Needz an opinion about HID lighting.....

Ok so I am in the process of figuring out a grow room setup, in the past few years I have been researching and figuring out how I am going to go about doing this so I am not a complete nub. But i would like opinions from seasoned growers about a lighting system. I plan on going with an HID set up, I plan on having 4-5 plants but i only want 1 light, so i was thinking about getting a 1000w dual ballasts (for MH/HPS change and i dont mind buying 2 lights). or 600w or 400w. I mean can i really benefit from the 1000w on my yield or can I get away with a 600w (when does it start to peak yield wise?). Any kind of input would be appreciated!!! Danks!!!

Also looking to be cost effective but still willing to pay enough to get a decent yield, also looking to keep my electricity consumption to a minimum but again willing to do what it takes for a good yield!

Impossible to give a good answer with the info you offer.
First, how much penetration will you need? That will pretty much be determined by the way you intend to grow. Are you going to let them get thick and bushy at 5 ft. tall? Short and lolly-pop? Are you going to defoliate as you go? Plan on a short SOG or SROG?
Lights should be determined by grow style.
For me and my style, I avoid one single overhead light like the plague. Multiples spread it out better and aids in side penetration more than one single dead nuts in the middle.
Plus, if growing taller / shorter strains you can adj. light's heigth for plant heigth individually as needed.
Lots to be considered and you're not offering much info to go on. Sorry.
Really not trying to be a ball buster. But you'd get more good input if folks knew your intentions.

"4-5 plants could be grown in a 18" X 12" SOG / SCROG cab or they could be in a 8 ft by 4 ft. straight up grow tent. (see what I mean?)

Id get a 600w if you plan on doing 4 to 5 plants u should get a nice yield with that. gl

I would go as big as possible that your space would allow. If you have at least a 4x4 space that's well vented I would go the 1000w. Side lighting isn't bad, but if you get a 1000w with a nice hood(very important) it wont really be necessary. They get good penetration and one light is a lot easier to deal with then more.

No matter what you decide for light numbers and sizes, make sure you get a digital ballast. As not only can they run both mh/hps, but they are cheaper to run, cooler, and just generally much more efficient.

Most lighting is fine... The only dif is how many luminens the light will give off what type of reflective material you are using and what color spectrum the light is .... For instance i have seen Dank weed off a few CFL grows

Florescent Bulbs - These lights are okay for growing but they provide little light and are hard to set up properly. They also are not in best light spectrum for Cannabis plants to grow in.

Halogen Lights: Halogen lights are the small lights that can be seen on the outside of factories for flood lighting the grounds during the night. They are usually small and black. These lights can range anywhere between 75watts and 4000watts. Halogens get extremely hot and can provide an unsuitable condition for growing Cannabis under. They are not recommended because they are dangerous to use indoors for growing. They are also not in the best light spectrum for growing Cannabis.

Horticultural Lights:- These lights are professional horticultural lights. They are developed by horticultural lighting companies and are tested to suit growing plants indoors. These lights are commonly called HID (High Intensity Discharge). Like the former lights these also come in kits with bulb, reflector, ballast and timer. They also come in different wattage and different shapes and sizes. If you want to grow good bud then you need a HID.

Metal Halide (MH) and Mercury Vapor (MV):- The lights are HID lights and are used for the seedling and vegetative growth stages of your plant. They can also be used for flowering and are quite good too. They come in all shapes and sizes and range from 75W - 4000watts Mercury Vapor is not as common as it used to be. It has almost been replaced by Metal Halide now. If you have a choice between the two it is best to stay with the new MH kits. MV also has a tendency to be slightly out of the optimal spectrum range.

High Pressure Sodium (HPS):-This is the lighting choice of many a Cannabis Cultivator. These lights come in all shapes and sizes and have a range of 75watts - 4000watts. These lights are in the perfect spectrum for growing cannabis and come highly recommended.

I keep 25 clones going in a 3 x 3ft F&D lava rock budding system all the time under a 1000w/hps. The only vegging that I do is my moms and they are under 24/0hr eight coolwhite four foot flouresent tubes and 18/6hr, a 400/w mercury vapor. My clones go into the budding room as soon as they have adequit roots. I don't use mh any more except in an emergency where one of my other lights failed.

