400w hps grow

This isnt my first grow but it is my first not using fluoro's .. I was also a member here a while back but lost track of my account info..

Anyway right now I'm starting second week of veg under 450 watts of cfl's. about 100w actual. One 300w and one 150w. 3 pots and their on their second node. 24hrs. with a/c keeping it under 80 degrees. No nutes yet , but ill probably use some MG. I forget the name but it worked well last time..

Hydrofarm 400 watt hps...I' probably start running that in about 2 weeks.

Good bag seed, cant find any clones atm, but wanted to get something going. Kinda of scared to order seeds too..Iand I know peeps with that I can get some from just now atm.

Ill get some pics together soon

One week of veg down.. I really need to make a mount/reflector for the cfl's.
No biggie this is just some bagseed, trying to get used to using this hps. Never had one before so this is somewhat of a practice run to get the light dialed in , until I get some clones.

Any way at the moment the I'm running the cfl's 24/7 and the hps for 12hrs to try and control heat. Really, I like the results from cfl veg alone but since this is my first run with a hid, I wanted to see if it would make a difference.

If anyone has any ideas on mounting the cfl's , I'm more than happy for the input.. As of now I'm thinking a 1' by 3' material (wood or foam with relective coating?) Drill Some 1 1/2 in holes and mount the lights. Seems simple and should be effective... I should just buy a fluoro tube and be done but I dont want to.

Or I was thinking a pvc mount.. Something that has a base with a vertical arm that is adjustable. Thats not a very good description. Ill start on it after the football game tonight and post some pics.. It should only take an hour to make one... Pics soon.

heres the mount I made for my cfl's.. and my grow.. I think I'm gonna turn the hps off for a week its getting pretty hot in there..

I was wondering if anyone is from Mich.? Just wondering about the MJ law they passed earlier this year.. Heres the update... Had one get a bit of heat damage.. should pull thru fine tho.. Man! I need some babies!
8 cfls helping my babies grow.. 7 - 100watters and 1 - 150 .. Its the wrong spectrum but it'll due until I get to the store..

Oh ya , the pic of the light coming out the door is just with the cfls on... Really bright... should be about 17,000 lumen's .. 8 X 22?? lumen's...

Ok.. 9 plants total.. 5 starting week 2.. 4 new sprouts.. Hopefully end up with 4-6 girls.. Any suggestions on when I should turn on the hps.. I have it off now bc the cfls are cooler and seem to be getting it done.. Im thinking Ill turn it on when i get my 3rd node.. but any advice is good .. I've never used an HPS before so I'm a little in the dark.

I just read a write up on another forum for DWC buckets> . I think I'm gonna make one this weekend.. Does anyone have any input on whether I may have any luck pulling a plant in soil and transplanting to the hydrotron and the bucket.. Seems like it could be done as long as i tried to minimize root damage.. then maybe even coat them with some RH to perk it up again..?? any thoughts???? anyone done this.. Surely some one has attempted this..

Started nutes a few days ago. 1/4 strength. Really making a difference. I'll get some pictures up later today.

lookin like there off to a good start. u should put something like plastic sheeting over the carpet though, all sorts of things can live in carpets. plus its a lot easier to wipe down and keep clean.

i look forward to seeing them grow.

cool is your hps bulb not a dual spectrum? Many new ones are nowadays

soil transplant to hydro? Actually that would be quite rare

budboxfarmerUK said:

lookin like there off to a good start. u should put something like plastic sheeting over the carpet though, all sorts of things can live in carpets. plus its a lot easier to wipe down and keep clean.

i look forward to seeing them grow.

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Ya was plannning on getting some white plastic sheeting for the whole room. I'm kinda slacker tho.

3lions said:

cool is your hps bulb not a dual spectrum? Many new ones are nowadays

soil transplant to hydro? Actually that would be quite rare

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Idk about the light. I bought it used. I have been veging with the cfls for now. I'm pretty happy with them. Like said earlier i wish I jet bought a fluoro tube. I STill might. As I have another space to use for veg.

nice setup. i just finished my first hps grow after only using floro. same as yours, 400w. big difference and i was using almost 600w of floro before. what i did is i vegged under the cfl and for the last week of veg i used the hps. big time growth on that last week. once you go 12/12 the heat will hopefully be less of an issue. plus it should be cool outside soon. good luck. be excited about the results you are about to get with your new light.

Total Head said:

nice setup. i just finished my first hps grow after only using floro. same as yours, 400w. big difference and i was using almost 600w of floro before. what i did is i vegged under the cfl and for the last week of veg i used the hps. big time growth on that last week. once you go 12/12 the heat will hopefully be less of an issue. plus it should be cool outside soon. good luck. be excited about the results you are about to get with your new light.

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I started veg with the hps today. Is it a good bit better than cfls?

Different ball game altogther

Good.....Im in the ballpark now.

OK here's the pics.... SOrry about the lines aparently hid's dont play friendly with iphone camera's..... any way I have a 2 on their 3rd node ... the other three are lagging a bit But i expected that..

Is your hps bulb mixed with blue spectrum? If it doesn't have enough blue spectrum your plants will stretch alot during vegg. You can get a metal halide bulb for like $30 from home depot but make sure your ballast supports both HPS and MH bulbs.

No.. My bulb is just the standard bulb from HD... I may get a mh since i have seen that you can run a mh in a hps ballast as long as you disconnect/by pass the igniter.