First setup. MH/HPS Lighting same Wattage bulb for Veg and Flowering stage?

[whiteone]

I've been lurking for a while gathering info for my first grow. I was looking to set up a 1.2m x 1.2m x ~2m setup with 600w HPS bulb as they're supposed to be a good choice for efficiency and future-proofing my grows for the maximum amount I'll eventually grow.

I read Metal Halide is a lot better for the veg stage though, but although 600w HPS seem to be popular, I can't find many 600w MH bulbs around. Do I need 600w MH or will it need less light in the veg stage anyway...say 400w?


Thanks

 

[Antics]

You can use 400w MH, but you'd need a compatible ballast.

You can also use CFLs or Fluorescent bulbs for Veg and save on power and heat.

 

[whiteone]

I was going to get the below ballast which I guess will be compatible with both? I haven't really considered CFLs or Fluorescent bulbs for Veg, would I be able to use those bulbs in this ballast? I'm in the UK, so not sure if heat will be as much of an issue anyway ha. I understand MH is the best for veg, but it cost and heat are better with CFLs or Fluorescent then I'd be happy to consider it! What Watt CFL's or how many should I get?

Lumii Digita 600W Ballast: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

 

[Antics]

For CFLs, you need a standard house socket. I think in the UK you folks use the same light bulbs as we do over the pond?

You can also use those longer fluorescent fixtures, they work real well too.

I've only used CFLs and LED for Vegging, so I can't compare the others, but for CFLs just 1 23w bulb is good for 1-2 seedlings. By the end of Veg I will typically be using 4-6 bulbs per plant. As the plant gets bigger, I just add bulbs, it's pretty easy to manage.

CFLs will also still produce a fair amount of heat, but shouldn't produce as much as a 400w MH.

It's also important to consider how many plants you'll be growing, that will definitely influence how you plan to Veg your plants.

 

[whiteone]

I guess 2 plants is what I had in mind, but if you have a better suggestion then I'd love to hear it. The smaller the tent the better, but heat may be an issue if it's any smaller. I have been looking at scrog which is a possible to allow for a smaller tent, but I'm not sure how possible this is.

Thanks for your advice so far

 

[Kriaze]

Hello whiteone and welcome to 420Magazine. I too am in the UK and I used a 300w CFL for veg (no ballast) which was great and then I used a 600w HPS (with ballast) for flowering. The heat issues I had were terrible even with a 4" inline fan and 6" extractor fan and carbon scrubber. I don't mean to put you off HPS it works great for a lot of people but my wife insists on having the house temps set at 22 degrees constant, which in turn didn't help my temps in the 4' x 4' tent.

I've since moved over to LED and the difference is massive! Temps dropped to well within reasonable limits (high of 24.5 degrees) and the plants were actually salvagable (just).

If you want to see what happened my first grow link is in my signature, but hopefully you will know a lot more about what you're doing than I did when I started. If you have any questions feel free to give me a shout. I'm no expert but I have experience in what not to do

Good luck and all the best.

 

[Antics]

I guess 2 plants is what I had in mind, but if you have a better suggestion then I'd love to hear it. The smaller the tent the better, but heat may be an issue if it's any smaller. I have been looking at scrog which is a possible to allow for a smaller tent, but I'm not sure how possible this is.

Thanks for your advice so far

For 2 plants, the world is your oyster. You can pretty easily make any lighting system work. LED, and HID, along with fluorescent tubes would be easiest, since there's usually one fixture to mount. CFLs requires a bit more wiring, and more fixtures, but it can be done, tons of people, myself included have used CFL.

For tents, if you plan on going with LED or HID I suggest a minimum 48" tall tent, 60"+ is even easier. You need a decent distance between the LED/HID and the plants. CFLs and fluorescents are most effective when used close to the plant.

Heat issues can be fixed easily with a fan, and you should use a fan for air exchange anyways. The type of lighting you use may influence the CFM rating of the fan(s). Typically people aim for exchanging all the air in the tent 3-5 times per minute, so you'll need to know the tent size before selecting a fan, as well as a light.

You can totally scrog in a small tent man. The Scrog frame is just made to fit the tent, and 2 plants work great in most of the tents I've seen.

 

[whiteone]

Thanks Antics, I suppose it's best if I say what I'd like and maybe you could suggest what you would do in the same situation?

1) I want to get the most yield from a 600w light. (or equivalent in LED/CFL but I'm leaning towards MH/HPS for quality currently)
2) The biggest I'm willing to go is 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m. This will be a purpose built insulated (good idea?) wooden frame so any size is possible.
3) The smaller the grow area/tent the better, but I don't want to sacrifice quality or having serious heat issues for this. I'd rather just make it a little bigger.

Thanks!

 

[Antics]

1: 600w would give you about 39.44 watts per square foot in the tent. Not a bad number, but check with HID growers for their experienced opinions. I think it'd be ok though.
2: Good size cabionet, you could work pretty well in there, I'd say like 4 real nice sized plants would rock out nicely. Insulation depends on where the grow will be, and what the temp is outside the grow box during all the seasons you'll grow in.
3:You can handle heat better using a good exhaust fan, and a cool tube reflector. A 2'x4' grow space is plenty to grow 2 big ass plants, or even scrog them. I like to have a 24"x24" space available for each plant.

But, how long you Veg, and how you train them (or lack therof) will also dictate how many plants fit in what size area.