Dual Lamp Reflector

[Nartak]

I was wondering,what if instead of MH for veg and HPS for flower,why not use both 600w bulbs in a single dual lamp air cooled reflector (2.25m²).Wouldn't that be awesome for the plants?
Then i was thinking about the ballast,i've seen some lumatek ballasts go to 1000w and have extra gain on them for more efficieny,since i would be using 2x600w i believe that should be enough right?

[Grower-Aaron]

I have never seen one of those reflectors you're talking about but I know both mh and hps can be used by themselves to get thru an entire grow. Of course they each do certain things better than the other but they will work from start to finish.
But about the ballast. If you want to run 2 bulbs off one ballast I think you need a dual ballast. I could be wrong about this but I don't think a standard ballast will run 2 bulbs at once. Even if it does I would imagine it would shorten the life of the ballast or bulbs or probably both. And I don't think that extra gain on the lumitek is 200w. I see where you are going with the math but I think your regular standard ballasts don't do that. Again I'm not sure but I think if they did EVERYONE would be doing it that way. I do like the idea of having both bulbs in and going at the same time tho. I can't imagine that doing anything other than helping make better buds.
And FYI lumitek moved all of their customer service and everything overseas. I am currently using the lumitek 1000w with the super lumen feature and went to my local grow store to get a backup and they said they stopped carrying lumitek because of people couldn't get customer service to do anything after the switch

[Peace khalifa]

I was wondering,what if instead of MH for veg and HPS for flower,why not use both 600w bulbs in a single dual lamp air cooled reflector (2.25m²).Wouldn't that be awesome for the plants?
Then i was thinking about the ballast,i've seen some lumatek ballasts go to 1000w and have extra gain on them for more efficieny,since i would be using 2x600w i believe that should be enough right?

in the best practice hps should be 1-2.5 meter from Each other for best result .in act 2 Hps in a close little enviroment can burn plant beacause of Light Stress specialy when you use Effiecient Lamps like 600 wat hps . in reality 2xhps in one hood dose not make Diffrence from 1x in 1x hood .. better you kept hps 0.5-1 meter from eachother

[Nartak]

Hey Aaron,thanks for the reply...

If you haven't already checked for the dual lamp ballast ,here's a link for EU/UK

https://www.hg-hydroponics.co.uk/powerplant-raptor-8-dual-bulb-mega-reflector-5501-p.asp

US : https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/RP8ACD

As for Lumitek,i believe it's a funny one,there's also a company,UK based called LumAtek which provides the same things!!Now for the dual ballast,i checked,it doesn't come in a harsh price and has a nice package to offer,Super Lumens,On/Off for each 600w output separate and a output % dimmer!!It's not a regular ballast,it's a digital,RF shielded,dusted interior,surge protected one(and it has a 3 year warranty for free + 2 for 20 euros)!!

in the best practice hps should be 1-2.5 meter from Each other for best result .in act 2 Hps in a close little enviroment can burn plant beacause of Light Stress specialy when you use Effiecient Lamps like 600 wat hps . in reality 2xhps in one hood dose not make Diffrence from 1x in 1x hood .. better you kept hps 0.5-1 meter from eachother

Thanks for replying khalifa,i can't see why 2x600w would cause Light Burn where a 1000w doesn't,can you enlighten me here? 2x600w would go easier/closer to the plants because the wattage is less right?Then i thought about a full crop dual spectrum in a 5x5x6.5 foot box would be ideal for covering the space(as 600w alone are juuuust under the actual need of 2.25 square meters) and providing light to all the canopy!

[Grower-Aaron]

In my experience 600w hid is the perfect size for a tent that is 4x4x6 or 6.5 or 7 or whatever the height around there. More wattage than that and the heat in the 4x4 gets to hard to manage and ya gotta leave the lights higher which means the plants have to be shorter which means less yield. And unless I am misunderstanding what you are saying it that you want 2 600w lights in a 5x5. That's 1200w total and I think that's WAY overpowered for that space. I use a 1000w in a 4x8 (it is on a mover) and even that is quite a bit more light than the plants can use. A 600 (or 2 300s) by itself should be good for a 5x5. Maybe put it on a short traveling light mover so it can go back and forth a little to cover the that little bit of extra space. But I think 1200w in that space is gonna give u problems

And thank You for that link I will check that out

[Grower-Aaron]

I think they make like a 700 or 750 or somewhere around there. That might be worth looking into for your tent size also

[Nartak]

I can see what you mean and i have read most of what u say elsewhere aswell,i have been trying to get my gram per watt to fit my needs and a 600w is juuust limiting ,i can only try it out and find out but i will prolly go for that dual lamp if everything works out on this grow,i will also consider the light mover..By the way did u notice it is an air cooled hood?

[Royal Nugs]

Ever seen a 630 watt ceramic metal halide? They're mounted horizontally opposed like you mention and like the raptor hood you linked. Cool idea. You should get one and tell us how it runs!

[Royal Nugs]

I think a 5x5 is perfect for a 1000 watt mh/hps. You can yield 2 pounds if you do it right. Even more if you really dial it in.

[Grower-Aaron]

I have a buddy that uses a light that he doesn't have to switch out. I'm pretty sure it's a ceramic one like you're talkin about Royal. I have a few questions about it for ya if u don't mind. First could you take a couple pictures so I can see the setup of it? And you said it's a 630w. Do they make something comparable to a 1000w? Do they run on a regular digital ballast like a lumitek or a galaxy or does the ceramic take its own specific ballast? How much do the bulbs cost for replacement? And if it does need its own special ballast how much do those cost? And I see the convince part of not having to change bulbs out mid grow but other than that, and a possible savings in price over mh/hps what is the advantage of the ceramic? Do u get a larger yield with ceramic over mh/hps? Is the quality better of the bud better with ceramic over mh/hps? I just don't know what the big draw of the ceramic is? I am not trying to knock it, or shoot it down or anything like that I am just trying to understand about them. Sorry for the interrogation lol I just would love to hear it from someone who seems to know what they are doing. My friend with the ceramic kinda does stuff all half assed and never really seems to have good quality buds. I have seen your pictures and it seems like you do so I would rather get the info from you

[Royal Nugs]

I don't own a 630 cmh. If he never changes the bulb it may be an induction light. I think the superior spectrum is what makes them so great.

Nebula posted a great topic about LEC lights.

http://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/118-are-lec-grow-lights-worth-it

[Grower-Aaron]

Ok thank u. I think I skimmed that one. I'll have to go and re read it more carefully

[Grower-Aaron]

I just read the article and I think I'm gonna stick with my hps. The ceramic is nice and has some cool features but for the money I still think hps Thanks for bringing it up tho. I do like knowing about other options

[Royal Nugs]

LED COB's are the new hotness. Fantastic spectrum and power. Still expensive though. You can get diy kits to save some money. Doesn't look too hard. I want 9 cob's in my 4x4... my wallet just laughed at me as I typed this....

[Grower-Aaron]

Yea I have heard they are the shit. That led price tag is a killer tho. I want to do led but I am still waiting for the perfect one. I know guys that have switched from hps to led and gotten half the yield. Admittedly higher quality but if I were to go thru all that work and only got half what I'm used to I would be really unhappy. The savings in electricity would be amazing but not enough to justify in my opinion. But like i said I think it's just a matter of time before they come up with the right led to outperform the Hps. I do think some time in the not so distant future I'll get some LEDs to supplement my hps and see how that works for a start