you can get a switchable ballast, all you have to do is flick a switch to change from MH to HPS and of course change the bulb
 
klmmicro

klmmicro

Well-Known Member
If you are just getting a single HID bulb and setup, go with HPS. It will veg your plants well enough, but will flower them (what you are really after) better than the MH. The plants like the redder spectrum as it mimmicks what they would encounter in the early days of fall (for the northern hem anyway). The HPS seems to induce a heartier flowering, it also puts out more lumens and a little less heat for the same wattage MH.
 
katwoman2012

katwoman2012

Well-Known Member
The reason I went CFL is because of the power bill savings and the heat factor. I couldn't find the 45W (=200W) in the store so ordered them from 1000bulbs.com. I could unscrew one of my bulbs after 10 hours by bare hand if I needed to. Nice and cool and they last 8000 to 10000 hours. Worth the price. Cheers.
 
klmmicro

klmmicro

Well-Known Member
Of the two phases of growth, flowering is the more critical. The plants will use the light to veg regardless of the spectrum. The plants do not flower because of the spectrum, but for the length of the day you give them. Cannabis flowers better under red, and will use whatever spectrum it can during veg. A 600 watt HPS will give you roughly 95,000 lumens which is plenty enough to get fat stems, leaves and tops.

I have several lights, but used a 600W kit that came with only the HPS for my current grow. I seriously could not see that big a difference in the vegging phase.
 
klmmicro

klmmicro

Well-Known Member
You should be able to a good 600W system (ballast, lamp+socket, cord set and reflector) for about $300 or less. I am in the US, so not taking exchange rates into account. Shop around.

CFL's have their place as well. Rooting clones and sprouting seeds can be done under a couple of lamps to provide the initial light without any searing heat. It allows the plants to acclimate to their new life a little easier.
 
tahoe58

tahoe58

Well-Known Member
like klm said. light is the energy. certainly there is a time when a more "optimum" spectrum will give you measurably better results. But it is exactly that, degrees of success. The amount of light energy remains an important aspect. The spectrum is of less consequence when you start measuring pros/cons for any system. I started my using 9 - 42W CFL's. I still had heat issues, so I ended up buying a total turnkey kit. But it was not cheap, it has a 200W CFL for Vegeing and a 400W HPS for flowering. There are a number of other threads on here that deal with discussion around lights. Good luck with your efforts!! Walk On!~:bigjoint:
 
IndicaFatnHeavy

IndicaFatnHeavy

Active Member
ok.. but i just have no idea or experience about hooking up ballasts/cords/fans.. there any sites or threads that can help me... or anyone out there.
 
indianaman

indianaman

New Member
why does a 600 HPS put off 95k when a 400 puts off 50k?

i have a 600 but no bulb and 2x 400 HPS i was going to run but 95k and 600 watts sounds better than 100k and 800 watts.

I think i need a bulb.
 
2

2stroke

Well-Known Member
IMO 600 hps if you can afford the power, 400 hps after that. Get a hps or a switchable ballast for both hps and mh and replace those incondest bulbs around your house with clf's lol cause thats what there for, hahah lol soz cfler's. Also turn down your hot water temp a tad to cover power cost. Guess it comes down to budget and grow room/space at the end of the day man though.
 
IndicaFatnHeavy

IndicaFatnHeavy

Active Member
can u get a 400 watt hps ballast / 400watt hps bulb.. then get a 400 watt mh conversion bulb.. and it fit into the reflector with it working fine?
 
klmmicro

klmmicro

Well-Known Member
I have a 400 watt system that I bought that has the components you are asking about Indica. It came with a 400W coil type HPS ballast, 400W HPS bulb, reflector and cord set. I ordered a 400W MH conversion bulb with it and everything fits just fine. HTG has a decent kit with a lot of options. I would go with a better reflector than the base model they offer and add a timer. Over all you are getting a good set up for the price from them.
 
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