Best HPS for rectangular grow area

[Cannygrow]

Hello growers I am seeking some advice on a grow room I am setting up. It is 6 feet wide but only 2.5 feet deep and about 6 feet tall. My initial though is to run a 600hps but need some guidance as to what reflector I should use to maximize that rectangular footprint???or if I will need a light mover I am not worried about air cooling or not since I am running a/c and will also have a t6 for my ventilation. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I am trying to push my skills to pull a lb out of a 600watt hps that is the goal lol

 

[TorturedSoul]

Couple of 400-watt HPS will give you a better spread, be a lot easier to match the footprint of your space, allow you to take advantage of the "third light effect," and probably produce more light overall.

 

[Cannygrow]

Couple of 400-watt HPS will give you a better spread, be a lot easier to match the footprint of your space, allow you to take advantage of the "third light effect," and probably produce more light overall.

Hmmm that sound like a more effective route rather then a light mover. You got any recommendations on which ?

 

[TorturedSoul]

Not really. The most productive "400-watt class" HID setup I ever used was an old-school C&C 430-watt ballast, 430-watt HPS bulb that included supplemental blue, and an air-cooled reflector that was well-regarded at the time but is probably no longer being sold (and the name of which escapes me).

I think the bulb was a Phillips Sylvania Son-T-Agro (Argo?) or something like that. Tightest internodal spacing I'd ever experienced with 100% HPS lighting and the production (yield) was better, too, and "more better" (lol) than the extra 30 watts per bulb alone would account for.

I stopped using them years ago for a variety of reasons that aren't germane to this discussion (in other words, not because of the products' performance) and, therefore, haven't paid any attention in regards to whether that brand and wattage of bulb is still available. I later went to electronic ballasts. At one point, I considered trying to find another of those bulbs and seeing if it would work with an electronic ballast, but never did. They were 400-watt ballasts and the bulbs were intended to be powered by 430-watt ones and there was some worry that the decreased wattage (power) being supplied would cause a slight red-shift; more recently (but still some years back), I had a thought that perhaps the "Super Lumen" setting on a 400-watt Lumatek ballast - which overdrives a 400-watt HID bulb somewhat - might actually work well for this purpose... but, again, I never tested the theory.

But other than that, no, no specific recommendations, really. "The usual," lol, I suppose. Eye Hortilux makes some good products - and they're priced accordingly. I had some Lumatek branded bulbs that performed okay and were priced... IDK... middle-of-the-road, I guess, at around $50/each when bought individually. There are cheaply made, cheaply priced HID bulbs that... Well, they'll work, lol, to one degree or other. They don't all suck, but good luck on figuring out which are which, so to speak. I read articles, now and then, about bulb performance. The general theme seems to be "Yeah, Eye Hortilux is the best, but it's also the most expensive - here's several other brands that are cheaper. See, everyone, they're not as good, but they're still pretty good." Like that. Discussing how a person can spend (for example) HALF as much on a bulb and still get 90% of the performance. Which seems like a good thing... Until you do the math and see that this "might" not be the case. IOW, if a bulb costs $94, and an alternate choice costs $45 and is capable of producing "up to" 90% of the harvest...

Well, that could mean that, yes, you have saved a whopping $49 - but your harvest ended up being, IDK, 20 to 40 grams less. So at that point, it'd probably be a good idea to stop and ask yourself, "How much would it cost to go out and buy 20 to 40 grams of good bud? More than $49?"

Er... I guess I did have a recommendation after all, lol: Buy the best bulbs you can afford. Otherwise, you might end up becoming a real-life example of why it sucks to be poor - trying to save money can end up costing you. . . .

 

[Dankman_420]

Make sure you get air cooled hoods. It's a must to help control heat. Also don't use cheap bulbs. Get hortilux bulbs. They will pay for themselves in yeild and quality. Good luck