System Specs Hydroponics

[Bullethead21]

Hi all! I am putting together a system. I am looking for a moderate system to grow maybe 6 to 12 plants at the most.

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the few questions I still have after doing much reading and research.

I was looking at getting a hydro sytem kit that supplies the nuts to the roots directly with a resivour and pump sytem that also uses oxygen in the water system that goes to the roots.

Then using a 600W HPS ballist and 600w bulb. This would be a closet type setup thats about 5ft wide, 2ft deep and about 8 to 9 feet tall room.

My question is can I get away with a 400w HPS system instead? And also could I just purchase a extra 400w bulb and use that in the 600w ballist system so I could change back and forth between 400w and 600w bulb just by swapping out the bulbs. In other words can you run a 400w bulb in a 600w ballist system setup kit?

This light comes with a alluminum horozontal type relfector as I read those refelcted the most light as stainless steel absorbs some light and is not as good??

I have priced out several light and hydro kits already. Can someone recomend a good starter type system?

I think im good on the lighting or will be but Im little concerned about which hydro kit to get....are posting links allowed here so I could show you what I have in mind and have been looking at?

Also, option 2 instead of building my own little system by buying light seperate from hydro part is to purchase one of the "Areo Garden" units??? I know these obviously wouldnt work as well as abuilt system, but these untis are around 200 bucks for everything needed and seem to be alomost a better deal?? Anyone have any knowledge on these AeroGarden units?

[LostCoaster]

Ebb and flow. Don't get too complicated right away, please save yourself a lot of time and hassle. Net pots, a flood tray and some hydroton pebbles. Or you could use pro-mix. Flood it 6-8 times a day with hydroton, once or twice with soilless mix. Also, grow all your plants of the same strain to maximize yield and prevent problems with different nute requirements.

The hydro unit you were talking about, sounds like the Atomix aero system I just read about in Urban Gardener. They look badass but they cost over 2 G's.

[johnnyballbag]

First off, you can only use a 600 watt bulb in a 600 watt ballast, same thing for a 400. Second, IMHO you should start with the 400 and see what kind of atsmopheric conditions you're gonna run into, i.e.- temps, humidity. How do you plan on bringing fresh air into your area? Keeping your ballast in the grow room will raise temps, so keep that in mind. Just like LostCoaster said, start simple, learn the finer points, and then it's easier to determine what aspects to improve/upgrade for your particular needs. If you start with too much gear and run into problems, it'll be harder to identify how and where you went wrong.