Can't decide on Lighting option to go with..

OGkushNC

OGkushNC

Well-Known Member
Hey man just wondering what your budget is for your lighting? like whats your bottom dollar you want to spend?
 
Hot Diggity Sog

Hot Diggity Sog

Well-Known Member
patriots1818 said:
Under 150$ for the time being if at all possible lol
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It kind of sucks that you cannot go a little higher. Depending on what your goals are, it can be very wasteful to buy sub-par gear that you will need to replace in the future. My personal opinion is to spend this money on a *good* HPS/MH digital ballast. Bulbs can always be upgraded. Hoods can always be upgraded. But start with a good foundation.

I have experience with several different types of ballasts and I think this one is a tremendous value:
http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-APL400-Hydroponic-400/dp/B0052ACH0E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410954451&sr=8-1&keywords=400+watt+digital+ballast
 
OGkushNC

OGkushNC

Well-Known Member
Yea LED is out the question for $150 at least a good led won't be gotten for that lol. Man I was able to find a 400w mh/hps for around $85 and it gets the job done pretty darn good but I also have my fixture 4" or 5" away, Im sure you can find what you lookin for plus more for $150. And if thats what your budget is I would strongly suggest you look into the 400w and pick up a small fan or 2. If your growing on a small budget you have to try to make the best from what you have which means getting good lighting, soil, nutes etc etc. I have a small budget grow too you just have to be creative and make it work for you. I have produced some awesome lookin bud under my 400w homie.
 
dluck

dluck

Well-Known Member
OGkushNC said:
Yea LED is out the question for $150 at least a good led won't be gotten for that lol. Man I was able to find a 400w mh/hps for around $85 and it gets the job done pretty darn good but I also have my fixture 4" or 5" away, Im sure you can find what you lookin for plus more for $150. And if thats what your budget is I would strongly suggest you look into the 400w and pick up a small fan or 2. If your growing on a small budget you have to try to make the best from what you have which means getting good lighting, soil, nutes etc etc. I have a small budget grow too you just have to be creative and make it work for you. I have produced some awesome lookin bud under my 400w homie.
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Preach on man
 
patriots1818

patriots1818

Active Member
OGkushNC said:
Yea LED is out the question for $150 at least a good led won't be gotten for that lol. Man I was able to find a 400w mh/hps for around $85 and it gets the job done pretty darn good but I also have my fixture 4" or 5" away, Im sure you can find what you lookin for plus more for $150. And if thats what your budget is I would strongly suggest you look into the 400w and pick up a small fan or 2. If your growing on a small budget you have to try to make the best from what you have which means getting good lighting, soil, nutes etc etc. I have a small budget grow too you just have to be creative and make it work for you. I have produced some awesome lookin bud under my 400w homie.
Click to expand...
Thanks word man. There's a 400w Mh/Hps Digitial Ballast by Apollo on amazon for like 80$ So that seems like the best way to go for me right now. I have a small growing area anyway and only enough space for 3 plants with the LST tie down big bush plants i plan to grow :) so yeah I think I'm gonna go with that ballast thanks.. I think it'll do a fine job for my small grows :)
 
patriots1818

patriots1818

Active Member
Hot Diggity Sog said:
It kind of sucks that you cannot go a little higher. Depending on what your goals are, it can be very wasteful to buy sub-par gear that you will need to replace in the future. My personal opinion is to spend this money on a *good* HPS/MH digital ballast. Bulbs can always be upgraded. Hoods can always be upgraded. But start with a good foundation.

I have experience with several different types of ballasts and I think this one is a tremendous value:
http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-APL400-Hydroponic-400/dp/B0052ACH0E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410954451&sr=8-1&keywords=400 watt digital ballast
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yeah I agree start with a good foundation screw wasting money for a short term solution.. however i have limited grow space (MAYBE 6x6 are with a height of 5 ft) so for at least the time being I think a 400w ballast would be perfect for me
 
