Is 1000 watt HPS overkill in 4X4 tent?

ComfortCreator said:

I think with unlimited budget, special controllers for sunrise, sunset, uvb and such, yes LED could be superior.

But LED has no infrared or uv in almost all fixtures...so HPS still does have unique qualities at a bargain price.

Did people really steal street lights in the earlier days...???

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The newest builds from even cheap mfgs like mars hydro have IR and UV bulbs built in. It’s one of the benefits of buying their and other custom silicon boards instead of pure lm301x boards. But, you pay for it.

Also urge everyone to consider USD vs CAD when comparing prices. Prices aren’t that much worse up here, but the exchange rate is different. Still a little higher.

I run 560w of LEDs in a 4x4 and struggle keeping temps up... however I could have bought 2x 1000w setups with what it cost.

getogrow said:

Back in those days it would cost 1500 bucks for a 1000 watt setup , so yes we used to steal street lights instead. Not proud of it at all but thats what we did.

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My first indoor grow setup. Ordered out of High Times. Supposedly a hydroponic set was actually a cat litter box, a bag of red barbecue grill lava, a cheap ass aquarium pump and this 400 watt HPS street light. Magnetic ballast almost gave the UPS guy a hernia. The reflector was round, white and the same thing that hung over streets. This was 1980. What a rip off.

hotrodharley said:

My first indoor grow setup. Ordered out of High Times. Supposedly a hydroponic set was actually a cat litter box, a bag of red barbecue grill lava, a cheap ass aquarium pump and this 400 watt HPS street light. Magnetic ballast almost gave the UPS guy a hernia. The reflector was round, white and the same thing that hung over streets. This was 1980. What a rip off.

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What was the name of it? I remember the grow box kits and at the time it seemed so cool. They were advertised in High Times constantly.

Up til now with 4x4 tents I have been vegging at 600 and flowering at 1000 but it really is too much in the summer so I just upgraded to LED COBs (Redwood-VS). So I think you'll be ok most of the year depending on where you live.

hotrodharley said:

My first indoor grow setup. Ordered out of High Times. Supposedly a hydroponic set was actually a cat litter box, a bag of red barbecue grill lava, a cheap ass aquarium pump and this 400 watt HPS street light. Magnetic ballast almost gave the UPS guy a hernia. The reflector was round, white and the same thing that hung over streets. This was 1980. What a rip off.

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At least you didn't buy one of the 6 sided plastic cases they were selling that looked like you could grow a single small plant in

hotrodharley said:

My first indoor grow setup. Ordered out of High Times. Supposedly a hydroponic set was actually a cat litter box, a bag of red barbecue grill lava, a cheap ass aquarium pump and this 400 watt HPS street light. Magnetic ballast almost gave the UPS guy a hernia. The reflector was round, white and the same thing that hung over streets. This was 1980. What a rip off.

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ol buddy of mine bought that "kit" for like 2500 bucks ish. We had an old hydro store south of us and they didnt mind charging. I went down there to get 2 1000w bulbs in the late 90's , i think i spent 350 ish on 2 street light bulbs. (with a nice cartoon logo on the box)

DaFreak said:

At least you didn't buy one of the 6 sided plastic cases they were selling that looked like you could grow a single small plant in

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Dude, I just left one of those at the transfer station. Helped this tightwad move last year. He asked if I grew. For pay he gave me one of those in the box! I had never seen one. I determined it to be a waste of space and left it for the dump.

ComfortCreator said:

What was the name of it? I remember the grow box kits and at the time it seemed so cool. They were advertised in High Times constantly.

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I can’t remember but I sure was hyped before I opened it. It was a lot smaller than I had thought it would be.

DaFreak said:

At least you didn't buy one of the 6 sided plastic cases they were selling that looked like you could grow a single small plant in

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I got one of those from someone years ago. They traded it to me for some weed. Thing was a worthless piece of junk. Had those 4 pin u shaped dulux 40 watt fluorescent lights. I parted out the ballasts and bulbs, busted the rest up and tossed it in the trash. In fact I still have the ballasts and actually rigged them up recently to start some vegetable starts for the garden.

Yeah, those are the ones. I thought they were called secret garden or something. Used to be in all the mags.

The piece of junk I had was a Phototron. I didn't buy it. I think they were selling them for around $700. The Secret Garden is another worthless piece of junk. They want $1000 for a small box with a couple computer fans, Mars TS600 , a few bottles of Advanced Nutrients and some other junk.



Phototron

lol, that is freaking awesome. That is the one. HEEEERB. I so much want to call that place and record it ala Cookie Puss

I wanted a phototron years ago.

Had to call like three different numbers and hear the propaganda before they would tell you the price. And it was high. Was 400 back then

Well space age design doesn't come cheap

xtsho said:

The piece of junk I had was a Phototron. I didn't buy it. I think they were selling them for around $700. The Secret Garden is another worthless piece of junk. They want $1000 for a small box with a couple computer fans, Mars TS600 , a few bottles of Advanced Nutrients and some other junk.



Phototron

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Damn, that's definitely one potential issue with going for "all the new latest stuff" and with what's trendy, you can get gouged for garbage lol. When I first started about 25 years ago, MH and HPS were the way, and it seems like they are still a top option today, so sometimes it's better to go with what's proven for a "re-beginner" like me. I couldn't believe the proliferation of "suboptimal" LEDs on the market(I think most of them are) and their totally dishonest marketing among other products like xtsho posted lol. A fool and their money are soon...

I have 1000 watt hps in a 4x4 and I’m doing screen or green method I let them grow for about 60 days tucked when needed on the first net then I put a second bet about a foot from the first one and started tucking there as needed. I’m in my second week of flowering and everything been going great

I would look at getting a 315 Watt CMH. I love mine so far, and a lot less heat than HPS. Natural light, my plants love the light. I have also read that 315 is equal to a 400-600 watt HPS so might be worth looking into. 1 week into flower right now.

cryptogrow420 said:

I would look at getting a 315 Watt CMH. I love mine so far, and a lot less heat than HPS. Natural light, my plants love the light. I have also read that 315 is equal to a 400-600 watt HPS so might be worth looking into. 1 week into flower right now.

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Might want to do a little research on that.
While CMH is a little more efficient than HPS, especially lower wattage fixtures, there isn't that much of a difference.

cryptogrow420 said:

I have also read that 315 is equal to a 400-600 watt HPS

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Be careful about where you read things from, and be more careful about using it as advice unless you've verified the information. This is how falsities start.

Also, 400-600W is a very big range. Which is it comparable to? A 400W HPS? Or a 600W HPS?

Smells like unfair, manipulating marketing bullshit speak to me.

400watt hps is more light then a 315 watt cmh. i think cmh is a slightly better overall spectrum and hps has more reds.