Has anyone used a Sun System 250 watt hps? I am going to start my first grow in January and I am still deciding on lighting. I have a medical card and I can have 3 plants in flower and 3 in veg at any time. I am going to build 2 seperate "cabinets" for flower/veg. I am only focused on the veg cabinet now, until I get this figured out a lil better. I don't need to worry too much about stealth. I have a note from the doc. I am going to buy a cabinet/locker of some sort from a hardware store. I'm lookin at approx. 30inches by 24inches, 18inches by 36inches, or something close that fits my budget. I can only have 3 plants in veg at one time so I dont need much space. Height is not an issue. I have approx 6 and a half vertical feet to work with.
My main questions are...
1.Is the Sun System 250watt HPS gonna be too hot in there? It has the ballast and light build into one piece. I understand I need to ventilate. I intend to use a 4inch in-line duct fan to suck air from the light, one more intake fan, a circulation fan and a few air holes. The Light also has a glass pane between the light and plants to keep the heat confined.

2. Is the 250 watt light over kill for this space? Would the 150watt version be easier to cool and still provide enough lumens for 3 plants without adding cfl's?
If I need to add cfl's Im gonna stick with a 250w light.

Any help will be appreciated. I am very new at this!

Thanks for your patience and help new friends!

Irie Rasta!

[QUOTE=Irie Rasta Ganja Farmer;3360419]Has anyone used a Sun System 250 watt hps? I am going to start my first grow in January and I am still deciding on lighting. I have a medical card and I can have 3 plants in flower and 3 in...
dear irie,
i've used a 150 watt hps for starting sprouts with some veggin with good results.then i got a 400w mh that showed even better results.but with a cost of heat issues.so then i went to the 1000w hps and never looked back.so now i start off the grow with a 400 mh and a week later i add a 1000w hps 1400 watts total.and the electric bill is nothing compaired to the vigorous growth i get.with good seeds,and decent soil and all kinds of other shit, 3 clones in flower and 3 in veg ibet you could pull out a few ozs. a month no sweat.250 watter for mother and rooting clones,a 400 watter for veg. and a 1000 watter for flower. i don't know.if you have a total of 6 plants.1 mother,3 clones in veg.2 clones in flower.you cull out the smallest. i think 3 month cycles would work with an early strain.me i would grow 3 monster plants to finnish while 3 others were in veg.and i'd use bigger lamps for flowering. plan#2: you could buy 3 clones and veg for awhile under the 250w and then move them to flower under a 1000w hps and buy 3 more for veg.16/8 to18/6 lights on/off fot the veg. and 12/12 for flower of course. alot of variables are unknown.#2 would be my plan of attack at first.you'll find what works good for you,but i hope these senarios.helps you out some.good luck.

I own this same system, the 250W provides the best for smaller spaces I feel. You can't really do much in the future with a 150W if you decide to change your grow setup. Are you talking about the 250W with the conversion so you can switch from MH to HPS? If so, it's a good buy!

I don't ventilate the light at all. What I do is have an exhaust in my grow that works great. It pushing all the air out of the grow closet creates a negative pressure causing fresh air to get sucked right into the grow.

I have no heat issues at all with this setup.

Dude. Thank you for a straight forward and usefull reply! I am sold. The 250 is the way to go!
Do you have any pics of your setup?

good start ganja farmer....welcome to riu... nice to see a new medi-grower in colorado. grew nugs in aspen and gwood for quite some time...

as far as your plants i would go with a couple 400 watt digital mh/hps ballast. and considering the medical laws i would veg for at least 8 weeks b/f flowering. but you'll do fine with a 250 as well.

look into a perpetual grow... have a mother plant, a new clone cutting, a cutting one month into veg, a fresh vegged plant into flowering, a plant 1 month into flowering, and a plant 2 months into flowering. 3 in veg, 3 in flower.

thats how i would roll, prob a 400 mH for veg cab, and 600hps for flower cab, def pull a nice head stash every month.

feel free to check my journal

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PainWrek Current 2000watt GrowLab 5strains
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...ueberry-o.html

Thanks for the words PW! I gotta keep things simple. I am very new at this. I'm gonna start with the 250 watt mini cab, start 3 clones from a dispensary and learn as I grow. After I get the basics figured out and I cut down my monthly medicine bill I can add the second mini cab for a vegg box and a seperate flower box. Once I find a strain that I play nicely with and suits my medicinal needs I will get the timing of a perpetual cycle figured out. I really only need about 2 ounces of smokable herb each month to keep me medicated and pain free. I can use the trim for tinctures and cooking to supplement between crops. Of course 3 ounces a month wouldn't be a problem...
If anybody comes across a deal on a 250 watt HPS please send it my way!
Keep it IRIE!

3 plants... hey i say this to yu!
Buy a Cooltube light, 250w hps with cooltube, then you dont have to worry about heat question. and second buy a 400w hps with cooltube too, this will gonna go in your flowering room.

check those cooltube packs and lights.

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Greenwood village? That's where I'm at nigga!

Yo, TOOKIE! I'm a lil bit south of you. 100 miles down 25. Lovin' the Cotton Candy all over the place!!!

seriously if you have not yet purchased do some more research and look at CERAMIC METAL HALIDE (stick with the phillips bulb)
google it

this 250 watt light out performs 400 watt hps (follow some grows) and can be used in both veg and flower, bulb is cheaper and gives off alot less heat (you can touch it, like a cfl)

ignore haters and take a lok, you'll see what I mean

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Nutes on a Budget