Hydrofarm Phantom double ended lighting question...

[WhiteRaptor]

I have been looking at upgrading to double ended reflectors and digital ballasts. The Hydrofarm Phantom DE is really appealing, but they do not produce a MH bulb, so their technicians cannot give me an answer if other double ended bulbs will function in their system.

Does anyone know if products like the Solistek 1000w double ended MH bulbs will work?

 

[LEDBud]

you will have to compare measurements of the MH bulbs width and length to know for sure but my guess is it would fit , they normally leave a ton of space between the bulb and reflector so it *should* have enough space for the fatter MH bulb.

I think that your idea to use both MH and HPS bulbs in the double reflector is a good one , although they make some HPS with a pretty balanced spectrum that will grow fine as well as flower.

I used to use HPS for both grow and flower with great results.

 

[WhiteRaptor]

Thanks for the reply LEDBud. I just purchased the Hydrofarm Phantom double ended digital ballasts and 6" AC reflectors. I went with the Solistek 6K blue MH and Ushio HPS lamps. In taking with my local grow shop guy, the technician at Solistek told him the MH will work in the reflector, just make sure it isn't hot started or it will blow up.

Since my system is run through the iPonic 624 brain, that isn't a concern. I should be starting a journal relatively soon to document my grow.

 

[LEDBud]

when you start the journal post back here with a link and I will find it , I would like to see the reflectors set up and your grow with it.
I really like the idea of using 2 600w rather then a 1000w bulb.

 

[WhiteRaptor]

when you start the journal post back here with a link and I will find it , I would like to see how the reflector and your grow with it.
I really like the idea of using 2 600w rather then a 1000w bulb.

I will make sure to do that. I'm am going to be using a system that is rarely used (high pressure aeroponics) with the iPonic 624 brain and 4000w double ended MH and HPS. I have $8,000 invested into the system. It will be interesting to see the results.

 

[LEDBud]

i am extra interested in your grow now , as I a building my first small HP aeroponics system right now , I have a fairly high pressure 100psi pump and other parts on order. I am going to use my 3ft marine igloo cooler for the spray tank and my 2ft marine igloo cooler for the nutrient tank.

I am currently making my water chiller from a water jug cooler ,I took the front panel and taps off and am modding it to contain 75 ft of drip line , around the outside of the chiller coils and on the bottom half of the inside of the stainless steel chiller bucket.

My plan is to encased the line that's around and on the inside the chiller in a thermal grout cement mixture, to act as thermal storage mass and help transfer the cold to the 1/4" poly tubing. Then I am going to spray foam the whole unit to help the refrigeration.

I bought a dosing pump originally for aquarium use to flow the nutrients threw the chiller with a flow rate of 3 gal a hour.

A cheap little set up it will be but I expect it to work well or I will tune it till it does..

 

[WhiteRaptor]

i am extra interested in your grow now , as I a building my first small HP aeroponics system right now , I have a fairly high pressure 100psi pump and other parts on order. I am going to use my 3ft marine igloo cooler for the spray tank and my 2ft marine igloo cooler for the nutrient tank.

I am currently making my water chiller from a water jug cooler ,I took the front panel and taps off and am modding it to contain 75 ft of drip line , around the outside of the chiller coils and on the bottom half of the inside of the stainless steel chiller bucket.

My plan is to encased the line that's around and on the inside the chiller in a thermal grout cement mixture, to act as thermal storage mass and help transfer the cold to the 1/4" poly tubing. Then I am going to spray foam the whole unit to help the refrigeration.

I bought a dosing pump originally for aquarium use to flow the nutrients threw the chiller with a flow rate of 3 gal a hour.

A cheap little set up it will be but I expect it to work well or I will tune it till it does..

Sounds legit. Mine is a little more sophisticated being that I am running a high pressure pump in conjunction with an accumulator tank. The water is regulated by a solenoid valve hooked up to a timer so I get very specific releases (0.5 seconds on, 3 minutes off). I have three 17' long 8" PVC grow chambers with 24 plants.
The pump is fed by a 30 gal reservoir with a 1/10 HP chiller. I'm debating on using a closed loop system for the chiller (routing 20' of coiled copper pipe inside the reservoir) that way my nutes aren't running through a pump constantly heating the reservoir.

 

[LEDBud]

I like the idea of using the coils in the tank , no losses being direct chilled that way and its more redundant then using a pump , as well as cooler without the pump like you mentioned.

I am using a timer with on off duration control , with the ability to set the on and off times from 0.1 of a second up to 199 hours , not that I will use those timings but i will have unlimited control.

My pump is the weak link in the chain being its only 100psi , down the road it will be replaced with a decent pump.

my HP pump will be mounted outside the tank , to keep things cooler ,its also the way it operates. I bought it for that reason.

What model is your pump and is it the bladder type , also how much psi does it push ?
I need to study up on hp pumps more thoroughly to make a informed decision when I upgrade my pump.

I look forward to seeing your system up and running it sounds very nice , I am sure I can learn from it and your methods.

 

[WhiteRaptor]

My pump is the weak link in the chain being its only 100psi , down the road it will replaced with a decent pump.

I got a really good deal on my Aquatec pump. It was a custom order, but will do 160 psi. My limiting factor is my accumulator tank (120 psi) and my pressure switch (80-100 psi). I'll post a complete material list with prices and where I bought them in my journal.

 

[LEDBud]

i just checked out Aquatec's home page , looks pretty much identical to my pump.

My pump has a pressure shut off valve , its set at 115 psi , it has a running pressure of 80 psi with a flow of 5 liters a minute , since I will be pushing it threw a limited number of misters , I imagine 100 psi to be its working pressure in my system.

I am going to buy a pressure gauge and install inline with the RO tubing , so I will know what pressure its pushing when misting.

my system is home built but I am a picky mf so I like to do things right , right as I can afford anyways..
I used my free brain power to build the system as I have more smarts then money lol , Well I own my own home so I'm not that broke but I'm not that rich either being on a disability pension I need to stretch my money.