What is the best alternative for a hps (Since where I live they are discontinued)

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descrim13

New Member
I currently have a 4x2 growing room where I am about to put two plants. I was wondering what would be the best alternative for a hps light since where I am currently living they are discontinued. I heard a lot about cfls but I want to get big yeilds not just little grams. This is my first time growing so I can use all the help you guys can give me.


Thanks
 
descrim13 said:
I currently have a 4x2 growing room where I am about to put two plants. I was wondering what would be the best alternative for a hps light since where I am currently living they are discontinued. I heard a lot about cfls but I want to get big yeilds not just little grams. This is my first time growing so I can use all the help you guys can give me.


Thanks
Click to expand...
Hello,discontinued eh?I could never get HPS locally myself but online your options are limitless.
:thumb:
 
4100k 3000 LUMEN cfl worklights from walmart 45 watts. It is not a good replacement but if you can find 2 45 watt in a 2700k color range you are set each of those lights would produce enough lumen and the right color for a plant start to finish with tremendous yield considering low wattage. You can find horticulture lights that produce more lumens in same color range as HPS that are higher wattage too. I hope to see a journal with your 2x4 tent after the modification!
 
cfl's are definatly a fantastic alternative to hps and there are many grow journals that demonstrate the viability, i myself am not currently bothering with hps by choice not by necesity.

6400k daylight cfls are used for veg and the first week of flower, 2700k bulbs for the bulk of flowering and then 2 2700k to 1 6400k ratio for the last week or two, 6400k bulbs apparently generate more uv and this is beneficial to resin production.

i perssonally think you can do a better job with 12 x 20watt cfls than you can with a 250w hps.
wiring up and set up costs can be an inconvenience but you have the added advantage of a much more stable grow, you could lose 50% functionality and still keep going...but if your hps ballast or bulb goes your in the dark, lol.
 
WildRosebud thank you for the advice, I am definitely going to try that. Do you think 2 45watt bulbs are going to be enough or should I get more?
 
I've read about this confusion a lot. CFLs have to wattage ratings (don't know if that is the right word but you'll get the point)

For instance, my CFLs are 20w, but that's the energy they use and not what they put out, in my case the 20w CFL puts out 100w of light. I have 7 of these in addition to my 400w HPS, so in total I'm running 1100w of light in my flowering room (but the energy consumption is only 540w). So, using the example given by Giga, 12x20w CFLs is not equivalent to 240w of light but rather 1200w of light, which is plenty. However you should buy a few HPS online to have as spares and use CFLs as support.

In my room, The HPS hangs from a hood but the CFLs are scattered within the foliage to help with the bottom branches where the light from the HPS doesn't reach very good. The result is that big buds grow everywhere and not just on the tops and I have no need to lollypop or supercrop the plant (these may be better techniques, but what I'm doing works for me)

I wouldn't go with LEDs because the technology is not quite there yet. Some people say it is but that's not true, LEDs don't have near as much grow power as an HPS and they are extremely expensive (if you find a cheap one, it's definitely not a good buy)
CFLs are good for support but not the best option for the main light source. T5 are the same as CFL.

So my recommendation, use CFLs while you wait for your HPS to arrive in the mail, you will not be sorry.

Good luck and happy growing!!
 
descrim13 said:
WildRosebud thank you for the advice, I am definitely going to try that. Do you think 2 45watt bulbs are going to be enough or should I get more?
Click to expand...

The way i see it 3000 lumen is enough to grow a full size plant if you have 2 you would need 2 3000 lumen lamps to cover the area appropriately. Now If you use a 13 watt or 20 watt they work really good too as GiGaBaNE mentions yes indeed if you utilize distance and are hurting to keep temperature down his idea is ideal! Proven too. But for intensity sometimes you have to take extra effort in controlling the environment. More intensity faster results. However watts to lumens side by side HPS and CFL CFL is dominant it produces consistent more lumens than HPS throughout a longer time period. Low wattage produce less lumens sure but you can use more to cover space and still keep temps down and if you are clever like these guys you can make less work just as good. I like Intensity is is far more challenging and it pays off but if you are doing a hobby less is more. Hobby growing is how we learn anyways...
 
Rodrigo said:
I've read about this confusion a lot. CFLs have to wattage ratings (don't know if that is the right word but you'll get the point)

For instance, my CFLs are 20w, but that's the energy they use and not what they put out, in my case the 20w CFL puts out 100w of light. I have 7 of these in addition to my 400w HPS, so in total I'm running 1100w of light in my flowering room (but the energy consumption is only 540w). So, using the example given by Giga, 12x20w CFLs is not equivalent to 240w of light but rather 1200w of light, which is plenty. However you should buy a few HPS online to have as spares and use CFLs as support.

In my room, The HPS hangs from a hood but the CFLs are scattered within the foliage to help with the bottom branches where the light from the HPS doesn't reach very good. The result is that big buds grow everywhere and not just on the tops and I have no need to lollypop or supercrop the plant (these may be better techniques, but what I'm doing works for me)

I wouldn't go with LEDs because the technology is not quite there yet. Some people say it is but that's not true, LEDs don't have near as much grow power as an HPS and they are extremely expensive (if you find a cheap one, it's definitely not a good buy)
CFLs are good for support but not the best option for the main light source. T5 are the same as CFL.

