Starting to look into uograding my lighting system to a 1000 watt de mh or hps. Ive read Ushio is a good brand for bulb?? What about hoods, ballasts, all in one?? Whos got some recommendations and if so do u currently use now or in the past?? Lookng to keep it around 300 bucks or so but all opinions are welcome!!
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I would highly recommend going the led route.
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It’s getting hard to find HID equipment. Ushio is probably the best single ended horticultural lamps still available. Double ended I’d give it to Philips/Gavita.
Most ballasts/reflectors are just straight from China these days, major suppliers like Sunlight and Hydrofarm (also Chinese, but at least with some standards and warranty) barely have any HID stuff on their sites.
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I’ve tried LEDs before and i could just never get them dialed in properly.
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Appreciate the input on the bulb. Yeah it does sux that it seems this type of equipment is becoming more and more scarce. Currently got a 600 quantum ballast and i like it, its quiet and runs cool but damn they r expensibe. I loved the old school 1st gen Phantom ballasts, man those things were built like a tank!!
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For the money, it’s hard to beat a Quantum! I ran the shit out of them before going DE. We sold 5 of them to every Lumatek or Phantom, and had about the same number of all three come back on warranty.
You can start to see rumblings in the industry of people going back towards HPS. It comes up pretty regularly on shows like First Smoke of the Day, and you see lots of discussion in the comments of people taking down their LED’s, especially more boutique growers.
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For de the sun systems DE Boss is the best reflector. They’re out of production so if you decide to go that route you’d have to shop around the used market to find one. If you do you won’t be disappointed.
I put a Mass Metal Halide in one I got from an ad on craigslist. It throws a very consistent light intensity without crazy hot/cold spots for an hid and easily hits high ppfd numbers. I have screenshots from an old set of par maps that growers housedid comparing them with the other standard reflectors like gavita de, sun systems xxl, raptor, gull wing, etc. I’ll post those here when I get to my break.
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Found this on craigslist. Its from December but the post is still up if anyone is interested it may still be there.
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DE boss is what I run. Used to have the ac/de which has all the same materials and geometry but is air cooled
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What type of ceiling height do you have?
IMO I would not try to run double ended 1000w bulbs unless you have high ceilings.
I tried to change over to them many years ago and just fried my plants. I want to say the ceiling height was 7-8ft where I was growing at the time.
IIRC I think You need to keep 2-3 ft. between the bulbs and top of the plant canopy.
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Ya know what, rly glad u mentioned that!! Thinking about it now i prolly dont have the height required and thats ok bc i was actually just thinking. Instead of switxhing to 1000de or even a SE1000, adding in a 315cmh?? That would give me a 600 HPS/MH and a 315cmh. Then i would have 2 lights sources and 2 different spectrums!! Any recommendations for those? Ive seen the luxx and they look nice but im also a sucker for Phantom bc of nostalgia, is there a brand im missing??
Just wanna say thanks to everyone who has stopped by and left recommendations, rly appreciate the feedback all!!
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Howdy @jonnyonthespotAZ, nice to see someone looking for and interested in HID lighting. I think HID is the most ideal with what’s currently on the market for indoor gardening.
I like your idea to combine a 315 CMH as a complimentary pair to a 600 HPS that you have, and I’m assuming also a MH conversation bulb for the 600.
That’s a great setup that gives options for spreading out the canopy a bit as well as incorporating a slightly different and nuanced spectrum of light compared to going the 1000 watt HID route.
I also think there’s something about a 1000 watt HID lamps that’s unrivaled and has it’s own benefits that the complimentary pair of a 600 + 315 can’t provide, for example depth of penetration into a canopy as well as more intensity.
