conversion bulbs.
- Thread starter kaotic
- Start date
best 400w bulb that runs off an hps balast is a CMH
hands down, best veg bulb
hands down, best veg bulb
S
sparkjumper
Besides the price of conversion lamps they are notoriously low in PAR watts which is what the plant "sees" and uses for growth.I'd veg with an HPS before I'd ude a MH conversion lamp.
oh theres really no way to do that, an hps bulb needs an ignitor... that is the diff between hps and mh
look into the hortiluix metal ace... its an hps that works in an MH but i think its pretty expensive....
i coudn't find one anywhere for a reasonable price, the metal ace lights i found from hortilux were more expensive than you would pay for a 400w hps ballast.... so i would try this...
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics...metal-halide-horizontal-grow-bulb-p-2137.html
its a 3200k red burning mh which is what you are looking for and its only 40$ u said you want cheap there it is
look into the hortiluix metal ace... its an hps that works in an MH but i think its pretty expensive....
i coudn't find one anywhere for a reasonable price, the metal ace lights i found from hortilux were more expensive than you would pay for a 400w hps ballast.... so i would try this...
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics...metal-halide-horizontal-grow-bulb-p-2137.html
its a 3200k red burning mh which is what you are looking for and its only 40$ u said you want cheap there it is
oldschool55
Member
I have 600w sunmaster MH and 600w HPS converter bulb, both ran on 600 w digital ballast, worked fine, harvest was great.
Here ya go Business Lights Pick a kit, any kit. My HPS kit came pre-wired. All I had to connect were the power cords.
We'll walk you through if you need it. Seriously, if I can do it, any sponge can do it.
Pharma Geddon
Member
I tried a 400w mh conversion bulb once. Ran it alongside a cheap 400w hps bulb in veg and the hps creamed it.
Now using a 400w cmh for veg, love it to bits. Hanging vertical in a parabolic reflector and when changing it after a year I didn't notice any increase in brightness from the new bulb. Need to get a light meter to be sure thouugh.
Now using a 400w cmh for veg, love it to bits. Hanging vertical in a parabolic reflector and when changing it after a year I didn't notice any increase in brightness from the new bulb. Need to get a light meter to be sure thouugh.
Joe A. Grower
Active member
HPS conversion bulbs are not that hard to find
Hortilux 360W HPS Conversion Bulb
The problem is a MH ballast can not power a HPS bulb to its full rated capacity. So you only get 360W of HPS light on a 400W MH ballast. The output of the conversion bulb is only 45K lumens versus 55K lumens on a normal 400W HPS bulb. Basically HPS conversion bulbs are expensive and they suck.
There is no reason that you cannot use your 400W MH to flower your plants. Many people use metal halide all the way through. I really doubt you would get much better yield with a 360 W conversion bulb then you will with your own metal halide bulb.
Hortilux 360W HPS Conversion Bulb
The problem is a MH ballast can not power a HPS bulb to its full rated capacity. So you only get 360W of HPS light on a 400W MH ballast. The output of the conversion bulb is only 45K lumens versus 55K lumens on a normal 400W HPS bulb. Basically HPS conversion bulbs are expensive and they suck.
There is no reason that you cannot use your 400W MH to flower your plants. Many people use metal halide all the way through. I really doubt you would get much better yield with a 360 W conversion bulb then you will with your own metal halide bulb.
Could you say that again?
"There is no reason that you cannot use your 400W MH to flower your plants."
Damn straight! Far be it from me to get between a man and a new toy but, people do 100% MH grows all the time.
Joe A. Grower
Active member
A regular HPS (not conversion) should yield better than a MH of the same watt rating. Red light is a bit more efficient for photosynthesis than blue light (blue is about 85% as efficient as red). However, blue light tends to keep the plants more compact, where a lack of blue seems to promote stretching, especially early in flower.
So it is a bit of a trade-off. You get better photosynthesis with HPS, but the plants tend to use that extra energy on unproductive stretching for the first three or four weeks of flower. In theory HPS should produce significantly more flower weight than halide, but in actual practice the difference is not huge.
If you aren't happy with the yield you are getting with a 400 W halide, save your money up to get a 600 W HPS ballast and the bulb. The 600 W really will deliver extra weight over the 400 W halide. A conversion bulb will not.
I agree. Personally, CMH for me.
But, I stand by the earlier statement. I remember being snowed in 3,000 miles from home with 14¢ in my pocket. I don't know this fellows situation but, for some, no money is no money. Growing with MH alone doesn't make you a bad person. Many people do it quite happily.
Far be it from me to get between a man and a new toy; I just don't want him to feel railroaded.
D
down7ime
Interesting, so if you were to have a 400W HPS and 400W MH conversion bulb then you wouldnt necessarily flower with the HPS from day 1 of flowering but rather wait a few or maybe even four weeks until to swap out the bulbs?
