Lighting Are hps light setups loud?

[Surfer Joe]

Thanks a lot for all the info.
I already have my filter and fan connected by a rigid, rubber-lined collar so it works as one unit.
I am going to set them up inside the tent and run the ducting to the lamp reflector and then from the lamp reflector to the tent vent hole at the top.
I have considered setting the reflector on the diagonal across the tent from corner to corner rather than side to side so that the ends of the reflector where the ducting goes will have extra room to bend gently.
The oil radiator is a small and gentle thing and has a control dial so that you can set it higher or lower.
I already use it on colder nights when the temp is going down to 5C and lower in the unheated garage. It's on a timer so that it turns on about 15 minutes after the lights go out and turns off right before the lights go on.
I checked it the other night in the middle of its time and the tent was nice and toasty about 24C, so I may lower it a bit more to get the dark time temp around 15-20C. The daytime temp in the tent is between 25 and 30C just from the cfl lights.
Do you think that a cool tube is as good as a broader reflector housing for an hid lamp?
It seems to me that the smaller space for the light inside a cool tube would promote more heat issues than the bigger, wider reflector housings and also spread the light less efficiently since its reflector is just a thin piece of curved metal around the tube. But I have no experience with either type.

 

[Fish Juice]

Hey Joe, I run a 600 and love it, you will get hot (85f) if the ambient air temp rises above about 75, The 400 runs MUCH cooler, but it's only a 400. I just went through the same dilemma and also found out that even if you have a dimmable ballast, you SHOULD use the right wattage bulb on each of the settings. I was just dimming my 1000 for a while until one day a couple weeks ago she failed to light one day. At any rate the 600 also supposedly is the most efficient bang for your buck light in the bunch. hope this helps F.J

 

[Surfer Joe]

Thanks. I went for the 600watt dimmable ballast and plan to use a 400W or even a 250W MH in it for the veg and then put in a 600W hps for flowering.
It's going into winter here, so the ambient temps are between 0 and 10C .
I'm planning to get small aquarium heaters to put in the buckets if I need to control the temp up.
If I put the air pump outside the tent in the cold air of the unheated garage, it will be blowing cold air into the buckets and then the aquarium heater can bring the liquid up to the best temp.
I'm going to test the setup with water and the lights on and see how the temp reacts with some variations in the setup.

 

[Surfer Joe]

I got a 600W dimmable digital ballast and I am going to get some bulbs for vegging.
Would people recommend getting a 400W MH or a 400W dual spectrum bulb for the vegging stage?
I read that MH promotes strong, compact growth, but I don't know anything about the dual spectrum bulbs.
I also plan to use a 600W hps bulb for the flowering stage later on.

 

[Fish Juice]

I got a 600W dimmable digital ballast and I am going to get some bulbs for vegging.
Would people recommend getting a 400W MH or a 400W dual spectrum bulb for the vegging stage?
I read that MH promotes strong, compact growth, but I don't know anything about the dual spectrum bulbs.
I also plan to use a 600W hps bulb for the flowering stage later on.

If you can afford it, buy the MH for veg, don't know anything about the dual spectrum though. I've been using HPS through my grows start to finish and it works pretty darn well. Just my

 

[hank]

Thanks. That's exactly the setup I wanted to use.
My tent is in an unheated garage that gets quite cold in the dead of winter, so the only heat would be coming from the lights themselves. Even in summer, the daytime temps outdoors are only in the 70s and 80s.
I was planning on using a small 700 watt oil radiator in the tent in case the temps got too cold when the lights were off.
Also, I was planning to grow auto flower seeds since I could keep the lights on 20/4 for the whole grow and keep the tent warmer, especially if I time the dark period for the middle of the day when it would be warmest outside. Some people suggested to just run it 24/7 but I was thinking that plants need a little rest period to process their chemistry. I don't know enough about this.

they do fine 24/7. A true auto flower will go under 24/7. Super autos well thats a little different.
Digital cheap heck I have seen in my area magnetic with hood and bulb for 200 bucks NEW. I will run with digital because the heat is lower, and runs cleaner. (unless you want to drop a shit load on a high end magnetic and have super clean power coming into the grow ect)
I run apollo its dirt cheap, runs fine, and holds up to my dirty power.

Get some kind of cheaper HID and have fun. Grow other stuff with it too. Basile loves my 400W MH in a 4x4 back corner under 24/7 light.

 

[hank]

I got a 600W dimmable digital ballast and I am going to get some bulbs for vegging.
Would people recommend getting a 400W MH or a 400W dual spectrum bulb for the vegging stage?
I read that MH promotes strong, compact growth, but I don't know anything about the dual spectrum bulbs.
I also plan to use a 600W hps bulb for the flowering stage later on.

MH or CFL type bulb. fluorescent or CFL will keep them tight. I went from fluorescent t5 to MH and the plant stretched bad.
Dual spec waste of money for what you get.

 

[Surfer Joe]

I have a safety concern now.

Will I need a special timer to control the hid light ballast?
It's a 600W dimmable digital ballast and will have a 400W MH and a 600W HPS used in it.

I used regular light timers to run all of my cfls including about 700W of lights without any problems but I read that you need a special heavy duty timer to switch the hid lights and ballasts on and off without problems.