what bulb do you swear by???

[siftedunity]

ive come online to get a couple of 1000w and i started wondering if i should change. ive been using the sunmaster dual spectrum which i like because they are lowish cost but effective.

when your gonna be flowering for 8+ weeks you need to have some faith in your bulbs. so what what bulb performs best for you guys???

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Luv me a good Hortilux.

 

[Mr.Fastcast]

Philips $21.00

 

[OhighO]

Horti 1k hps all day everyday.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

Ushio

 

[turtle farmer]

swear by and been running Hortilux 1000 HPS x4 here since the beginning of time.
wouldn't mind trying a side by side with the Ushio though.

 

[azsupratt]

Gavita 1000 DE Albeit you have to buy the full fixture but for your choice of 600-1150 watts with the type of light this baby puts out, it dwarfs the competition imo and the bulbs last much longer without degrading

 

[2uptown]

run the least expensive bulbs possible, philips is a good example. after each cycle replace with new least expensive bulb. just think, a new bulb every cylce will give you increased yeilds over a year old hortilux or what not. 4 new bulbs a year still cheaper then an eye hortilux..... just saying

 

[Mtn Dew]

Horti

 

[señorsloth]

i used to use the cheep bulbs, don't remember brands, sun master or something, they were like 20 bucks for a 400w hps bulb, i would replace them each grow...

now i use hortilux eye 430w hps. i don't "swear" by it, but i don't think i am going to change anytime soon. i mean, i am switching from 430 back to 400 but i'm staying with the hortilux eye's just because i run the hortilux for a year, and the cheep ones for 2 months...so 6 cheep bulbs for $120 or one high end bulb for $80-90...plus you get the enhanced spectrum, so over the long term hortilux eye bulbs are cheaper than the discount ones, and not only put out more light and less heat, but the spectrum is better and the light output doesn't drop off right away like it does with cheapo's, this means less heat and more yield from better bulbs of the same posted wattage.

i can't say for sure because i don't own one of those fancy light detectors, but from what i have read the cheep bulbs never really hit peak efficiency that they say they can, and that efficiency drops off pretty quick after you start using them, even if you replace them every grow you could possibly be seeing a drop-off of effectiveness toward the middle to end of each grow when your buds are ripening up. not to mention that cheep philips bulbs are meant for street lighting and are a much less effective spectrum, all reds and yellow, no blue at all really...so you get less grams per watt because your bulb is not only a poor spectrum but it's performance in that spectrum is an ever falling number, while hortilux stays constant for most of it's life...this is of course not as much of an issue with hortilux because they last so much longer, they tend to stay at peak efficiency for much longer than cheep bulbs, so it would take 5-6 harvests before you start to see significant drops, meaning those first 4-5 grows didn't see any real drop-off of light through the whole budding period.

i'm sure there are a few other high end brands that deliver similar performance and longevity, but i have not tested or read about them...for me hortilux eye gives me everything i need for a reasonable price, long term. i don't have to worry about what my horti is putting out, whereas i always worried when i bought a cheep bulb that it was already dropping off...80 bucks for a year of light and peace of mind that i'm giving my plants the best and most reliable...it's totally worth it too me, especially when you consider the alternative, losing money buying a new bulb every 2 months instead of once a year, losing yield and quality by running a less than ideal spectrum, and more heat from an inefficient cheep bulb...buying quality equipment saves you money over time both from increased yields, better product, and less maintenance and replacement costs...

 

[Rolldaddy]

I have also hortilux from the begining of time. My balast run both types of bulbs MH and HPS so I use cheap MH for veg and after 1st week of flower I put in my hortilux's in

 

[Rolldaddy]

I have a question for the hortilux users. After how many runs do you change your bulbs?

 

[cody2white]

I like my ushios too. Expensive but reliable and works. I did buy a lumatek bulb that's pretty badass. I think id buy another lumatek before a ushio.

 

[the gnome]

I was using the cheapo $30 HPS
and finally broke down and shelled out for a
couple $125 horti HPS eyes.
no diff except I was $190 poorer. lol

I just finished a grow using a combined HPS eye and a $72 solarmax 1kw Mh all the way thru bloom and I got 40% more weight over HPS on the same plant
another member, vaped13 does this and uses the cheapo sylv. bt36 for his all Mh gro's and is killing it!
cost--->$21 a bulb

as for the dual spectrum bulbs, after listening to another member
I'm more with his line of thinking
dual-arc bulbs are a sham - you only get a 600W HPS and a 400W MH in a bulb - now place that at 1000W distance (due to 1000W heat) and the light hitting the plants is WEAK. Its like using a 400W MH next to a 600W HPS 18-24in from the plant, not okay.

vaped 13's grow using $21 Mh bulbs

 

[Desert Hydro]

the one that comes with my reflector.....lol

gnome that is a bad ass pic! i loves me some blue dream!

 

[Blaz3]

Gnome,whats your veg time?..medium..nutrition?...what do you yield per plant?...thats an awesome grow man,mad props brother,mad props

 

[habeeb]

digital , mag ???

 

[HUGE]

I run horti 1k but I want to add in some uvb Andy or some MH to get a Mo're balanced spectrum. Anyone have any recs

 

[Rolldaddy]

Very nice room gnome. How many hps to each mh?

 

[the gnome]

hey guys, sorry for the confusion thinking the pic I posted are mine,
it's from the mh vs hps thread i started in the side x side forum
and those pics are from vaped13s grows, he has more pics and info in the thread.

brother vaped is killin it!!

oh, and he's using the $21 Mh for veg+bloom in those pics

Gnome,whats your veg time?..medium..nutrition?...what do you yield per plant?...thats an awesome grow man,mad props brother,mad props

vaped13 told me those plants yielded 5oz and they in 1-1/2 gallon pots and I think they are either bubba kush pre 98 or double diesel.