HPS and MH Wattage

I'm thinking about starting a Hydroponic Garden that can sustain 4 plants.
In my Flowering Room I plan to use a High Pressure Sodium light, and a Metal Halide for my Veg. room.
I've been doing alot of reading and video watching on how to set up a Hydroponic system and I have a good understanding of it.

Basically for lighting I'm wondering..
How many watts are necessary for 4-6 plants with a HPS light for flowering.
and how many watts are necessary for a MH light to keep 1 mother plant in veg and grow seedlings.
Also, are ballasts necessary?
And based on the Watts necessary for my plants, what sort of electric bill increases am I looking at?

I'm going to say 250w is sufficient for that few plants. I have never used that kind of lighting, but from what I read, with that few plants, 250w is all you really need. I think you can probably grow more with that much light, or if you get a bigger light, you can probably do even more. This is assuming they are small areas and 4 plants is all you can fit, if that is the case, I think 250w is super. Let some pros answer though, I use CFL.

Watch out for people who think anything less than what they themselves have is useless. Watch out for people linking you stuff, watch out for people trying to upsell you. Even if it's not an affiliate link, it could be a representative. let the replies roll in, and go with the sensible ones.

Ballasts r definately necessary for any HIDs... It all depends on the airflow and temps u can maintain, as to how much wattage u can use... For me, the more lumens the better, and u would do much better to be using MH AND HPS for the entire grow... It'll do much better under each spectrum in both phases... For 4-6 plants, in a 2' X 4' area, with proper prunning techinques, and a controlled canopy, I wouldn't go with ANY less than 250W, as I have 1,150W of HPS and MH in a space this size, and can fit 8 five gallon bucket in there, and grow plants up to 5'-6' tall, but I keep em very bushy... So, for u, I'd suggest getting two 250W HPS kits, and in one, use a 250W HPs, and in the other, use a 250W MH(it will burn just fine).... That should give u plenty of lumen output for a 4-6 plant grow... Keep temps and air flow in check, and watch your watering and feeding, so you dont over or under do it... U will succeed...

i would say 400w for 4-6 plants..u want about 50-75 watts per plant..depending on lighting u can get away with less..but thts a good mark to follow for a decent yield i wud say..and how big is your grow area gunna be..400w wud be good for a 4x4ft area or less any bigger ur gunna want a 600 honestly u can get a 400w for the same price as a 250 u just gotta look..good luck

I've kept a mother goin for 6 months with two cfls, until I flowered her. And again, what dutchmaster said. 400's are cheap, go with that and you'll never be sorry.

Thanks for all the input guys.
I was looking at this full kit comes with everything I should need for lighting, for 244.95$ but I notice that the 600w are only 40$ more so I was considering a 2 of those, one for each room.
http://growace.com/product_info/400w-hps-mh-air-cool-hood-reflector-digital-ballast-grow-light-k.html
Please give your opinion on that.

Also, is it really necessary to get a MH for Vegging, I was told that fluorescent tubes would suffice for vegetative growth and require alot less energy, money, and produce less heat.

1. Those kits often contain some cheap components. They don't even tell you what ballast it is.
2. It's not the number of plants but the size space you intend to illuminate. The light doesn't know or care how many individuals are down there. Two plants can be manipulated to cover a space that needs 600w. I grow 4 plants and have a 600.
3. How long do you plan to veg? T5s are good for veg as long as you're not letting them get too big.
4. The air cooled hood is a must and it will need to be ducted and have an inline fan

iMultiTask said:

Thanks for all the input guys.
I was looking at this full kit comes with everything I should need for lighting, for 244.95$ but I notice that the 600w are only 40$ more so I was considering a 2 of those, one for each room.
http://growace.com/product_info/400w-hps-mh-air-cool-hood-reflector-digital-ballast-grow-light-k.html
Please give your opinion on that.



Also, is it really necessary to get a MH for Vegging, I was told that fluorescent tubes would suffice for vegetative growth and require alot less energy, money, and produce less heat.

Click to expand...

Yes you will be fine with fluorescent... tho I would use CFL's instead of tubes.... with CFL's you can use pigtail sockets and hang the lamps throughout your space to get excellent coverage.

alp

There's a chart here somewhere that shows lighting footprints for various hps wattages and distance from glass.

I tried to post but can't get mine to post

LampDistanceFoot-Candles
1000 watt HPS1.50 foot (18 inches/45 cm)9,000 fc
600 watt HPS1.00 foot (12 inches/30 cm)9,000 fc1.50 foot (18 inches/45 cm)5,600 fc
400 watt HPS0.75 foot (9 inches/23 cm)9,000 fc1.50 foot (18 inches/45 cm)4,000 fc
250 watt HPS0.58 foot (7 inches/18 cm)9,000 fc1.50 foot (18 inches/45 cm)2,800 fc

Highlighted items approximate the closest distance that particular lamp should be to the sweet spot to avoid over-lighting. (those interested in photosynthetic radiation can use this PPF PAR converter.)​

Actually the entire post is pretty decent so heres a link this pic was taken from......
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/yor/lightres.htm

I would say 400w to 600w. But once you are at 400w, going to 600w is a matter of $40 or so. I would bump to the 600w.

View attachment 2128766

This is the chart. A lot of information in it but you have to download it and zoom in to read

Illegal Smile said:

View attachment 2128766

This is the chart. A lot of information in it but you have to download it and zoom in to read

Click to expand...

Downloaded it, having trouble reading it.

I don't understand why it is so low res. I downloaded that from RIU to begin with. This is an excellent chart. For each wattage, 150, 250, 400, 600, 1000, it shows the illumination pattern as a rectangle with length and width for various distances from the glass. But it also shows the footprint in three different intensity ranges. For example, you can see at what distance your 400 makes an optimal light pattern and its size. And if you have it too close you can see that.

Anyway, if anyone knows how to get a higher res image up let me know. Or if there is a mod around, I this this chart is good enough to be a sticky somewhere.

It is a good chart IS. And a good guide to light patterns, but...the final footprint is controlled much more by hood style rather the a certain distance.

Here's a link to a version of it

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/512323-what-footprint-1000-watt-hps-2.html