Thinking of adding a 150W HPS to existing setup. Need advice.

I currently have @200w of cfls with 4 plants in flower. They have been in flower for 3 weeks. My concern is yield, obviously. I have like 12 bulbs and they are a even mix of 2700k and the veg lights. I can get this http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-SBM150S-150-Watt-Mini-Sunburst/dp/B0055F80H0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1392667771&sr=8-2&keywords=hps+grow+light on Amazon and mount it to the top of my cabinet easily. That would give me 200watts of cfl lighting and the 150 watt HPS with the reflector. Advice? Will it be worth it this late in the game? I assume the buds have a good ways to grow yet. Any advice appreciated. This is my first grow. Here is my current setup:


Current bud pics:

Add HPS sooner the better

Wow that looks like a pretty decent like, does it need a ballast like other HPS lamps?

FourZeroTwo said:

Wow that looks like a pretty decent like, does it need a ballast like other HPS lamps?

Click to expand...

The ballast is built into the bulb casing.
They also have a couple hoods and lamps that are smaller. I could actually fit two in my cabinet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00828RNF2/ref=gno_cart_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Sun-Pressure-Sodium-Light/dp/B005793VQO/ref=pd_sim_lg_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1612FRC7PFJM2QM4W20B
The problem with the two smaller ones is that I think you may need a ballast. There is only one review on it.

Oh wow, that's awesome. Thanks for posting the link! I was debating on buying hps light, but didn't want to use ducting and all of that. Seems like this one wont get to hot.

cedarghost said:

The ballast is built into the bulb casing.
They also have a couple hoods and lamps that are smaller. I could actually fit two in my cabinet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00828RNF2/ref=gno_cart_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Sun-Pressure-Sodium-Light/dp/B005793VQO/ref=pd_sim_lg_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1612FRC7PFJM2QM4W20B
The problem with the two smaller ones is that I think you may need a ballast. There is only one review on it.

Click to expand...

You do need a ballast for any HPS or metal halide bulb, never seen one that was self-ballasted.

I ran over 1,000 actual CFL watts for 2 years until switching. Your yield will be OK, problem is you don't have enough space to use those bulbs efficiently. They don't penetrate canopies so I used to surround plants placing bulbs at different heights.

If heat is not a huge problem, I would ditch the CFL's and go w/this:

http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK400GW19-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B004YXDHX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392670458&sr=8-1&keywords=400+watt+apollo

That's not a bad price. The reviews for the one I posted said it came ready to use and the reviews were positive. I'm growing in a gutted bathroom vanity too, so size may be an issue for me. The one you posted was 19" long. I think it will fit. I am definitively going to throw in at least a 150 watt hps. May be a little late for this grow (though I'd say I've got a good while left to flower), but I have clones coming up too.

Sunbiz1 said:

You do need a ballast for any HPS or metal halide bulb, never seen one that was self-ballasted.

I ran over 1,000 actual CFL watts for 2 years until switching. Your yield will be OK, problem is you don't have enough space to use those bulbs efficiently. They don't penetrate canopies so I used to surround plants placing bulbs at different heights.

If heat is not a huge problem, I would ditch the CFL's and go w/this:

http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK400GW19-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B004YXDHX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392670458&sr=8-1&keywords=400+watt+apollo

Click to expand...

Now I'm thinking about buying some 85 watt cfl bulbs to replace some of my 14 watters and getting this small 150 watt hps to mount to the ceiling. I can bump my cfl wattage to almost 400 by doing this.