led or hps for me ?

surgedup

Active Member
Hey so im back getting ready to buy my setup lumatek 400w ballast hps/mh setup from igrowhydro.com. How many plants can I grow under a 400w setup 5 to 6 ? like really good yield 4 to 5 ? Also the MH bulb that comes with it should be good at 36,000 lumens to vegetate under ? like 5 to 6 plants ? also lol, I was really thinking about buying a eloofa 90w ufo or htgsupply 90w ufo but after reading theres no way I can grow from start to finish and with decent yields under one of them right ..... I mean I want good yields too so, and I have heard they do not produce thick buds unless you use like 4 or 5 of them so growing 5 or 6 plants under one high output ufo from htgsupply link here http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=52466 and a 90w ufo from eloofa which are very good ufos no ebay crap http://eloofaimports.com/90w-ufo-led-grow-light-triband/ you guys let me know but im pretty sure the 400w hps is gonna seal the deal on high quality dense buds with the amount of plants im trying to grow thanks ....
 

growingforfun

Well-Known Member
Hey so im back getting ready to buy my setup lumatek 400w ballast hps/mh setup from igrowhydro.com. How many plants can I grow under a 400w setup 5 to 6 ? like really good yield 4 to 5 ? Also the MH bulb that comes with it should be good at 36,000 lumens to vegetate under ? like 5 to 6 plants ? also lol, I was really thinking about buying a eloofa 90w ufo or htgsupply 90w ufo but after reading theres no way I can grow from start to finish and with decent yields under one of them right ..... I mean I want good yields too so, and I have heard they do not produce thick buds unless you use like 4 or 5 of them so growing 5 or 6 plants under one high output ufo from htgsupply link here http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=52466 and a 90w ufo from eloofa which are very good ufos no ebay crap http://eloofaimports.com/90w-ufo-led-grow-light-triband/ you guys let me know but im pretty sure the 400w hps is gonna seal the deal on high quality dense buds with the amount of plants im trying to grow thanks ....
1 90 watt led will not give you the same results as a 400 watt hid setup. The foot print of the UFO is too small to cover more then 1 or 2 plants while the hid can cover 4-6 . LEDs can work very well but IMHO you need nearly the same amount of led watts as hid watts for same results.
 

surgedup

Active Member
yeah thought so best bet is my lumatek system im going to buy do those eye hortilux bulbs really make any difference because i plan on buying one do i even need a MH bulb for vegetative if i buy one of those I heard they put out blue spectrum also so.....
 

robside

Active Member
All i can say on this is.................HPS!!! and if you have the money, buy a conversion 400wmh to waork with your HPS. I have digital ballast so i run both.
 

Big H

Member
Digital ballasts are great for all the reasons people say they are, but if you want the absolute best light for your plants the bulbs should be replaced every six months to a year. A 60Hz lamp running on your 22kHz(?) ballast will eventually turn your high pressure sodium into a low pressure sodium (loss in lumens). Sunpulse bulbs are designed for eballasts but they won't yield as much as an HPS of the same wattage. You also need to buy more than one bulb. But, they run much cooler, so if you're growing in a small space you could increase your watts instead of going with a 400 HPS. A 1000 watt sunpulse would outperform a 400 watt HPS. Both are much better than LED's.

Eventually I want to try out the sun pulse spinners, but in the mean time I'll just change my bulbs frequently.
 

robside

Active Member
Dude, if your going to buy the $119.00 400w set-up STOP!!!! dont buy it!! I bought one from HTG back in May of thgis year, (my first grow) after one month of 24 hour on 24/24 i switched to 12/12 for flowering. After 3 days light would not ignite (light) when timer came on. This was a Fri. i called them and they sent another one right out to me, got it on Tues. returned the broke one in their box. Hooked up new light, same 400w $119.00 light. on Tues. night, by fri. that one ALSO would not ignite when timer came on. I called HTG again and was REALLY PISSED this time. They sent me an UPGRADE " DIGITAL BALLIST" Runs HPS and Mh "very NICE!!) Sooooo HTG is a great company when it comes totaking care of their customers, they charged me $0.00 for the upgrade, digital ballist $249.00 old one $119.00. Their a good company BUT that $119.00 400w system is junk!!! Bad igniters in them, (that was told to me by a customer service person on the phone) so be ware!!!
 

obiwon

Member
go with digital there legit and use less energy produce less heat and some of the newer ones have options with them they have dial a watt so if you wanted to go bigger from your 400 you dont have to buy a new ballast just a new bulb and the also have ones that have options on what strenght to run ur bulbs at so when plants are smaller you dont have to run at full juice saving you a couple buck on electricity but if you do go magnetic you will save cach upfront good luck
 

gobbly

Well-Known Member
so much misinformation on led's.

thing is that with led there are serious options. emitters and optics come in hundreds (or maybe thousands) of different configurations, from the cheap ones you see everywhere to very high powered point sources. They certainly are cooler... They do generate heat, but imagine putting your hand on an HID bulb... You could stand on a led fixture all day and the worse you might get is sweaty feet. The nice ones, like what you would be looking to use for indoor plants or photosynthetic corals and anemones, are usually 3-5 times the price of a similar HID system. The only real reason I see people using them is either because heat is a big issue, or because by mixing kelvins you can create unique spectra (unless you know a lot about light, and the spectra requirements of your plants, this is more of a headache than a benefit). They are also more efficient, producing a higher PAR rating at the same electric draw as as an HID would.

edit: and since I just noticed there were 4 more pages I didn't read (lol), don't skimp on reflectors.. A kick ass reflector will be expensive, but can easily make a 400w or even 250w bulb put out the light that a budget 1000w will. Don't think of lights as just a ballast and bulb, the real key to high quality lights are the ballast and reflectors. The sockets are cheap, and usually stock bulbs are too (I replace mine on new fixtures and keep the stock lamps for backups).
 

surgedup

Active Member
im getting a econowing reflector from igrowhydro i plan on using some reflective mylar to increase the light output
 

surgedup

Active Member
anyone know any better deals on a digital setup than igrowhydro im getting 400w lumatek ballast econowing reflector a metal halide and hps bulb plus reflector hanging kit all for 250 thats with shipping ....... if anyone knows any better deals or any other websites that can beat that let me know thanks....
 
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