When buying HPS does brand matter?

blowing into filter works the same as sucking througgh, but it does reduce the cfms further than if you where to suck through it i agree with tranceus because your spcae is so small it is better to blow into the filter.

get the 600w and a 400w bulbs so you can upgrade later sounds like a common sense plant to me do it.

wow now i feel dumb after all this poly i didnt even think of just getting a damn 600w ballast with a 400w bulb. no deminishing return there. god i feel stupid

polyarcturus said:

blowing into filter works the same as sucking througgh, but it does reduce the cfms further than if you where to suck through it i agree with tranceus because your spcae is so small it is better to blow into the filter.

get the 600w and a 400w bulbs so you can upgrade later sounds like a common sense plant to me do it.

Click to expand...

polyarcturus said:

blowing into filter works the same as sucking througgh, but it does reduce the cfms further than if you where to suck through it i agree with tranceus because your spcae is so small it is better to blow into the filter.

get the 600w and a 400w bulbs so you can upgrade later sounds like a common sense plant to me do it.

Click to expand...

1) I would need 2 ballasts to do that, though, right?! A lot of money. That's why I was considering dimmable.
2) Could I go Ducting>Reflector>Ducting>Inline fan Outside of tent>Directly into carbon filter? That way I am still pulling the heat out...?

As far as I know, a 600w ballast would blow out a 400w bulb. That's what I was told by a hydro store guy, that is why he told me about a dimmable. But i didn't ask enough questions

its all good its that goodazz herb youve been growing

nah man if you got a dimmable dimmed to 400w you can put a 400w bulb in it if not ill send you a replacement(not really cause it will work) but i have ran all types of bulb ballast combos and you have to do something pretty stupid to have a failure. hell ive run 600w bulbs in 1000w mag ballast for a whole 6months b4.

So do I need a dimmable ballast to run both 400w and 600w?
Or can I run a 400 and 600w both on the same ballast non-dimmable?

PS. It is okay to run a 400w on a 75% dimmed 600w ballast? (That comes out to 450w)

Q1 answer - get a ballast that is 600w that is also 400w capable. meaning a 600w ballast that can burn a 400w bulb and a 600w bulb. they make em shop around.
Q2 answer- you got it right

bratattack said:

1) I would need 2 ballasts to do that, though, right?! A lot of money. That's why I was considering dimmable.
2) Could I go Ducting>Reflector>Ducting>Inline fan Outside of tent>Directly into carbon filter? That way I am still pulling the heat out...?

Click to expand...

lmao yea that may be the case.

polyarcturus said:

its all good its that goodazz herb youve been growing

Click to expand...

Alright word, because through this method I won't have to put the inline fan inside, I can leave it on the outside.

I thought that dimmable was the only way to allow for both in the same ballast

dude honestly i dont really know youll have to do some research on that but im pretty sure i have seen ballasts that will power multiple wattage bulbs if not just get the dang dimmable lol. i have always used bulbs with the same wattage ratio as my ballast so no experience there. also make a gorw journal in the grow journals forum. i wanna see those babies grow after you get all set up, and if you wanna watch mine the link is in my sig

bratattack said:

Alright word, because through this method I won't have to put the inline fan inside, I can leave it on the outside.

I thought that dimmable was the only way to allow for both in the same ballast

Click to expand...

magnetic ballasts are wattage specific what ballast are you wanting to buy? if you but a digital you can run a 400w bulb on a 600w ballasts dfimmed to the 400w setting.(450w may be fine but you would experience a more rapid decay of bulb life)

if you have a 600w magnetic ballast or non-dimming digital ballast you MUST run the same wattage bulb. so 600w.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to digital vs magnetic?

magnetics got a long life durable and little concern for damage to bulbs. digital are brighter, have better spectrum bulbs, less heat at the ballast, and have multiple wattage features. both do the job both use the same amount of power. i like the digi cause of the lower heat but i will always keep a magnetic for a backup cause it will never die.

if the digital ballast doesnt dim dont waste the cash on it its not worth IMO

why not? didn't you just say it will be brighter? plus isnt this digilux the best bulb? whats the best bulb?

The only reason for looking at a magnetic ballast these days would be going the CMH route, and if you were to do that I'd take a look at a MicroMole. But still... newer tech equals better tech. Solis-Tek FTW!!

And the dimmer switch works like this:

1,000 watt = 1,000 watt bulb

600 watt = 600 watt bulb

400 watt = 400 watt bulb

easy peasy.

You know people always say magnetic ballasts last longer. Bullshit. I've seen pics of so many multi-thousand watt grow rooms and there's always a couple of magnetic ballasts lying around and ripped open in some sort of state of repair.

What's the best bulb man? Should I get that digilux or is it a waste of money compared to a generic?

SSHZ said:

400 watts suck........ They are barely enough to flower 1-2 plants tops. I own them and they are boxed up and put away. A total waste of money

Click to expand...

I'll give you 40 bucks for one of your useless 400w HIDs sitting in boxes not doing shit.