light combo

Hey Everyone
Doing a little research tonight, I'm trying to find a good 600w hps light/ballast/hood combo that is of decent quality but won't break the bank. Would love to hear any suggestions or first hand experiences that could help me out.

Thanks!

here's one for $134.

and very popular too

Apollo Horticulture GLK600 600 Watt Grow Light (1 HPS Bulb Only) Digital Dimmable HPS MH System for Plants Gull Wing Hood

• 1- 400 Watt Dimmable Electronic Fan Cooling Ballast; Acceptable input: 110v - 240v. Dimmable Option: 50%, 75% & 100%
• 1 - HPS Bulb: Lumen - 54,000 & 1 - MH Bulb: Lumen - 36,000
• 1 - Gull Wing Reflector: 19"x15"x4.5" Made of German Aluminum
• 1- Pair of Rope Hanger : Weight Capacity - 150 lbs per pair w/ Improved Metal Internal Gears; One Click at a Time / 1 - 24 Hour Timer Controller
• Package Includes: 1 - Reflector / 1 - HPS Bulb / 1 - MH Bulb / 1 - Digital Ballast / 1 - Pair of Hangers / 1 - Timer / 1 - Instructional Pamphlet

https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK600-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B00CPT2BZ6/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1468114972&sr=1-4-fkmr0&keywords=Apollo+Horticulture+GLK600GW19+400+Watt+Grow+Light+Digital+Dimmable+HPS+MH+System+for+Plants+Gull+Wing+Hood+Set

good luck

I've got an Apollo, 400W. It will do the job and has good reviews. The cheap ballasts always made me nervous though as far as starting a fire or randomly going out. I sold the few I had and kept one as a backup. Solis Tek is a good ballast company with a good reputation and safety measures built into them in case there is power failure, surges, and internal issues to avoid arcing and potentially burning your house down. As you may know, a loss of power can make ballasts fire (light up) hot bulbs which can cause them to explode/implode. Solis Tek and other ballasts have safety features to prevent this which adds a nice safety blanket. I don't work for them, Phantom does it too and a number of other companies too. If you have a local hydro/indoor garden store, see if they have a package they're running. Most stores will do a newbie package that is quite budget friendly. This has a nice reflector, so you could find one cheaper than this with a simple wing reflector: http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/lighting/solis-tek-600w-digital-ballast-bulb-and-8-relector-stk600-stkmax66/ It's more costly than Apollo, but nothing is worse than coming home to the firemen walking out of your burnt up place holding a ballast when you come home from work. I also sleep better at night. Your end product will be better quality and quantity too I almost guarantee. Hydro galaxy gives 5% off on first order too if you give email address. Have fun, be safe.

Keep in mind too, especially if you are on a 1 light program, if your ballast does quit, you will have to return it for warranty repair or replace it. That can easilly take a month- trust me- by which point your plants will be pissed from being lit by substitute means or even dead. This could mean your whole crop is leafy fluffy squef. Good luck on your searching Oh ya, hydro galaxy has always been good to me, they're a little busy right now and understaffed so stuff is taking a little longer than usual. I'm getting some stuff through them.

If I were you, I'd but a reputable ballast; galaxy, lumetek, etc. Then skimp on your reflector and bulb. The last thing you want is for your ballast to fry halfway through flower. Work some overtime for a week to make up the cost difference.

Another thing to keep in mind too, cheap ballasts can also produce heavy RF, radio frequency, fields. Depending on where you're at and the "chill" level of the state/country, RF fields can be an indicator of ballasts used for indoor gardening, so it could potentially be a little more "publicity" than you'd appreciate. People even get their cable/internet shut off for emitting RF fields and can't get it turned on again till it stops as these RF fields disrupt other's cable/internet service even though it may not be apparent in the house that the ballast is in. I'd locate a local store that sells EMI filters specifically made for ballasts just in case you run into this. Those usually do the trick. You don't have to buy one till there's a problem, but just knowing where one is locally that you can buy and set up quick is a good safety blanket. And I fully agree with @rickymac21 about getting a good ballast and skimping on reflector. I do suggest a good bulb though, something mid range at least. Growlite real red or TruBlue are both good bulbs that won't break bank. As usual, you get what you pay for.

Speaking of banks- what will break the bank? What are you looking to spend? That really should have been the first question