6, 600w or 4, 1000w?

No, the 1000w's were on loan.
I could still use them but rather not.
So I'm buying my own.
Thinking of spending like $2,000 on the new ones, so I want to know what's best.

600's will give you better over all coverage. 1kw's will get deep canopy penetration, but there hot, even air cooled. get HPS ballast. Run MH in them for the veg.

mindphuk said:

Get Super Sun 2 or Radiant reflectors and lumatek or galaxy dual 600 electronic ballasts, you will be gold!


(the hinged glass on the radiants are so nice, easy to clean and change bulbs etc.)

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I just picked up some XtraSun hoods for $60 a piece, digital bulbs for $60 apiece, and Lumateck dual 600 for $290 a piece.

After setting it all up I am very pleased with the results!
Now I must wait and see how the new girls like it.

so you went with 600w, I was going to say the following

600w offers more coverage of more plants, but 1000w offers higher yields on fewer plants.

6x600w = 3600w, 4x1000 == 4000w, and 1000w also offer more lumens per watt. However, without an airflow system or two in 4 1kw lights, it may be too hot.

The thing is tho, it is more sensible to make smaller plants and get them to maturity faster and yield more so 600w was probably a good call.

Well, to be honest I love big plants!
And I intend on growing these close to 3 ft tall or more.
But my plan is to top and lollipop them.
Along with keeping the hoods(3 per 8x4 tray) directly at canopy level I should do well.

superstash said:

so you went with 600w, I was going to say the following

600w offers more coverage of more plants, but 1000w offers higher yields on fewer plants.

6x600w = 3600w, 4x1000 == 4000w, and 1000w also offer more lumens per watt. However, without an airflow system or two in 4 1kw lights, it may be too hot.

The thing is tho, it is more sensible to make smaller plants and get them to maturity faster and yield more so 600w was probably a good call.

Click to expand...

Where do you get the idea that the 1000w is more lumens/watt? 600 watt ballasts have always been more efficient. They are rated between 92-95,000 lumens whereas the 1000w is about 145,000.
92,000lm/600w = 153.3lm/w, 145,000/1000s= 145 lm/w

There is no way you can say that the 4 1000w lamps will produce a better yield. In fact, the lower power 600w lamps will produce 552,000 lumens and the 1000w will produce 580,000 lumens, only about 5% more light but at 10% more power consumption.

When doing hydro you want the most lumens u can get...ur acctually gonna get more lumens from the 600 watt then the 1000...heat problems and cost is another reason to go with the 600...thats just me though...i like the fact that the light can be close to the plants

I would use 4 1000 with Liquid Lumens setups for each that will give you no heat problems and you will get better yeilds in a little smaller area. Use foam on the sides to direct the light back into your plants. 600s will give you more coverage but you cant get as strong of points of light. There is no way that a 600 watt point of light is stronger than a 1000 watt point of light. You just get more points with the 600s.