What light is better? I need help.

ChaseD420

Member
how big is your space is your starting point
As big as it needs to be around 5x5ft room would be fairly good I imagine.what difference does it make? And Maurice I would like to get a good starting bulb though I mean eventually I will get better rigs but for now I want to buy the better one from y'alls opinion cause I don't want a expensive inefficient light for my first time lol.
 

twalte

Well-Known Member
o
As big as it needs to be around 5x5ft room would be fairly good I imagine.what difference does it make?
The square footage of the space that you're growing in will roughly determine the size of the lamp that you need. Consider these rough guidelines below. If you're looking at growing in a 5x5 space, then you're looking at 25 square feet. If you want to target 50 watts per square foot, that would put you at 1200 watts of HID. I run 1000 watts HID in the same size space. (an equivalent LED setup works but I know nothing about them). I put a link below at the source which has a good article on lighting.

Watts per square foot (wattage per sq ft WILL vary by light source):
Minimum wattage per sq ft.: 30w
Mid Range
wattage per sq ft.: 50w
Optimal Range wattage per sq ft.: 50-80w

Source: http://www.growmedical420.com/how-many-lumens-or-watts-per-square-foot-of-light-do-i-need/
 

bseeds

Well-Known Member
if your room is 5x5 a 1000 watt would work if it is narrow and longer maybe two 400 watts would work better go with hps/mh if you can not afford good leds or your just wasting money on the cheap leds
 

ChaseD420

Member
o


The square footage of the space that you're growing in will roughly determine the size of the lamp that you need. Consider these rough guidelines below. If you're looking at growing in a 5x5 space, then you're looking at 25 square feet. If you want to target 50 watts per square foot, that would put you at 1200 watts of HID. I run 1000 watts HID in the same size space. (an equivalent LED setup works but I know nothing about them). I put a link below at the source which has a good article on lighting.

Watts per square foot (wattage per sq ft WILL vary by light source):
Minimum wattage per sq ft.: 30w
Mid Range
wattage per sq ft.: 50w
Optimal Range
wattage per sq ft.: 50-80w

Source: http://www.growmedical420.com/how-many-lumens-or-watts-per-square-foot-of-light-do-i-need/
Ok kool well seeing I'm only gonna need it for 2 plants in this area it's not that big of a deal to get the light or light distribution. Just the type of light I'm 100% on HPS. But I'm not sure on my wattage it doesn't matter if like to get 1000w with a ballast. (Because it seems to be the best shit available besides the expensive uv lights or led) . But thanks. And I'm planning to trellis net them and bring a fat yield my first time if I can lol.
 

ChaseD420

Member
if your room is 5x5 a 1000 watt would work if it is narrow and longer maybe two 400 watts would work better go with hps/mh if you can not afford good leds or your just wasting money on the cheap leds
Ok i looked into it on YouTube and they explained why they were better and the dude almost nutted in his pants talking about them so I'm definitely gonna go hps. But if I have 2 decent plant 1000w should be well over enough correct? Or could I grow more? Because the room I'm working with isn't large upwards it's around 7-8 ft tall. And two plant wouldn't need but like 2FTx4FTgive or take on the width. And do I have to veg on MH or can veg and flower with hps? Thanks for the help btw.
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
are you going to be able to cool the room? a 1K throws off a bunch of heat.

2 plants in a 5x5 seems like you are wasting space.

what is your budget for light? if you wanted to go HPS/MH, get a MH for veg, the HPS for bloom. get a digital ballast that can run both
 

bseeds

Well-Known Member
if your only going to grow a few plants I would not buy a 1000 watt to much wasted light and heat maybe a 400 or 600 remember you will need to get rid of the extra heat any of them will generate but if you are set on a 1000watt I would grow a hell of lot more then a few plants with the amount of electric and cooling it is going to cost you
 

ChaseD420

Member
are you going to be able to cool the room? a 1K throws off a bunch of heat.

2 plants in a 5x5 seems like you are wasting space.

what is your budget for light? if you wanted to go HPS/MH, get a MH for veg, the HPS for bloom. get a digital ballast that can run both
Yea I have a 110 right now but im gonna wait till I get enough to get all the crap i want at once like a trellis net and other stuff. fall is here and soon heating will be needed before coolling. But ive already vegged my plants for a few weeks so far on cfl's and I shouldn't have more than two plants because I already have two plants lol so screw it why grow more . But eventually I will get more, most likely. And I've been looking at rigs and I can get a 1000w w/ballast timer hangers reflector and 1000w hps bulb for 160 (around).
 

ChaseD420

Member
if your only going to grow a few plants I would not buy a 1000 watt to much wasted light and heat maybe a 400 or 600 remember you will need to get rid of the extra heat any of them will generate but if you are set on a 1000watt I would grow a hell of lot more then a few plants with the amount of electric and cooling it is going to cost you
Is it rediculious electric cost? And how many could I grow off of a 600 or 400? And I'm not set on the 1000w I just figured it was the better bulb and I was going to get a dimming ballast to dim it. But I still have no idea lol. And fall is here and heat will be needed soon lol. If not there is Windows in the room and I got fans but still is the electric cost crazy?
 

bseeds

Well-Known Member
I was running two 400watts and fans bill goes up about 70 dollars a month be carefull on dimming lights I have heard by others that it changes spectrum on you when you turn them down don't know it for fact though if your only going to grow 2-3 plants I would go with the 400 5-7 probably 600 8-10 would be 1000 watt I know on ebay the price is not much different between them that what makes it hard to choose also remember you need almost 3 feet above you canopy with a open hood of 1000watts hope this helps
 

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
i've got a 30 x 60 inch tent to flower in and i use a 400 watt hps on one side of it and a 200 actual watt led on the other side and thats about perfect coverage, the led saves on heat and electricity, but it cost me twice what the hps did, and its still the bottom of what i consider acceptable.
just running one 400 watt hps in that space keeps it between 80-84 with the lights on, with a 6 inch 240 cfm inline fan running at 75%, so heat can be a real issue, a 1k hps puts off a lot more heat than a 400
 
Top