250w HPS Club And Help Guide

Mister Black

Active Member
Hi folks. I'm a CFL grower and I think I have a growing situation where I can now benefit from HPS lighting set up.

My set up is Secret Jardain 24inch x 24inch x 60 inch grow tent . I have exhaust fan with ducting on the top and A/C inlet ducting in at a lower level.

Have a couple of questions......

High temps are a real issue for me but I'm finding with all the CFL bulbs I have to use to get enough lumens it is plenty hot already I might as well use a HPS bulb cos it is a lot easier than fiddling around with multiple bulbs, chains, hooks, adjusting positions of a bunch of bulbs at get them 2-4 inches away as well as the spaghetti of wires this creates.

This is the one I'm thinking of buying

http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk/categories/Grow-Lights/Grow-Light-Systems/Euro-Grow-Light/

Is this a good one to look at for entry level? Will it be easy to hang using hooks and chains from the ceiling of my small grow tent?

I'm looking at the whole package including bulb (sunmaster dual spectrum) by the way.

Is there one out there that will run significantly cooler than this one? For me cooler is always better.

Are there some basic rules for using HPS I should need to know?

Read the very top of this thread which talked about distance from plants and heard that one should only water with the HPS light off. Any more 'cardinal' rules I should know about?

The lighting package comes with ballast. Should I know anything more about using a light with ballast or is it just a case of 'plug and play'?

Any pointers would be appreciated. Quite excited and a little nervous about switching to HPS but I think it could be a good move cos I want to do 12/12's from seed and I think CFL's are not suited to that method of growing really.
 

ace720

Active Member
whats up BLACK you on the right track, i have the same tent you have so you will be good with a 250.
its some a LOT cheaper on ebay tho(with both bulbs HPS&MH). all the HPS run about the same temp
so dont worry about that but the MH is a lil cooler. i dont know of any rules to using the hps but
i dont know anywhere ner all either. you can feed anytime (i do it as soon as the lights come on
an im ok).yes the ballast is plug in and go, cant tell you about the yoyo things i been using this thing
for a year 1/2 now and i still dont have mine right.
hope i helped some im sure someone can add a lot more. oh and if your gonna ues an AC you "shlod"
be ok with temps . i dont have an AC an i think im doing ok. my temps stay about 91 tho lol
im happy with what i get at the end so its all good


BEST OF LUCK WITH YA GROWING TO :)
 

RCgrowerman

Active Member
I have the exact same tent and find that it is too small for a 250 to run at optimal efficiency, but it does serve its purpose none the less.
Read the first post on this thread to get general info to get you started so that we don't flood repetitive information that you can easily
access.
 

brettsog

Well-Known Member
i would nip to the hardware shop and get a small chain and 2 metal clip hooks. few pennies spent and much easier to work with than yoyo's lol. pain in the arse plastic shittty things
 

Hettyman

Well-Known Member
i would nip to the hardware shop and get a small chain and 2 metal clip hooks. few pennies spent and much easier to work with than yoyo's lol. pain in the arse plastic shittty things
Word!!! I've never used easy rollers, much prefer solutions like this, feel stronger and more industrial
 

ActionHanks

Well-Known Member
Got my new set up running and everything is looking smooth. Idk if anyone remembers, but I just upgraded from being a noob to a novice lol. Going to be starting up my 3rd run with a dimmable 250 soon, its at 175 watts right now. I also just moved from the gulf/atlantic coast up to the Canadian border. Temperatures are not an issue up here, i can get used to this shit. Pics up tonight :-P
 

ace720

Active Member
Got my new set up running and everything is looking smooth. Idk if anyone remembers, but I just upgraded from being a noob to a novice lol. Going to be starting up my 3rd run with a dimmable 250 soon, its at 175 watts right now. I also just moved from the gulf/atlantic coast up to the Canadian border. Temperatures are not an issue up here, i can get used to this shit. Pics up tonight :-P
glad to hear you like the move,and we love pics here. lol
 

RCgrowerman

Active Member
016.jpg017.jpg

New tent just setup =) 32*32*63 much closer to where I wanted to be as far as space.
The girls will be much more happy now that they can actually breathe a bit.
 

RCgrowerman

Active Member
002.jpg
My little guardian taking out a pest that was messing with the girls. We
knew there were spiders since the start, but this is the first encounter.
They have taken advantage of the free bugs and protection from the
elements. I really do love nature :eyesmoke:
 

10acjed

Active Member
I have 10 in my box, well probably 7 by now as I see one now and then walking around in the room. Only bug issue I have is gnats recently, may do a little neem this weekend if I see them...

