going to hps mh how manny watts

i have some cfls and led panels but i have just decided to go hps since i have uped the amout of plants i will be gorwing.

i have decided to get a nextgen ballast complete system so i can run mh for veg and hps for flower. I was thinking of getting the 600w/400w switch system and run 400w grow and 600w flower but idk if i need 600w

I will have 8-10 hydro plants in a panda filmed enclosed space about 5.5'x3.5' but not shure yet . I live in az so it will be hot. do you think I only need 400w hps or should i spend the extra $90 and have a 600w option for flowering?
please help

ps. money is tight right now, but if i need the 600w i can buy it with my card

Optimum amounts of lighting are between 7-10,000 lumens per sq ft. You have about 19 sq ft with a 5.5x3.5, so to properly light it you would need between 133,000 and 190,000 lumens. A good 600 hps will poot out in the area of 90,000 lumens, whereas a 400 is more like 50,000, so I'd say 600 should be the minimum if you're doing hydro.
If it's done right, hydro can give great yields, but only if there is enough light for the plant to photosynthesise at it's maximum rate.
Have you done hydro before? I think you may be a little optimistic with your plant count from what I have seen. Friend of mine grew four random bagseed plants in an 8' long tray under two 400w hps lights, they ended up being about 4' high and the best part of 3' wide, all growing into each other by the 5th-6th week of flower, and they were less than 18" tall when he switched the light cycles.
I personally would go with 3-4 plants, and flower fairly early, at a foot or so tall and see what they do. It's easy enough to just grow more next time, but if you grow too many and they outgrow the space, shading each others bud sites and making it difficult to keep good airflow through all that bush (poor airflow leads to high humidity in the middle parts of the plants and can invite mould).
8 plants under 600w is about the maximum even for soil grown plants imo, unless you do a SOG and keep them small.

thanks fot the advice. it looks like i need the 600w i also have two 2700k 65w (300w equ) cfls i can throw in under the canopy.

I will probably grow less. this will be the first time i grow with this hydro system it has indiviual grow pots its a flood and drain type, kind of. I will start with all pots then after the males there should be a manageable amount of plants

ttwinsupra said:

i have some cfls and led panels but i have just decided to go hps since i have uped the amout of plants i will be gorwing.

i have decided to get a nextgen ballast complete system so i can run mh for veg and hps for flower. I was thinking of getting the 600w/400w switch system and run 400w grow and 600w flower but idk if i need 600w

I will have 8-10 hydro plants in a panda filmed enclosed space about 5.5'x3.5' but not shure yet . I live in az so it will be hot. do you think I only need 400w hps or should i spend the extra $90 and have a 600w option for flowering?
please help

ps. money is tight right now, but if i need the 600w i can buy it with my card

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go to menards and buy a 400w hps for 20 bucks bro