Light advice?

I have a floroescent light right now for vegging and I was wondering what wattage metal halide I would see the best results with. And what brand you'd reccomend

I know 1000w mH would be the best i am looking for something that wont empty my pockets. I only have a max of 5 plants right now. Thanks.

What are you growing in, a tent or a room. 400 in a tent will work with proper venting. But if you are not in a tent, a 600 will do 5 plants nicely. Peace

Empty your pocket book? Look on ebay...I would recommend a 600 watt system with a sealed hood. Under a couple hundred. If money is an issue then don't worry about brand names, get going and you can afford any brand you like. JAS

Yeah it's more of a walk-in closet.

I will go look for one now thanks guys

I bought a 600w with a cool tube, two hps bulbs, hangers, a timer--Apollo--for 141 on ebay. Mixed reviews, of course, but it's been working for a week. Have to have ventilation though.

I strongly advise quality equipment. Don't get cheap ipower or Apollo just because it fits the budget. While you see good reviews there is also bad ones. Lumatek, hydrofarm phantom or soils tek are the ballast brands I suggest.

matakie said:

I have a floroescent light right now for vegging and I was wondering what wattage metal halide I would see the best results with. And what brand you'd reccomend

I know 1000w mH would be the best i am looking for something that wont empty my pockets. I only have a max of 5 plants right now. Thanks.

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Hell, if you are already set up and running with floro's and are strapped for cash, buy more 6700k CFLS... They will get the job done well enough.

Just one thought.

Cfls are slow and don't produce results that you will be happy get a good 1k that can be turned down save money and just run hps bulb you will get a pound instead of a once or two. Hps all the way more pot. Mh all the way stronger pot

dr.tree said:

Cfls are slow and don't produce results that you will be happy ....

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It's all relative.. I only pull out my MH if it is winter and if I am in some kind of hurry, and then I am darn glad to have it. That said, under CFL my Veg is ALWAYS faster than my flower.. What's the rush on veg? My CFL's keep almost perfect time with my flowering, producing plants just perfect to go in, right at the time they need.. If they were any quicker or any bigger it would serve me no purpose and be counter productive to my 'flow'.

That's just me of course.. There is no standard, and I do LST short bushes myself, but for many of us there isn't any sense in rushing veg when we can't do anything with it till the flower room becomes available anyway.

Not to mention, I really do ADORE how they come out under the CFL.. healthy, green, tight tight internodes... yum yum. If not for that It would be real easy to just stick up a MH and quit screwing with the CFL's, but I like the way the plants come out much better (again, for my style and environment).

Just meaningless thoughts from my peanut gallery.. I am kind of killing time so I am probably yaking more just to be yaking, than because I have anything valid to really say.. heh.. my bad, Just one other thought to pile on. If this guy is trying to grow monster trees, then a big ol MH certainly would be best.. but if he is wanting to green out and keep plants in veg until flower, lot's o options..

I was going to ask this in its own thread but figured I would look around before asking the same question that has been asked 1000 times before. Is a 1000w mh too much for seedlings and early veg? I have a switchable ballast but it isnt dimmable. I have a couple 400w hps but I dont want to have to switch lights out when I go into 12/12. And if it is fine to use the 1000mh how far is a "safe" distance from seedlings? I dont want to fry my 100$ order I just got from herbies. And for the op, check your local craigslist. There are alot of name brands on the one for my area at a great price.

It's fine and safe to use MH for seedling.. Although it is a bit wasteful, it is not not very resourceful, efficient or cost friendly. A single 26 watt CFL will take a a few seedlings respectfully and well into two weeks of solid growth..

26 watt compared to 1000 watt to see little initial difference in the first few weeks, $hit add$ up..

There will be about 25 seedlings under the light so I dont think a single cfl will work