Hps vs cfl

[chubs]

6 plants, 4 feminized 2 regular, so i' assuming 4 females out of the bunch.

would it be more cost efficient to buy a 400W HPS and ballast for 130.00

or to buy several CFL bulbs and fixtures.

and if it's better to buy numerous CFL bulbs, how many would I need for VEG of 4-6 plants and how many would I need for flowering? the area is about 9 square feet cube

 

[burton1291]

the hps light will make your buds more compact and you will yield more. you could get a 400 watt ballast kit for roughly 70 dollars and a bulb for around 9 dollars at 1000lights(.com)

You have to wire it yourself, easy to do, i've done it multiple times. you also will need a hps socket, which you can get off the site for like 2.50. but if you're not a DIY kind of person you could get a CAP ValueLine 1000W HPS or MH Switchable Remote Ballast for $110, heres a link to the site. CAP ValuLine 1000W Switchable Ballast - Plantlighting Hydroponics but it's all up to you, just giving some cheaper options.

 

[chubs]

the 1000 watt requires a 1000w bulb? or can i use something smaller?

 

[burton1291]

you can use a lower wattage bulb in a higher wattage ballast, but you will cut that bulb's life in half because it will burn up all the gases in the bulb faster. how big is your grow area?

 

[chubs]

about 3 foot by 3 foot by 3 foot. of course i can get higher than 3 feet off the ground but there is a shelf blocking 1/3 of it from going past 3 feet, so only in a certain part. i'd like to get around 400 watts on them because that seems like a decent number of lumens for 4-6 plants. 3 being autoflowering with a 2 month harvest time

 

[burton1291]

yeah 400-600 is ideal. 1000w in that little spot would be overkill. I'm also growing some auto's for the first time. It's amazing how fast they grow and flower.

 

[chubs]

i'm a complete fist timer, if you haven't been able to tell by my question, but i have three autoflowers and a northern lights x big bud and two big bud #2's germinating so i needa figure my shit out haha

 

[chubs]

i guess what i need to know is if it's okay to use cfls for the first week after planting until i can save to get a decent hps light setup

 

[burton1291]

Nice, you have some good strains, I'm a Big Bud fan, my auto's are big bud
oh yeah, cfl's are good until flowering, then you can switch to hps.

 

[chubs]

so would 2 27w cfls be okay for the 6 seedlings for the first week?

 

[burton1291]

if you had them in a space about the size of an old computer tower, you should put together a little mini box for them if you can. and keep the lights between 1-4 inches from the plants, you get the most light that way.

 

[chubs]

i just bought a 300w equiv. CFL bulb, should i leave one 24/7 for my auto flowering plants? three of my 6 seeds have busted open and began root formation already.

 

[opklop]

depending of the duration of the grow, 600 hps even 400 hps is overkill for 4 plants too ...

 

[68camaro]

wow,
the compact flo are fine for the seedling stage, even the veg stage to a certain extent. the hps is the way to go if you want some descent smoke. look into the digital switchable ballasts. 400 watt hps to 400 watt mh. veg and flwr in one quite ballast.
you will need every last ounce from the 400 watt lighting to grow a good bud. 600 watts is my fav! the heat must be dealt with, most folks use venting and fans to keep the area cool enough. opklop you say a waste, i dont know how your doin it but you need every last luman! if your doin it with less and can show me how your plants and flowers look. ill give it a try. ive not been able to do the quality i get with anything less that the hps 400 and 430 watt systems. these have the eyehortilux bulbs at a cost of 100.00 every 10 to 12 months. not to mention the light system itself at a cost of 450.00. not the best but quality! ive had mine for 8 yrs now and still going strong.

 

[playfulthrill]

i got a 600 watt dimmable so it goES 250 watts 400 watts and 600 watts the electronic ballests are the way to go because you get MORE LIGHT per watt then a standard ballest AND YOU CAN USE BOTH MH AND HPS

plus you can start your plants under 2 TO 4 cfl's then in 2 weeks or so put them under the MH SET AT 250 WATT then switch to HPS in flower AT 400 WATT OR 600 WATT TO FINISH THEM

the way i did mine is i used a tray and dome 4 100 watt equivelent or about 27 watts cfl started the seeds under the dome and 2 cfls. i got one light and did a Y FOR TWO BULBS then in 2 weeks i put an additional Y and two MORE BULBS

BOY DID THEM PHUCKER TAKE OFF WITH 4 BULBS. 4 weeks from seed they were hitting the top of the dome trying to get out

then i put them in 3 gal bags with fox farm and put them under the light. i went to wall mart got 2 survivial blankets for 3 bucks and made a REFLECTIVE tent with it

set the light on 250 watt and a timer for 16 hours of light

 

[68camaro]

those blankets are great for a little while. then they get brittle and fall apart. sorry dont want to rain on your paraid. i just did the same thing. then found out flat white paint has higher reflective properties and lasts for a heck of a lot longer!
peace

 

[chubs]

hell yeah right now i have 5 under a 300w equivalent cfl bulb. probably going to go get another one and make a Y