lookntoimpruv
New Member
i have been told that using mh(400) and one hps(400) would be better for flowering than 2 hps(400's) but the more I read I think all hps might be best. Anyone with extensive knowledge able to weigh in please?
mh and hps or hps and hps?
- Thread starter lookntoimpruv
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both would work great.
when you go mh + hps, you will reduce your yeild slightly, but gain more resin/ tric production.
if you go hps hps, you will get max yeild. but still good potency, just not as good as with a mh in there.
here is some food for thought... try ceramic metal halides (CMH). if you have a magnetic hps ballast, these CMH bulbs retro fit right in... (doesnt work with digital ballasts)
the CMH bulbs are very heavy in both blue, and red, and i think 2 400 watt CMH would probably out perform both of the options you gave.
just be carefull, you can get bad sunburns from them, they are like little suns
when you go mh + hps, you will reduce your yeild slightly, but gain more resin/ tric production.
if you go hps hps, you will get max yeild. but still good potency, just not as good as with a mh in there.
here is some food for thought... try ceramic metal halides (CMH). if you have a magnetic hps ballast, these CMH bulbs retro fit right in... (doesnt work with digital ballasts)
the CMH bulbs are very heavy in both blue, and red, and i think 2 400 watt CMH would probably out perform both of the options you gave.
just be carefull, you can get bad sunburns from them, they are like little suns
One thing to consider is that you're not only going after lumens, plants have a specific spectrum of light that they use, so if you are using a MH or HPS get a grow specific one such a hortilux. Beyond that all i can really say is that HPS will make plants stretch where as MH keeps them compact, also HPS do put out more lumens per watt. So overall I would think that it depends on the strain and your preference, so just test each way and then you will know what you like the most for sure. My 2 cents
Hosebomber
New Member
While I agree that you will have a little more resin production due to the addition of UV: B, I cannot see any reason why you would get more yield from using an HPS during veg. Using a HPS during veg will cause your plants to elongate and have fewer branches. Using a MH during veg will keep the plant shorter, decrease internode length, and create more foliage to supply photosynthesis.
Do you have any research to back up the HPS/HPS claim or is that personal experience or something else?
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- #7
lookntoimpruv
New Member
How big of a difference would a hortilux brand give compared to a sylvania hps 400 watt? I have been using just a regular sylvania........Also, I am ready to buy a cmh 400. I have a 400 watt hps fixture, but it is more like a construction fixture with the ballast in the fixture above the lamp. As long as it is a hps 400 watt fixture a 400 watt cmh will work in it, right? Or do I need some type of conversion lamp?
Use both MH and HPS if you can. Try to mimic nature. The Sun has full spectrum throughout the year, to mimic that use one MH and one HPS, or 2x CMH (for magnetic ballast), and dual spectrum bulb like 2x Digilux/Horilux (for digital or e-ballast) which gives off some blue spectrum but still HPS dominantly.
To answer your question best go with 2x Digilux 400w HPS.
To answer your question best go with 2x Digilux 400w HPS.
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- #9
lookntoimpruv
New Member
How do I know if it is a magnetic ballast? I read that a cmh will work in a hps. Does this mean that all hps ballasts are magnetic?
- Thread starter
- #10
lookntoimpruv
New Member
I dont know how to tell what kind of ballasts I have. They are the construction type with ballast in box above lamp. All I know is that I have one that a 400w reg. sylvania lamp works fine in, and one that a 400w mh works fine in. I would like to buy a cmh and use it in the hps, then I can use either the mh or a conversion hps in the mh ballast. Sorry for all the crazy questions but I would love to maximize my light without buying a new ballast, if possible.
if you want to go 800 watts without buying a new ballast, just run your hps, and mh's at the same time. try to have them overlap for maximum effect on all branches.
or if you have a couple hps ballasts kickin around, run CMH on both.
Twelve12 pretty much nailed it.
as far as finding out what ballast you have.. if its an industrial ballast, chances are, its magnetic. does it hum and produce heat from the ballast? if so, its magnetic..
is it silent and not create heat from the ballast? then its digital.
