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| I am running out of room under my current 400 watt MH setup and was looking to get either a 600 watt or 1000 watt setup.
The system will be used to overwinter tropicals and I want to maximize my coverage area. If a 1000 watt system can effectively cover a 10'x12' area, this seems like the best option. Thoughts? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by orchidsnyc NYC (My Page) on Fri, Oct 29, 10 at 10:27
| Keep in mind that 600W HIDs only come in high pressure sodium, not metal halide. You can buy MH conversion bulbs for 600W HPS ballasts, but they're less efficient than the real thing and more expensive. If you don't need higher maximum light levels than you're already getting, another option would be to add another 400W metal halide. To get wider coverage from a single lamp, you'll need to mount the lamp higher than your current one or also get a new reflector designed to maximize coverage area. |
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| Thanks for the information orchidsnyc. I wasn't aware that I would need to use a conversion bulb. I currently have a Hydrofarm radiant reflector. I am thinking about using this reflector and getting a 1000 watt pulse start MH ballast. Also, I was looking at light movers. For around $100, it seems like a great way to increase my coverage area. |
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- Posted by jmoore3274 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 22, 13 at 13:01
| Technology has changed. You can buy digital ballasts now that can run both MH and HPS bulbs. I personally use a 600watt MH sunlight balanced bulb for growing orchids and carnivorous plants. HPS bulbs do put out more lumens but the PAR value (Photosynthetic Available Radiation) is not as good as a MH thats used for growing the plants. Once flowering change over to a HPS. |
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- Posted by markcogwell none (My Page) on Tue, Mar 19, 13 at 10:05
| 1000 watt will provide you extra give up but only less than the path of the lamp. The flowers should be denser on the plants directly in the path of the light. You probably won’t cover more area but the area you do cover will be more light powerful. |
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