# HID lighting



## Greenman (Mar 9, 2014)

I have a 250watt ballast, electronic  and  my bulbs are supposed to put out 15 percent more lumens than a regular bulb will that be enough light for a 32x32x63 stealth grow tent?


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## Growdude (Mar 9, 2014)

@ a bit over 7 sq/ft your under lit by about 5000 lumens if your bulb puts out 30,0000.

You could get by, the corner area's will be most under lit, rotate your buckets.

Find cheap HPS outdoor fixture's on ebay and convert them, or just look for used setups.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 9, 2014)

IMO, no.  The 5000 lumens per sq ft is a minimum.  I had 2 150W in my 32 x 32 tent and swapped it out for a 400W.  It is not plant count that determines yield--your yield is more closely tied to the light you use.  More wattage, more bud, less wattage, less bud, regardless of the number of plants.


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## Greenman (Mar 9, 2014)

It's a six site dwc/drip unit ten gallon res another member said to partition it off or supplement with a cfl in the flowering stage honestly, I think I'm just going to return the ballast set up and swap it for a 400 I haven't sprouted a single seed yet not mj anyway, I haven't decided what strain to try first yet lol
Thank you guys for the info


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## Locked (Mar 9, 2014)

If you have the money in your budget a 600w HPS pimps a 400W all day everyday. Puts out the most lumens per watt. I bought a 400W first and then kicked myself for it after I did some research and then bought a 600W.  If it's not in the budget no biggie. You can still grow some great dank with a 400W, just need a smaller space to do it in. jmo


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## DrFever (Mar 9, 2014)

Green man   straight up  if your new at growing  trust me  your going to get addicted to growing after your first harvest  like hemp says  just bite the bullit and invest in a 600   adjustable  and good ventilation system  it will be the best investment  you ever make 
i had 400 watt set ups given to me   and trust me  was shocked at how slow the growth was just sickening i would rather grow with flourescent lighting then any 400 any day  thats how bad 400's are  get a dimable 600 watt and your set  least for now ,, 3 basic needs for any plant to grow indoor   Lighting , fresh air and food   so i suggest get your lighting  right the first time like mentioned above   money wasted on buying a 400


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## Greenman (Mar 9, 2014)

600watt will jack the light bill up to suspicious rates is what I'm afraid of, that and what about the heat? I got decent ventilation ,flus I plan on adding a fan to the tent as well I'm def gonna get better lighting tho but it's not in the budget for a while, so I gotta do with what I got for now, maybe the partition idea that was mentioned to me with some seed I have laying around, just to work the bugs out and learn instead of spending a small fortune on the high quality strains from nirvana? Any thoughts on that?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 9, 2014)

No, a 600W will not raise any suspicions as far as energy usage goes.  However the heat could be an issue.  IMO, an air coolable hood or a cool tube is a must.  One thing you could do is to get a dimmable ballast.  A lot of them are that way now.  They generally have adjustments like 250W, 400W, 600W, and sometime super lumens.  Each different size of ballast has different dim settings.

I wouldn't use some seeds you just have lying around.  There are several reasons for that.  First and number one is the chance that if they are bagseed, they are also from hermie stock.  Second, you really do not have any idea of 1/2 of the genetics.  It could be something good or it could be ditch weed.  Third, there is a real advantage to knowing what to expect from a strain--is it a heavy feeder, does it get tall or grow short, what kind of high do you get, etc, etc.  It is going to take you about 4 months to go from seed to finished product.  Are you willing to spend 4 months on an unknown product?

A 32" x 32" tent is so small that it would be quite difficult to partition part of it off.  If you cannot get more/better lighting, just go with what you have.  A 250W is not ideal, but it will gow some bud and how good it turns out is up to you.  The dankness is generally determined by strain and the growers ability to give the plant what it wants.  The lack of lumens should not affect potency that much, it will mostly affect yield and the buds will probably be a bit airier.  However, there is no reason that you cannot get some frosty buds.


