Stay with 125w cfl or get 150w hps??

HelloI am on My 4th week under a 125w dual spectrum cfl in a grow tent, the plants look ok and they have bushed out a bit but they just don't seem to be getting any taller, they are about 6 inches at the moment but were re potted not long ago and I buried the scrawny stems, i did have some other issues which possibly may have stunted there growth but thats another story.
I have just been looking at 150w hps lamps and was just wondering if it would be worth buying one to replace the cfl during flowering, I understand it is low wattage and most people would say get a 400 or 600 but I need to keep the wattage low as I need to keep the electric bill down.
My tent is only small 60x60x120cm and I have extraction sorted out now,
My question really is should I get the 150w hps for when I switch to flowering or should I just stick it out with the cfl,
What would be better 150w cfl or 150w hps, my guess is the hps would be better??
Thanks in advance for any replies

Hps would be alot better and if u want to dish money out i would get a 250 because alot of 150s have the ballast built in and get hotter than the 250s, and u get more light but if not get 150 hps over cfls

Thank you for your reply, the 150w light I'm looking at is actually not self ballasted but it does come with ballast. It's only £35 on eBay so I think I will go for it, in the description it does say its been used so might get a new bulb as well. The 150w doesn't have a hood though but my cfl is already installed in a hood and they both use E40 fitting so might be able to work something out.
Thank you for replying, I thought it would be better but just wanted confirmation

There's no comparison...cfl bulbs will get you growing but you need an hps. I started with a 150w now I use a 400w. Running a 250 is only gonna run you like $20 a month in 12/12 light cycle. Go for the 250 so you can pull an oz per plant. Make it worth your time!

The 250 does sound tempting and like you say it will only be on for 12 hours during flowering, trouble is electric in the uk is not cheap but I might have to make the sacrifice. The only other trouble is the price for me to buy the 250 with ballast is about £100 but the 150 £35 but I guess the 250 will pay for itself when it comes to the harvest. At this rate I'd say I'm still another month away from flowering anyway so I won't rush into anything just yet, my plants are still a little bit stressed from heat as well I think but I have managed to lower temps, would I be right in thinking that if they are stressed when I switch to flower they might go herm but if I keep them in veg until they are looking healthy then they should be alright??

hids always out perform cfls

get the hps you wont be dissappointed

Good choice vador! You just doubled your yeild. Can you tell me what you do pay for electrical there? I live in Canada and we pay 12 cents a kilowatt. The cost to run just a 250 here would cost you about 36 cents on a 12 hour cycle.


Inquiring minds want to know.

electricity is also cheaper at night case u didnt know

To be honest I'm not sure exactly what we are getting charged for electric but to run my 125w cfl for 18 hours, extractor fan and small Xbox 360 internal fan (had to improvise while I'm waiting for an oscillating fan to turn up) that costs £10 a week to run all that, At a rough guess I imagine the 250 will be about £20 a week to run with fans but that will be a 12 hour cycle as well so it might be a little cheaper.
No I didn't realise electric was cheaper at night, I have my lights come on at 4am and go off at 10pm that way I'm not listening to fan noise all night . Also we get helicopters flying round after 10, the only thing I can think they are doing is checking for heats signatures so I like to have everything switched off by then

It's also easier to cool at night. I would consider getting a 400 watt dimmable digital. Lots of advantages. You can run either MH or HPS. More efficient = less power.

They make a few different types. Mine will do 50% 75% or 100%, so at 50% it only draws 200 watts. Then if you ever need more light, it's right there at the turn of a knob.

In many cases the cost difference between a 250w and a 400w setup is less than $5.

PJ Diaz said:

It's also easier to cool at night. I would consider getting a 400 watt dimmable digital. Lots of advantages. You can run either MH or HPS. More efficient = less power.

They make a few different types. Mine will do 50% 75% or 100%, so at 50% it only draws 200 watts. Then if you ever need more light, it's right there at the turn of a knob.

In many cases the cost difference between a 250w and a 400w setup is less than $5.

Click to expand...

That is a good idea, the only thing stopping me getting a 600w is I'm worried about the cost of electric, if I had a 600w on a dimmer then if the electric is not as bad as I thought I could turn it up. What a great idea thanks for that love your avatar by the way, up in smoke is funny as hell

get the 150 hps and run it with your cfl

I've been looking at either a 400w or 600w with adjustable ballast but there is so much out there I'm not sure what to go for, I'm looking to stay away from cheap Chinese gear. Just wondering what brands everyone is using and what ones to stay away from. There's some good kits on eBay with ballast shade and holder, yoyo hangers and both hid and hps bulbs, there was also one that caught my eye from maxibright what are they like any good??

Ok so I have just checked my meter and we pay 12.15 pence per kw so using this formula that I found on the net

(light wattage output / 1000) x electricity cost per kilowatt hour = Operating cost per hour
operating cost per hour x hours used per month = Operating cost per month


For a 600w running 12 hours a day for a month I get 2449.44
Is that right will I be paying nearly £2500 a month or have I got my numbers wrong??


Here is how I worked it out


600w/ 1000= 0.6 x 12.15(cost per kw)= 7.29 x 336 (hours) = 2,449.44

Also I found this in an article



After seeing that I'm starting to think 600w is overkill maybe I should try get a 400w as was previously mentioned, I will try find a dimmable one as well so i can turn it down as needed in my tiny 60cm x 60cm grow tent.

Any suggestions as to which brands to use would be much appreciated

I just bought a 150watt hps setup from homedepot for $89, with ballast, hood and all. I havent recieved yet but im hoping it works well along with cfls for side lighting.