CMH will work in equivalent HPS fixtures, so, a 400 watt CMH will work in a 400 watt MAGNETIC hps ballast with no issues. just screw the bulb in.
SO... to sum it up. if you have
400watt hps ballast and a 400 watt mh ballast. - run them both with the proper bulbs.
if you have 2 400 watt hps magnetic ballasts, run CMH bulbs
while the CMH is a better bulb than hps, i dont see the point in running CMH in your hps ballast, and a conversion hps in your MH ballast at the same time, wasted money IMO.
to understand your bulbs a little better.
a standard HPS bulb is really heavy in the red spectrum
a standard MH is really heavy in the blue spectrum
a CMH is heavy in both, and also has pretty high levels of all other spectrums as well, in other words, mimics the sun best out of all of them.
in veg, plants eat up the blue spectrum mostly
in flower plants eat up red spectrum mostly
however, they will use other spectrums all the time too.
If you feed a plant high blue in flower, it will produce more resin and reduce stretch, which also makes tighter buds
if you feed a plant high red in flower, it will produce bigger buds and give you high yield
so, if you give it a CMH which is heavy in both, you get the best of both worlds. same as if you were to use hps and mh together. (however, if you use hps and mh, you will have spots that either the hps or mh doesnt hit, so the outside branches will get either high blue OR high red, while the majoirty get both. With CHM, its the same, so all branches recieve the same ratios of red and blue.
follow me? or did i make that too confusing?
CMH also "throw" less heat down from the bulb, allowing you to get it closer than a regular HPS bulb.
you can also use CMH bulbs for both flower AND veg very well.
like i said before, just lookout for the sunburn you can get from them, long sleeve shirt, and sunglasses. lots of uvb pour off them
or if you have a couple hps ballasts kickin around, run CMH on both.
Twelve12 pretty much nailed it.
as far as finding out what ballast you have.. if its an industrial ballast, chances are, its magnetic. does it hum and produce heat from the ballast? if so, its magnetic..
is it silent and not create heat from the ballast? then its digital.
CMH will work in equivalent HPS fixtures, so, a 400 watt CMH will work in a 400 watt MAGNETIC hps ballast with no issues. just screw the bulb in.
SO... to sum it up. if you have
400watt hps ballast and a 400 watt mh ballast. - run them both with the proper bulbs.
if you have 2 400 watt hps magnetic ballasts, run CMH bulbs
while the CMH is a better bulb than hps, i dont see the point in running CMH in your hps ballast, and a conversion hps in your MH ballast at the same time, wasted money IMO.
to understand your bulbs a little better.
a standard HPS bulb is really heavy in the red spectrum
a standard MH is really heavy in the blue spectrum
a CMH is heavy in both, and also has pretty high levels of all other spectrums as well, in other words, mimics the sun best out of all of them.
in veg, plants eat up the blue spectrum mostly
in flower plants eat up red spectrum mostly
however, they will use other spectrums all the time too.
If you feed a plant high blue in flower, it will produce more resin and reduce stretch, which also makes tighter buds
if you feed a plant high red in flower, it will produce bigger buds and give you high yield
so, if you give it a CMH which is heavy in both, you get the best of both worlds. same as if you were to use hps and mh together. (however, if you use hps and mh, you will have spots that either the hps or mh doesnt hit, so the outside branches will get either high blue OR high red, while the majoirty get both. With CHM, its the same, so all branches recieve the same ratios of red and blue.
follow me? or did i make that too confusing?
CMH also "throw" less heat down from the bulb, allowing you to get it closer than a regular HPS bulb.
you can also use CMH bulbs for both flower AND veg very well.
like i said before, just lookout for the sunburn you can get from them, long sleeve shirt, and sunglasses. lots of uvb pour off them
DigitalGrow
New Member
With the ballast build in the lamp fixture is hard to say if they are digital or magnetic, you'll have to read the label/specification on the fixture. It should state what they are. If you plug in the CMH bulb in a digital ballast, the bulb will BLOW UP! SO PLEASE Be very careful!
Safety always #1
outdoorsalway
New Member
Good post. Answered a few questions I had.
