Is worth to upgrade from 400W HPS to 600W HPS on Week 2 of Flower?

JHake said:

Hello RIU.

Right now i have a chance to upgrade my 400W to a 600W.

But since plant is smaller than it could, i dont know if yield will be worth the extra money on the electric bill.

3x3x6 tent, running 1 plant in a 10gal pot in a scrog.

Thanks in advance!

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If you upgrade to a 600, you’ll do better in a 4x4. So get the tent as well. Just cut down my first plant with my 600w HPS and 4x4 tent, 1 plant in a 15g pot. Prob going weigh close to 400g when I trim her up in a few more days

Thanks everyone for the answers.

Going bigger than the 3x3 is in the plans, but is not doable for me right now.

Seems that 600W is possible but with special attention to heat control. Will keep reading and checking some prices before buying. Maybe i can add a small LED to the 400W HPS.

I can add an AC into the room where the tent is, to lower room temperature if its needed. Will bite the bullet with electricity costs lol.

JHake said:

Thanks everyone for the answers.

Going bigger than the 3x3 is in the plans, but is not doable for me right now.

Seems that 600W is possible but with special attention to heat control. Will keep reading and checking some prices before buying. Maybe i can add a small LED to the 400W HPS.

I can add an AC into the room where the tent is, to lower room temperature if its needed. Will bite the bullet with electricity costs lol.

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The cost of a 600 watt is maybe $5 more a month to run, ac on the other hand idk. I ran an air duct from my ac vent through my light and I had decent temps.

Guys, sorry for this late update, but two things:

1) My tent in fact is 3,28x3,28ft. I live in a metric country and did the conversion wrong in my mind.
So footprint is like 18% bigger than a strict 3x3 if we go with numbers.

2) Only "affordable" led i can get here is a 180W fixture made with Citizen CLU04J Gen 8 LEDs.
It costs me as twice the 600W HPS. Money is not much the problem here, but i feel that those tipe of leds is outdated now with the QB.

If you're using an old-school magnetic ballast, and you're using a shielded hood, you can use the GE CMH retrofit 400w bulbs.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036NOFU4 -- the only issue is they are not open rated, though people run them that way and presumably retire early...

You'll get a better light spectrum than just plain HPS and likely less heat output also.

That said, I use a 315 CMH LEC in a 3.5x3.5 and it's about perfect for me. (open rated)

I've grown with both lamps and they both produce well for what they are.

When I started indoors in my old condo I ran a 600W in a 2.5 x 3.5 x 6' tent in my bedroom closet. Had my filter in the tent right next to the light and vented out of the closet. Never had a heat issue. Just kept the bedroom door open so the heat could migrate. Could run the duct right out to the next room too or add an AC unit.

MintyDreadlocks said:

hps is for boomers. go led if you're going to "upgrade"

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Boom boom baby. I've got 1110w of quantum boards in the rear just for you sugar bear. I'm a switch hitter, but it's mostly HPS. 3200w of it to be exact. The lighting a gardener chooses is unique to the space in which they are growing. There is no one size fits all solution. LED has it's uses. As does HID. Sometimes a combination is what works best. Word to your mother homie

JHake said:

Guys, sorry for this late update, but two things:

1) My tent in fact is 3,28x3,28ft. I live in a metric country and did the conversion wrong in my mind.
So footprint is like 18% bigger than a strict 3x3 if we go with numbers.

2) Only "affordable" led i can get here is a 180W fixture made with Citizen CLU04J Gen 8 LEDs.
It costs me as twice the 600W HPS. Money is not much the problem here, but i feel that those tipe of leds is outdated now with the QB.

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Here's the short and skinny dude - If you go with a 600w HPS you're going to possibly have to upgrade your inline fan. So the upfront hardware is cheaper for HPS, but you also need to factor in the costs of upgrading your inline fan if necessary. You said you have an AC you can put in the room? Do it. Install the 600 and rock out. As long as it's in an air cooled hood and you have a decent inline fan moving the air coupled with an AC unit in the room you'll be golden. If you go LED the upfront costs are considerably more unless you go straight to the source on Alibaba, however LED requires no modification to your existing setup to cool the light. LED's generate heat, but the heat generated is next to nothing compared to a 600w HID lamp.

I tried to run LED, I had to add a heater to my tent because the soil never dried LOL

WrEkkED said:

I tried to run LED, I had to add a heater to my tent because the soil never dried LOL

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One of my nurseries runs on LED. I had to add one of those portable oil filled electric radiators. Works like a charm

Don't mind the plants. Just defoliated and topped the shit out of them. It was a green massacre

I have since moved the radiator to the middle of the canopy. I was toasting a few leaves on the side there. In the middle it doesn't contact any foliage.

jonnynobody said:

Boom boom baby. I've got 1110w of quantum boards in the rear just for you sugar bear. I'm a switch hitter, but it's mostly HPS. 3200w of it to be exact. The lighting a gardener chooses is unique to the space in which they are growing. There is no one size fits all solution. LED has it's uses. As does HID. Sometimes a combination is what works best. Word to your mother homie

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respect bro looks great

This was the before:


450W spider farmer unit was way too much for a 5'x5'. I wound up putting this light in the flower room and replaced it with two 110w quantum boards for $187 on alibaba. The spider farmer burned the shit out of the foliage at full power no matter how far away from the canopy. I had to dial it down to 50% to prevent bleaching which is about 225W. 210W is a match made in heaven. And the fact that it's 2 boards and not 1 allows me to spread the panels creating a more even spread of light. Beautiful fit for a 5'x5'.



The two 110w alibaba boards. Love them! $187 to my front door in 8 days. Fuck Amazon and any other state side vendor

MintyDreadlocks said:

respect bro looks great

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It's a 2nd wife that doesn't give blow jobs and costs infinitely more to keep happy