Wait, what?
Well-Known Member
I have 10x 23 watt cfls and one 40watt spot, so if I could get away with a 150 watt hps overhead with cfl side lighting, it would be 420 watts 
Why I hate having to buy a 250 or 400 watt HPS
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Lo Budget
Well-Known Member
I think he would like HID in a smaller size to supplement current lighting . Hell, just tape over half the bulb, amirite?
Smaller= lower cost upfront/lower operating cost and possibly lower heat.
Wait, what?
Well-Known Member
It would keep my cost down considerably. 150 watt is only $69, but the area it covers isn't enough. I do like the number 420 too
Ou8aCracker2
Well-Known Member
CFL's just don't have the canopy penetration of HID's and can't even compare in efficiency to HID's when it comes to lumen per watt ratio.
And 400w of CFL's,T5's,Fluoros will put off just as much heat as a 400w HID...PERIOD.
The only reason t5's and fluoro tubes "seem" cooler is because the heat is evenly distributed across a larger surface.
And 400w of CFL's,T5's,Fluoros will put off just as much heat as a 400w HID...PERIOD.
The only reason t5's and fluoro tubes "seem" cooler is because the heat is evenly distributed across a larger surface.
GrowByDesign
Member
here is a 150w HPS over an approx 4ft tall Sour Diesel....effective top penetration is pretty obvious [6-8"] and the scale is evident the further down the plant you look. BTW, she was vegged 85 days under 2-23w 1600 lume 2.5k color CFL's...
dajosh42069
Well-Known Member
This is 100% right.
Trust me, I use CFL's and the heat they put off isn't a joke. Especially if you're running 10 of them, be ready to have seriously intake and exhaust fans.
I've been considering constructing a hood that can run my 400W MH/HPS lamp, with some CFL's midway down the plant for supplemental light.
But listen to me, IF, and it's a biiig IF... you decide to go with all those CFL's, consider doing a simpler design of my former grow room.
Lemme see if I can find some pics around here, it had some amazing coverage, and I used 17 CFL's to veg 4 clones to absolute perfection.
dajosh42069
Well-Known Member
Wow, it's gorgeous. All one plant eh? i assume you topped and trained her?
dajosh42069
Well-Known Member
Here. Here's my veg room pics from when I had an OVERLY COMPLICATED setup. You should try something to this effect, but using reflectors setup lower, and several Y socket adapters.
Ok, so here's the complexity of it. It was totally not simple, and any really experienced grower would probably laugh at it. But the light coverage it gave me was incredible. And it really made a huge difference having lights surrounding them.
Here are some shots from my first weed putting them into flower, I used a 42W CFL with 2300K color temp to help transition them to their new light spectrum and phase of life.
THIS is the beauty I got from that sort of coverage.
Lastly, this is how beautiful they were about the 2nd week of flower, when I switched them over to the HPS and setup my CFL's as veg lights in my secondary room.
The rest of the setup, and THIS grow can be found here >> https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/421945-4x-100-indica-master-kush.html
Ok, so here's the complexity of it. It was totally not simple, and any really experienced grower would probably laugh at it. But the light coverage it gave me was incredible. And it really made a huge difference having lights surrounding them.
Here are some shots from my first weed putting them into flower, I used a 42W CFL with 2300K color temp to help transition them to their new light spectrum and phase of life.
THIS is the beauty I got from that sort of coverage.
Lastly, this is how beautiful they were about the 2nd week of flower, when I switched them over to the HPS and setup my CFL's as veg lights in my secondary room.
The rest of the setup, and THIS grow can be found here >> https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/421945-4x-100-indica-master-kush.html
Wait, what?
Well-Known Member
Cool stuff guys, thanks. I have 3 plants, so I think a 400 watt HPS and side cfl's is the way to go for me. I see a 150 is sufficient for one good sized plant though, cool pics. I have friends who grow for personal use and that $75 150 watt would be cheaper and perfect. Thanks for the info guys
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
400W HPS is the sweet spot if you ask me. If you ever grow, you can just add another 400W hps and have more even light distribution than a 1000W. Lower wattage HPS means you can put it closer to your plants, so less height requirements in the box.
