Newbie looking for a good ballast, and bulb(s).

Toke I am sure a few will do. I don't goo and tell. This said for your benefit I almost wrote an article in the sexuality section of the forum. I stopped when I realized half way through it someone might suggest I use Leds.

Poly, plus 1 rep advice well given for the next reader. Yeah I buy a digital it wont be a cl, wal-mart or ebay cheapy, new would be a must. Definitely warranted. I been kicking it around. Worse case I could use and dump to someone keeping my stuff fresh.
One of my ballasts is old as dirt and still kicks. Was a hand me down from another grower when I was deciding to grow indoor. Thing is at least 8 yrs old and works perfect. I bought my mag new about a yr ago as money came avail. So its relative fresh still. Either work great. I tried returning to the lender, and he was like you kidding, I got more, need another? Seems they never die. Just wish they made a grow bulb worth a shit that isn't used in little flashlights and other issues related to the reference.

I_Am_The_sex curious as hell what your decision is going to be and sorry for shitting on your post bro. Here's to hoping some others would relate their experiences to you as well concerning the digital.

just figure i would throw my 2¢ in

LED's are better!!

haha no just kidding. i did just buy this Apollo kit and havent had it long bu so far so good, the ballast is nice looking and seems well built. It works and for the price and a 3 year warranty on ballast and 1 year warranty on bulbs cant really go wrong. the wing reflectors kinda sucks for the cool tube but i doubt ill use them anyways...the rope ratchets are awesome not that that has anything to do with the ballast.

one of the bulbs was broken when it arrived and i called the company and they sent me another bulb the next day no questions asked. didnt even ask me to ship the old bulb back..my warranty card came with a free bulb offer so i ended up getting another HPS bulb for free just for writing a review on thier product...which leads me to the next thing...reviews dont really mean much when you get a free bulb for writing one.

im not trying to talk up this ballast just saying i have had a good experience with them, as far as lumen output..i have no clue...spectrum...i dont know i dont measure all that shit.

i will say this, i like the cool tube more than i like the aircooled hoods, i have both and the aircooled hoods are bulky and seem to not spread the light around as much, which if you focusing on a ScROG i guess this is good but if you have a couple different stains in there and one is growing a bit taller than the rest you dont have to bring your light up in order for the taller branches to get some light as well.

polyarcturus said:

you dont sound very wise........more like a "wise ass"!

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Yes, that too...

well i came pretty damn close to going with one of the apollo kits, but now im back at going for quality.
I believe that people get what they pay for, so im going with what i want.

going with the lumatek ballast 600w
and the uhsio hps hilux bulb.

and Im highly considering this hood.
http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Sun-Magnilume-Reflector-6-Inch/dp/B004KPKAYC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=13F6AUJ5JGO3I&coliid=I3FVYA588I33B8
any input is appreciated.

Really stuck on what kind of MH bulb im going to buy...
any ideas? would a reg mh bulb work with the lumatek ballast?
or will i need a conversion bulb??

ordering all my shit tomorrow or the next day.
pretty stoked.

thanks for backing me up guys.
much appreciated.

TokeHoldCough said:

Yes, that too...

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You know what's foolish? You and stoking, the first time yes I offered the guy wisdom on LEDs he didn't take it!! The second time I was talkin to sloping because he made a dumb ass comment on LEDs, and then he continues to suck cock... Like the bitch in his avatar

Umm check the first whole page. You enjoy looking like an ass getting your ass handed to you? Most abused neglected kids do.

This said, you were talking to slopping, about a dumbass statement? Well I have a bitch in my avatar, and I certainly know a L.E.D's make up, only thing you got correct on your whole make up on why L.E.D's are better is they dont cause heat. You want to hear their down fall? Google it, I wont get this thread spun in a direction its not aimed at.

I will say that bitch in my avatar looks better then the picture of your uncle who ass raped you at an early age.

Sucking cock? best argument you have about L.E.D.'s(hear this in spicolis voices) " Wow dude they are colorful"
You failed saying they dont have ballast. You even fail as a spammer. Seriously get a fucking clue. Matter fact here I will give you one.

10 minutes, 10 days or 10 years from now, you will have grown in stature and hopefully maturity. When you do you will look back and say, huh, I was pretty stupid with my ways and people tended to ignore me. Now this wont matter at this moment, cause your to wrapped up slapping your uncle in the nads hoping he cant play those special games with you.

