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First ever grow - MH/HPS question

F

fusedpro

So as the title states, I'm looking into this hobby and interested in starting some hot peppers. I bought a packet of regular habanero seeds from a local nursery and have some chocolate habaneros and fatalis on the way from pepperlover. I'm not looking to grow too many, but I have a 36 chamber starting tray which will suffice.

My initial grow area is an unused bedroom with a southish facing window, but I know I'll need some artificial lighting as well. I'll probably move outside when it is warm enough (zone 5A, just north of Omaha, NE), but the idea of producing year round is also appealing.

A T8 setup would probably cost me around $50/$60 after all is said and done. After reading through many topics, this would be plenty sufficient for starting the seedlings, but probably not much more. I've also read that MH/HPS is more efficient and basically the king of lighting outside of the sun, so a cheaper elec bill is nice, but I know nothing about this type of lighting. I'm thinking the MH/HPS route would let me move the plants to a less than ideal indoor area with NW facing window when needed.

So I saw this on Amazon --

http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK400GW19-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B004YXDHX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393177691&sr=8-1&keywords=hps+grow+light

Would this be a good buy for my needs? Would I need to go up to 600w? Any input is greatly appreciated. If you need more information, just let me know.
 
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If you want an electronic ballast you need to do your homework.
 
That type of light would let you start seedlings on the edge of the light footprint and grow year round directly under it.
 
The 600w is the king of the HID as far as lumens per watt...its the most efficient. To me though its still underpowered and personally I would use a 1000w light. Those 600w bulbs arent easy to find either unless it online or in a hydro store if youre lucky. You can pick up a 400w or 1kw bulb at pretty much any electrical place or even Lowes and Home Depot usually.
 
Being so new it might be best to just start lower and go for a 400w or even a bigger T5 to see if you even want to grow indoors. If you know you want to and are going to go through all the trials and tribulations then go big is my motto.
 
thats a good price , alot of reviews and still a good rating . One thing to remember .. that is not an air cooled hood so it will produce alot of heat at the reflector . wattage depends on the size of the grow you plan to do ( area you plan to light)  mh is nice for starting but hps is better for the duration and def better at the end of the cycle. I have both and i rotate plants in and out .
 
You need  3000 lumens/square foot of plant canopy to bring chiles to fruit.
Average mature chile is 5-8 square feet at the canopy.
 
For a 36 cell tray, or even two of them? A 250 watt unit would be way more than enough. Reduced power usage and lower heat signature, a win win.
 
But, if you plan on expanding your operation, or bringing several plants indoors to continue growing in winter, then i'll go along with mx5inpa's advice:
 
- 400 watt minimum
- 600 watt closer to ideal for many.
- 1000 watts for more future-proofing and bigger plans.
 
The dimmable options are nice on the digital ballasts, it gives you options. Careful with brand though, some of them wreak havoc with RFI (interference) with your neighborhood's cable TV and certain wireless signals. You might need to keep the ballast far away from your Cable TV equipment including wires and splitters. Magnetic ballast units do not have this problem btw, but magnetic ballasts are not dimmable either.
 
t8 really is the most out of the box cost effective way to do seedlings.
If you are using a 600w HID light for 2 trays that's ridiculous, you're just giving money to your electric company.
 
BUT having the HPS 600w will be great for overwintering, or full on indoor growing(no supplemental daylight needed actually).
 
You didn't mention LEDs anywhere which are another possibility. But require more money and/or DIY to make your own. 
 
 
If i were you i would probably make a seed starting box / shelf and put a 20$ t8 fixture + 8$ for 2 bulbs over my two trays.. This would be good for say 2 or more months. Then i would turn on my HID and pot up the plants. If you're going to have the 600W on anyway for indoor / overwinter plants then i would just use the extra light from that though and ditch the t8s.
fusedpro said:
 
Click to expand...
 
I'm starting to think that a HID system is a bit much for my needs, considering I've never done this before and might not continue next year. That said, a T5/T8 setup looks doable, but I'm struggling on how many bulbs and how wide. Seems like everyone that goes this route uses a 4'/X tubes implement, but my starting tray is only like 22". Only reason I could see going for 4' would be if I wanted like a single-file line of solo cups when they got big enough... Number of tubes is similar; a 4 tube variant is pretty wide and it seems like the two tubes on each end would be lighting more table than plant. Again though, I could see it being useful for when the plants got bigger.
 
Then there's the whole T5/T8 debate. Playing off the above, I could get a 2'/4t or 2'/2t T5HO fixture with bulbs from Hydrofarm off of Amazon for $93/$67. Or I could go to my local hardware supply store and an get a T8 fixture that holds 2 tubes for ~$20 (or two for ~$40). Throw in the bulbs, say another ~$20 for 4, but the potential to be much cheaper is there. I imagine the reflectors on the Hydrofarm are quite a bit better though...
 
LEDs look nice, but I don't have the know-how to do it myself and don't feel like plunking down the cash for a pre-built unit from my very minimal knowledge.
 
Any thoughts on this? Again, not looking to grow a ton of plants, probably won't even fill out my 36 slot starting tray let alone factoring in those that don't germinate...
 
If you're not even sure about if you like growing or not, i would just buy the T8 shoplight and do your tray.
 
Why 4' instead of 2'?
1. 4' fits perfectly for most shelving units
2. 4' is the same price as 2'
3. 4' more availability than 2'
 
You only need the 2 fixture( 4 bulbs ) if you are doing 4 trays. Think about it like 1 tray per bulb.
 
If you succeed and want to overwinter your plants and continue you can decide what your lighting upgrade will be then.
fusedpro said:
 
Click to expand...
 
 
15$ 4' 2 bulb fixture 
9$ 4' 2 bulb daylight
puts you @ 27 dollars once you add tax and crap.... uses 64 watts(aka same as 1 incandescent light bulb)
 
OKGrowin said:
stuff
Click to expand...
 
I understand the compatibility with shelving units, but it seems like a lot of wasted light for my scenario/starting tray. I guess I need to actually measure some stuff and head back to the HW store to see the lighting options available.
 
That said, more input is welcome and greatly appreciated!
 
It just sucks because t5HO fixtures that are 2ft cost more. And the bulbs cost more. And they use 24w, 8 watts less so not that much.
They do have higher lumens / watt but if t8's already work fine then what's the difference? 
 
fusedpro said:
 
 
Click to expand...
 
you said you didn't like DIY but you can make a cfl "fixture" with a power strip and light plug and cfl bulb if you want to occupy less space (12 inches). It's really user friendly and easy to setup and cheap..
 
2x Plug to socket adpater
2x CFL daylight 42w
powerstrip
total: 26$ 
 
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