Ahh, really nice to hear w/ certainty that I'm in the clear on the pollen. (I understand you can only be but so certain w/ out puttin ur eyeballs on 'em.) But still fukn great to hear.
I'll work on perfected my bud porn technique.
your pics are good enough for me to feel confident in saying your clear on the seeds.. but without a much closer view of the flowers i cant really give a good call for doneness... you'll get the camera bug eventually and get a badass one just for close up pics
PLEASE explain to me how a floro is $500 beans. I noticed the wattage was up over 400 watts. No way in hell I can do that right now (I'm talkin like an extra $200 beans is the most I can come off of, plannin to move cross country & what not). But for posterity, I would love to know how a floro got that high.
ok... gotta break it down a little.. first they are 420w ballasts... each with 4 bulbs.. so each bulb is 105ws... each bulb puts off 11,000 lumens.. so each ballast puts off 44,000 lumens.. so they have the light output of about what a 400w hps lamp puts out...
this alone is impressive.. but if it was all then it wouldnt be worth the money.. here are the other features and reasons why its worth the money...
1) heat output is SUPER low... at max temp it will run at 90 degrees... this means they can be put in smaller locations with much less worry about heat... lower need for heavy ventilation i guess is what i mean..
2) their ability to stay extremely close to the canopy without burn.. im talking within inches.. what this means is that your plants get WELL over 44,000 lumens.. lumen ratings are rated at 1 foot from the light source... so at 1 foot from the light is the 44,000 lumens... move the light within an inch or two of the plants and you get 80,000+ lumens...
3) their lumen output is also constant since its floro lighting.. HID lighting has 2 actual readings.. initial lumens and mean lumens.. we read what the initial lumens rating is.. this is the peak most lumens the light puts off.. but after operation use and time those lumens drop... the floros will stay at the rated lumens until the bulbs burn out...
4) bulb life is EXTREMELY long.. i have used the same bulbs in them for the last few years... and a good majority of the time they are on 24/0....
Good call with the 600 in tent & 400 over waterfarm outside of tent.
Here's the thing I am confused on that I really need some advice. Is how to cool that 400 watt (my current one). Cause it is a cheapie & just has gull wing reflector.
My fan is connected to the flange on back of tent, so I fear I would not be able to cool another HID outside of the tent, know what I mean?
My plan as of last night was to keep cheap ass existing 400 watt w/ gull wing reflector in tent for just v-drip.
Then grab the guy below. Yeah it's only 150watts, but it's gotta a nice hood that I can connect separate 4" ducting to, then run that above the tent to a "Y" connector, & that fan will be plenty (even with efficiency loss using "Y" connector), to cool cheap ass gull wing (4oo), and new cheap 150 watt w/ descent hood.
Check out link below if ya can that shows the 150 watt I'm thinkin bout. It's 80 beans, boom.
I realize a 600 would be ideal for tent. But
they did do OK with a 400 watt in there. I basically broke down & @ 50K lumens from 400 watt hps. My current girls are gettin bout 4K lumens per piece.
With the 150, divided by x4, I would still be gettin 4K of lumens to each one.
Lemme know what ya think. Or if 150 is just a piece o shit. Was tryin to rationalize that it would be nice for keepin proper moms in h20 farm once I get to left coast too.
I dunno, again, gotta get everything to bloom & be done by June, so time is suddenly of the essence & I'm on a budget now. What a bitch.
Thanks for all you help dude!
http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=49255[/QUOTE]
i would, if i were you, use the 400w with a gull wing outside the tent and use the 600 in the tent.... first off scrap the idea of anything less than 400w.. you will waste your money and time.. trust me... in a more open environment a 400w would stay plenty cool... a simple fan blowing on it will help also... as long as the heat can dissipate into a decent sized environment your good...
either way you'll have a 400w lamp outside with a gull wing.. and inside will be a air cooled light.. whether it will be a 400 or 600 is up to you...
Hey SimpsonSampson!
I'm totally new to this whole thing (both growing and on the forum) and this is my first post. I've been reading all your information and responses you have posted here and I must say you have done an excellent job breaking it down to us newbies without acting like a know-it-all. Props to you man.
But lets get down to business to why I'm here..I'm interested in starting a grow. Nothing big by any means, I'm talking like 1 or 2 plants.
I want to grow in an area thats approx. 5 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 3 feet deep (its a gutted dresser). As for lighting I was just wondering what would be the most efficent for the size, cfl or hps (from reading your previous posts I'm thinking of going with hps) If I do go with hps what size should I get if I'm only going to do 1 or two plants and because they put off more heat will I need to put in a ventilation system? As for soil and nutes I think I'm pretty good. I'm going to get a high quality soil and take your advice and get a fox farms nute system. I'm also looking for any reccomendations on a strain that has a good yeild but also stays pretty small height wise, if you or anyone else posting here has any reccomendations that'd be great!
Sorry for bombarding you with all these questions at once, I'm just anxious to get going.
Thanks again for all your help!
hey bro.. thanks for the kind words.. always appricieated!!
now to business...
if you want to go floro that would be fine.. if you can spend the money on the floro i suggested to sh2h that would be amazing in your set up... this would work well and is cheaper
http://www.wormsway.com/detail.aspx?t=prod&sku=SPB104&AC=1... obviously you will get better results with the more expensive one.. but both would offer quite satisfying results... they would also require much less ventilation... you'll need some regardless... but the heat output would be much much lower... i would stay away from the spiral cfls or other forms of floro though.... if you dont go one of the first two options just go hps.. the other benefit to the floros is that you can keep them closer.. since your limited on space in a way.... they will take up less vertical space and be kept closer... good for a small space...
if you go hps you will need to definitely do ventilation work... you'll also want to have an air cooled hood.. hps lamps will give you great results.. but the heat issue must be addressed... a 400w lamp would work.. 600w would be best.... 1000w would be overkill....
itd be beneficial to line the dresser inside with reflective material... especially if you use floro lighting... but either way its a good idea...
as far as strains go stick with heavy indicas.. the more indica dominant the better... they will work better for you than sativas.... matanuska tundra is a personal fav of mine.. stays nice and short with very little stretch if any at flowering..
