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MH Full Spectrum 4100k for Flower?

scurred

Member
Trying to keep my plants stretch down so I am thinking about getting a 400w digital ballast which supports HPS and MH, the place I am looking at offers a MH bulb that is "Neutral" with 4100k. Seems like a good choice for veg and flowering.

Did some quick searches on here, seems MH will make shorter plants, denser buds, and more crystals. While the HPS makes them taller plants, bigger fluffier buds, and more resin/oils.

So if I got a full spectrum MH at 4100k that'd be like mixing a normal MH with a HPS wouldn't it? So you'd get the best of both worlds?

My last grow was with a T5, 2 warm bulbs, 2 cool bulbs, so it was full spectrum, and I really liked the results. I imagine it'd be even better with an HID light, better growth and yields.

Anyone have any experience with this?
 
So if I got a full spectrum MH at 4100k that'd be like mixing a normal MH with a HPS wouldn't it? So you'd get the best of both worlds?

No, HPS has way more red than any MH. If you use a warm MH (i.e. Sunmaster Warm, Solarmax Gold, etc.) it will have more red than a neutral or a blue MH, but still alot less than an HPS.
 

scurred

Member
Yeah you're right HPS has more red, but I am trying to keep the plants short, so by using more blue (mh full spectrum) it'd minimize the stretch during flowering, and from what I read it will make the buds dense
 
Mitigate stretch, yes. Denser buds, maybe. I use both MH and HPS during flowering, but I've used all HPS, and didn't notice any less bud density.
 
C

cork144

Mitigate stretch, yes. Denser buds, maybe. I use both MH and HPS during flowering, but I've used all HPS, and didn't notice any less bud density.

how did the potancy fair out though? MH is said to give off some UV which increases the trich production on the plants.
 
I'll start off with something less contentious. MH will give you a more colorful final product than HPS given the same genetics (Purps, Blue strains, etc.).

Now on to the potency thing. There are far more knowledgeable individuals than I on both sides of the debate, so the closest thing to a fact with which I can answer you is that an increase (or lack thereof) in potency is open to debate, and currently there exists no clear answer.

Now, imo, MH adds to the head in a positive way, depending on the strain. Honestly, I don't think it makes strains with a sedative, couchlock head any more potent, although maybe I just can't tell the difference.

With a strain that has a nice up, cerebral head, I think that it adds something, maybe a very slight increase in potency, but it also enhances the head a bit (in my opinion, and I'm a Sativa man). It gives my final product (regardless of potency) a bit more euphoric (kinda Flo-ish, if you've smoked good Flo) aspect to the head. Something I also find in well-grown outdoor up-head meds. I still run 3:1, HPS:MH though.
 
I'll be using the Ceramic Metal Halide for my flower, I have a 400 watter all ready to go!
I put a 100 watt CMH in my veg room this morning, plants seem to like it.
Good luck.
 

Spaazkaz

Member
Noob here, I apologize for the ignorance in advance...
Damn, I just picked up some used lights off of my friend and I thought I was getting an hps but it turns out he was as big of a dumbass as me and picked up a 100hps for veg 400mh for flower... I think I still got a good deal but im a little disappointed I dont know how I POSSIBLY could have made that mistake... I think? Am I out of luck?
There isn't any way to change an MH to an HPS, or to accept HPS bulbs rather, is there? Can someone PM me, Id rather not derail this fellas thread... I appreciate it. -Spaz-
 

dbfr3sh

Member
do u have the right ballasts to go with those lights? i would keep the 400mh and buy a 400hps and run both lights. if your using the mh for veg and then changing that out for the hps then by a ballast with a switch to (mh/hps), unless you want to use then both then you needa buy a new light and a new ballast.
 
Have you read the Ceramic Metal Halide sticky in this forum?

I run a CMH and agree with Philosophelon in that I get a wide variety of colors that would I would not get without low temps or something else. I would also say that the crystal production seems to be higher since I added CMH's to my set-up.

If you have the room, you can use both a CMH and a HPS and go dual-spectrum, they both run on HPS magnetic core ballasts (although I dont think they make a digital ballast for CMH yet)
 
P

purpledomgoddes

may be advantageous to mix as many different spectrums of light as possible into the garden.
have ran many light sources indv.
garden seems to do best w/ the following regime, if even in watts as low as 100:

1.sunmaster warm deluxe (mh)
2.hortilux eye conversion (mh to hps conversion)
3.40w uvb
4.daylight floros
5.purple+blue+red party lights

w/ the above combo, density, aroma, flavor, reproductive gland count/mass, etc.etc., achieved in higher levels than any 1 single source of light.
yield not a garden objective.
full spectrum sunlight delivers many frequencies of radiation. seek to mimic sun, + events in nature like aurora borealis, cloud cover, sunset+sunrise colors, etc. these events trigger electro-chem reactions in plant, along path to maturity.

neutral will provide more green/blue light. can add red/orange w/ simple 50-100w security-type hps, or red+orange party lights.

either way, multiple arrays of colors in garden seems to bring out best final tomatoes!

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=108993
lighting conversion data
^this may be good reference data
 

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