Need Help!!! MH Decision Making

Or maybe I should get some 1 gallon emily pots from hydrofarm (6 inch square 7 inches deep... and transplant to here, then 1 week before I plan on flowering transplant to the maxi pots, this is just more work for me though and more stress, however, a 400 watt MH would cover 36 plants, since 36 fit into a 3ft x 3 ft...
and when there in there maxi pots, finish flowering with my 1000 watt HPS intead??

Any ideas guys..

I can afford a 1000 watt lunitek, which would more beneficial since I can use this as a HPS, so I would have 2 1000 watt HPS flowering instead of one!

so dont know. Help!

Saltypimp, for a veg lamp that will cover a 5x5 area, you want at the MINIMUM a MH400 with the BEST bulb you have get (hortilux ftw!) and a parabolic type hood, but really you can go more watts than that. If you only run 400, it won't work with a crap bulb. Try a MH1000 for biggest oomph... heck, get a switchable K if you feel lucky :D
Remember that your flower watts should be about 3x the watts that would have taken to cover your vegging plants adequately. IF you veg under a switchable K, add another k or 2 of HPS when you go to flower. Vegging under a 400 and then flowering under a pair of 600s is a very nice ratio.

stinkyattic -

ThANKS FOR THE REPLY -

Planning on getting a 1000 watt MH for this...

How close should i get my 1000 to my plants when they first get transplanted in the 12L maxi pots (transplanted form a 4.5 square inch - or maybe I should get a 6 inch aquare pots...) Im thinking a 1000 MH will to strong for my plants at this stage...

THE BULB - so the hortilux bulb is the best mh -are you referring to the "blue" bulb (6500K) or just the "metale halide" bulb... I was planning on getting the sunmaster "cool deluxe" MH (6000K)

thanks

The the really really blue one. I think the packaging actually refers to 'daylight' somewhere. Mmm blue. I recently switched from 650 total watts of MH to 400 with that bulb, and don't use the 250 lamp anymore, the light is so intense I don't need it, and can put those 250 watts to work in the flower room lol.

I'd go from 4.5" to gallon pots as your next step. Read the 'continuous canopy' sticky and the 'why i should re-pot' link in it. Top of the basic section.

To determine height, just raise the light until the back of your hand held at the canopy is warm but not uncomfortably so. You can go closer if you have an air-cooled hood (GREAT invention!).

THANK YOU STINKYATTIC - YOUR THE BEST

Anytime. Good luck.

I forgot to ask:

When initiating flowereing, should i give my plants 36 hours of complete darkness, before setting my hps to 12/12...???

Ive read that you should but do not know whats its for