600w V 1000w HPS with 4,3" ceiling ADVICE?

Hi guys,

Starting my first grow project in about 3 years and I am almost ready to go. Have beautiful seeds online far better than the skunk I first grew with 7 years ago.

However, I am having a horrible back and forth struggle between the 600w HPS globe V the 1000w HPS

My grow is in a small garden shed in my back yard. We will have 8 plants in 8 pots in an area 4ft by 6ft with the ceiling a tick over 4 feet tall.

I cannot for the life of me decide between the 600w and the 1000w lamp, so I have decided to consult some experienced growers for help.

The light does not sit directly above the plants, it is fixed to the centre-middle back of the 6ft inner wall and with a batwing and plenty of tin foil the light will be very evenly distributed throughout the room. I will also have good air circulation as some mesh over the door will allow us to air the room for the entire day undetected.

I really want to use the 1000w globe. There are so many differing opinions. If the ceiling wasnt so low, I would definitely use the 1000w.

My main concerns:

- 1000w globe will be too much for the low ceilings and will either cause heat stress or burn the plants as they get taller

- Temp in room to high with 1000w though I think my circulation idea will counter this problem.

- 600w wont be enough to maximise my yield



In writing this thread I have pretty much convinced my to play it safe and go with the 600W. As my light is fixed and non-adjustable, could it be a good idea to use the 1000w in the first few weeks of the plants lives before cutting back to the 600w once they are up and closer to the light?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Regards
K

Yeah, that sounds way too low for 1000W. If you subtract the distance from the light and the height of the pot you are left with 2 feet at best for the plants to grow. So for 8 plants, which you'd have to flower from seed to keep them small enough to fit in that space. 1000W would be overkill in my opinion.

Although I've never tried it myself, it sounds like the perfect place for a vertical setup. If you were hanging a cool tube with no reflector right in the middle vertically, I think you could use either a 1000 or 600 watt lamp. Surround the light with your plants and they could use their full height potential allowed in the space.

2x400W (will cover 3x3 ft each) or maybe go horisontale (there is a hole thread in here just about horisontal growing)

Your words are laid down like you are Australian, if so heat is gonna be a major factor in this undertaking, and no way is the 1000w light gonna do anything useful in such a small space, your operation needs to be open architecture or even flexible, a 600w does 3' x 3' really good but it needs at least 5' height and ventilation, in your small space I'd go T5, 4 feet long and 6-8 tubes on a rack hanged by chains and adjusted daily, way less heat, and can operate in a small space
good luck

im honestly really surprised im the first one to say DON'T USE TIN FOIL!!!! yes it does reflect light but unless you perfectly place it on the walls without a single wrinkle you are going to run risk of making heat spots and burning your plants. Trust me ive been there it blows..... Just take my advice and by some Mylar its pretty inexpensive and its so much better for spreading light around the room.

sikkinixx said:

Although I've never tried it myself, it sounds like the perfect place for a vertical setup. If you were hanging a cool tube with no reflector right in the middle vertically, I think you could use either a 1000 or 600 watt lamp. Surround the light with your plants and they could use their full height potential allowed in the space.

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lol i like your signature its pretty true.

Kanaplya said:

Yeah, that sounds way too low for 1000W. If you subtract the distance from the light and the height of the pot you are left with 2 feet at best for the plants to grow. So for 8 plants, which you'd have to flower from seed to keep them small enough to fit in that space. 1000W would be overkill in my opinion.

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1000 watts is not an overkill for 8 plants.......you should at least have 100 watts per plant, if you suggest the 600 watt his plants wont grow to there full potential

-jswett

jswett1100 said:

lol i like your signature its pretty true.

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Haha. Thanks. Our friend Vostok has proved my point once again.

jswett1100 said:

1000 watts is not an overkill for 8 plants.......you should at least have 100 watts per plant, if you suggest the 600 watt his plants wont grow to there full potential

-jswett

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It is overkill for 8 plants in a 4 foot box - you will kill them. You can use 10 1000W lamps for one plant if you want to when you have the room for it. Please explain to me how 8 little 1-2 foot plants in a mini-grow are not going to reach their full potential with a 600W lamp.

sikkinixx said:

Haha. Thanks. Our friend Vostok has proved my point once again.

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yeah lol thats what i was talking about!

Kanaplya said:

It is overkill for 8 plants in a 4 foot box - you will kill them. You can use 10 1000W lamps for one plant if you want to when you have the room for it. Please explain to me how 8 little 1-2 foot plants in a mini-grow are not going to reach their full potential with a 600W lamp.

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he didnt say they were gonna be 1-2 foot big boy

Good luck SocialistLeft. You will need it with all the 'expert' advice one here...

my vote is for 600 watt vertical or 2 x 400 flat.

Hi everyone,

Thanks heaps for the input so far.

Can someone possibly point me in the direction of a thread or a page which goes in to detail about vertical growing? I have had a little scout on google but the concept is completely new to me!


Through further discussion between myself and my partner as well as the input received on here we are currently leaning towards the 600w option. From the knowledge I can gather, including from the Indoor Grow Bible written by Jorge Cervantes, my 6ft by 4 ft floor space would be adequate for the 1000w globe, however the low ceiling space of only 4ft leaves me with a situation where I have to minimise my risk while gaining the most I can.

600w = Definite crop, possibly not taking the optimal advantage of the space but will have guaranteed yield. With a low ceiling and a quality shroud I could still exploit maximum yield.

1000w = Possibility the plants will thrive in the heat and get maximum yield, big danger of tipping over the edge with too high temperature and spoiling the entire crop.


I can always upgrade to 1000w the next time around if I feel it would be sustainable. It will be winter here by then as well which will help balance the temperatures.



PS: Yes we are in Australia, though where we are located we are no exactly subject to typical Australian conditions such as heat and aridity (Down South!)

600w vertical.

Have a look through the 'Vertical' forum here on RIU.

It is literally as simple as it sounds... hang your bulb from the ceiling to the centre of the room, and put your plants around it.

-spek

Yep just found that cheers. Just looking back through the debates but looking at some other peoples vertical grow setups they look amazing. Vertical would be ideal for us with only 4ft ceiling space.

Would I be better to use a 1000w for a vertical or stick to the 600w???

SocialistLeft said:

Yep just found that cheers. Just looking back through the debates but looking at some other peoples vertical grow setups they look amazing. Vertical would be ideal for us with only 4ft ceiling space.

Would I be better to use a 1000w for a vertical or stick to the 600w???

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Start with 600, and if you can stabilize temps, up to the 1kW. However, as the plants grow, the temps/humidity will rise with them.

Use your due diligence and play around.

-spek

Have now garnered some advice on vertical growing, seems as though it would be easily made possibly with our setup.

I am thinking now, without the shroud amplifying the light, that a 1000w globe would be acceptable if not perfect for our setup done vertically?

Thanks

SL

You could get the 1000 watt bulb and grow with a Dimmable ballast so you can run it at 600, 800 or 1000 watt.

if I was going to do what you are doing, I would grow with a vertical setup, exposed bulb with a ring of plants to maximize use of your height.

You could dig out a one foot of earth to give you a little more vertical room.


Good Luck!