Newbie...grow with HPS light checkout

jro413

Active Member
Still in my seeding stage. Right now in garage which is a pain. Considering moving to walk in closet. Happy frog potting soil 1000w Hortilux which is set at 400w with Xtrasun dimmable digital ballast. Still have some ways to go. I'm welcome to all advice...only second time growing but been years... Honestly I need a little help or key pointers....image.jpg
 

Final Phase

Well-Known Member
Be careful with 400 watts that close on seedlings. I'd bring the light up another foot... Get a fan on em right away... Go easy on the nutrients. I always use half strenght of any and all nutrients... Your soil will carry the plants for at least 3 / 4 weeks unless it's special seedling soil...

Most people veg with metal halide bulbs... They run less to buy than hps and like the blue light spectrum....
 

indawindica

Well-Known Member
Yes that light looks way to close. Maybe raise a foot. Is your ballast a switchable hps/mh? If so you should invest in a mh bulb for your veg.
 

coldrain

Well-Known Member
Yeah, that light is waaaaaaaay too close and is cooking the top of the soil. I would move it up at least 2' from where it is in the picture. 400W is overkill for this stage of the grow, but if it's all you have then go with it and do everything in your power to acquire a blue spectrum bulb for vegging. If you want to stick with a one light setup you NEED to get a different bulb for vegging. Otherwise, your plants will stretch under that HPS light and you will have more hassles to deal with not to mention a lower yield in the end.

I would suggest getting a T5 for seedlings/clones. I use a 6 bulb T5 with switches that allow for either 2, 4 or 6 bulbs to be on at any time. So, you can run as little as 100W or as much as 300W if need be. I highly recommend this if you want to take your grow to the next level.
 

coldrain

Well-Known Member
Also, if you move to a walk in closet you will need to put a lot of thought into a ventilation system. I'm assuming you're planning to run 1000W when you flower. Running that many watts in a closet is problematic. The only people who I have seen pull off that kind of setup used a glass heat shield and air cooled the hood. If that kind of setup isn't doable for you I would keep it in the garage. Hopefully it isn't a hot garage. If that's the case I would revisit the closet idea.

Even if you run 400W you will need to have really good air exchange if you're growing in a closet. It's by no means an ideal place to grow, but you can make it work as long as you keep the temperature down.
 

Bubblin

Well-Known Member
Holy shit lol. Back that thing off or they WILL bleach/burn
He's making pop corn!

Jokes aside that actually looks like a pretty nice cooled hood and I love Hortilux bulbs ;) I would deff move that like 2 or 3 feet higher though lol. And possibly pick up a cheap MH bulb. I save my horti's for flowering, too expensive.
 

SPLFreak808

Well-Known Member
He's making pop corn!

Jokes aside that actually looks like a pretty nice cooled hood and I love Hortilux bulbs ;) I would deff move that like 2 or 3 feet higher though lol. And possibly pick up a cheap MH bulb. I save my horti's for flowering, too expensive.
I veg under horti 1kw, flower under DE 1kw. The plants dont miss a beat going from veg to flower when vegged under hps with circadian rhythm style hours however, his light looks lower then mine does midway through flower!! Actually, i cant even start seeds without being 2-4ft away dimmed down to 500w for the first few weeks.
 

Bubblin

Well-Known Member
I veg under horti 1kw, flower under DE 1kw. The plants dont miss a beat going from veg to flower when vegged under hps with circadian rhythm style hours however, his light looks lower then mine does midway through flower!! Actually, i cant even start seeds without being 2-4ft away dimmed down to 500w for the first few weeks.
I veg @ full power but yea, seedlings don't need much ;)

Might try these for the next batch o seedlings.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015RM1UJK/ref=twister_B015RM1TMI?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
 
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