Grow box

This is my first time trying to grow and i started making a pc grow box and im havin a little trouble. Everything is all set up and i just picked up 100w high pressure sodium light but i dont have a fixture or ballast to mount to the top of the box and i tried home depot and lowes but didnt have any luck. does anyone know where i can find onee

You won't find suitable, horticultural lighting at Home Depot or Lowes; You need to find a local hydroponic shop or buy what you need online. I highly recommend HTG (Hi-Tech Garden Supply). They carry a wide variety of lights, ballasts, and reflectors at competitive prices. If you ask around, you'll find that they also have a great reputation among the growing community. They will accept money orders as payment if you are uncomfortable using your credit card, and they ship in plain brown boxes that don't indicate what's inside, or even that it came from a garden shop.

thanks for the link. i still dont understand by looking at the picture. if a buy a ballast for a high pressure sodium light will it have a fixture for the bulb and will i be able to just plug it in to an outlet?

The ballast is the control box for the light. Think of it as the brains of the operation. On one side, it has a power cable that plugs into a standard wall outlet. On the other side is a cord with a bulb fixture. Obviously, your bulb gets screwed into the bulb fixture and the fixture gets mounted in a reflector. So, if you currently just have a 100w HPS bulb, you need to buy a 100w HPS ballast, and the reflector of your choice. Most reflectors are universal and will accept any standard bulb fixture. The problem you may run into is finding a 100w HPS ballast. Personally, I've never seen one. 100w is pretty small as far HPS lamps go - most manufacturers make ballasts that start at 150w and go up to 1000w. You might be better off just buying a kit that includes the ballast, bulb, reflector, and cord set. HTG has a 150w HPS kit that inckludes everything you need for only $70. Here's the link. One last suggestion... Regardless of what setup you end up buying, make sure you get a replacement bulb or two to have on hand. Too many people (myself included) have made the mistake of assuming that nothing would go wrong with the bulb, and of course shit DOES happen. There's nothing worse than getting your operation up and running, then waking up one morning only to find that your nice new HPS bulb has blown out overnight. If you don't have a replacement bulb ready to go right away, you're setting yourself up for disaster. Preparation is the key.

it all makes sense now thanks a lott. one more question, im still a rookie and still dont know to much but i havent really found to much infor on using a hps buld in a pc grow box. have any suggestions on what i should go with or should i stick with the 100w that i just got? is fluorescent a better idea in a small are like a pc tower?

In a small PC growbox like the one you're building, you may find that CFLs are the best way to go. I never use them, but I know many others that do and swear by them. Given the small space you are working with, CFLs would generate a lot less heat than an HPS and don't require a ballast or other special fixture. You could even line the inside of your box with mylar and then wouldn't even need to worry about a reflector.

i lined the inside of the case with aluminum foil. but that sounds like a good idea witht he heat and all to go with a cfl. but i didnt know you could put a cfl into a regualr socket? in that case i saw a nice 100w cfl at home depot today what do ya thhink?

First and foremost, GET RID OF THE FOIL! It doesn't reflect light properly and creates hot-spots that will burn your plants. It's just not suitable for growing. We've all done it so don't feel bad, but take my advice and get rid of it.

CFLs are usually rated as either "cool" or warm" depending on the wavelength of light it produces. "Cool" lights produce light in the blue spectrum, whereas "warm" lights create light in the red spectrum. For the vegetative phase, you want to use the "cool" lights, and for flowering you'll want to switch to "warm" bulbs. There's a lot of people on this board that use CFLs that know a lot more about it than I do (since I only use HPS) and could probably give you more complete information on the matter.