What are your thoughts on vegging with hps lights as appose to mh lights? Rep+

what do u prefer to use hps lights or mh for vegging, and why?

anyone tried doing both mh and hps at once?

MH bulbs are meant for vegging, they put off more of the blue spectrum which plants need the most during the growth stage. Vegging with HPS will work, though you may not see the same results as you would a MH bulb.

If you mix both MH and HPS I think it would be fine, a lot of people mix bulbs, I mostly see this with CFL's though, 2700k and 6500k bulbs mixed so the plant gets a full spectrum of light.

You can also buy an HPS bulb which is dual spectrum meaning it has both blue and red spectrum, perfect mix for both vegging and flowering, these are typically more expensive though.

I have mine under a 600 watt metal halide which I will then switch to the HPS during flower.

What lights do you have at your disposal?

lifesgood said:

what do u prefer to use hps lights or mh for vegging, and why?

anyone tried doing both mh and hps at once?

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Most people don't even have a proper metal halide bulb (6500 K) so they would be better off with the HPS unless they do.
I vege with 6500 K CFLs after trying a 4100 K (equal to an off the shelf mh standard bulb)
The difference was STAGGERING. Short busy growth with thick rich blue green leaves, tremendous growth rate compared to the 4100 K (cool white) bulb
I switch to a 50-50 combo of the two when flowering and recommend that over pure HPS lightfor flowering and even veging.

I prefer MH for vegging. I tried a 430W son agro and then a 400W hps for vegging. Plants under both bulbs stretched and grew kind of spindly. Then I got a MH bulb and a new digital ballast that could work with both HPS and MH bulbs. The MH bulb works much better for vegging. The plants grow a lot thicker and shorter. I would never go back to a hps for vegging. Using both might be good though, never tried that.

i use a 250w HPS (eye hortilux) and a 250w CMH (philips) i love them both i use them both together and i throw in my UVB at flower time

mh will reduce stretch at beginning of flower
hps will give you rock hard buds
and mh at end will aid in final growth

i spin and rotate my pots so they get both lights all the time

one or the other for veg would have to be MH

i use a seperate closet for seedlings on heating pad under flouresent tubes at top of closet at bottom of closet is a cfl grow area i use after transplant
before they go to the tent under the two 250's i also use cfl area for autos

I have tried both HPS and MH on both vegging and flowering. HPS is best for flowering and can be used in place of MH for vegging. MH is best when used during the vegging cycle, I do not recommend using it in flower cycle (unless the red spectrum is being covered) I have tried both MH and HPS at the same time in flower...plants on the MH side were more airy than the plants under the HPS.

its all pretty much bang on... hps are great all round, but are much better for flowering than mh, but mh are much better for vegging. Having said that, i only use a hps and get great results,so I suppose its up to you.

plants on the MH side were more airy than the plants under the HPS.

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i agree that is why i spin pots and rotate position under lights

bad idea.. Not enough blue. You may have issues with internode spacing as well.. Veg using MH, CFL, LED or a combo.. Don't use HPS to veg..