Metal Halide 400w or HPS 600w??

Hi, I have a room with 3 nft trays spaced out along side each other, the plants are in veg and I`m scrogin them.

I have 2 metal halide 400w lights and 3 600w HPS, but I can only run 3 lights at once possibly 4 until summer gets under way.

The question I have is this, during veg is it better to run with 2 400w metal halides and one 600w sodium, or am I better off going for max wattage and using 3 600w sodiums.

The plants under the sodium 600w lights seem to be doing better than those under the metal halides, but I expected the opposite. I`ve never used metal halides before, but was gifted these so thought I`d give them a go.

The two outside nft tanks are covered by a light each on light movers and the centre tank is covered by a static light that I manually move up and down the length of the tank each day. I could for this run use two static 400w M/H`s and use a 600w sodiums on the light movers at the sides of the grow.

Can anyone help me get the best out of what equipment I have? There`s a link to my current grow should anyone like to give it a once over.

Thanks in anticipation, Toke

Bump please

Nobody then, that`s a bit surprising. I thought this would be one of the easier questions I could ask here.

If anyone could advise it`d be much appreciated.

Bumping it up again. ;-)

Hey- I've never grown this big before, but I'm guessing just for veg it would be better to have one to two of the metal halides going with the 600W HPS. As I'm sure you've heard its better to have more blue spectrum during veg as it keeps the plants shorter/denser (which should make for shorter nodes after the stretch in flowering). How are they looking "better" under the HPS's? If its just that they're taller, then you may want to add more of the MH...

Just my 2c

No mate thats why I`m confused, the plants are just more vigorous and have very short internode spacing under the sodiums. I kinda thought they grew a bit quicker in veg under MH and a bit branchier, if ya know what I mean.

Thanks for your response.

Cheers, Toke

Tokesome I believe the plants stretch more during veg with HPS due to the lack of blue spectrum. Mh is best for vegging so Id use those.

MH, the best. End of story. Tested many times.. Kicks ass over HPS or any other bulb for veg phase!!! Try and see...

Well guys that`s why I`m confused. I`ll put some pics up tmro and show you the difference.

I`d expect the MH to do better despite the difference in wattage, but the 2 trays with sodiums over seem to be doing better.

It could be a bulb performing poorly, I got the halides given to me by a mate who was upgrading. There were several MH bulbs, but most had been used, you can see the burnt out like colours on the bulbous part of the elements. This bulb has no signs of wear and was in a box marked "new bulb". That`s why I`m only using the 1 of the 2 MH lights, the other bulbs looked used. I think I need to get me a lumens meter.

I put the same light in my friends 1.2x1.2x2meter tent grow, up until the 2nd week of 12/12, the plants really went for it and stretched a lot. They`re filling out really well now, at 4 weeks 12/12. I`m beginning to think they`d stretched so much because of too high an ambient temperature though, as mine, the same strain Armageddon, are growing shorter and squatter with very short spacing of internodes. My temps are a bit on the high side though.

I was hoping for the same stretchy growth though as I`m filling a scrog screen.

Toke

early veg - 400W MH
veg&early flower - 2 x 600W HPS + 400W MH
mid-late flower - 3 x 600W HPS


Peace

NEITHER. get a ceramic metal halide mate, it kicks the shit out of both hps and mh when it comes to light range coverage (includes all colour wave lengths) - http://advancedtechlighting.com/cdmed18.htm

so just get one of those bulbs, they're as exp as MH or HPS and use it 100% of the grow. if not that i'd go an HPS because they can be used for entire grows too though they're not as good as MH for early veg, but MH isn't good for late veg or flowering as well as being detrimental to your eyes. be sure to wear sunglasses if you're around/looking at the lights a lot. best of luck mate!

Thanks Bdog, that`s pretty much what they`ve been given, 2 600w HPS and a 400w MH, before that 1 400MH, before that 1 200w Envirlight (cloning etc)

I`ll switch to 3 600w HPS soon though as the plants definitely seem to be doing better in the 2 rows covered by the HPS`s, as I said this may be down to the bulb.

Hey Darwinsbulldog, thanks, maybe worth looking into at some point in the future.

Cheers Toke