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I was thinking about purchasing a 150 watt HID light and wondering if i can use that for vegging and flowering or do i need separate lighting for each phase.
I am currently only growing 1 plant and might be planting another in a 4'x5'x7' closet.
Any lighting suggestions for under 100$ would be greatly appreciated! I have looked at the el cheapo lighting guide and i am still confused on how much lighting i need for just 1 or 2 plants.
under100$ is near-impossible for hid. buy 10 23w cfls for under 50$ and you can support 3-4 plants
I wouldn't say that $100 is near-impossible, you're just going to have to look extra hard through classifieds ads, auction sites, etc., before you're going to find what you want. I think what Klondike was meaning to say is that finding a brand new system for $100 or less is next to impossible.
And while having a Metal Halide for vegetating, and a High Pressure Sodium for flowering is ideal, you can get away with just using one for both cycles. If you are only able to get your hands on one, I'd go with the HPS, as it'll get your plants through veg just fine (maybe with a little stretching), and has just the right color spectrum for flowering.
As for wattage, get the highest you can afford with what you have. If you can get your hands on a refurbished 400w system, you'd have ample lumens to grow a few very healthy plants. Just remember, though, that as you start upping the wattage, you'll need to start upping the amount of money you spend on adequate ventilation. This includes exhaust and intake. Just adding a fan inside a small closed room with an HID burning bright will, in essence, turn that small room into a convection oven. And your plants won't enjoy that very much at all. I don't have any experience with the lower-end 150w systems, so I won't offer any advice pretending that I do...but I would still imagine that some sort of ventilation will need to be in place for optimal results.
I found a great used Sunlight Systems (one of the best brands out there) 430W HPS light that included ballast, hood, cords, and used Hortilux bulb for $120. Just look on craigslist under farm and garden.
I also own a 12 year old 175W MH with a 150W HPS conversion bulb. Will grow a very small but adequate plant up to 3 ft tall - max 2 ft x 2 ft area - IMO...
you can buy a 150w air coolable hid fro htg supply for 94.95$ plus tax and shipping which will come out to 119$.Thats about the lwest and best deal ive seen around the web,so hope that helps.
150w light = About 15,000 lumens
250w light = About 25,000 lumens
Quick 'n dirty guide
Less than 2,000 lumens per sq. ft. --Not enough
2,000-3,000 lumens per sq. ft. -- Lousy grow
3,000-4,000 lumens per sq. ft. -- Mediocre grow
4,000-5,000 lumens per sq. ft. -- Good grow
Over 5,000 lumens per sq. ft. -- Excellent grow
A 150w will be enough for about 3 sq. ft. of an excellent grow. That's two plants in an area of about 15 x 29...which is fine. Like others are saying, $100 is going to be tough...$150 shouldn't be a problem though. This is just a personal opinion, but I'd go for a 250w for a quite a few reasons.
First, more light. You've got space for more plants, and it's a drag to have throw out a plant because you don't have light to flower it.
Second is the separate ballast. I've never seen a 150w HPS with a separate ballast. the ballasts get hot, and that results in a lot of heat in your grow area. Personally, I don't think a 250w light with the ballast outside the grow area produces any more heat than a 150w light with a built-in ballast. So you get more light with no more heat in your grow area.
Third--bulb availability and switchability. 250w HPS bulbs are a lot more common than 150w. They don't cost much more. You can more different types of bulbs. And you can more easily find conversion bulbs if you ever want to use a 250w MH for vegging.
Fourth--overall cost and efficiency. There's pretty much no difference in cost between a 150w and 250w system. And 250w bulbs are about 5-15% more efficient than 150w bulbs. Much more bang for your buck with a 250w.
Hey, plantboxer...what sort of "mount" do you buy at that site? I was checking it out, and my friends and I together are pretty handy. Do you buy the vapor lock ceiling mount, or what?? Also, do the lamps come with a separate ballast (meaning not attached so you can set it outside the closet)?
Technically speaking, when you buy a kit from this site, does it come with everything you will need (maybe except wiring)? You buy one kit for $200 or so and it comes with everything you will need to set it up, right???
I just wanna know everything I can before I buy one, yanno just to make sure.