How Much Can A Ballast Affect Amount Of Light ?

hello ;
i have a cheap magnetic ballast. my yield is not good and i am trying to find what the problem was .
can a ballast affect amount of lumens ? if it can, how much ?

and my ballast is ver very hot while running. even i cant touch it.i dont know if it is normal because it is my first ballast.

They do get very hot. what size is it?

Ballast can affect light. I remember when I switched over. The harvest had been nice but the amount of light Now was awesome in compariosn. I use Lumatek, I might try a quantum once. Anyway. . . that is another thread.

The reason charles your harvest prob was small is that I know this is your first crop. That is reg for first crops. There is a lot of the little things you have to learn to manage just a tad better. Thing that maybe when the plant looked healthy it was just "hardy" and that it needed a little better attention.

Plus you tried out a lot of organic things that are TRICKY. Cool you went organic, good for you. Stay that way and I bet next grow is better.

So digital light+second grow = better crop.


This is just a suggestion. I am not thinking you did a thing wrong. That is the nature of plants.

Oh yeah, on the Lumatek they really got that extra 30% lumens.

hey thanks bro. i am surprised that you remembered me i am getting famous among growers , how are lumatek ballasts ?are you happy with your ballast ? i will buy a new lumatek ballast . i read some bad reviews about lumatek but i dont know if there is better ballast than lumatek.

i was thinking to change my nutrients organic to canna chemical, but i decided to give a chance more to bio bizz. i will change my compost and i will not use dolomite lime this time.i will also upgrade my reflector to sunsytem super sun 2.
i hope i will grow better plants next time .

indawindica- i have 600W dual spectrum hps and ballast.i will already change my ballast because of secuirty reasons.i dont trust my ballast.but i am just wondering if how much a ballast can affect lumen output ?

get a light meter. A cheap one. they work, just onve every few weeks then they need to recharge. The 7 dollar ones.

I saw my light when it was mag. Then I unplugged the mag and plugged in my lumatek and wow! it shocked me as to how much I could see. This was an old mag. It cant be the only prob though I think from reading. What were your numbers off by.

by the way with bio bizz they have a full line I bet you need for the best results.

my ballast came with my light. Its a 400watt switchable MH and HPS. from HG supply. Has anyone heard anything about it good or bad