tekdc911

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
OGkushNC said:
Yea LED is out the question for $150 at least a good led won't be gotten for that lol. Man I was able to find a 400w mh/hps for around $85 and it gets the job done pretty darn good but I also have my fixture 4" or 5" away, Im sure you can find what you lookin for plus more for $150. And if thats what your budget is I would strongly suggest you look into the 400w and pick up a small fan or 2. If your growing on a small budget you have to try to make the best from what you have which means getting good lighting, soil, nutes etc etc. I have a small budget grow too you just have to be creative and make it work for you. I have produced some awesome lookin bud under my 400w homie.
Click to expand...
i had that problem and alot was remedied from a better quality bulb and changing it more often
i run the apollo 400w dimmable and have like 9 plants under it >.< they are all green and happy with minimal shedding from under canopy .......... ohh wait i was talking about the bulb
400w 2000k lumatek high par HPS and i hate to say it but it costs me about 60 bucks when i swap out a bulb and i do it fairly often seeing how im almost always in veg since i grow auto's and veg photo's , auto's finish i flip the photo's ( so they get about a 3 month veg of roughly 24/0 i do give a hour or so cooldown on the HPS )
edit*** i have more than 9 plants under it now that i think about it
 
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patriots1818

patriots1818

Active Member
Y
tekdc911 said:
i had that problem and alot was remedied from a better quality bulb and changing it more often
i run the apollo 400w dimmable and have like 9 plants under it >.< they are all green and happy with minimal shedding from under canopy .......... ohh wait i was talking about the bulb
400w 2000k lumatek high par HPS and i hate to say it but it costs me about 60 bucks when i swap out a bulb and i do it fairly often seeing how im almost always in veg since i grow auto's and veg photo's , auto's finish i flip the photo's ( so they get about a 3 month veg of roughly 24/0 i do give a hour or so cooldown on the HPS )
edit*** i have more then 9 plants under it now that i think about it
Click to expand...
Yeah one thing I'm certainly ignorant about.. how important is bulb quality? i was just gonna throw any 400w bulb in lol
 
Hot Diggity Sog

Hot Diggity Sog

Well-Known Member
patriots1818 said:
Y

Yeah one thing I'm certainly ignorant about.. how important is bulb quality? i was just gonna throw any 400w bulb in lol
Click to expand...
Ya know...I don't really know from experience but I've read the side by sides and I've watched the comparison videos. Not that I'm rich, but I'm into buying the best gear I can so I went with Hort Eye bulbs. Spent $120 just on the MH bulb!
 
tekdc911

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
Hot Diggity Sog said:
Ya know...I don't really know from experience but I've read the side by sides and I've watched the comparison videos. Not that I'm rich, but I'm into buying the best gear I can so I went with Hort Eye bulbs. Spent $120 just on the MH bulb!
Click to expand...
i see your 12/12 thread in your sig ..... have you ever ran super lemon haze that way ? just wondering ....... i popped 2 for a seed run a few days ago and wasnt sure what the finish time is like 12/12 fs
 
tekdc911

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
patriots1818 said:
Y

Yeah one thing I'm certainly ignorant about.. how important is bulb quality? i was just gonna throw any 400w bulb in lol
Click to expand...
if you are only growing a couple plants the apollo bulb that comes with it is fine but i would just use it for that grow ..... i have ran one and it lost its kick after 3 months or so ...... as do most bulbs ......... well except for led's anyway
 
Hot Diggity Sog

Hot Diggity Sog

Well-Known Member
tekdc911 said:
i see your 12/12 thread in your sig ..... have you ever ran super lemon haze that way ? just wondering ....... i popped 2 for a seed run a few days ago and wasnt sure what the finish time is like 12/12 fs
Click to expand...
No I have not. In fact, I have never done 12/12 from seed before nor have I used the small pots that I'm using. My journal is a pure experiment.
 
patriots1818

patriots1818

Active Member
tekdc911 said:
if you are only growing a couple plants the apollo bulb that comes with it is fine but i would just use it for that grow ..... i have ran one and it lost its kick after 3 months or so ...... as do most bulbs ......... well except for led's anyway
Click to expand...
So do you replace your bulbs pretty much every grow?
 
tekdc911

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
patriots1818 said:
So do you replace your bulbs pretty much every grow?
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pretty much after the seedling phase... of the next grow ..... after youve ran the same strain a few times you can tell when it starts to fade out 3 months or so on 23/1 or so and you can start to tell or i can anyway
 
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