another light question

Im trying to get my room setup for a grow inside, but got stuck on the lighting. Im planning on 2 dual spectrum vegetative and flowering bulbs each to start the grow, then add a 1000W MH bulb for the later stage. I noticed that the bases of the MH bulbs were much bigger than regular bulbs. So what do you have to use to be able to use these? Or do they make these bulbs with the regular sized base somewhere?
Also, when the time comes, can you simply add the MH bulb to the existing setup or does it replace the vegitative/flowering bulbs? Thanks for any help

You got alot more reading to do before you start.Grow light have to have thier own ballast.So a single light requires a bulb, ballast, reflector, power cord, mogul socket and a cord from ballast to socket (the bigger ligh socket you talk about).You dontr just get a grow bulb and put it in a house bulb outlet unless you like fire and hot shards of glass.MH is the first bulbs you use for veh then go to hps for flowering.You have to have specific ballasts for each mh or hps bulb.A 1000 watt ballast for 1 1000 watt bulb or 1 ballast for 1 400 watt bulb. No interchanging bulb wattage either ie no 250 watt bulb in a 1000 watt ballast and no 1000 watt bulb in a 400 watt ballast..Read up your not ready yet.Good luck

FilthyFletch said:

You got alot more reading to do before you start.Grow light have to have thier own ballast.So a single light requires a bulb, ballast, reflector, power cord, mogul socket and a cord from ballast to socket (the bigger ligh socket you talk about).You dontr just get a grow bulb and put it in a house bulb outlet unless you like fire and hot shards of glass.MH is the first bulbs you use for veh then go to hps for flowering.You have to have specific ballasts for each mh or hps bulb.A 1000 watt ballast for 1 1000 watt bulb or 1 ballast for 1 400 watt bulb. No interchanging bulb wattage either ie no 250 watt bulb in a 1000 watt ballast and no 1000 watt bulb in a 400 watt ballast..Read up your not ready yet.Good luck

Click to expand...

Yeah that's pretty much it.Aso you can buy a 1000w HPS ballast/hood/fixture and buy an HPS bulb + an MH conversion bulb.THe conversion bulbs are made to work with an HPS ballast.As Fletch said, you should probably read up on lighting ( and electrical safety!), exhaust/fan systems , feeding/watering..all that stuff.Plan it out.Read up.Ask questions BEFORE you spend money.

Good luck man.

Thanks guys. I guess I got a little ahead of myself. I always have a harder time learning from reading rather than actually doing it. But I guess if the case in this trial and error is fire and shit like that, I gotta focus quite a bit more. Damn, I guess the only thing I do know right now is I love weed and hate to read. But I'll get on it. Thanks again

Well, if you want to learn the basics quickly, why not visit your local hydro shop? The shop workers are there to answer all of your questions, and they know about the products you need to use.

HTH

FilthyFletch said:

You got alot more reading to do before you start.Grow light have to have thier own ballast.So a single light requires a bulb, ballast, reflector, power cord, mogul socket and a cord from ballast to socket (the bigger ligh socket you talk about).You dontr just get a grow bulb and put it in a house bulb outlet unless you like fire and hot shards of glass.MH is the first bulbs you use for veh then go to hps for flowering.You have to have specific ballasts for each mh or hps bulb.A 1000 watt ballast for 1 1000 watt bulb or 1 ballast for 1 400 watt bulb. No interchanging bulb wattage either ie no 250 watt bulb in a 1000 watt ballast and no 1000 watt bulb in a 400 watt ballast..Read up your not ready yet.Good luck

Click to expand...

hey man you can put a 600w bulb in a 1000w ballist just ask your hydro shop when you buy your shit ... well i know that mine can and i can put a MH im my HPS ballist and i can change my ballist from 120 to 240 but you are right you cant put a 400 into a 1000

Any hydro shop guy that tells you such shit should be shot. he's just trying to sell you more lamps!

Bulb and ballast wattages MUST match. Even if you could run a 600 in a 1000 you'd only get 600 watts of light BEFORE it BLOWS UP. I've seen it happen...it isn't pretty. Hot shards of glass melting all they come in contact with. (really cool looing on shag carpet..but impossible to clean up once the glass cools and become PART OF THE CARPET.

the only exception to the above is that there are digital ballasts out now that will sense the wattage of the lamp as it fires and will adjust the levels to match the bulb. You can also switch MH and HPS in some digitals. The only mag/coil/conventional ballasts you can safely do that to are called "switchable" ballasts.

ok whatever man i have done it all the time 600w ito a 1000 ballast the only thing you have to do is keep the light cool and you will be fine and for the MH into a HPS ballast all you have to do is take the starter off the ballast and it will work fine if you dont take the starter off you will have a problem with to much heat and the bulb will not last as long like i said ask your hydro shop they wouldn't tell you you could do it if there trying to sell you more shit if it wasn't true then yha they would say no you cant do it right if a 1000w bulb is rated for 1400w then a 600w will be rated for close to a 1000w so if you have a serg yes the bulb would blow up but if you have a serg protector you will be fine

go to home depot by a couple 100 watt hps lamps. they are easy to wire and safe. green to green white to white blacck to black, wire cap em some electrical tape and grow a couple plants. then add from there. dont spend like 8 billion dollars on your first grow. my problem when i started was trying to do to much and i ended up with a house full of shit i didnt end up using. but then again im hard core a.d.d. someone normal could have used all the shit i bought. im sure. but for some reason i went back to basics. just lights dirt and seeds. i had better results. over the grows youll get to see what works and what doesnt. like when we all started and burned the shit out of our plants using too much nutes. good luck. and thank god for websites like this