I will have a 4'x4'x7' area. If I went with CMH, what wattage would you suggest, and would you recommend 2 lights in that area, or would 1 be good enough for 4 plants? Also, air cooled?
as a drawback of CMH(i think, unless they have come out with them and i havent noticed yet) is they only have 400 watt bulbs.
1 would be good enough for 4 plants, but you might want to go 2 depending how how long you want to veg them...
the more light, the more bud you can harvest.
for someone who knows what they are doing, and has everything dialed in, 1 gram per watt is possible. (genetics play a factor here too... so this is indeed a ROUGH outline)
that being said, its not uncommon to get half a pound off a 400 watt light. (224 grams)
the amount of plants isnt really your concern, as, one plant, if vegged and trained long/well enough, can procude the same as 20 plants in a SOG.
also with double the light, comes double the power consumption, and double the heat. but also double the potential yeild...so, use those considerations when planning your grow
edit: air cooled isnt needed in an area that big as long as you have a proper exhaust fan, although, if you want to play it safe and never worry about high temps, air cooled is a nice thing to have. But in your case (room size) i think thats more of a luxury item, instead of a required item.
if you do go air cooled, make sure the glass is ALWAYS clean.. clean it twice per grow. with a 400 watt light, you loose a decent amount from the glass (i'v never measured it, but been told about 7%), and any dust on the glass will make you loose more. Yes, you can get your light closer with a air cooled hood, but that reduces your light footprint as well. everything has its pro's and con's.
generally, if you can, you want to stay away from air cooled. but of course if you have heat issues, you have no choice.
1 would be good enough for 4 plants, but you might want to go 2 depending how how long you want to veg them...
the more light, the more bud you can harvest.
for someone who knows what they are doing, and has everything dialed in, 1 gram per watt is possible. (genetics play a factor here too... so this is indeed a ROUGH outline)
that being said, its not uncommon to get half a pound off a 400 watt light. (224 grams)
the amount of plants isnt really your concern, as, one plant, if vegged and trained long/well enough, can procude the same as 20 plants in a SOG.
also with double the light, comes double the power consumption, and double the heat. but also double the potential yeild...so, use those considerations when planning your grow
edit: air cooled isnt needed in an area that big as long as you have a proper exhaust fan, although, if you want to play it safe and never worry about high temps, air cooled is a nice thing to have. But in your case (room size) i think thats more of a luxury item, instead of a required item.
if you do go air cooled, make sure the glass is ALWAYS clean.. clean it twice per grow. with a 400 watt light, you loose a decent amount from the glass (i'v never measured it, but been told about 7%), and any dust on the glass will make you loose more. Yes, you can get your light closer with a air cooled hood, but that reduces your light footprint as well. everything has its pro's and con's.
generally, if you can, you want to stay away from air cooled. but of course if you have heat issues, you have no choice.
outdoorsalway
New Member
Great info, thanks. I'm trying to learn as much as I can before my first grow gets started the beginning of May. It's time to start spending some money and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about lighting. So, let me get this straight - With CMH I can use them throughout the grow, correct?
Also, my grow period is only 5 months long, so veg maybe 4 weeks? 1 CMH and maybe supplement with a few CFL's?
Also, my grow period is only 5 months long, so veg maybe 4 weeks? 1 CMH and maybe supplement with a few CFL's?
68camaro
New Member
ever look into the bulbs
bulbs they r not all the same!
ive a 430 eyehortilux i just love! hps
i also grow with the hps eyehortilux bulb
bulbs they r not all the same!
ive a 430 eyehortilux i just love! hps
i also grow with the hps eyehortilux bulb
- Thread starter
- #19
lookntoimpruv
New Member
nibec, thanks a million. That is awsome that you would take all that time to help someone you dont even know. Good Help from Good Peeps!
- Thread starter
- #20
lookntoimpruv
New Member
Does this type of light noticably outproduce just a regular sylvania hps lamp? I am just even learning about a hortilux also. What does the eye mean in eyehortilux? I am just curious as to how proportional the output is as compared to the price difference.
