[DD.]

I do apologise, but things seem to have moved on a bit in the 36 years since I worked at Thorn Lighting!

[Weessy]

I forgot to mention, Sodium Lamps generate a lot of heat so cooling is required, compact flourescents are the best for your set-up....In my opinion of course. They also come with built in electronics so they just require a lampholder unlike sodiums or halides which require ballasts and starters.

LOL DD. Guess you do know a bit about lighting then!

[DD.]

Was a student apprentice there from 1969 to 1975, then chose a different career path. Got a degree in electronics, but it's so fast moving you can't do another job and keep pace with it.

[AshtonPete]

I took a 6 mile drive into Wigan to a hydroponics shop/warehouse and I spoke to the guy there who advised me on certain types of lighting, he wasn't after a quick sale or anything, he was genuine. I repeated some of the things I had been informed of and he looked at me very confused and bewildered. He shown me a proper setup with a tent and extractor, Autopots, and this lamp (I forget if it was Sodium or halide of a 1000Watts) but he said its perfect for Chillis, so I thought to hell with it, you only live once, so I bought the lot, might as well show some sort of enthusiasm in my new hobby, only thing is, its so big that it will use up half of my dining room.

[Weessy]

Crikey, They're gonna be some pricey chilli's. Think you might need to go back to that hydroponics dealer and see if he has any "special" seeds to help you grow a cash crop to recoup some of your investment. 
Enjoy your new set-up!

[AshtonPete]

EEEEK! Its all just arrived, should take me a couple of hours to construct, and what better timing, I am 60 years young today, so a wonderful gift to myself. I'll send a pic when its all done. Have a look at my www, that is my other hobby restoring tanks and has been for 25 years. I know its not seed talk, but thought I'd throw in my two-penneth. I have a good few hobbies.

[Kristen]

Excellent! Good for you!

You should be able to grow chillies without lights (might have mixed results at harvest time ... but mine do all right raised from seed on a windowsill and put in an unheated greenhouse from around May onwards), so the lights are "bonus".

I have a 400W Metal Halide grow lamp. I bought it to bring on some seeds in late Autumn (Canna Lillies, I heard on Gardeners World in September that sow in October and grown over-Winter with lights they would be big enough to flower in their first year, whereas sown in the spring they wouldn't - so ... like you ... I "tooled up".  They flowered in November and I harvested 250 additional seeds in December  )

Anyways, I think 1000W is too much. I think you would be better off with two lamps of half that power (well, 2 x 400W would probably do, or a 400W and a 600W).  1000W is going to cover an area of 2 or 3 sq.m. I doubt you have that many plants?!! yet.  However, once they are bigger you might well want the extra light.

But you could avoid the running cost of 1000W by just using the "smaller" lamp when the plants are small.

I run my lamp at night on Economy-7.

1 watt on permanently 24/7/365 is about £1.50 a year.   1000W on 12 hours a day will therefore be £750 (although I realise you won't need them for 12 months solid, and they may only need 9 hours a day)

You need to get your seed to germinate though.  Put some seed sowing compost in a small-ish pot - 2" will do for up to a dozen seeds. Stand the pot in tepid tap water for 10 minutes, and then put on the draining board for half an hour, and then it should be ready to sow the seeds. Put the pot in a clear plastic bag (e.g. freezer bag with a pull-tie or a zip-local bag), it won't need any more water (the bag will prevent any condensation escaping) until it has germinated. Put them in the airing cupboard (check the temperature for the seeds you have, I'm not a Chilli expert, but probably around 20-25C). They aren't the fastest of things to germinate - mine took nearly 14 days.

Once germinated open the bag and put under your lights. Hold the back of your hand flat and upwards towards the light at the position where the chilli leaves will be.  Slightly warm feeling is fine, any warmer and move the light higher.  The light will probably be 24" away from the plants, maybe a more (1000W is a lot more beefy than my 400W so I'm guessing). After a couple of days remove the bag.

Water when they have got quite dry - I wouldn't actually leave them to wilt when they are tiny seedlings.  Take two pots that are the same.  Stand one in water for 10 minutes (as above) and then compare the weight of the wet one with the drier one.  With practice you will be able to tell from the weight whether it is getting dry, or not.

Good luck!

[AshtonPete]

I'm still finding things a tad confusing with all this seedling germination stuff.

I had this Jalapeno just popping out and uncurling and thought I'd put it in my Secret Jardin tent under a lesser wattage HPS bulb at 600Watt, the shade was lifted to its maximum height so it wouldn't burn the plants. One minute I am told "There's Not enough light" then the next I am told now its too much in the tent! Where is the happy medium? The Jalapeno has now gone long and leggy inside the tent, and believe me when I say its like a blazing summer in there.
Then I'm told that its too early, WHY??? The seed doesn't have a brain. Surely I have conned the seed into thinking its right conditions, I mean, they don't know what month it is! Do they? If I am simulating the conditions they love, then it should respond.
If Chillis are available to buy from B&Q in little pots with the plant about 3 inches high, then it can't be too early.