A few lighting questions

[FlamingGooch]

Hey all, just a few questions before I purchase lights and ballast.

1. My growing space is a closet with dimensions 4.4ft wide x 3.1ft deep x 7.25ft high and I'll be growing 4 plants in it. What wattage bulb would I need to adequately light the area? I was thinking 250W but I just want to make sure.

2. I know that plants like the blue spectrum for vegetative growth provided by metal halide bulbs and the red spectrum when flowering provided by high pressure sodium bulbs. Is it really necessary to use both types of lights to grow with? Would I be able to just use a single bulb to grow with from start to finish?

3. Has anyone had any experience with the electronic ballasts from Lumatek? They are reasonably priced so I'm thinking of getting one.

[andy52]

i have the lumatek 4oo w ballast and i love it.it cool operating and can use either MH or HPS bulbs.my gro area is about the same as yours and i have no problems with the light setup i am using.i do use MH for veggin and HPS for flowering.good luck

[Firepower]

1.A 250 watt HPS would fit your need as long as you have an adequate ventilation for the heat off the lamp.

2. If you want to grow the plant to its maximum yield then yes, if you can afford to get both, THEN DO IT. you can do a full grow with an HPS but will get better results if you use the MH for Vegging then switching to the HPS.

3. Electronic ballasts are way better, less heat, less noise and a faster startup than analog ballasts, only downfall to those is price since they are more costly than the analogs.

hope this helps, good luck :aok:

ANDY52: what are you using for ventilation?

[Hick]

4.4ft wide x 3.1ft deep
mmmm, 'round 13 sq ft..?? a 250 nowhere NEAR adequate for that space..

.."rule of thumb".. '50 HID watts per. sq/ft'
..OR .. 5,000 lumen p/sq/ft
IMO, a 600 would be ideal. But cooling may become a factor.

[andy52]

i am using 1 265 cfm drawing thru the filter,thru the reflector and out the top.another blower at the bottom blowing cool air in the tent.also have a small oscillating fan inside tent. 3.5x3.5x6.7

[IllusionalFate]

1.) You will need at LEAST a 600 watt lamp to adequately light that area. Ideal lighting for that space though would be one 1000w light, as it would be over 50w per sq.ft. rather than around 40 which is a bit low. Also, 1000w lamps provide more usable light at a greater distance due to having more lumens.

2.) You can use either a Metal Halide or HPS bulb throughout the entire grow cycle, but it won't produce ideal results. The blue spectrum during vegetative growth results in tight node spacing and lush leafsets, while the orange light of an HPS during flowering is used to create dense, heavy, more full buds.

3.) I have a 600w Lumatek ballast, and it's fantastic. Low heat, absolutely no noise whatsoever, and it just feels like it's built with such high quality.