Quote Originally Posted by babystarbud
i full recomend HPS, after a couple of half-assed attempts with CFL that didnt really work.

the one thing with HPS is the inital outlay of cash, to some, me included....it costs more than pocket change to set up....you should assume that youll need some form of active cooling, usually in the form of an inline fan and duct kit, again, more expence.my set up cost about £400...thats a 400watt bulb, hood, balast, fan and duct, ferts, a fert measure (pipette) soil , pots, about 800 dollars? but i didnt buy the cheapest kit available.

but the benefits really do speak for themselves, my first crop paid for all my equipment outright, and gave me a good bit of personal smoke. and thats with begginers mistakes etc. and i only grew 6 plants.

to get the same results with CFL, i would have to buy specialist cfls, all the wires etc, by the time you add it up, youve spent pretty much the same, but youve had much more hastle.

With a wide spectum HPS such as the sylvania grolux, you just plug it into a timer and forget about it. job done. it lets you concentrate on other variables like fert and soil....you just dont need to worry about light anymore.

one thing i will say though, is i wouldnt go for anything less than a 400 watter, the price of HPS "kits" dosent vary much between say a 400watt kit and a 600 watt kit.
by "kit" i mean bulb, ballast, reflector and all nessesary wires.

for example a state of the art 400 watt kit costs the same as a regular 600 watt kit etc....


go HPS "enhanced", go at least 400watts, you wont look back, i promise you.
Good Points babystarbud-
and to add referring to quote in bold
This is the ONLY reason that is inhibiting me (not so much cost but more as in where grow is located and possiblity, not just feasiblitly (is that a word??) of cooling), I don't know if I can cool sufficiently....it you can keep that under control the lumens are SOO worth it. If you do the research you will see....GL B