Both great choices as setups, each for slightly different reasons. Part of me leans towards the 1000 just a bit more than the 600 + 315. My favorite setups to recommend are either a 1000 watt HID or a 600 watt HID + 400 watt HID. The former has the strong intensity and heat which help drive plant metabolism while the latter provides some flexibility that the 1000 doesn’t have. Going 600 + 315 instead of 600 + 400 is along the same idea. Those are all setups I would recommend over all others given similar wattages of approximately 1000 total watts. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of those routes. If you have the ability to manage the 1000 and the space to maximize its productivity, it’s hard to say not to go for the 1000 watt HID. In the same breath, a 600 + 315 will be a great setup as well. So too would a 600 + 400.
What sort of height limit are you working with and what size area are you going to be putting the lamps in?
Hope this helps. Many blessings and much love
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The 315w CMH isn’t a bad idea. It would definitely work.
However, if it were me I’d probably just add a second 600w HPS and run the hortilux HPS bulbs with 25% added blue spectrum in them.
I found my plants liked a bit of extra ceiling height with the CMH too. Nothing like double ended HPS bulbs, but more than my air cooled HPS lights. But my CMH were not air cooled so I’m sure that was part of it. I mostly used my CMH lights for veg anyway.
If you’re just looking to try something a bit different, go with the CMH! You can get them dirt cheap on HTG supply. They just don’t seem to have any affordable CMH bulbs left in stock. But Amazon had some last I looked.
Either way I like the idea of a second light. It will double your flower space. A 1000w single ended HPS will grow bigger buds, and could provide a slightly larger lighting footprint (especially if you get a larger reflector to go with it), but I think adding a second light and doubling the square footage of your flower space is more valuable personally.
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I’d say go LEDs too. For a small upfront cost your running costs will be much lower.
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What a thourough and kind response, thank u so much. Yeah, I love HID lighting, even living in the SW id rather run HID than LED, nothing against LED, just not for me.
So i def think when i can im going to add in the CMH, def a 315 or possibly a 630 depending if i can habdle the heat, whixh ill get into a little later.
The MH i have is just a straightup 600W MH from Mass Medical.
I agree w you 100% on the penetration of the 1000 and ove never ran one before so it is a bit alluring to want to try but…i rly rly like the idea of multiple points of light. Never a bad idea tho either to have extra equipment around to play around w different setups!!!
Im currently in an AC Infinity 60x60x80.
Regarding my exhaust/ventilation setup. Currently i have an 8" AC Infinity hooked to 8"carbon filter which is connected to ductong running out the top of the tent and to an exhaust outside of the lung room. I manage my temps fine this way year round, jist thinking if i add another light, if i should reconfigure my exhaust/ventilation system? I should mention i have my 600 in a cool tube so i can exhaust that if needed or is more efficient? I also have 2x 8" AC Infinity booster fans available??
Love the idea of just adding another 600 too then i could habe a MH and HPS going, i guess in my mind i was only allowimg myself 1k watts,1.2 is a little much, electricity wise but i think we could swing it.
Hmmmmm…
Drcisions decisions
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Ushio used to be a great bulb back when I grew corals and things in a marine tank so I imagine their horticulture is top notch as well.
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So aftr perusing for awhile i noticed some had vertical orientation of the bulb and others were horizontal. Is there a preference between the 2? Is one more efficient than the other? Random thought/question, if i have a 600 watt HPS mounted horizontally would adding a CMH in the vertical position not only add another point of light but throw a different light pattern adding to the efficincy of having 2 lights sources throeing in different patterns effectively have better coverahe and penetration that 2 horozontally mounted lights??
I see you’re likely pivoting from high output hid. I’ll put those par graphs up for anyone else who might be interested. As for led, I’m leaning pretty hard toward the mammoth mint full spectrum fixtures. They’re pretty much leading the industry on the full spectrum fixtures with basically multiband eq. I’m pretty sure FOHSE came out with theirs after mammoth.
On a side note, LUXX came out with a commercial style de fixture (attached ballast) with a symmetrical reflector very similar to the DE Boss and AC/DE. They’re also out of production but it would give anyone interested in going that route another option.
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