Couple quick Questions

god im so excited!!!! should where do you think would be the best place to scope out a 400w hps setup? If I get the 400w hps setup should I put that in place of my T5 till I can get the MH? I hope he will still sell it to me. Also on more quesiton on the PH, do I ph the water right after I get it from the tap or should I let it sit out for an extended period of time? Also should I water my plants cold, room temp, or warm water? I also have a couple questions with the nutes im using. I have these two nutes

FloraNova Grow Nutrient Gallon and FloraNova Bloom Nutrient Gallon

One says grow and the other says bloom, im assuming use one for veg and one for flower? when should I start using these nutes on my babies? ill get pics up of those and my plants asap, promise!

ok ph
you can do it either time, no need to wait on it tho. just do room temp or as close to that as possible. its really not a big deal either way, but really cold or hot is not good. when i take it from the tap for my hydro i just turn on hot and cold and find a nice moderate temp.

i would wait about 2 weeks from when you planted (not germed) them, and then go really light 1/4-1/8 strength.

yes grow is for the veg stage and the bloom is for flower.

Now your lights. Basic rule of thumb is MH for veg, HPS for flower. So if you were sticking with the T5 for now, do it for veg. The T5 is cooler than the others so keep it real close to the plants. Now eventually you will move into full spectrum and use both, as you are planning, but standard practice is MH/HPS = veg/flower.

the exact price on my ballast was 285. 245 for the ballast, reflector, and MH bulb. the hps was another 35 so total of $285 out the door for a 400W complete switchable ballast. im posting pics in a second.

i cant say where online the best place is because thats all on you. Probably a close distributor so shippipng is less.basically just shop around on a few sites. But if you have a local hydro shop they will definitely have it. otherwise you can call garden centers and nursuries and see what they have going on.

Ok first pic is the ballast. standard 400w. remote magnetic ballast. Its called the SunSystem 10

Second we have the switchable 120/240V. the little door slides over whichever is not in use.

Finally the switch as you can see is for the different bulbs

It also came with GE bulbs. the first is the HPS and the next is the MH.

The reflector is also by sun system, the EconoWing. i couldnt get a good pic since i have it running, but it gives you a good idea. ( i snapped one of the side of the box in spanish, lol)



hope these help give you a reference point. what pieces are what, what some of the terms mean. etc

cool thanks alot for upping those pics, definitely helped me seeing it. so If I get a reflector like that, will I still need to get mylar film for my closet? Me and the g/f are heading to the garden store once we get out of the shower so ill let you know how it goes, woot!!!

you have nothing to worry about as far as the different types of light your using, anything more than the T5 will be an upgrade, also you can crop an entire grow off of using only one type of light, there are pros and cons of each, but right now you need to just worry about ANY upgrade in lighting. you can PH your water whenever, it doesn't really change without help. use as close to room temp water as possible when you water. one trick, if you have warmer than normal grow tems use cooler water to cool down the roots, and visa versa, if you have an extra cold night, water with a little bit warmer water. never use to hot or to cold and you'll be good to go. storzbickel has it right with your nute schedule. I would be warry of one part nute solutions though, they tend to cause lockup in the roots, because the nutes are all crammed into one solution and the molecules become to large for the plant to uptake. but it'll be good for now, that's a whole different lesson, lol. use 1/4 strength after 2 weeks of planting, uaually about 5 or 6 days from sprout, after a couple weeks bump up to 1/2 strength and keep it there, u usually don't need to fert over 1/2 strength of manufacturers suggestions.

its always good to have mylar lining your area. so if you can pick it up and its not breaking the bank, go for it.

good lookin out guys, im heading to the bank and then the garden store, wish me luck

no luck is needed, you got it! once you pop your cherry at your local grow shop, they will be able to show you things visually we just can't explain. ask lots of questions (and I shouldn't have to say this) but be discrete, you don't want to make them uncomfortable at the shop. happy shopping

can I ask a question now, i'm an old timer (been growing since I was 12) but new to the forums, how do I up my ranking from stranger, I feel kinda lowly, lol!

lol just gotta post more messages basically, keep answering my questions ... I think at 20 posts you move up a rank. Yeah the guy at the shop was really awesome, great personality and very helpful. He said that I could get a whole 400w HPS setup for like 175 If I took a Used ballast that he showed me, he said it was back like 5 years ago when they only made them in the U.S. now their all made in china. He said that it would be under warranty and if anything happened to it he would either fix it or replace it. It would come with a brand new bulb. Although he showed me this bulb he had there that would bump it like 30 buck and make it like 210 all together but it was pretty cool, it had blue light in it to like a MH would provide, here is a pic of what it looked like. So it would help more with veg growth. It got super bright, damn its gunna be hard to sleep with that puppy on. I didnt buy it or anything and he was really cool, Just wanted to know your guy's thoughts. Saw a PH tester and Mylar film while I was there too

The Ganj Father said:

can I ask a question now, i'm an old timer (been growing since I was 12) but new to the forums, how do I up my ranking from stranger, I feel kinda lowly, lol!

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yeah at the begining its pretty frequent then its like 100, 200 and so on. i dont even really understand it fully, i dont think there is any explanation that ive come across.

So its 210 for a 400W with both bulbs, is that correct? good deal.

yeah that's a great deal, if he is willing to throw in the hortilux for an extra 30 buckss get it! they run about 100 buck a piece! storz, he's not getting 2 bulbs but the hortilux is worth looking into, it emits a very full spectrum light, extremely close to the sun, more than any hardware sore bulb. a combination of bules reds yellows greens, better than hps and mh combined! if I wasn't running 12 ballasts I would run them for sure!

so you all think I should do it? It turned it on for me and its pretty effin sick!!!! :O

hey ganj father, see that scale in the corner of the posts, i think ppl ar esupposed to click on that when they like ur replies and it ups ur rank

right on thanks brother, I will have to use that feature more. ru8fru, get it! its a steal of a deal especially with that hortilux bulb. and if you get that 250w from your friend you can keep an HPS in it, since your hortilux will be putting out more blue spectrum light than a regular MH anyways. with that setup (both lights) and your room you'll be gravy, until your ready to upgrade to a larger grow space that is

oh man I cant stop thinking about it. it got sooooo bright. its insanse. hopefully I can sleep with that puppy on . I gave u a reputation comment ganj father :O so you think I should probably pay cash for them?

DUDE you got to get this I just got mine and its great quality comes with both bulbs and is brand spanking new!!!!!! 400 watts comes withat a great reflector and a nice dual timer!! with shipping under $200 USD
High Tech Garden Supply
Hope this helps

Oh and the MH bulb puts out 38,000 lumen's
and the HPS puts out 55,000 lumen's so yeah there extremely great bulbs that come with it!!!

ru8fru said:

oh man I cant stop thinking about it. it got sooooo bright. its insanse. hopefully I can sleep with that puppy on . I gave u a reputation comment ganj father :O so you think I should probably pay cash for them?

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Its always best to pay cash when possible

hows everything working out man?!?