Looking for light

I have a few plants and i am using cfls right now but am looking to get a 400 watt hps or mh that uses lower amps for relatively low cost as i am on a budget. Any input would be awesome. And heres a pretty picture

What's your budget. I mean a 600w HPS magnetic ballast usually costs about the same as a 400. A few $ more. I have only used 400 watt ballasts and had good luck.

About a $100 and i dont want higher than 400 the heat will be too much. Specially with summer coming around and temps will already be in the hundreds.

420bunni said:

About a $100 and i dont want higher than 400 the heat will be too much. Specially with summer coming around and temps will already be in the hundreds.

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if you aren't worried about electric (i have a s-series vortex like 360cfm that only uses 66watts on max which is like nothing) you could invest another hundred in a fan and buy some cheap ventilation for like 10 bucks and just blow the air somewhere else so you can get the 600. never done a comparison but from what i understand the 400 and 600 will make all the difference in the yield

I would really gp for the HPS. A 400w kit with cooltube is 139.
A 600w is 159.
The Apollo ones and others are dimmable. So you can lower it in summer and raise it in winter. 1000ws of hps exhaust keeps my upstairs at 69° when its 15°-39° (just adpadpjst a fresh air intake)

I've grown with cfl. Now I only use them for vegging seedling

Im liking the cfls as they are cool and adjustable. My plants are doing amazing with them i think i may just add more

I'd either pick up a 250W HPS or a 300-600W LED board.

Both options cost around $100 or a little more and can help keep temperatures down.

I was thinking about led options as well. Heard great things about them. Was wanting to do at least 1 grow before i changed lights and spent more money

315w LEC with a flower bulb. Make sure to get a fixture with a Phillips ballast and bulb. Sun Systems is a good product. Retail $ is high, but you should be able to get one for around $400. More than you want to spend, but I believe you would be very happy. Very good spectrum and low wattage/heat.

I have a 400 watt full spectrum led.Will I be able to use this light for both the vegative and flowering stages?Thanks for anyone who can answer this for me

As far as i have read you can use that for both

Thanks for the quick answer

degadogg said:

I have a 400 watt full spectrum led.Will I be able to use this light for both the vegative and flowering stages?Thanks for anyone who can answer this for me

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i think so... it should say on what ever brand it is website

420bunni said:

Im liking the cfls as they are cool and adjustable. My plants are doing amazing with them i think i may just add more

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I've been thinking about swapping my clf bulbs for a flowering bulbs I saw at my local garden supply shop.

Maybe T5s are an option? They are cheap and low heat, I've seen some guys use them for the full cycle with great success. Especially with 2 4bulb fixtures using mixed spectrum, set at a 45deg angle to optimize light angles.

One thing to watch with leds is the equivalent wattage and the actual draw.

They say actual draw is all that counts, but I'm not so sure. It seems proper (undefined as of yet) PAR is what counts.