Can someone sell me on 1:1 MH/HPS set up?

[Flux451]

I am just looking to see if someone cares to convince me to pick up some metal halides.

I know that many plants can vegetate healthily with a high pressure sodium lamp which is also great for bloom.

I also know the a metal halide provides a range better suited for promotion of stout plants and tightly branching nodes

The only problem here is I do not know if for some strains the difference is more or less desirous and also I do not mean to have two different set ups or areas, but perhaps one with a 1:1 ratio or even some swapped out for veg/bloom.

I also, through my understanding do not want to use a conversion bulb if it is a lull on energy consumption.

This is an area I could research much by myself but I like to start with a reach for reference and leads, Thanks

 

[Haps]

I love MH, I think their spectrum is superior, the girls like the blue, and I have always run mixed in blooms.

I will not have them in my next rooms I am designing, why? For the last two years I have run one room mixed with 2K, and a smaller rig with only 1K yellow, and that room gives me more bud per sqft, which I have known for years it would. The reason to use mixed was to increase quality, I thought. But the same ladies from either room are both great, the blue is not kicking up the quality, in a variety of strains. So I am going to all yellow, I will upgrade my veg in the new set up with my blue K. If you are growing hazes and land races, stay with blue, hybrids and indicas, either way works.
H

 

[bobcat1963]

I also, through my understanding do not want to use a conversion bulb if it is a lull on energy consumption.

For the price of a conversion bulb,you can damn near buy a ballast(magnetic of course).

 

[Flux451]

Thanks for the replies.

I would be going for an indica hybrid, so it would then be less important I presume...

Think say, mendo style purps would benefit much???

If I do use them consequetively, the MH / HPS ratio would probely be 1:2 (mh/hps) in flowering and 1:1 in veg... does that sound nice???

Thanks for painting the pictures

 

[slackx]

The Sun system 10; switchable ballast. You don't lose lumens your choices are 400 or 1000 watts but shit it beats buying two lights.

 

[Flux451]

Hmmm, yeah that'd be the way to go...

So would you even need to switch the cable, from ballest to hood, or can you just swap bulbs???

That would be real nice

 

[Nevi]

Buy a Digital ballast like a Lumatek.Then you can just change the bulbs as you see fit.I use my MH bulb when I veg,and as soon I flip the 12/12,I set in the HPS bulb.Works like a charm.

 

[slackx]

Hmmm, yeah that'd be the way to go...

So would you even need to switch the cable, from ballest to hood, or can you just swap bulbs???

That would be real nice

No you don't switch any cables; you just flip a switch and change the bulb. That's all.

 

[Flux451]

Thanks guys

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

I'd look into CMH + HPS over MH + HPS.

 

[Lazyman]

I've done both types of grows, like Haps, and with NON-purple strains I saw happier (yet slightly smaller) plants flowered under MH. The happiest plants in the room were the ones that were on the edge between a MH and an HPS, and oddly enough the happiest of those were the furthest from the lights. So odd. Makes me wonder if we overlight our plants indoors.

Oh, also noticed that plants grown under MH stay green longer into flower (significantly) where the HPS plants were yellowing early on. Another oddity!

 

[Flux451]

CMH is like the carbonate something or other MH lights?

And those are only available up to like 400 watts right now I heard... maybe a brand new 600w CMH out? I will look into it.

I would probably like a 1000w MH, so that’s something to consider.... Thanks for the tip GrnMtnGrwr - I will look more into CMH, as I am uninformed there.

Thanks to both you guys

Lazy Man when you say far away do you mean laterally or vertically?

Do not know what to think about the yellowing; maybe HPS just accelerates the process, which would be good for say hydro production perhaps and perhaps akward for the plants natural processes??? I don’t know….

Maybe Organic soil plants under MH like Kelvin ranges are the sweetest smoke with the kindest conscious! Ahahaha know what I mean

 

[Harinama]

i would go with a 1k Nextgen digital MH, and 2 bulbs; a 3k for bloom, and a 6400k for veg.

You will get 30% more output, and have no loss from a conversion bulb.

I have been using this ballast for a while and highly recommend it for consistency, solid performance, and output.

 

[Flux451]

I will check that out - thanks

 

[Lazyman]

BTW< you need to move a 1KW MH about 2-3 inches closer to the canopy to maintain the same light output as a HPS.

Oh and here's a shot of the canopy I mentioned:


The difference isn't in the lighting spectrum or the photography, but you can see the greenest girls are under the first and third lights, which were both MH.


I think a 3:1 HPS/MH combo is better.

 

[Flux451]

Man, your grows have been nice man, looking forward to checking out all your progress in medicine was I catch the Z'z

 

[cannabear]

I am just looking to see if someone cares to convince me to pick up some metal halides.

I know that many plants can vegetate healthily with a high pressure sodium lamp which is also great for bloom.

I also know the a metal halide provides a range better suited for promotion of stout plants and tightly branching nodes

The only problem here is I do not know if for some strains the difference is more or less desirous and also I do not mean to have two different set ups or areas, but perhaps one with a 1:1 ratio or even some swapped out for veg/bloom.

I also, through my understanding do not want to use a conversion bulb if it is a lull on energy consumption.

This is an area I could research much by myself but I like to start with a reach for reference and leads, Thanks

I use a 750watt digital, microprocessor controlled ballast that costs a bit more than most of the others out there. However, it accompolishes several things the other ballasts: 1)The lumen output is higher than a 1000watt from the get go, because this ballast is in constant communication with the bulb(it controls either MH or HPS, just switch the bulb) and allows the bulb to burn at its highest output level, in order for standard electronic ballasts to produce the highest lumen output, the other ballasts allow the bulb to burn above its rating, thereby causing immediate and constant lumen degradation. That is what shortens the life of the bulb. 2) The bulbs will never lose more than 5% of the lumen output over the life of the bulb. 3) Because the ballast feeds the bulb the optimal current flow, the bulb does not go through the normal "high/low" burn rate, it does not flare and dim. Our eyes cannot perceive this happening, because it happens at a very fast rate, causing the bulb "wear out." 4) MH will last over 30,000 hours and HPS will last over 40,000 hours before the bulb burns out. When the bulb has reached the end of its life, it just stops burning, just like an old incandescant burns out. The company has 400, 600, 750, and 1,000 watt ballasts. One other word of caution for all my fellow growers: If the ballast you are using does not have the "CSA" or "UL" approval symbol on the ballast, in the event there is a fire that can be traced back to the ballast(even if your garden is legal) there is no insurance company in the USA or Canada that will pay a single cent toward a claim. That alone is worth the difference the Accendo Green Glo Ballast will cost. If you have questions about this ballast, I will be happy to help.

Greener growing of greens.

 

[Flux451]

Great Information

I am very glad to be thinking past short term investments and every cache on litigatation is experience best to have been gifted, and not blindly recieved. Thank You

I will look into it

-BTW I can not even throw you rep cause you got two posts! Soon my man thanks