600W is also the sweet spot, but more pricey. It really depends on your setup.
600W is also the sweet spot, but more pricey. It really depends on your setup.
GrowByDesign
Member
"Amy" is the prototype for an op I set up for a friend to get him familiar with the basics as he'd never grown before. He's disabled so simplicity was the main objective...just to see if he could manage it...that is why the minimal lighting gear.
She's about twice the size we'd intended due to a delay getting him the 150w to start her budding.
She has about 20 days left in the pics, taken when I upgraded the 150w to a 400w HPS a few days ago...
The only training she had was one topping to wye her base and I think we FIM'd her twice after that. Two things of note about her 'training' though...at roughly mid-veg he was tying her top down to get it away from the light [couldn't move light up] and split her main stem right at the wye, effectively super-cropping the entire plant. He used strings tied too tight around each branch to hold the repair together while she mended as well as holding the top down...at these points the main branches above the wye were 'choked' by the strings as the stems grew larger than the string, again effectively super-cropping each branch of the wye
Here are a couple pics you can just barely see the yellow string tied around the top to hold it down...these were taken at the same time, these are after we moved her to the new closet under the 400w hps...can't really tell but the string is 'sunk into' the stem and a good sized knot has formed either side of it...
\I should state again that the gear provided was knowingly intended to be minimal to the point of being sub-standard and I offer no explanations as the results. Personally I consider her something of a freak of nature
dajosh42069
Well-Known Member
I was going to start by saying you should go with the CFL's for sure.Cool stuff guys, thanks. I have 3 plants, so I think a 400 watt HPS and side cfl's is the way to go for me. I see a 150 is sufficient for one good sized plant though, cool pics. I have friends who grow for personal use and that $75 150 watt would be cheaper and perfect. Thanks for the info guys
But then I thought... "Why?!" Go with the HPS. If you can, DO IT. Just be ready for the heat. No matter what you're running, CFL's or HID, you're looking at heat when dealing with these wattages. So proper ventilation is a MUST.
And by all means, if you start a grow thread, shoot us a link, so I can sub to it.
dajosh42069
Well-Known Member
Don't stress any of the "substandard". I think it's cool when people grow with just about anything. I'd pretty much only be chuckling if you were growing with like 2 incandescent bulbs or something, lol."Amy" is the prototype for an op I set up for a friend to get him familiar with the basics as he'd never grown before. He's disabled so simplicity was the main objective...just to see if he could manage it...that is why the minimal lighting gear.
She's about twice the size we'd intended due to a delay getting him the 150w to start her budding.
She has about 20 days left in the pics, taken when I upgraded the 150w to a 400w HPS a few days ago...
The only training she had was one topping to wye her base and I think we FIM'd her twice after that. Two things of note about her 'training' though...at roughly mid-veg he was tying her top down to get it away from the light [couldn't move light up] and split her main stem right at the wye, effectively super-cropping the entire plant. He used strings tied too tight around each branch to hold the repair together while she mended as well as holding the top down...at these points the main branches above the wye were 'choked' by the strings as the stems grew larger than the string, again effectively super-cropping each branch of the wye
Here are a couple pics you can just barely see the yellow string tied around the top to hold it down...these were taken at the same time, these are after we moved her to the new closet under the 400w hps...can't really tell but the string is 'sunk into' the stem and a good sized knot has formed either side of it...
View attachment 3018856View attachment 3018861\
I should state again that the gear provided was knowingly intended to be minimal to the point of being sub-standard and I offer no explanations as the results. Personally I consider her something of a freak of nature
Otherwise, it's pretty nice for a proto. And yeah, you godda be REAL careful tying plants off too tight, they'll get choked for sure.
So i'm seeing a lot of text in your sig, but not a link... wanna link me?