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Getting the most out of my HID

C

Captain Capsaicin

This is my first time growing indoors and I did a rather poor job of planning everything out. I purchased the 600W MH/HPS system listed below:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004L3AQ1U/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

My grow area is roughly 5.5' X 7.5'. The walls are lined with mylar. Some of the plants are 2nd or 3rd year ones which are obviously a good bit taller than the seedlings which I started this year. To that end the light is higher than ideal for the seedlings.

I need to buy a light meter but as a qualitative observation it appears that the plants directly under the fixture are getting a fair bit more light than the plants at the periphery. In hindsight I should have gone with a 1000W light.

Obviously one option would be to get a 2nd light. Aside from that I could upgrade either the bulb and/or reflector. What would give me the most bang for the buck?

The reflector is rather small and flimsy. How much benefit would a good reflector provide? Any suggestions as to make/model? How about a higher quality bulb? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
unless your build a curved platform for the plants to sit on, the ones in the middle will anways get more light. just rotate the plants around periodically. as far as an upgraded reflector goes... they are generally cost prohibitive, and are vented with glass etc etc... not useful for starting plants for spring plant outs.
you will notice, that even the commercial lights they use in European greenhouses are of similar construction, open and not vented wings or stamped paraboloid looking things. personally id look at getting a separate light for your old plants...something like a 250w ebay cheapo... either that or build a platform or something such that you can get the newer ones close to the light.

forget about buying the 100$ bulbs... they are not worth the expense for what you are growing. i use bulbs i buy on ebay from old stockrooms and whatever... that were never used. sylvania 400w bulbs can be like 7-8 bucks a pop if you get a decent deal. i have a 400w MH somewhere that i use for doing construction work at night... i think it was like 11 bucks on amazon.

some of the cannabis guys tested all the common pricey bulbs, and the super expensive hortilux's were like 11% more par lighting than the cheapest ones. i think like a 50$ bulb was almost identical to that hortilux, but i dont remember at all.
 
Given that 600w will not bring chiles to fruit, and another 600w luminaire will serve, buy another one.

None of this is going to be inexpensive.
 
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Given that 600w will not bring chiles to fruit, and another 600w luminaire will serve, buy another one.[/background]
Click to expand...

Why would you say that? 600 watts is a ton of light, and plenty to bring pepper plants to fruit.

OP, with the light 15-20" above the plants, you should have no problem filling most of the room with light. The room is a little big for 600 watts, but no one said you have to fill up the whole room with plants. Pick a spot about 5'x5', center the light above it and put your plants there. Just keep the light high enough that you don't cook the plants since HID bulbs can get hot.
 
Have any Fluoros laying around?
Try putting them vertically around the walls.It might be just enough extra Lumens to even out the dimmer areas...
Your grow space isn't that big.
 
If, as you first posted, your grow space is 5.5 x 7.5 feet, 600 watts is inadequate to bring all the plants in this space to fruit. You will need 30-50 watts/square foot to do it.

5.5 x 7.5 = 42 square ft
42sq ft x 30w/sq ft = 1200w
42 x 50 = 2100w
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. A 2nd year plant and a 3rd year plant are producing buds which is encouraging. I have a bunch of CFL's each rated at 6500K and 1600 Lumens. I also have a bunch of 2 in 1 adaptors which I've used to make 4 bulbs/6400 Lumen lights. I have three such ghetto set ups.

Am I correct with the following? To do this right I need another HID light. If I want to be cheap and just get by until next April/May I can slightly reconfigure my grow area and use my existing resources to get by but not expect any real winter harvest and probably have some leggy plants due to inadequate light.

I really wish that I could rewind time and actually plan this out prior to purchasing and set up.
 
Not to kick you while you are down but I think you serve as a great lesson to everyone. Start small and build up. Honestly without someone experienced helping you out you can't plan extremely well. In hindsight most mistakes look obvious.

You have to work out your technique. If you invest alot you tend to feel you are stuck.
 
Although I'm learning the hard way it's a great learning experience none the less. My wife and I are in the process of moving from a condo to a single family home. Up until now I've had limited grow space and am really psyched about having the space to really grow.

My parents have an unfinished portion of their basement and were kind enough to let me set up something temporary over there. I attached 2X4's to the rafters and basically wrapped them with 1mm thick mylar. I intend to build something more permanent in my new house next year.

I certainly intend to have a solid, THP approved, grow room game plan by then. To that end I certainly appreciate all of the feedback which I'm receiving, even if it's people pointing out pertinent details which I can't easily change at the moment.

In hindsight I would have gotten a 1000W system in addition to going a bit smaller. I really like the idea of building a platform for the 1st year plants. I may still do that for this year but I'd be more inclined if I knew that I wouldn't have to break it down and move it next year.
 
I think you have a perfectly fine setup to be honest. Things do not have to be picture perfect to be successful. First off spend a few bucks on a better reflector that has a wider focus if you arent getting light on the outside edges of the room. Adjust-a-wing reflectors are kinda cool because you can adjust the focus. Then place the larger plants furthest away from the bulb, with the smallest plants in the middle. Even raise the little ones up if you have to.

i think that those wattage equations are kinda BS, because it would depend on everything else in order to get your bulb as close as possible. An air cooled reflector setup allowing lights to be really close would make those equations look rediculous. Yet using flourescents at a distance it may seem a little more in check. 2100W in that space using HIDs could heat your entire house if vented to your central air i bet :P .

Your 600W is more powerful than you think... just get it as close to the plants as possible.
-1ft 5400-9000 foot candles
-2ft 3300-4800 foot candles
-3ft 1000-2000 foot candles
-4ft 450-800 foot candles

If you can get your 600W as close as 18 inches or less.... you`ll be way better off than with 2100W mounted 3 feet up.
Also: 600W is the most electrically efficient size compared to lumens you can get.

I have 400W in approx the same square footage as you and it works just fine for all of my plants that are headed out to the garden in spring. i had just under 90 pepper plants grown healthy to about 1ft tall under it last year.

hopefully this will help out a little, and give some confidence. Cheers, and best of luck.
 
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