I Got Busted !!! Be very Careful....

abudsmoker

abudsmoker

Well-Known Member
VirginHarvester said:
I'm confused. Is a ballast a type of light and are you saying you switched away from ballast to another?

And if so, what is the main benefit of this new light you like over previous?

What is the power bill per month for an indoor grow like this with maybe six pots and is it possible to find a good light like this light sufficient for that size grow?
Click to expand...

the ballast takes standard current and transforms it to the bulbs needs.
yes i switched, the digital ballast has changed the output of the light.
the digital ballast is using less energy to make more lumens of a better color
for the plants.

if you want to see what a grow costs you can put your wattage and hours in a calculator like this one below
 
V

VirginHarvester

Well-Known Member
abud, I have a question that doesn't relate to the lighting. You show a picture of a bunch of little plants you have in rockwool. Those stems are phat! I grow outdoor but in good soil(happy frog). Yet it takes a long time for my stems to fill out, the plants to take off, and for them to look lush. But those you have started look like little trees. Are you feeding them?
 
abudsmoker

abudsmoker

Well-Known Member
no i dont feed clones i actually starve the mothers to help make rooting faster. the more mature the clones you take the better plants they become.
 
V

VirginHarvester

Well-Known Member
abudsmoker said:
no i dont feed clones i actually starve the mothers to help make rooting faster. the more mature the clones you take the better plants they become.
Click to expand...
Ahhhh, so I'm used to seeing a lot of these little trees in pics people post and wasn't aware they were cuttings off mature plants which accounts for the fat ass stems yet only three leaf sets. That helps. Thanks.
 
W

WordUp

Active Member
Metal Halide - MH
Metal halide bulbs produce an abundance of light in the blue spectrum. This color of light promotes plant growth and is excellent for green leafy growth and keeping plants compact. It is the best type of light to be used as a primary light source (if no or little natural sunlight is available). The average lifespan is about 10,000 cumulative hours. The bulb will light up beyond this time but due to the gradual decline of light, it is not worth your while to wait for the bulb to finally burn out. If you compare their lumen (brightness) per unit of energy consumed, metal halides produce up to 125 lumens per watt compared to 39 lumens per watt with fluorescent lights and 18 lumens per watt for standard incandescent bulbs.


High Pressure Sodium - HPS
High pressure sodium bulbs emit an orange-red glow. This band of light triggers hormones in plants to increase flowering/budding in plants. They are the best lights available for secondary or supplemental lighting (used in conjunction with natural sunlight). This is ideal for greenhouse growing applications.

Not only is this a great flowering light, it has two features that make it a more economical choice. Their average lifespan is twice that of metal halides, but after 18,000 hours of use, they will start to draw more electricity than their rated watts while gradually producing less light. HPS bulbs are very efficient. They produce up to 140 lumens per watt. Their disadvantage is they are deficient in the blue spectrum. If a gardener were to start a young plant under a HPS bulb, she/he would see impressive vertical growth. In fact, probably too impressive. Most plants would grow up thin and lanky and in no time you will have to prune your plant back before it grows into the light fixture. The exception to this is using a HPS light in a greenhouse. Sunlight is high in the blue spectrum which would offset any stretching caused by HPS bulbs.

Marijuana Grow Light Guide

​
 
WillieNelson

WillieNelson

Well-Known Member
Nice work abud! My first intoduction to digital ballasts actually came from a major potato chip company. More money than you could imagine goes into research for breeding the perfect potato. I witnessed "you cant eat just one" company, build a $5 million facilitly, just to hire several companies 2 years later to dismantle all indoor growrooms and greenhouses without a trace. The labcoats in charge were hortlux/digital ballast fiends! I was able to save enough digital ballasts from being tossed for my needs throughout the next 10 years easy. And the shame was, more got tossed than you could belive. The only secrets they were concerned about were the oddly designed stainless steel racks used to hold the tubular spuds. The secret of the hortilux/digi combo keeps growing till today. Damn rambling stonertalk....
 
abudsmoker

abudsmoker

Well-Known Member
my only fear with older products is loss of efficency. but free is free and till you want or can spend what you need to get by however you can.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top