HPS, please INform the UNinformed

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
So I've a CFL grower the past +2 yrs now, mostly due do space and heat exhalst issues. But now my girl and I are looking for a place and she wants me to expand the opporation to grow enough for the 2 of us. And if there's a rainy day with unexpected bills possibly sell some on the side of what we don't need to keep up my current 3-4 month cycle I'm currently on with my stealth cab dresser. We want enough to keep us both stoned for the whole 3-4 months it takes each batch to grow and then some, and I average 3-6 Oz from what I'm currently doing with 1-2 plants which lasts me almost through the growing cycle(more the better lol)


My question is, figuring the extra room we attain has an average sized closet, 3*3 maybe 4*4 and 6-8 ft tall. What wattage and brand of HID should I look for and wheather I should order online or go through my local hydroponic supply. Again considering I average 2-4ft plants(depending on strains and other factors) every 3-4 months. I have severance package money from my last job coming this week and am prepared to spend no more than $400 total on a light w/reflector and hopefully good exhalst fan to do the cool tube idea.
 

Moebius

Well-Known Member
Online is cheaper, local store is safer. Much like everything else.

A 600w digital ballast. An air-cooled hood, a 6" inline fan, ducting, a couple of small fans. and obviously the grow equipment. You should do a lot of looking around before handing out the cash.
 
You can get a Sun Blazer hood, a 600w HPS Hortilux bulb and a 600w Quantum digital, dimmable ballast for about $400.00. All top notch stuff. A decent 6" inline fan exhaust will set you back about another $100.00, so figure $500.00 total.

There is a guy on Youtube that consistantly grows 1lb dry weight with a 600w light so if you were even able to get half that yield it would be pretty nice for only a 600w of light.
 

Dutchmast3r

Active Member
u can get packages online for under $200 for a 600w system u just gotta be patient and look around and spend the other $200 on the room it self..online is the best and its pretty safe seein as most site ship in plan brown boxes anyways..u can easily do 8 plants under tht 600w and get a monster yield compared to what ur doing now if u can pull 3 Oz off a plant with CFLs i wanna see what u do with HID bro


edit for this : http://www.amazon.com/LED-Wholesalers-GYO2010-3-Piece-Hydroponic/dp/B004HNW7IY/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1334675031&sr=8-8 check it out
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Thanks everybody for your responses.

I just received my check and it was a little larger than I thought and now can spent ABSOLUTELY NO MORE THAN $600. Though my girl brought up another point, it's easy to hide the smell of 2 plants but any more though and I'll have to get an air scrubber.

Do you all think my $600 will get me a 600w light kit with cool tube and a carbon scrubber???
 

irieie

Well-Known Member
Thanks everybody for your responses.

I just received my check and it was a little larger than I thought and now can spent ABSOLUTELY NO MORE THAN $600. Though my girl brought up another point, it's easy to hide the smell of 2 plants but any more though and I'll have to get an air scrubber.

Do you all think my $600 will get me a 600w light kit with cool tube and a carbon scrubber???
yes. there are a variety of cheap lights out there. you get what you pay for.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=600w+hps&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS459US459&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1366&bih=643&ix=aca&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=14405994782916805535&sa=X&ei=h1OPT6TkNcaC2wXowriYBQ&ved=0CI0BEPMCMAI
 

Dutchmast3r

Active Member
$600...you can get more than just a light and scrubber with 600 i hope..dont pay rip off prices bro..when it comes to cheap lights there are good lights for good prices not every company tries raping you like hortilux and lumetek i mean there good brands but u can get just as good for a 1/3 less..
 
yes. there are a variety of cheap lights out there. you get what you pay for. I
Not necessarily true. You can pay an awful lot more than what you get in return. It's true for most sections of hydroponics. The justification for reflector prices based on design by scientist and other such wild claims, need to be based in some kind of tangible gain. The fact is, they're not. They're based on nothing more than the knowledge that the grower will know no different and will therefore pay the extra money in good, albeit blind faith. The truth is, almost all of the time, that's all it is.

