Would a 150w HPS be a useful for my CFL setup at all?

Howdy. My journal with my current setup is in my sig.

But I'm currently using 6 23watt CFLS, and I have recently purchased the materials to double that and add another 6 23watt CFLs. Of course I want to get the most yield I can out of my grow.

So would adding say a 150 watt CFL to the top of my box somewhere,instead of adding the additional 6 CFLs I was planning on be better for my yield?

So in total I would have six CFLs and the one 150watt hps.

I don't want to really move to a 400watt HPS really due to power consumption.

If so where is a good place to order from for the 150watt hps?

Thanks,
Pelt

Also, if this is feasible, I have no problem purchasing all the items necessary from home depot or some place to build one myself, bulb, socket, ballast, fan, and lover. Any tutorials of this would be appreciated too.

pelt1 said:

Howdy. My journal with my current setup is in my sig.

But I'm currently using 6 23watt CFLS, and I have recently purchased the materials to double that and add another 6 23watt CFLs. Of course I want to get the most yield I can out of my grow.

So would adding say a 150 watt CFL to the top of my box somewhere,instead of adding the additional 6 CFLs I was planning on be better for my yield?

So in total I would have six CFLs and the one 150watt hps.

I don't want to really move to a 400watt HPS really due to power consumption.

If so where is a good place to order from for the 150watt hps?

Thanks,
Pelt

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Hell yeah add the hps.Htg supply has a 150 watt for 69 dollars and the 400 they have is 119.The power consumption is not really much adds only 20-30 dollars to my bill and thats high

How can u make new postsss? thanks

wyteberrywidow said:

Hell yeah add the hps.Htg supply has a 150 watt for 69 dollars and the 400 they have is 119.The power consumption is not really much adds only 20-30 dollars to my bill and thats high

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So you're saying the difference in consumption from the 150 to the 400 is $30 on your bill?

-----edit------
I see it was an additional 30 to your bill before you started growing with your 400watt. Saw your journal.

Also.... Honestly I am kinda debating now, and kind of have an affinity to CFLs because they are the successful under dog to the other more common methods. At the moment my current power usage with my 6 cfls is 138watts. Adding another 6 put me at 276watts. I could ditch the cfls all together and go with say a 250watt hps.

Or I could do like I originally planned and mix the two. Just weighing my options here. Any input is appreciated greatly!!!

Yes.... ANY light you can add to a CFL setup will be beneficial.

Jess91 said:

How can u make new postsss? thanks

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Go to what forum you want to post it at and make new thread if thats what you are asking.

You could get a 250w HPS and leave the 6 CFLs where they are? That'd give some decent plants on a small scale.

pelt1 said:

So you're saying the difference in consumption from the 150 to the 400 is $30 on your bill?

-----edit------
I see it was an additional 30 to your bill before you started growing with your 400watt. Saw your journal.

Also.... Honestly I am kinda debating now, and kind of have an affinity to CFLs because they are the successful under dog to the other more common methods. At the moment my current power usage with my 6 cfls is 138watts. Adding another 6 put me at 276watts. I could ditch the cfls all together and go with say a 250watt hps.

Or I could do like I originally planned and mix the two. Just weighing my options here. Any input is appreciated greatly!!!

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It only adds 30 more dollars to my bill using the 400 watt.
I would say if you can get the 250 and still use cfls for side lighting.Either way you go should workout fine for you good luck.

Pelt1, you really have to decide what you want to do, i was in the same boat as you! I ran 12 23w cfl and they worked great in my small cab but i got a 150 and it works a lot better! Can you tell me what size box you have and can you also tell me what kind of sockets you have for your cfl's. How many plants are you trying to grow? If you run 12 23w cfl and the 150 then that total will be 426 actual watts but a 400w HPS would actually cost you less in electricity...

dsnutts said:

Pelt1, you really have to decide what you want to do, i was in the same boat as you! I ran 12 23w cfl and they worked great in my small cab but i got a 150 and it works a lot better! Can you tell me what size box you have and can you also tell me what kind of sockets you have for your cfl's. How many plants are you trying to grow? If you run 12 23w cfl and the 150 then that total will be 426 actual watts but a 400w HPS would actually cost you less in electricity...

