250 watt HPS enough???

hey i was thinking about growing 3 plants, and i was gonna veg with cfls and flower with a 250 watt hps will this work out okay and how much would i yield per plant thx

**edit*** How close would i put the 250 hps to the plants???? and how much heat will it produce?

I'm a first time grower, but i have learned a lot in the last couple months. The general rule of thumb is no less than 40W per sq foot for ideal conditions. Any less and it will work but plants may stretch. at any rate that gives you 5 sq feet to work with, enough to grow 3 medium sized plants? I think the yield can be influenced by many factors, mainly genetics and environmental. I read a successful grow can yeild 2-4 oz per plant but i would probebly expect less. I have a 400W mh and hps over 4 plants in a 2'8" x 2'6" area and the plants are very bushy, no stretching yet. I just put them into flower today

Get a 400w, trust me! Its not much more money and you will get more bang for your buck. As long as you vent it or get an air-cooled hood your golden. 250w is ok but you will wish you bought a 400w after a short while.

I'm stuck using some 250's at the moment, hey they were free, and I'm actually suprised by the results so far. They can be within four inches of the tops with a fan cooling them. I used to have 1000 watters and growth is fairly comparable given roughly the same light/sf, but penetration is certainly lower. They throw off enough heat to brew a pot of coffee on or roast anything in a sealed closet beyond 100f , so you'll need active ventilation either way. Temps in a closet with one of those lights (and the ballast in the same closet) I can keep under control running a 250cfm bathroom vent fan quietly at half speed or so. If you could remote mount the ballast out side your space 50cfm *might* be barely enough.

.5gm dried product per watt is around max anyone can yield normally, but consider yourself lucky to get 1z per plant to start.

If it's a real bargain...Or free...

will a fan be enough for ventilation ill be growing in my storage room and theres know way for fresh air to get in there? maybe a high powered fan and keeping the door open you think that would work out ok?? right now the room is at about 70F and with the light and a fan going i was hoping to keep it around 80 u think that would work out ok?

One light can heat up a small bedroom beyond 85f. Must have exhaust go somewhere, never close the door then and have a fan in front of the door too. It might start out to seem ok with the door closed but then 12 hours later they may be sweating big time so just see how it goes.

so what do you mean about exhaust? like do you want me to get a tube and run it outside? so if i keep the door open and run 2 fans that wouldnt work out? my grow space is 8 feet tall, 10 long, 6 feet wide so that space will prolly get really hot eh even with 2 fans?

Without the heat going somewhere outside of the grow space fans inside a small closed space like that just circulate the heat and let it build up so you must either run a duct with fan to exhaust or must leave doors open with fans and watch it very closely. It is always adviseable to run a fan with ducting even if it's just some bathroom exhaust fan that costs $14 or whatever.

Is this a shed that's going to be cooking in the sun and you're using part of it or is it in a house in a part that's ac'd or garage that gets hot or cold or what? Do whatever it takes after you start using the light to keep below 85 and prefferbly around 75.

well its in my basement storage room its way cooler down there than upstairs and i live in bc theres no really hot weather coming this way for a few months so it will be pretty cool in there....and there is no way to get ventalion in there the best thing i can do it keep the door open with a fan blowing the air out hopfully that would work out!!

basement and cool weather, perfect...

sweet thx man for your help: huge reps

just get a cool tube to extract the heat from your grow room. If you have to, buy a grow tent so you can extract the heat from that room.

yea i got a 250 i plan on using atleast 100 watts of cfl's too but you think ill be looking good with that???

lol whats a cool tube im a noob

I hope you don't mind if I ask a question.............but I'm a Cfl grower and I do closet grows, and I was wondering does a 250 watt have the same heat as a 400? Or is it more watts more heat? I just wondering 'cause I'm looking at a 250 hps but the guy at the hydro store told me that they make the same heat, I don't know weather to belive him or not?