Replacement for 400Mh and 600HPS.

So that past few years have been hard, So I did something nice for my self and I started growing again this year.

When i first started, I was growing with a 400MH and a 600HPS (that was some years ago) now that tech seems to be out of fashion. So I did some research (probably in wrong place) because I ended up buying Optics Slim 600H. Don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed with this light but it's not equivalent to the MH and HPS combo. Things I like; heat is far more manageable and powers draw is less. After reading a few threads here, Optics is not very well viewed here but that's okay, because I'm still searching for my perfect light. Optics I feel the light fall off is steep, I'd like to find something with better penetration. I was looking at the spectrum king sk602, but i'm scared to do a search on this site to find all the skeletons. Would you fine folk suggest spectrum king? What other alternatives would you suggest? and why?

Cheers

Glad to hear your starting up again. Are hids not an option? If you ran 600 before don’t forget to check out cmh and de’s too. I came from 400s, 600s and now I’m onto DE after my couple year break. I just can’t pull the trigger on led myself.

SK602 isn't bad but you need some height to use it right. It can't be down close on the canopy. The light emitting area is like 8" sq.

J232 said:

Glad to hear your starting up again. Are hids not an option? If you ran 600 before don’t forget to check out cmh and de’s too. I came from 400s, 600s and now I’m onto DE after my couple year break. I just can’t pull the trigger on led myself.

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Oh we will get you there....

HIDs are but the heat they generate is not... if that makes sense. The grow room is right next to the boiler room, already hot as it is. I have two options, to run a vent to the outside, which sadly, involves maneuvering around a lot of obstacles, or drop more cash on an Air conditioner. It's not off the table, but this has given me an excuse to explore the world of LEDs and what they have to offer. If LEDs fail miserably at satisfying my girls and I feel the need to go back to HIDs, I'll find a new spot for the grow room that has better access to outside air. I have looked into DEs and I am interested in maybe trying them out some day, but time to give LEDs a shot.

You're the most outspoken individual against Optics that I have seen on this site. @Airwalker16 What would you recommend that has a Power Consumption of ballpark 600W?

I would look at the HLG 550 r spec or their new light the 650R. Also Timber Redwood is a good option as well.

Check out @DoubleAtotheRON he has some grow threads using the 550's and he's getting great results. He's just getting started and selecting genetics and he's pulling close to 2 ounces per sqft with room for improvement.

Pseudobotany said:

You're the most outspoken individual against Optics that I have seen on this site. @Airwalker16 What would you recommend that has a Power Consumption of ballpark 600W?

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Depends really on if you want pre built lights, kits, or if you're wanting to save some cash and outsource from Alibaba.
A 4x4 space needs 500watts to do a good job, 600 to crush it.
Your heat will be about 1/3 of what you're dealing with now.
HID bulbs burn at 5-6,000℉ and LEDS don't even get up to 200℉. The drivers usually the culprit for heat most the time and it can be remotely mounted outside a tent or room.

"A watt is a watt is a watt" when it comes to heat. Right @Renfro ?

Some bullshit, I'm tellin ya....

The difference in heat from HID going to LEDs is something an HID purest isn't even ready for. It's unbelievable how little is needed to manage it.

Airwalker16 said:

"A watt is a watt is a watt" when it comes to heat. Right @Renfro ?

Some bullshit, I'm tellin ya....

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As you well know, the thing about HID, especially HPS, is the abundance photons in the infrared wavelength.

Airwalker16 said:

The difference in heat from HID going to LEDs is something an HID purest isn't even ready for. It's unbelievable how little is needed to manage it.

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Yeah like many actually end up adding heat to the equation. My LED tent is in my basement, if it wasn't in my veg room then I am sure I would need some source of heat. As it sits, I have it in my veg room and thats it's lung room. The AC in there keeps things where they need to be and when I start getting bud set in the tent I just drop the veg room RH% a little to keep the tent at 45 - 50%.

With LED we need those warmer temps to make up for the lack of IR, leaf surface temperature wise... All stuff you well know and we hope the OP knows. Trying to run a LED canopy at 79F will cause slow growth but with HPS it's damn good, non CO2 enriched of course. Get that LED canopy up around 85F and boom, metabolism speeds up.

Airwalker16 said:

Oh we will get you there....

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Pls do haha, well maybe not, see how this end up first.

Oh no, I don't need any more heat.... trust me, all i have to do is crack a few valves and I can get that room screaming hot. No, I have the opposite problem. I'll post a few pictures of what I have going on right now. I'm growing a few Blue Ice from Jordan of the Island a BC based breeder. These were some free seeds I got with my order. I threw them into the grow room to see how the grow room would act and identify any flaws and possible issues that I may encounter. So far not bad, I need a bigger fan attached to my carbon filter to help with the heat and humidity. I had a big Vortex fan but god knows where that ended up. I'm looking forward to getting my Trellis net up and getting my next grow going. Next up Blue City Diesel from the same breeder.

Here you go,

Not terrible considering I did next to nothing to these short of throwing them into soil and feeding them once in a while. I also ran into a small nutrition problem. I was very found of GH's General Organics line of nutes but apparently they can no longer be brought into Canada. This is what I had started my grow with and I also started running out so I had to switch nutrients 2 weeks into flowing. Caused me a bunch of issues... Oh well. This was more about the grow room, less about the plant, as you can see I also did almost no trimming either.

As said, light is okay, I think it's good but I'm looking for something with a bit more penetration , maybe cover a slightly larger area.

In regards to the strain they are a classic Haze/ white widow X Blueberry.

In regards to @Airwalker16 I wont order from Alibaba and while i'm capable of doing a DIY light project, I'm not interested in adding more to my list projects. Originally I was debating between the HLG 550 and The one I currently have. I Basically flipped a coin because at the time The 550 and Optics Slim 600H were the same price due to sales. I guess I got hooked by the marketing and presentation.