Lighting help

[theyorker]

Can I use a marine lighting system? I have a 3 x 4 grow space and I found a marine lighting system with 2 150 watt HID MH bulbs and two 90 watt "blue" bulbs. This system is supposed to allow a coral reef to grow. The system is $600 and comes with ballists and a nice fan cooled 4 foot housing. Will this work well or am I wasting my money?

[cyberquest]

if i am not mistaken most marine lights are very high on the kelvin color spectrum, somewhere bewteen 10,000k and 20,000k. those are a little out of the color spectrum for good growth of MJ.
most HPS lights are like 2700k and i think MH comes in around 4000k.

can you get us some more info on the lights? the K rating and the lumens it puts out would help evaluate your setup better.

[newgreenthumb]

$600 seems a little pricey to get only two 150w MH and two 90w blue bulbs. Try this site on for size. www.4hydroponics.com they have really nice stuff for good prices. http://www.4hydroponics.com/lighting/lighwave.asp or even ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ALL-NEW-400-watt-HPS-Grow-Light-High-Pressure-Sodium-w_W0QQitemZ260072796962QQihZ016QQcategoryZ42225QQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem I hope this helps. :P

[theyorker]

Thanks for the help. Should I use 1000 Watts? I'm thinking of 8 plants set up 4x2 in a room the same size. Is 1000 Watts overkill or is there no such thing? Also, will there be any real difference in electricity usage and is there any real risk of detection from the air?

[cyberquest]

Thanks for the help. Should I use 1000 Watts? I'm thinking of 8 plants set up 4x2 in a room the same size. Is 1000 Watts overkill or is there no such thing? Also, will there be any real difference in electricity usage and is there any real risk of detection from the air?

will a 1000w grow light increase your bill?....ummmmm YES. leave ten 100w bulbs burning for 18 hours a day and see the difference in the bill.

and there will always be "risk" around every corner if your in a place where its not legal.

and yes i would think in a 4x2 room a 1000w would be a little much.

[bombbudpuffa]

Here ya go mane! These are cheap and exactly what you're looking for!http://www.insidesun.com/index.php/action/category/start/24/id/specials/subid//

[newgreenthumb]

400w would be sufficient for 4x4 grow space, 1000w might give you heat felated issues. As for cost of running the light here is a calculator: http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/hid_lamp_op_cost.asp

[T-Bone]

i usually go by 30-40watts per sq/f of MH HPS, lamps and 50-60 of CLF per sq/f for indoor. but then again, i'm an out doorsy person.