TheFrankenstein said:

Ok so I am in the process of figuring out a grow room setup, in the past few years I have been researching and figuring out how I am going to go about doing this so I am not a complete nub. But i would like opinions from seasoned growers about a lighting system. I plan on going with an HID set up, I plan on having 4-5 plants but i only want 1 light, so i was thinking about getting a 1000w dual ballasts (for MH/HPS change and i dont mind buying 2 lights). or 600w or 400w. I mean can i really benefit from the 1000w on my yield or can I get away with a 600w (when does it start to peak yield wise?). Any kind of input would be appreciated!!! Danks!!!

Click to expand...

4 to 5 plants a 400-watt would be enough but I would go with the 600-watt anyway.

i was thinking about getting a 1000w dual ballasts (for MH/HPS change and i dont mind buying 2 lights)

Click to expand...

Why? Purchase a digital ballast that will allow you to burn either a MH or an HPS bulb. All you have to do is change a bulb, that's all, so why two ballasts and two lights?

Here are two examples:

BALLAST MANUFACTURED BY "LUMATEK"

• Operates both High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide Lamps

MANUFACTURED BY "DIGITAL GREENHOUSE"

This is a HIGH OUTPUT DIGITAL ELECTRONIC BALLAST that operates both 600 watt High Pressure Sodium and 600 watt Metal Halide Lamps.


The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE electronic ballast has a built in "smart chip" and AUTOMATICALLY adjusts to Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs. There is no need for a "switch" or to change systems, simply change from MH for vegatative growth to HPS for the flowering phase of growth.

Canon said:

Impossible to give a good answer with the info you offer.
First, how much penetration will you need? That will pretty much be determined by the way you intend to grow. Are you going to let them get thick and bushy at 5 ft. tall? Short and lolly-pop? Are you going to defoliate as you go? Plan on a short SOG or SROG?
Lights should be determined by grow style.
For me and my style, I avoid one single overhead light like the plague. Multiples spread it out better and aids in side penetration more than one single dead nuts in the middle.
Plus, if growing taller / shorter strains you can adj. light's heigth for plant heigth individually as needed.
Lots to be considered and you're not offering much info to go on. Sorry.
Really not trying to be a ball buster. But you'd get more good input if folks knew your intentions.

"4-5 plants could be grown in a 18" X 12" SOG / SCROG cab or they could be in a 8 ft by 4 ft. straight up grow tent. (see what I mean?)

Click to expand...

HAHA I don't see it as bustin mah balls but just giving a new guy the rundown so no worries.

I plan on just letting the plants grow as they would naturally would w/o any kind of training since it would be my first major beginning to end grow, and i need not to worry much about space. I am pretty much going to be growing bagseed that i get from my guy just to get the hang of it before i decided to jump in and spend money on seeds from the net.
Which i believe are usually hybrid plants but to my understanding my source is mostly indica. So I am assuming they will be the thick leaves which I should probably defoliate eventually huh? I am not against have additional lights (I have 2 8400 lumens CFL light both spectrums) so im sure i'll add those in too if applicable. Sorry for the lack of information, still a nub!

Brick Top said:

4 to 5 plants a 400-watt would be enough but I would go with the 600-watt anyway.




Why? Purchase a digital ballast that will allow you to burn either a MH or an HPS bulb. All you have to do is change a bulb, that's all, so why two ballasts and two lights?

Here are two examples:

BALLAST MANUFACTURED BY "LUMATEK"

• Operates both High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide Lamps

MANUFACTURED BY "DIGITAL GREENHOUSE"

This is a HIGH OUTPUT DIGITAL ELECTRONIC BALLAST that operates both 600 watt High Pressure Sodium and 600 watt Metal Halide Lamps.


The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE electronic ballast has a built in "smart chip" and AUTOMATICALLY adjusts to Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs. There is no need for a "switch" or to change systems, simply change from MH for vegatative growth to HPS for the flowering phase of growth.

Click to expand...

Yea sorry I meant to say get a ballast that can do both but just purchasing both bulbs, but you have opened up the digital avenue to me, because i heard that you can run a MH on a HPS ballast but the MH does not last very long, but this digital ballast sounds like a smart investment.

i use a 600 mh/hps although i did rum a 1000watt for a grow, i didnt really see that much difference in yeilds( old school organic just left natural) but i did have heat problems with the 1000watter

Thanks for all the replies guys this will give me a great idea of what i can afford!!!!