For a $300 reflector to justify it's price, it'd have to be ten times as efficient as one which cost $30. The truth is, there is no reflector on the market which can justify any claim to be so with actual evidence. In fact, the best grow recorded to date which I have seen anyway, was heath robinson's 1.8 gpw which relied on no reflector at all but rather the creative positioning of plants in a fine tuned system.

Where you should concentrate your cash is the filter and the fan/s, which absolutely need to be up to the job for security and safety reasons. Without any shadow of a doubt if you're to make concessions in any one area, it should be on the reflector. Any budget reflector & good quality 600w bulb can yield you 20oz if your environment is right.
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Not necessarily true. You can pay an awful lot more than what you get in return. It's true for most sections of hydroponics. The justification for reflector prices based on design by scientist and other such wild claims, need to be based in some kind of tangible gain. The fact is, they're not. They're based on nothing more than the knowledge that the grower will know no different and will therefore pay the extra money in good, albeit blind faith. The truth is, almost all of the time, that's all it is.

For a $300 reflector to justify it's price, it'd have to be ten times as efficient as one which cost $30. The truth is, there is no reflector on the market which can justify any claim to be so with actual evidence. In fact, the best grow recorded to date which I have seen anyway, was heath robinson's 1.8 gpw which relied on no reflector at all but rather the creative positioning of plants in a fine tuned system.

Where you should concentrate your cash is the filter and the fan/s, which absolutely need to be up to the job for security and safety reasons. Without any shadow of a doubt if you're to make concessions in any one area, it should be on the reflector. Any budget reflector & good quality 600w bulb can yield you 20oz if your environment is right.
Thanks Edward, I fully agree. I used to manage at a hardware store and we had products that were the exact same as "the name brand" and half the cost or even made by the name brand which is ridiculous.

How do these both look to ya'll? I can't tell what differs between them...
http://www.amazon.com/600Watt-Electronic-Dimmable-Reflector-Hydroponic/dp/B00521B894/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1334790293&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Dimmable-Hydroponic-Reflector-Pressure/dp/B004L36Z5Q/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1334790293&sr=8-4

And here's a scrubber/fan combo set i found
http://www.amazon.com/Hydropronic-Inline-Carbon-Filter-Control/dp/B002ZJNW3Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1335005468&sr=1-2
 
With regards the choice of equipment, I'm from the UK, so not in a position to give advice or recommendation on brands and prices. But what I can say is don't confine yourself to the cooltube idea if price dictates you need to look elsewhere. Make sure the ballast is reliable, get opinion on that, make sure the filter is reliable, get opinion on that too, and make sure you get a good quality fan. Good luck.
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Anybody, any thoughts on the 2 light kits and the fan/filter combo??? As far as I can tell they're both the same kit, unless I'm too stoned to notice an obvious difference lol. Thanks for all of your feedback so far
 

Illegal Smile

Well-Known Member
My vote goes for no cheap ballasts. Get a 600w Lumatek and put a hortilux bulb in it. Look for deals on the other stuff.
 

irieie

Well-Known Member
My vote goes for no cheap ballasts. Get a 600w Lumatek and put a hortilux bulb in it. Look for deals on the other stuff.
I agree you get what you pay for and cheap ballasts don't last as long as quality ones. It is the most serious and most expensive piece of equipment you will buy so get a good one.
 

hydgrow

Well-Known Member
Try a place called plantlightinghydroponics.com. They have been real good to me and a ton of others. This is not the only place to go but I use and like them.

Also sometimes it is better to call and order that way you can explain your situation and they may be compeled to help ya fit your budget. These places still need sales staff and those sales reps. usually will work a little better on that already "cheap" price

One last thing. Make sure when/if you order online you ask for your items to be placed in a plain brown box. That way no one but you knows whats in there.
 
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