Prepping for my next grow-need advice

[Opie Yutts]

got it for 310$ on ebay. whole setup w/ timer bonus. its a digital presumably.

What do you mean "presumably"? You bought a ballast hoping it's digital but not knowing? If it didn't say anything about being digital in the feature list or whatever, it's not.

Opie Yutts Reviewed by Opie Yutts on 12-08-2007. Prepping for my next grow-need advice my current grow is now entering the last month of flowering, and i have begun to plan my next grow that will begin the day of this harvest, or within the week at latest. i will have plenty of seeds from my current grow, plus 4 amsterdam seeds that a friend says are "awsome", as well as a single feminized sacra fresca seed (amazing sativa) I currently have an underpowered 6-bulb 150w cfl grow (25*6) which produced underwhelming results for 4 plants, needless to say. i therefore have Rating: 5

[Opie Yutts]

yeah ebay is the way to goo
always has good deals
have you every tried craigslist?

Yeah Craigslist is pretty cool. It doesn't have near the selection of ebay of course, but it's all stuff you can drive to pick up.

[Opie Yutts]

presumably itll run both. the ebay auction said mh and hps in the title....i dont have an mh bulb anyways tho...

Yes it will run both. From the pictures it certainly looks like a digital ballast, and those run HPS and a MH conversion bulb. So essentially, it can do the same job as a switchable ballast. It really is to your advantage to get a MH bulb as well, since it is better for vegging. Your plants won't end up as lanky and will reward you with more nodes.

[Mr. Clandestine]

It really is to your advantage to get a MH bulb as well, since it is better for vegging. Your plants won't end up as lanky and will reward you with more nodes.

I can't second this statement enough. Before I ever bought a conversion bulb for my 600w system, I grew both phases with an HPS. I got some horrible stretching early on, which always gave me tall, lanky branches...and nowhere near enough nodes. I also generally stick with indica-dominants, which are supposed to stay squat and compact...yet I generally ended up with 2' tall plants, with minimal branching, before flowering. Once I popped in a MH conversion bulb, this changed instantly...and my plants finally took on the classic characteristics of vegging indicas. I was finally able to get some density in my buds, too.

KB: Get you a conversion bulb. You won't regret spending the extra money on one. That, you can take to the bank.

[klondike_bar]

well im gonna use my cfl rig for veg and cloning/mothering in....wont that be decent?

im planning to overlap the veg and flower cycles by having 2 rooms, since time is of essence, and i need as much as i `can grow on a low mudget by september or october. by vegging seperately, i can fit 3 grows i think.

would 2 grows using an mh in veg be that much better than 3 with cfl vegging?

[cwesto]

well im gonna use my cfl rig for veg and cloning/mothering in....wont that be decent?

im planning to overlap the veg and flower cycles by having 2 rooms, since time is of essence, and i need as much as i `can grow on a low mudget by september or october. by vegging seperately, i can fit 3 grows i think.

would 2 grows using an mh in veg be that much better than 3 with cfl vegging?

That will be descent.

Thats a great idea to have a room for the mom's and babies, then one for bloom, u can have a constant bloom going thhat way and in turn produce more fruits.

I dont see how u figure u can get 3 w/ cfl and 2 w/ MH. If anything the MH will make them gro a lil bit faster than the CFL, but not too much, it will not let u get a whole other harvest out of ur time if that is what ur thinking???

[stinkyattic]

Yes it will run both. .... those run HPS and a MH conversion bulb.

Notice it runs a CONVERSION bulb. That is different from a standard one. You can't run any ol' MH in a HPS system.

[klondike_bar]

digi ballasts will run regular mh too, tho right? i thought conversion bulbs run in ANY hps ballast?

the reason id run more crops with cfls is that by having the second room unaffected by the 12/12, id be cloning and vegging seedlings so that they could rotate in as the old plants begin coming out for harvest.

also, any way to direct the hps more downwards? alot of light is going EVERYWHERE in the room, and if i could aim thet extra 10-15% down, itd be nice.
ie: whats the best shape for the batwing: semicircle or 1/4 circle?