Tony_Romance

Hey I've been debating whether I should buy a 430W Sun Agro HPS light, or a dual ballast and one 400W HPS as well as one 400W MH bulb. Generally the cost of a dual ballast and 2 bulbs is only around 50$ more than the 430W HPS which inclines me to go with the dual setup(that way I'll have closer node spacing and therefore a better yield right?). But with the dual setup I would only be able to have 1 grow at a time.

I would like a constant flow of weed every 2 weeks or month, plus the flexibility of the 430W light would undoubtedly be good for a first time grower. However if I could grow more with the dual setup I might consider it.

What do you guys suggest?

harrad

Go with the switchable ballast. It will run both the commonly available 400W MH and HPS lamps as well as the 430W Son/Agro lamp. Can't go wrong, Harrad.

lilmama

light question,
With a 1000 watt HPS light, how many plants will that take to maturity? (space is not an issue)
Thanks a lot!

A new grower

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Weed may be the road to no where, but at least it's the scenic route!

smokaspliff

Hmmm....lets see..........430w = 430 watts.

2 400w = 800 watts.
Go with the dual setup.
I do have this right, right? The dual ballast burns both bulbs at the same time? Correct me if I am wrong, but go with that one.

peace

Takshaka

You're wrong, I'm correcting you

Sanclem

430 supplys are a sham. You can get .4k mh or hps cheap at thcbc.com ann have the best of both worlds. For what the Hydro Honkies get for prices , you can have both systems at thcbc. Not as pretty, your growing bud not nice looks. Please note if you find cheaper let me know. Debait the savings and grow Depot.

lilmama

Yes, I believe he is wrong also, but it wasn't the question I asked either. lol
But, since it was brought up, I'm trying to see what size lite to buy. How many plants will a 400 watt HPS take to maturity, and how many plants will a 1000 watt HPS take to maturity?
Thanks a lot for any information. :0)

__________________
Weed may be the road to no where, but at least it's the scenic route!

Tony_Romance

Actually the dual ballast I was talking about is simply a 400W ballast that can use either MH or HPS. I don't really want to grow more than 8 plants, but I'm thinking the 430W would work nicely because then I can put plants at all different ages in the hydro setup.

lil: It will depend on a lot of different things, some strains are more bushy then others and therefore will require more room. It also depends on how long you allow the plants to mature. Generally though for best results without CO2 You want at least 3000 lumens per square foot, 6000 is better.

400W HPS will give you 45000 lumens (7.5 square feet or lighting)
1000W HPs would give you approximately 112500 lumens (19 square feet of lifghting)

I would guess that you would need 1 - 1.5 square feet per plant, less if you don't want them to grow to 4-5 feet.

lilmama

Tony,
Thanks for all the help. really helped me out!
Good luck to you :0)
lil mama

__________________
Weed may be the road to no where, but at least it's the scenic route!

Tony_Romance

I hope I was right, I'm fairly new to growing as well, but I got most of the info I listed from these forums. If I was wrong with my calcs one of the vets will correct me I'm sure =)