One of my girls is looking rough, think I really messed her up, all the leaves are brown n crispy. Was thinking she would be ready by now, but its not so Im just letting it go and hoping for the best.
Picked a little nug off the bottom of the one I chopped last week, tasting a little better, but still needs another week.

This is my other one, still going. Starting to get cloudy, but still some clear and no amber yet so she is going another week.
Figuring monday will be 9 weeks of flower, should be a 8 - 10 week strain....

IMG_1608.jpgIMG_1606.jpg
IMG_1605.jpgIMG_1603.jpg
IMG_1602.jpgIMG_1601.jpg
 

Hettyman

Well-Known Member
One of my girls is looking rough, think I really messed her up, all the leaves are brown n crispy. Was thinking she would be ready by now, but its not so Im just letting it go and hoping for the best.
Picked a little nug off the bottom of the one I chopped last week, tasting a little better, but still needs another week.
lol you think they look, bad, they look pretty tasty to me...check this out, now they are some sick ladies :(

Glad you are getting a nicer flavour though, and being patient enough to wait a little longer
 

Dr. Kundilini

Well-Known Member
I have 10 in my box, well probably 7 by now as I see one now and then walking around in the room. Only bug issue I have is gnats recently, may do a little neem this weekend if I see them...

One of my girls is looking rough, think I really messed her up, all the leaves are brown n crispy. Was thinking she would be ready by now, but its not so Im just letting it go and hoping for the best.
Picked a little nug off the bottom of the one I chopped last week, tasting a little better, but still needs another week.

This is my other one, still going. Starting to get cloudy, but still some clear and no amber yet so she is going another week.
Figuring monday will be 9 weeks of flower, should be a 8 - 10 week strain....

View attachment 2332471View attachment 2332470
View attachment 2332469View attachment 2332468
View attachment 2332467View attachment 2332466
Beautiful 10acjed, looking frostylecious!!
 

Doobieus

Well-Known Member
:shock: Hey clubbers it's been awhile, been absent but busy.

So a well due update....

I'm running SoG this time around, 6 BW in bloom, 6 more BW going into bloom on the 15th to start perpetual. Also have 3 mothers now, and switched my tents around. The line up is BW, NLxBB, and BBG.

The strain in the pics is BW, (Blue widow for the newer members). They are about 3 1/2 weeks, so I figured to share. Only bloom pics, because well.... veg is boring lol.

DSCN4741.jpgDSCN4736.jpgDSCN4739.jpgDSCN4735.jpgDSCN4725.jpg

:bigjoint:
 

10acjed

Active Member
'sup 10acjed, they look ready to me. I'd chop 'em if i was you

Did that with the first one, thinking it looked ready... Turned out loose fluffy and lacking in taste...

Everyone says watch the trichs... I see no amber and plenty of clear... So I am waiting..
Pretty discouraging to have a jar full of fresh bud in the closet now that taste and smell like fresh lawn clippings...... Only saving grace is its gives a nice uplifting head high...

Maybe Im just spoiled and expecting too much from 250W....
lol you think they look, bad, they look pretty tasty to me...check this out, now they are some sick ladies :(

Glad you are getting a nicer flavour though, and being patient enough to wait a little longer
Yeah those pics are the healtier one... Ill take some of the other this weekend.

I have the lower half of the first one I cut that tastes blah, so I cut a little bud off it tuesday am, it was probably dry by yesterday afternoon. Still smells and tastes a little "green" but its better that the ones I cut of last week. Trichs are clear/cloudy. No amber yet...
 

Doobieus

Well-Known Member
Did that with the first one, thinking it looked ready... Turned out loose fluffy and lacking in taste...

Everyone says watch the trichs... I see no amber and plenty of clear... So I am waiting..
Pretty discouraging to have a jar full of fresh bud in the closet now that taste and smell like fresh lawn clippings...... Only saving grace is its gives a nice uplifting head high...

Maybe Im just spoiled and expecting too much from 250W....
Don't believe breeder times unless you start the timing from the first bud set, which is usually around 2-2.5 weeks into bloom. This is why a general rule of thumb is whatever the breeder time is, add two weeks. That way you get a hell of a lot closer to a finished plant. Now this doesn't always work as there are different phenos in strains yada yada, but it'll get you closer to where you want to be as far as finishing times are concerned.

Not sure what you're working with as far as soil/hydro, setup etc. However I'll help as much as I can if you give me some info.
 
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