400W HPS Bulb question

I have just purchasd a 400W HPS light bulb that has 55,000 Lumens. Will this work to grow 6 plants?

Sure you will be happy

I have 5 large ladies under my 400w 55,000 lumen bulb. Have a peek in my journal (link below) or if you dont have time just click on my gallery at the right side of this post.

Good Luck!

do you have a ballast to run this bulb?

russ0r said:

do you have a ballast to run this bulb?

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Good question! LOL

russ0r said:

do you have a ballast to run this bulb?

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I was also thinking this. He'll be back... lol

MajoR_TokE said:

I was also thinking this. He'll be back... lol

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He needs a ballast - not a Terminator

the Sides Never Seem To Get Good Light When I Have 6 Under A 400w Hps It Still Works But If U Want Them Perfect Get Some Cfls For The Sides 4 Is Perfect Under A 400w With Plenty Of Space For The Side Buds To Grow Up Nice And Big

but Every 1 Has There Reason From Growing Im Happy With 4
4 Is Perfect And 6 Is Just As Good Just A Bit More Snug And The Sides Dont Get Much Light

6 plants is about ideal....I have 7 under a 400w hps. But 6 would keep them all in the shine with no problem.

yeah I will have my 12 under a 400 watt and a 600 watt with cfls around the perimeter for under growth. I figure what the heck lets go with a 400 and a 600. and I have a 400 for the mothers. It is MHD/HPS

good luck~

pjboy31 said:

yeah I will have my 12 under a 400 watt and a 600 watt with cfls around the perimeter for under growth. I figure what the heck lets go with a 400 and a 600. and I have a 400 for the mothers. It is MHD/HPS

good luck~

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If you do that and the grow goes smoothly....you'll be chunked out by next harvest.

Im thinking of getting another hps for my veg side....but just a 250. Im afraid to overload the circuits. Im an apt. grower.

pjboy31 said:

and I have a 400 for the mothers. It is MHD/HPS

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A 400 for mothers?

Isn't that a bit overkill? It's fair to say I don't know your situation, layout or number of plants but even still you don't need anything like that kind of light intensity for keeping mother plants. 20w per sq foot of fluorescents is more than enough for maintaining mother plants - you don't want rapid growth from them - otherwise you'll be constantly having to take cuttings and having to throw them away just to maintain the mother in good health.

babygro said:

A 400 for mothers?

Isn't that a bit overkill? It's fair to say I don't know your situation, layout or number of plants but even still you don't need anything like that kind of light intensity for keeping mother plants. 20w per sq foot of fluorescents is more than enough for maintaining mother plants - you don't want rapid growth from them - otherwise you'll be constantly having to take cuttings and having to throw them away just to maintain the mother in good health.

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Good point...2-4 23w cfls for moms was my plan.

And since you made the point of having to take excessive cuttings to keep the size down....would all that cutting and tossing away eventually weaken the mom/future cuttings? Something Ive been curious about.

BloodShotI'z said:

Good point...2-4 23w cfls for moms was my plan.

And since you made the point of having to take excessive cuttings to keep the size down....would all that cutting and tossing away eventually weaken the mom/future cuttings? Something Ive been curious about.

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It kinda depends on how you're keeping your moms and the space you have - if space is unlimited you don't have a problem. If it is, you'll want ot keep as many moms as you can in as small a space as possible - that means keeping them constantly pruned of cuttings so it can produce more nice strong cuttings. Otherwise it'll simply get too big for your space.

It also depends if you're looking for Bonsai moms or just regular plants.

Blood, love the avatar, man!

hearmenow said:

Blood, love the avatar, man!

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Much appreciated....

hmmm well thanks for the advice I have a space of 4x8x12 and I should get like three to four mothers there. (because I have three to four diff strains) so just a 250 Metal halide or should it be HPS? This will be my first attempt at mothers. So any help would be appreciated.

pjboy31 said:

hmmm well thanks for the advice I have a space of 4x8x12 and I should get like three to four mothers there. (because I have three to four diff strains) so just a 250 Metal halide or should it be HPS? This will be my first attempt at mothers. So any help would be appreciated.

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Id like to hear the the thoughts on that question.

I've heard hps during veg encourages stretch. Ive yet to see it as this is the only light Ive used so far.

Some would say Mh since you're not flowering. But I would think that would encorage rapid growth. You'd have to do as BabyGro suggests and take frequent cuttings.

I want the plants to grow...and produce more cutting sites....but at the same time I dont want alot of upward growth.

Good question.

yeah thnx. I mean I have the room to grow the cuttlings and I have friends who want to take them off my hands. I also have the height. I just wanted to know the optimal way to do this and maintain the mother plant.

thnx for the response..............

pjboy31 said:

hmmm well thanks for the advice I have a space of 4x8x12 and I should get like three to four mothers there. (because I have three to four diff strains) so just a 250 Metal halide or should it be HPS? This will be my first attempt at mothers. So any help would be appreciated.

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Hey pj

4x8x12? Can't get my head round that to be honest, 4 foot x 8 foot x 12 foot high? You certainly won't need all that height for moms.

The mother/clone cabinet I'm working on is about 6 foot wide, 2 foot deep and 3 foot high with separate compartments for the moms, rooting clones and vegging clone areas. Hard to describe so I've attached a plan drawing of it.

The total mom area is 4 foot wide x 3 foot high by 2 foot wide. The total clone veg area is 2 foot high x 2 foot wide by 2 foot deep and the clone rooting area is 2 foot wide, 1 foot high and 1 foot deep. I'm not going to be rooting or vegging any more than 8 clones at a time.

I'm still working out the fluorescent wattages and numbers. Ventilation probably won't be the RVK shown in the drawing - more like a cheaper axial fan of some form - no charcoal filter - not really needed in veg - I can add one if I need to.