So my recommendation, use CFLs while you wait for your HPS to arrive in the mail, you will not be sorry.

Good luck and happy growing!!
Click to expand...
I can help! CFL have two ratings , actual rating of the bulb itself and a rating compared to a incandescent light of greater wattage , showing cost savings and efficiency. Making a product more attractive and another obsolete.
 
Rodrigo said:
This is true. If you decide to use CFLs make sure they're warm 2700K, I don't know how many Lumen a CFLs puts out, though.
Click to expand...

average cfL put out around 66 lumen per watt , high intensity can be almost twice that per watt. It is hard to find 2700k cfL around here in anything above 23 watt :(
 
WildRosebud said:
average cfL put out around 66 lumen per watt , high intensity can be almost twice that per watt. It is hard to find 2700k cfL around here in anything above 23 watt :(
Click to expand...

Still, those 23w are actually probably around 120w, so @ 66 Lu/w that's almost 8000 Lumen. What the recommended Lumen rating for flowering?
 
Rodrigo said:
Still, those 23w are actually probably around 120w, so @ 66 Lu/w that's almost 8000 Lumen. What the recommended Lumen rating for flowering?
Click to expand...
No they are comparable to a incandecent light at 120 watts , meaning that 23 watt light produces same lumen as a 120 watt tungsten bulb.
 
couple of things.

2700k bulbs are for flowering. 6500k bulbs are for vegitation, if you mix up the two at the wrong times and combinations during the grow you will suffer detrimental effects.

veging on 2700k will decrease foliage output and increase stretch compared to the same 6500k bulbs and vise versa, flowing on 6500k bulbs will give you small nugs, but they will have nice levels of resin.


this business about a 20 watt bulb is the same as a 100 what bulb, as WildRosebud explained, is pretty much bullcrap. it is marketing media for use against humans and you should pay no attention whatsoever....a 9w cfl will do more for a plant that a thousand watt incandecant bulb.....never use the higher wattage in any calculation whatsoever when it comes to plants. they aint interested in marketing, only lumins, P.A.R and spectrum rating count for anything.

whilst i agree with pretty much everything that wildrose has said today, please bear in mind that the other reason i reccomend many small bulbs over large ones is due to availibility of bulbs. generally speaking, 6500k bulbs are harder to find and more expensive, you need to take good care of these, but your typical 2700w cfl bulbs under 20watts number in the billions, energy companies often give them away for free and in your typical average household scenario, no other bulb type is more commonly availible from the nearest generic shop...

i love working with basic products, i no longer own anything that can be seen as 'weed growing equip' its all generic and availible at normal shops and diy stores. so if stealth buying is a need of yours... ;)

+reps to WildRosebud
you know more that your rep bar gives away...we shall have to correct that ;)
 
GiGaBaNE said:
couple of things.

2700k bulbs are for flowering. 6500k bulbs are for vegitation, if you mix up the two at the wrong times and combinations during the grow you will suffer detrimental effects.

veging on 2700k will decrease foliage output and increase stretch compared to the same 6500k bulbs and vise versa, flowing on 6500k bulbs will give you small nugs, but they will have nice levels of resin.


this business about a 20 watt bulb is the same as a 100 what bulb, as WildRosebud explained, is pretty much bullcrap. it is marketing media for use against humans and you should pay no attention whatsoever....a 9w cfl will do more for a plant that a thousand watt incandecant bulb.....never use the higher wattage in any calculation whatsoever when it comes to plants. they aint interested in marketing, only lumins, P.A.R and spectrum rating count for anything.

whilst i agree with pretty much everything that wildrose has said today, please bear in mind that the other reason i reccomend many small bulbs over large ones is due to availibility of bulbs. generally speaking, 6500k bulbs are harder to find and more expensive, you need to take good care of these, but your typical 2700w cfl bulbs under 20watts number in the billions, energy companies often give them away for free and in your typical average household scenario, no other bulb type is more commonly availible from the nearest generic shop...

i love working with basic products, i no longer own anything that can be seen as 'weed growing equip' its all generic and availible at normal shops and diy stores. so if stealth buying is a need of yours... ;)

+reps to WildRosebud
you know more that your rep bar gives away...we shall have to correct that ;)
Click to expand...
I am not concerned with a rep bar I just caught on to that I am here to learn from you crazy cats n share what I stubbed my toes on in the past. I am a light guy for over 20 years I gained a massive understanding of lighting and how to establish proper coverage and color. I saw you mentioned 6500k color range I am keen on that , bright white opposed to cool interestingly similar concept to old metal halides that were intense white. I notice when I got back in to this Mh changed color to 4000k range the last bulb I had was 5400k so easy on my eyes compared too even cfL at 4100k. The bulb burst one day and ozonated my home I felt sick for weeks , did not realize some Mh bulbs are designed for certain angles so I brushed up some more on the science. Still workin at it lol
:Namaste:
 

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