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Good questions. Here is the skinny. Initially I wanted to just grow with one cabinet with 2 plants. Now I have decided that I want a bit more.

So my plans are to use my main grow box, which has a height of 29, a width of 33 and depth of approx 13 inches of usable space..... as a flowering chamber. With those extra CFLs I wont be using, I plan on putting those into a simple grow box I am going to be making to use for clonging/pre-vegging. I'm literally gonna just make a box, put two PC fans in it, and suspend the drop lighting I create from my cfls. Gonna be a really simple box made from mostly cardboard with a few pieces of wood.

In my current box, I have two gallon pots, which take up an enourmous amount of space due to the shape and can only fit two in my main box. I am going to replace these with several grow bags which are taller, but will allow me to fit up to 6 of these EASILY in that space.

So my plan is to start sort of a perpetual grow with clones taken from larger plants in the main space. Initially my main space will just have the two plants. But I plan on topping both of those once they get some size and using those for the first two clones. And eventually when the two main plants get larger, grab a clone or two from the bottom. So I will have between 2-4 plants in the vegging chamber, and up 6 in my main chamber.

Btw the sockets for my cfls are just standard plastic type, not any ceramic or anything.

I appreciate all you guys that responded. I think I have come to a decision here. I spoke with the guys at HTG, and they even recommended the 150watt based on my space.

So I am gonna go with that and keep the 6 CFLs I have in there. Then make my other box that will house the other 6 CFLs. This should be fun!!!

I have to second that.

you'll be surprised at how much it will help by simply adding a 150HPS to your setup.

When I first started growing.. I only had CFL lights. So I was stuck using those by themselves.. with no HPS or MH. I only grow (I don't sell) for my own personal usage.. so I never grow more than 3 (max) plants per grow. I had a total of 350 to 375 watts of CFL lights.. but my curiosity got the best of me.. and I wanted to see what kind of results I would achieve if I were to add just one 150watt HPS to my setup.

So, as of right now.. I've got 350watts of CFL lights.. which are used for side lighting ONLY.. and the 150watt HPS is mounted above for top lighting for the tops of my plants. My first grow after adding the one 150watt HPS.. the harvest was almost double that of what I was yielding with using only CFL bulbs. But I didn't stop there.. I decided to buy one more 150watt HPS. It too is mounted above the plants for top lighting of the canopy. Needless to say.. I average (strain depending) but I do average around 2.5 to 3 ounces each grow.

Total, I have 300watts for the tops of the plants... and then I have the 350 to 375 watts of CFL lights, which are mounted vertically next to the plants for excellent side lighting. Believe it or not.. side lighting helps out tremendously. More than you would think really..

anyhow, I'm still using that current lighting setup.. only thing I changed.. was with one of the HPS lights. I still use both HPS lamps.. however.. I bought one 'Dual Spectrum' bulb and put it in one of the HPS lamps. That, alone.. just the bulb.. has helped out tremendously as well. More than I thought it would.

Anyhow.. just thought I would share my current setup. And sure, I'm not running 2k or 5k.. or even 10kwatts like some people do. But then again.. I think that has also attributed to me never being caught growing. With my current lighting setup.. I draw a minimum amount of amps/electricity and that helps keep any attention from the electric company at bay. But then again.. I also don't need to run that many watts since I never grow more than 3 plants per grow. My setup is perfect for my needs.. it gets the job done.. and provides me with enough smoke at each harvest to last me a good month or two.

anyhow, time for my wake-N-bake.

peace.

pelt1 said:

I appreciate all you guys that responded. I think I have come to a decision here. I spoke with the guys at HTG, and they even recommended the 150watt based on my space.

So I am gonna go with that and keep the 6 CFLs I have in there. Then make my other box that will house the other 6 CFLs. This should be fun!!!

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Yeah you will def like the hps.Good luck