HID lighting help, Please :)

Hello all

I have decided to grow in a cabinet (That is about 5 square feet) and i need/want a HID light in there... I was thinking 400W (I can sort out ventilation and all that jazz, so heat wont be a problem) Just need to know if 400W is enough to grow say... 4+ plants in SCROG in that space? ... And what should the bare minimum height be that light is to the tops of the plants ... Also is 6" (Acoustic ) ducting enough to get air moving through the air cooled hood?... also what ballast do i need it i want to change from a MH to a HPS to a MH {BLAH-BLAH}?...(Havent actually decided on the brand or anything just need to get a basic idea of wattage and distance from the plants, I Will be using an air cooled hood tho)

Thank you

James!

Hello,
When you say 5 square feet we assume you mean like a 1ft x 5ft area or 2.24'x2.24' growing area. For five square feet of growing area in a mostly square-like pattern I would recommend a 250w Philips MasterColor Horizontal CMH bulb. Ceramic Metal Halide will make all the difference over HPS or MH or any combination of the two. You may opt for a "vertical" orientation bulb for a vertical, stadium style grow in your space. Adequate ventilation for optimum plant life is all that will be needed to keep this bulb cool, and you can put flowering tops 6-8" from the bulb itself. GL

400w will probably need to be at the top by the time you end about midway when you start. you should be able to do a nice scrog in there with a 400w. i would get the 400w CMH like the guy above was talking about, they work in HPS ballast not MH.

Yep spot on its roughly (1.5 x 3) ... So CMH hey?... That's what I was thinking at first but... Here in SA we only have MH and HPS ... So short story long, I O can only have MH and HPS ... I would prefer a 400w and just ventilate nicely ... I am more intrested in SCROG, but what do you mean by stadium grow? (Do you mean the plants are at different levels) , So 6" ducting will be enough?

Thanks

James!

yeah 6" should be fine, i dont know if he meant a stadium grow but you can do a vertical scrog too. um you can order the CMH bulb online a hydroponics.net, well worth it in your situation.

Okay will go with the 6" duct's ... I just need to fill everyone in on the situation in South Africa... A 400w HID (Digital) ballast (Bottom of the range, one that costs like $100) here costs the equivelent of $500 dollars... This is the case with everything like that atleast costs 3x more than in america Mostly due to taxes and import duties and actually corruption in this country... OH well (done venting )... So I can only get standard buls Thanks James!

400 watts for 5 sqft is plenty. Thats 80watts per sqft. 6 inch ducting will work fine and a 240-300 cfm fan should do the trick. As for a ballast goes you say a digi may be to expensive where you live. So you could just get an magnetic HPS ballast. It will fire both MH and HPS bulbs no problem......

that sucks about the ballast. $500 for a cheap one! wow. i'm gonna load up suitcases and i'll be there shortly with 2 bags full...haha

It defined as *Economical rape* ... Well I am definately going for the 6" ducting (Just now need to know if I should use acoustic?)... Then I will stick with a 400w for that space (Oh yea I might increase the space by using two metal stationary cupboards put together for an exact total of 9.6 square feet) will the 400w still be enough? (Sorry to mess you guys around) ... Then all I need to do is find a good inline fan (In SA ) and how I should set it up? (The ducting Is gonna be comming in from outside the box through the air cooled hood and straight out, nothing else)... Thank you all for your help, I will be posting a thread when I do get round to getting the box and all the parts James!

Maak seker om te jou gloeilamp koel hou. 400W sal doen wat jy baie goed. Is jy gaan die hidroponiese of die grond te doen?

EDIT: Hoeveel wil jy hê om te spandeer op jou lig en ventilasie?

Sorry MikMike i dont understand afrikaans well ... But im growing in soil... and im willing to spend 1000 on ventilation

Thanks

James!

Well mmkay i guess as long as u like the Springboks we are still kewl lol. Remember if u buy from from USA u need to get a 240v cable. i also asked how much u want to spend on the light? My afrikaans is rough been many yrs since i last used it...

Course i do ... Just aslong as you like the stormers we good in my book ... Im not too sure on the light im looking at piecing it together as i go (Just started a thread in *The grow room* on what ballast to get, check it out and see what you think)... ventilation is what i want to get out the way first and thanks for the advice

James!

yea site is going so slow, srry i like the sharks but how much rand all together for ballast and vent?

hmm... MikMike i have no idea on the price.... but what i want will be about 2100 hey

James!

is that including shipping to u, because i am searching sites and shipping to SA and it is about 4500 rand just the shipping. i think i found a online south african hydroponic store that sells lights and the 400 watt grow is including most expensive shipping ( they do have free for some cities like joburg ) would be 1500 rand. http://www.lightsoutelectrical.co.za/grow-lights/complete-systems/deluxe-grow-system-complete-400w-hps/prod_2714.html

I have been to that site looks good... but the ballast will get mad hot ... Thanks buddy +1

James!

NP just dont want u slammed on shipping there, when i ship things to family it costs a small fortune

It is a pain hey... We have nothing in this damn country... oh well thanks for all your help (go to www.sahydro.co.za)

James!

I was looking at that site, thinking i should send u the link lol and i agree things are just going down hill, i got out luckily