Buying HPS from HTGsupply, what bulb?

I am planning on buying a HPS light from HTGsupply.com. I was just getting ready to order it when I saw the multiple upgrades. which ones are worth the money? should i get the bulb upgrade to an agromax or is the regular fine? here the web adress if you wanna check it out High Tech Garden Supply

I used the default bulb that came with it, and is working like a champ

Ditto. Got the 150. Plants love it

I got my Digis from HTG and I like them both VERY much!

I found that the bulb comes with them has a tendency to burn out quickly...they were giving a free bulb with light kits not long ago. Better get a backup in case the original fails on ya

man im still using the default bulb.2 harvests later and its still going.

the cooltube is worth upgrading as it really helps keep the heat down.
as for upgrading the bulb. hes almost always out of the growbright bulbs and alwlays upgrades to the agromax when he is. so dont upgrade it and im betteing you get upgraded or either the bulb on the ballast without paying .
i got both my lamps and my ballast upgraded for free cuz he didnt have the growbright in stock.

the reg bulb w/cooltube is great

i still use the reg buld they have a very long life span. keep it cool and you should be ok.

Cooltubes are not great, they are one of the less reflective and efficient air cooled hoods available. Go with something more efficient with a conventional design and a hinged door.

How do cool tube owners clean the inside of the glass when it gets dusty? Annnnoyyyying......

As for the upgrades def go with the default growbright bulb. I use em, they are awesome, and if you ever want to upgrade you can compare the two.

i just unscrew it and take off da glass done in like 5 mins...
so what do you mean?

The difference with stoners between 5 seconds (unhinge and wipe, close (with the light on)) and 5 minutes (turn off light, wait to cool, get toolkit, unscrew and remove the glass (carefull!!) wipe down and return, rescrew, turn on.

Plus in the indoor guide to marijuana horticulture (I think) cervantez compares reflector hoods and says the cooltube reflects less light downward then conventional hoods like the easycool and supernova.

The bigger hoods seem like they provide space for air allowing more heat absorbtion. The advantages of the cooltube would be space mostly, and requiring less CFMs to exhaust properly.

Cool tubes suck!! The reflector feels like its made out of aluminum foil and they don't reflect like for shit.

THe only reason you would want a cool tube is if you couldn't fit a regular air cooled hood in there.

I would suggest buying just the ballast kit and bulb from HTG and getting a good hood on ebay. You can get the XtraSun for like $100 delivered with the glass, or a HydroFarm Radiant 6 for like $170. I have the Radiant 6, and this thing kicks ass. The reflective material is not pebbled, thank god, and my plants can touch the glass with a 600watt light and not burn.

woa woa woa WHY would he go on ebay for hoods? HTGsupply have premium 1000watt light hoods for around 100.

Edit: I suggest you do what I did and go with a combo that includes an upgrade to an air cooled hood. The regular bulb is fine but i would upgrade to an air cooled, hinged, tempered glass hood.

I use the default bulb as well 400w MH conversion and 400w HPS. I would get the cool tube if I had to do it over. The default bulbs works like a champ and please have no worries with HTG. Tony will take great care of you, just save your receipt with order number

He should go on ebay so he can get a quality hood that is not a tiny piece of crap. The Euro Reflector is only 11.5" wide and only 19" long and still $85, the Easy Cool is only 18" long and barely 15" wide and already $119. You get up to the 8" Easy Cool and now you are up to 18.5" long and 20 3/4" wide, still not very big and now you are up to $140. Now when you get up to the Airflow reflector, you get a 20" long and 24" wide reflector, which isn't bad, but its $179. Plus, all of these have a pebbled finish which is garbage. People say it removes hot spots, but if you have a quality engineered hood, you don't have the hot spots anyway, and the lenses don't seal as well as a quality hood.

My Radiant 6 is 25" long and 21" wide, doesn't have the pebbled finished, and is engineered correctly so there are not hot spots. It cost a little more, but is a much higher quality hood. If you are going to get a cheap air cooled hood, at least get the Xtrasun, its made by Hydrofarm and is a quality product for the price. They are $100 with the lens, and are 21" wide and almost 24" long.

The smaller reflectors are good for 1000watt lights, but anything under that, you want a larger reflector. With a 1000watt light, your bulb is further away than a 600, 400 or whatever. This means that you need a reflector with more acute angles to get the light pointing down toward the plants. With a 600 or 400watt, you are a lot closer to the plants, so you need a more obtuse angle to cover the entire cab.

Think about a triangle with a 4' base. With a small angle at the top, the sides will be much longer to create that size base than a triangle with a wider angle at the top. The reflectors are the same thing. You want more a smaller hood with more slope for the 1000watt lights, and a larger hood with less slope for the smaller wattages.