top of page

Recommended Equipment

To run a Metal Halide bulb, you need two things besides the bulb:

a Ballast and a Reflector/Hood. Scroll down for specific product recommendations. For our New DE lamp, scroll down or click here.

*Please note* This bulb is a Metal Halide (MH), NOT the same as a CMH/Ceramic Metal Halide/LEC/CDM. You must use it with a ballast that is designed for MH, not CMH, as they use different connectors and different power frequencies.*

A reflector, also known as a lamp hood, consists of a socket to screw the bulb in, and a shiny metal reflector to focus the light toward the canopy. Reflectors are inexpensive these days, starting at $30 and up. Air cooled reflectors use a glass panel or cool tube to enclose the bulb in a safe space, allowing for direct heat removal with air ducts. Bulbs like ours are safety rated for use with enclosed fixtures such as air cooled hoods. Air cooling can remove a significant portion of unwanted radiant heat. Cool tube reflectors are made with tempered glass, which allows our beneficial UV to pass through!

A ballast is essentially the power converter that allows you to power the bulb. A ballast costs $60-$230 depending on brand and wattage. There are many available, make sure your ballast is rated for MH bulbs.

Once you have ballast, reflector, and our bulb, you are ready to grow!

More about Reflectors: A smaller, tighter reflector will give you the most intense, focused light, great for higher hanging height, while a shallow or wider reflector will give you a wider spread and allow the lamp to be closer with a wider footprint. For example, with our 1000w lamp, a phantom reflector produces a focused light of 1650 ppfd at 24" on center, while a larger raptor reflector (my favorite) produces a wider spread light of around 1100ppfd at 24" on center. We recommend various reflectors below. Please note our bulbs are designed for horizontal bulb orientation only and not vertical orientation. Reflectors make a big difference and you can learn more in this youtube video. I personally recommend against using wing reflectors with any bulb as they have the most light loss!

Be sure to wear gloves when handling and installing the bulb, to avoid getting finger oils on it (which can heat up and explode). If you do touch the bulb, clean it off well with a dry cloth.

The bulb screws into the socket in the reflector, which will then connect via a cord to your ballast, and then the ballast is plugged in to your timer or lighting controller and then to the electrical outlet on your wall. If using a timer, I recommend a grounded analog timer.

Our bulbs come in the following wattages: 600w, and 1000w. Use a ballast rated for the same wattage as your bulb. Do not dim to achieve wattage.

 

(We have no affiliation with the following brands, these are just some recommended examples so you can get your bulb running! )

Ballast:

Quantum ii 1000w Ballast

Quantum ii 600w Ballast

This ballast can run MH and HPS bulbs and is long lasting and dependable. I have been using them for years with various bulbs and never had a ballast failure. I highly recommend these as our lamps perform really well with them, they are still readily available online and work perfectly. Ballast quality makes a big difference for your lamp's proper operation, spectral output, light intensity, and longevity.

Some other tested and approved options include:

Hydrofarm Phantom 1000w Ballast

Xtrasun Ballast (Discontinued)

Hortilux Ballast (Discontinued)

Please match the wattage of the ballast to the wattage of your bulb. Do not dim.

There are other 1000w ballasts and 600w ballasts available, too, just make sure you use one that says it works for MH bulbs. Reminder, do not dim an MH bulb, even if your ballast has the option.

Our lamp should be compatible with any MH rated high frequency ballast, but not with HPS-only ballasts. Please note that CMH is entirely different technology and is not compatible with our bulb.

CMH, or Ceramic Metal Halide, are different, they use a low frequency ballast that will not operate our Metal Halide bulb.

DE (Double Ended) Ballasts are not for Single Ended bulbs.

Reflectors:
iPower Air Cooled 4x4 Footprint $42

iPower CoolTube Reflector XL - 5x5 Footprint $42

Great for tents and rooms too. Ducts and exhaust fans can be connected to the fixture to remove excess heat! Choose reflector size based on your desired footprint, as each design focuses the light differently. Cool tube reflectors allow more angular light to pass through and block less light than a flat glass panel air cooled hood. Tempered glass does not block our beneficial UV. 95% reflectivity. UL safety listed.

iPower CoolTube Reflector XXL - 6x6 Footprint $106

Personally I love these larger reflectors as they spread the light to a larger footprint and allow closer positioning to the plants. Great for open rooms with one light or multiple light setups! 95% reflectivity. Tempered glass does not block our beneficial UV. UL safety listed.

 

Our new DE lamp:

To use our new Double Ended MH lamp, you will need a double ended reflector and ballast, which are typically sold as a single unit. Most of these are capable of running both MH and HPS lamps, but some are HPS-only, so make sure yours is designed to handle a MH bulb.

Some Compatible DE Fixture+Ballast Systems include:

NanoLux

Phantom

Hortilux VS-1000

​iPower

UltraGrow

TopoLite

PlantMax

You may also find good deals on ebay or facebook marketplace for new or used equipment!

If buying DE lamp hoods and ballasts separately, be sure to get a ballast rated for DE lamps!

DE Air Cooled Hood by Nanolux

Please note: Gavita brand is HPS-only! While it will still power the bulb, it can be unsafe to do so, as it will not allow the lamp to cool off before restriking in the event of a power outage!

Watch this video on setting up air cooled reflectors. Please note for small tent grows you can also pull air out through the duct and place your carbon filter at the end of the sequence outside your tent to remove air and odors. (order: lamp hood - duct - fan (blowing that way ->) - duct - filter)

Par Meters:

A PAR Meter is the number one tool to increase yields under any lighting type! Even if you don't use MH, I highly recommend using a PAR Meter in your grow. To use it, hold the sensor directly over your plant canopy in various places to check the light intensity. You will notice that moving even a few inches can drastically increase or decrease the amount of light your plant is receiving. You can use this to fine tune your garden to receive the exact amount of lights needed for optimal performance.

Recommended PAR levels at top of canopy:

75-125 PPFD Rooting Clones

125-200 PPFD Small veg, seedling, clone

200-500 PPFD Mature veg

500-750-1000 PPFD - Flowering (Strain dependent)

If you'd like to save money, you can purchase a cheaper PAR meter and achieve amazing results in your garden. I recommend:

PhotoBIO PAR Meter

Regarded as the leader, Apogee Instruments has the most precise meters available. Their new ePar meter also measures light in a wider range, which can be helpful if you are growing under multiple lighting types so you can see the difference for yourself. Their standard PAR meter is extremely effective as well. I have been using these in my gardens for years with great results.

Apogee PAR Meter

Apogee ePAR Meter

There are also PAR Meter apps for your phone, but I am not sure on the reliability or accuracy of these. Follow instructions carefully if using them as they require making a paper filter, too.

Anchor 1
bottom of page