need help on HPS, (with pics included)

icebox7420

Well-Known Member
today i felt like i'll just go for one 150watt hps than buying three 25 watt 2700K CFLs for flowering, but some things are bothering me. please help me out,
these are the questions that bother me:

1. is it much better to use one 150watt CFL for flowering instead of three 25watt 2700K CFLs?

2. can i use hps also for vegging?

3. i have three 25watt CFL 6500K 1727lumens. can i mix the CFLs with the HPS?

4. can my mini fan take away the heat on my grow closet? i dont have a cooltube. (grow closet pics included).

5. this is the most important question for this, can HPS burn down my grow closet? ( i dont know what kind of thread used here in my closet, sorry.)
Photo-0419.jpgPhoto-0420.jpgPhoto-0422.jpgPhoto-0423.jpgPhoto-0424.jpg
 

coocoo

Active Member
1) the bushier and taller the plant gets, the better the 3 25 watt CFLs will do because light penetraion of CFLs isn't great to begin with and with only one bulb at the very top, the mid and lower parts of your plants will not get any light. With CFLs, you want multiple all around your plant

2) Yes you can. A lot of people use HPS for the whole grow.

3) Yes. You can always mix lights.

4) That depends on how much heat is being produced and what the ambient temp ouside the closet is. Get a temp gauge and give it a test run and see what your temps say.

5) While these lights do get hot, as long as the bulb itself isn't touching anything physically, you should be fine. I have 2x 250watt metal halides for my reef aquarium and a 600 watt MH and HPS for my grow and I can hold my hand 3" under the light and not burn my hand.
 

icebox7420

Well-Known Member
1) the bushier and taller the plant gets, the better the 3 25 watt CFLs will do because light penetraion of CFLs isn't great to begin with and with only one bulb at the very top, the mid and lower parts of your plants will not get any light. With CFLs, you want multiple all around your plant

2) Yes you can. A lot of people use HPS for the whole grow.

3) Yes. You can always mix lights.

4) That depends on how much heat is being produced and what the ambient temp ouside the closet is. Get a temp gauge and give it a test run and see what your temps say.

5) While these lights do get hot, as long as the bulb itself isn't touching anything physically, you should be fine. I have 2x 250watt metal halides for my reef aquarium and a 600 watt MH and HPS for my grow and I can hold my hand 3" under the light and not burn my hand.

thanks sir,
i dont have a temp gauge, i'll buy one tomorrow or on the following days. i always forget to look for it whenever im at the mall.

do i need to know the temp first before adding more lights?
 

MrMeanGreen

Active Member
get a dual spectrum hps (use for entire grow), a cool tube and a low cfm fan to pull the heat away. 600w in that tent will bake em without extraction.

Your main worry is gonna be that tent and light leaking in during lights out, walls look thin and almost transparent.
 

icebox7420

Well-Known Member
get a dual spectrum hps (use for entire grow), a cool tube and a low cfm fan to pull the heat away. 600w in that tent will bake em without extraction.

Your main worry is gonna be that tent and light leaking in during lights out, walls look thin and almost transparent.
there is a white tarpuline inside, like a poster paper with white color. but im thinking of buying a car sun reflector for the light leaking, but not for now, because my focus for savings today is for lights.

cool tubes? where can i buy them? or can i just make one? im sorry i dont have a lot of knowledge at using hps.
 

coocoo

Active Member
If you don't seal the space, your plant will prob never flower. You can pretty much see right through it.

This is a cool tube

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HYDROMAX-27-x-6-COOLTUBE-AIR-COOLED-GROW-LIGHT-REFLECTOR-COOL-TUBE-W-HANGERS-/380454995920?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5894e287d0
+1

yeah light seal that room.

the good news is you have a month at least (depending on how long you veg) to light seal that room. just make sure you don't flower unless no light leaks.
 

Hugo Phurst

Well-Known Member
1. is it much better to use one 150watt CFL for flowering instead of three 25watt 2700K CFLs?

2. can i use hps also for vegging?

3. i have three 25watt CFL 6500K 1727lumens. can i mix the CFLs with the HPS?

4. can my mini fan take away the heat on my grow closet? i dont have a cooltube. (grow closet pics included).

5. this is the most important question for this, can HPS burn down my grow closet?
1 - as above
2 - as above
3 - as above, a mixed spectrum is a good thing, so I would recommend it.
4 - as above. As far as I'm concerned the greatest threat of fire is poor wiring and improperly hung lamps.
 
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