Help! What should I do?

[JunkYard]

It would save me money if I could start my seeds under a 400-600 watt MH, but I've heard good things about T5 fluoro's for seedlings and veg. The bulbs are 55 watt each and produce 5000 lumens per bulb which would total 20,000 lumens for a 4 light fixtue, right? I know it would be best to use the fluoros' for seedlings and upgrade to a MH after a couple weeks, but I don't have the money for both, so.. ..

What to do what to do? Should I get the T5 fluoros' for the entire veg cycle, or can I simply start out with a 400-600 watt MH then switch to HPS for flower?

What are the pro's and cons of starting with just a MH?


To break down my options, the fluoros cost $200.00 including shipping + a HPS 400 watt system @ $150.00 total cost= $350.00

Alternative's:

400 watt hps and mh system @ $205.00 including shipping

600 watt hps and mh system @ $315.00 including shipping


I can only spend $350 tops, but would rather spend less, lol! How hard is it to start seedlings under an HID? 400 watt or 600 watt?


Need help.. ..please respond! What would you do?


~Junk~

JunkYard Reviewed by JunkYard on 01-09-2007. Help! What should I do? It would save me money if I could start my seeds under a 400-600 watt MH, but I've heard good things about T5 fluoro's for seedlings and veg. The bulbs are 55 watt each and produce 5000 lumens per bulb which would total 20,000 lumens for a 4 light fixtue, right? I know it would be best to use the fluoros' for seedlings and upgrade to a MH after a couple weeks, but I don't have the money for both, so.. .. What to do what to do? Should I get the T5 fluoros' for the entire veg cycle, or can I Rating: 5

[BlazenHerbs]

imho, if it were me i would get the 400 or 600 hps and then just a cpl cfls or cheap fluoros'.. start them under the cfls or fluoros' and then move them over :weedpoke:
:twocents:

[JunkYard]

Thanks, Blazen.. ..I would def use the cheaper fluoros' but I figure if I'm going to purchase fluoros' for growing, I want the good ones, ya know?

Better light spectrum = better results, and the T5's last much longer than the T8's and T12's from what I understand.

How many lumens do I need to veg 10 plants to about 12"-14" in height? I've got my eye on these T5's, and would rather use them if they can produce as well in veg as a MH would. I want tight node spacing, and lots of lush growth. If not, I'd rather not waste the money, and take my chances on starting my seeds with 400-600 watt MH system. Bottom line is I want the best possible results w/o over extending my budget. I'm def going to flower with HPS, and it will more than likely be with a 600 watter. I've already decided on a fan @ 449 cfm, and I can make my own scrubber if need be.

I've never grown indoors before, and I want to do it right to start out. That way I won't end up with a bunch of junk if I decide to upgrade. I've got the time to do it right, but I need a good game plan, so I know exacty what I need to get. I've been searchin and asking tons of questions, and to be honest, it's driving friggin crazy! I've got to decide on something and then follow through. I need advice.. ..

My room is 3 X 5 X 6, and I plan on starting 10 seeds and weed out the males when the time comes. I can't spend more than $750.00-$800.00 on my set up, and supplies.. ..including beans, but that 'should' be enough for a decent operation, yes?

[stickylove]

My first grow was entirely CF and FL.
2x75wCFL one blue one red
4xFl mounted vertically in the corners of the closet.
In about the same space as you have, I ended up with 4 happy skunks and 6.8oz. Not a huge yeild. But, the smoke was great. So CFL alone will work/if you have patience, they do take longer. I am on my 2nd grow now and have invested in
3x150 sodium chl in addition to all the cfl and fl. I would say get the cfl and add the MH or SC whenever you get the money.
You should check out you local home improvement stores for lighting, becuase you can get MH flood lights and the reg FL cheaper than ordering them.

[Splifted]

Hey junkyard, you should look into just getting a hortilux bulb for your HPS and forget the mh all together. The hortilux offers enough light in the bluer spectrum to keep the plants from stretching, and you'll save money. You should check out www.hydrowholesale.com (i ordered my 1kw hps from them on a friday, got it that next tuesday)they have good deals on cool tube lights, which is what you should be more worried about. Get an air cooled hood, you will not have heat problems and can keep your light close enough to your plants to max out your yeild.
http://www.hydrowholesale.com/Mercha...gory_Code=BAIR

And if you just want the cool tube itself and not the light/ballast, you can get the cool tube for 59 dollars here(it says like 119, but add it to your cart, its on sale):
http://www.marylandhydroponics.com/ht-reflectors.html

If you want to see the results of vegging with CFLs for a bit then vegging and flowering with hortilux superHPS, check out my grow in my sig. Imo, you'd be better off with a cool tube than a switchable ballast, and the hortilux bulbs rule.

[JunkYard]

Very nice grow, splifted. I checked it out a couple days ago and was impressed. You seem to know what you're doing.. ..

I came into some extra money tonight, (woot woot) and I may go with a good 600 watt air cooled HPS light system after all. I'm very happy about this, lol! I'm $1,000.00 richer tonight than I was this morning, and I can now do things the way I want. (After I spend a little on a bag of NL)

I saw an amazing grow using an 8 lamp T5 light fixture by ticoblunt today, and decided on a similar 8 lamp T5 system, only the one I ended up choosing is only $310.00 (including shipping), as opposed to being in the 450 + dollar range. I can do most of my vegging with this light, and then add the HPS hortelux you were talking about. I'm bound to get a good yield using both if I keep things in check.

What do you think about hydro wholsale's "Cool Breeze" premium lights? They're not really that much more than the budget cool tube, and they said it cools just as well, and has much better reflection.

I can't wait to get things started, man. I think this is the most exicted I've been it 10 years, lol!

Thanks for the info, and help.. ..


Junk~

[Pasofol]

How about a switchable ballast? It'd be the same rating 400 or 600watts.
http://www.hydrowholesale.com/Mercha...egory_Code=BAL

[faithlessxxx]

You probably should consider practical issues too. Are they vegging in the same room as they'll flower? That could mean dismantling a load of fixtures, and banging new hooks into everything to change to flowering lights. MH is still the best for veg and HPS for flowering. If you've got the money, space and ventilation, ignore the cfl's.

Remember, heat is an issue that needs adressing with these kind of lights, so you may need to fit that in your budget too.

[babystarbud]

just get a HPS sylvania grolux 400-600watt full spectrum bulb....no need to worry about lights ever again!

its easey to start seeds under a HID, just make sure your bulb is a good 2-3-4foot away from the babies(depending how your temps are, and adjust as they grow and as temps allow...
you can even keep them under a single floro or on a windowsil till they develope some decent leafs, then stick em under the HPS.

[JunkYard]

How about a switchable ballast? It'd be the same rating 400 or 600watts.
http://www.hydrowholesale.com/Mercha...egory_Code=BAL

Yeah, thought about a switchable, but they don't come in 600 watts, so I decided on a cool breeze reflector with a 600 watt HPS ballast, and I'm gonna use a MH conversion bulb for later veg. (After they get about 8 inches)


I'm gonna start them off with a 6 lamp 2' t5 light with 6400k cool bulbs. That way I'll good tight node spacing, and lush green growth w/o heat issues. I was gonna go with an 8 lamp 4' t5, but decided on growing fewer plants. (5 feminized Ultra Skunks)


Junk~