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## Growdude (Mar 9, 2014)

For your size grow a 400 is great, unless you plan to go bigger a 400 will grow awesome bud in 7 sq/ft, well over the 5000 lumens per sq/ft.

Sorry Dr. , I grew some of the biggest buds ever grown on this site under 2 400 watt ghetto riggs.


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 9, 2014)

Yeah I agree that the 400w would be the best choice UNLESS you think you may want to go with a bigger grow space in the future. The electricity signature is a non issue unless you set up 10 1000w setups and crank them all up tomorrow. Even if you had a setup where you are pulling 1000w continually, that will only cost you (average kilowatt hour is about $.11 per KwH) about $80 a month.


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## Locked (Mar 9, 2014)

Agreed. If he doesn't get bitten by the grow bug and want to go bigger, he can grow a fair amount in that space, with that amount of light.  I got bit early on and quickly wished I had gotten a 600W. Same thing with my tents. Started out flowering in a 4x2x5 tent and moved up to a 4x4x6.5.    Light, ventilation and Nutrients. 3 things that are key, as well as proper ph if not growing all Organic.


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## DrFever (Mar 9, 2014)

were talking 7 sq meters here peeps   and with a 400 only giving him 56 watts per sq meter  which will work fine  with a 600  he be even better  at 85 watts per sq meter  your talking 200 more watts for that muchof a increase in overal growth  yields in my books is a no brainier   we try to mimic the sun in our indoor grows  out of curiosity anyone know the wattage or lumens  sun produces  per sq foot  on earths surface ????
 bottom line  if you take a look on average  yields per 400   very seldom  will a 400 do 400 dry grams     into prospective  thts 1600 wet grams  your lucky to get 1/4 gram to half a gram per watt and in my books thats foolish   main cause is penetration  which a 400 has nothing  compred to 600 or 1000 does 
I have been spoiled  always grown with nothing less the 1000 watts  and up  in my rooms  but for efficiency  400 just doesn't have the mustard to really produce 

Grow dude  thats great it worked for you  from my experience 400's  again being  spoiled from 1000's     are nothing short of being laughing stock    400's output is 50,000 lumens at one foot away. At two feet it's 12,500, 3 feet 5,555 and on down as you can see  further the light is away from plant   600's will have better penetration then a 400 would  that is why i say go 600    vented   and look out  some big yields  coming


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## DrFever (Mar 9, 2014)

Also i might add (3) 400 watt lights do NOT equal 1200 watts of growing power, it is simply 400 watts from different angles and you get more lighter buds. Or say 40,000 lumens from different angles.

The same with (2) 600 watt lights, it does NOT equal 1200 watts, At 90,000 lumens it is still 2 sources of light at 2 different angles. And fatter buds

Now a 1000 watt light at 140,000 lumens gets the fattest buds.

So adding more lights will get more coverage but not necessarily more penetration or more bud weight like a 1000 watt does.

Total lumen output from a single source is what you are looking for.

Two sources of lumen output equals just that, 2 sources from different angles, they are no stronger but yet come from different angles.


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## Growdude (Mar 9, 2014)

DrFever said:


> Also i might add (3) 400 watt lights do NOT equal 1200 watts of growing power, it is simply 400 watts from different angles and you get more lighter buds. Or say 40,000 lumens from different angles.


 
3, 400 watt lights is what I used for the White widow monster grow that was more or less single cola but massive.

Im just saying it can be done, especially if he has a 7 sq/ft grow.
A 400 is perfect for that size IMO.


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## DrFever (Mar 9, 2014)

you can get some pretty big nugs with white widow  

View attachment head shots.jpg


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## Greenman (Mar 10, 2014)

So my set up will work, for now, I got a ballast and lamps ordered but I won't get em until the end of next month, meantime I need seeds I want a potent strain that's easy to grow I prefer indica but when it comes down to it, I'm a pothead for real, I'll be happy with anything that is #1easy to grow and #2 potent with a good strong high


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## Greenman (Mar 10, 2014)

Nice! Bud


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