But trust me, you will awake, and need some advice. I careless is its about how to pick the crust off your ass, or how to harvest, that day will appear. When it does you will start a thread asking advice on it. Want to bet the peoples initial thoughts when it does?

I could careless, I am giving it, thats the kinda guy I am.

Their going to look at the post and say, shit thats the fucker spamming crap why bother, let his ass rot. Even better is the person who you may be actually be able to help, and you say hey you could.... and get the response fuck you. I know your laughing at the moment, take your time, think on this. You really want to be that guy? If so stay in the basement stealing your moms smokes, letting daddy pay your way, and your uncle butt loving you.

Makes no difference to me, cause at this point, personally I cant see shit you got to say. Imagine when the list continues to grow. Gets mighty lonely. Trust me. Need proof look at the boards and the ignored people in them.

Ps. get way better skills then what you possess, if you plan a life of trolling the boards, personally only thing that sucks, is you my friend.

Again OP I apologize for shitting on your thread, I do hope it does move forward offering you the info you seek. I done my best as well to provide what I could.

Room size/s? Are you running 1 veg room and a separate flower, or all in one. I am betting all in one.
Plant height thought for veg and finish?

Hey I wont knock you if you run L.E.D's and if you decided to go that route all is good. I wont see shit forced down your throat either when it was made clear.

im going to build a box. will either be 3x3 or 3.5x3.5 not sure yet.

im gonna go scrog all in one. the box will prob be a total of 6ft

Sex - bulbs are usually standard size and will fit in most hoods. I use a 600w dual hps and mh during veg then switch bulbs to 1000 hps during flower in the same hood.

The cord from your hood to your ballast is what you'll want to watch out for. Some hoods have the normal wall plug with three prongs while others have a little larger rounded three prong plug which looks more like the plug for your washing machine and dryer. I don't know the specific name for that type if plug though. Maybe someone else on RIU does and can chime in. But make sure the plug from your hood matches the outlet on your ballast. My lumatechs have the larger non standard outlet but I know you can buy adapter if you run into a problem.

when it comes to purely mh bulbs I'll have to defer to someone else with experience since I do not use them.

Good luck on your grow! Hope you got the info you were looking for.

i_am_the_sex said:

well i came pretty damn close to going with one of the apollo kits, but now im back at going for quality. I believe that people get what they pay for, so im going with what i want. going with the lumatek ballast 600w and the uhsio hps hilux bulb. and Im highly considering this hood. http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Sun-Magnilume-Reflector-6-Inch/dp/B004KPKAYC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=13F6AUJ5JGO3I&coliid=I3FVYA588I33B8 any input is appreciated. Really stuck on what kind of MH bulb im going to buy... any ideas? would a reg mh bulb work with the lumatek ballast? or will i need a conversion bulb?? ordering all my shit tomorrow or the next day. pretty stoked. thanks for backing me up guys. much appreciated.

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good choice on the bulb and ballast(dont knock the apollo just cause thier offbrand, just remember that lumatek probably came from the same place in china, hell even the same components!) that hood is sick and for the price a good buy, definitly a good size for a 600w, wouldnt put a 1000w in there but its definitely good for a 600. as far as MH goes i would get something a little on the bluer side than thelb standard 6500k, i would get something in the lower range. but no you dont need a conversion bulb, but there is no real difference between the 2, really so either would work get whats cost effective, snf s good spectrum IMO. venture and agrosun and my favorites when it comes to MH. but plantmax and hortilux are my fallbacks.

polyarcturus said:

good choice on the bulb and ballast(dont knock the apollo just cause thier offbrand, just remember that lumatek probably came from the same place in china, hell even the same components!) that hood is sick and for the price a good buy, definitly a good size for a 600w, wouldnt put a 1000w in there but its definitely good for a 600. as far as MH goes i would get something a little on the bluer side than thelb standard 6500k, i would get something in the lower range. but no you dont need a conversion bulb, but there is no real difference between the 2, really so either would work get whats cost effective, snf s good spectrum IMO. venture and agrosun and my favorites when it comes to MH. but plantmax and hortilux are my fallbacks.

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good im glad you like the hood!

hopefully the chord works with my ballast. if not ill still have some time to order something to fix the problem.

im not dissing apollo ballasts i actually found some good posts on them.

thanks for your input!

i_am_the_sex said:

good im glad you like the hood!

hopefully the chord works with my ballast. if not ill still have some time to order something to fix the problem.

im not dissing apollo ballasts i actually found some good posts on them.


thanks for your input!

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Cord.........sorry man had to Haqppy thanksgiving

same to you haha