Mara Hydro Reflector - Bloom button

[AutoflowerLED]

Has anyone used a mars hydro light with the bloom button? I am currently just over half way thru a 2 month autoflower kush, the guide for the plant is 60-70cm, she is currently 90cm and buds are appearing everywhere. Ive had both veg/growth and the bloom option on for about a week. She just won't stop growing and im running out of head height, ive turned the veg/growth light off today and just left the red bloom light on, im a little bit nervous about it, the heat was really building up when i had both options on, but the bloom lights dont seem to be giving much heat off at all, and the fan isnt even running in the light now its just bloom so i can't see the heat building up again.
Can anyone tell me that just the bloom option is the right thing to do, or do i need both options on to get the right spectrums?
Thanks people

 

[415friendly]

I've read that the bloom lights are intended to be used with the flowering lights on. Since the fan to cool your lights only runs when the veg lights are on, you are letting your light heat up which can eventually result in you overheating and damaging your lights.

If you're running out of height, try tying down your plants.

 

[AutoflowerLED]

Yeh nice one man, think i agree, her leaves have drooped since going bloom only. Can u tie down autoflowers, i didnt think u cud mess around like that with them. Surely she cant get much bigger, shes 20cm (8") bigger than she should be already!?

 

[Major PITA]

I use all lights all the time. I believe, more is better to both stop stretch and to provide max PAR. I like MH stuff a lot, but the switches are a marketing gimmick, IMO. More power = more better!

 

[jhfhklsnhfldk]

I don't veg under Led. Led, for me is only for bloom. Red spectrums and warm nights both cause stretch. With autos, you can get away with less red until the stretch is done. If you stretch too much, topping and LST will help.

I agree with most of what PITA said. Except, I think that using only the Veg light for the first 4 weeks would be fine. Less power is needed during veg than flower so you could save a few buck and keep your temps lower using only the grow. The lack of red should also slow the stretch.

Having said this, it seems that growing is an almost never ending experiment. My method if to test all new ideas and recommendations in my own specific setting. I look forward to a time when I settle on a single strain so I can "specialize".

 

[Major PITA]

^ Very true. ^
I wouldn't use both switches for seedlings. In fact, I start mine under T-5's. I do use all the light possible once they are 2-3 weeks old. Red spectrum can cause stretch, but only if the blue spectrum is not well represented, IMO. It all come down to temperature and distance to the plant. I keep mu light a little higher and let the plants grow up to it. I find I can run more light and get better coverage and penetration that way. We each have different spaces to deal with and different plant training methods so a lot of it is experimentation to see what works best in your situation.

 

[AutoflowerLED]

I think shes eventually stopped growing now, 40 days on, still just on the original compost and rain water once a day, not lookin too bad. U put 31 days by mistake in the pictures!