Dual spectrum for veg? Too much lighting in flower?

**Gr33nh34t** · 01-19-2013, 06:00 AM

Hello all,I am at the initial stages of my first grow. I build a pimpin closet out of 1/2 inch mdf ... Outside dimensions are 3' deep, 4 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. I am currently running a 600w HID with a digital ballast for veg. I just ordered 2 massive cfl lights to assist with flowering, they are 2 x 150w self ballasted dual spec(2700 & 6500k). My cabinet is well ventilated, carbon filtered, large co2 generator(yeast method), and 2 16" fans oscillating slightly above the tops of my plants.My questions are:Could I use the dual spectrum bulbs during flower to add some extra lumens to my cabinet, or will the 2700k spectrum light cause flowering, mutations, hermes, etc...??? And secondly ... I know having dual spec during flowering results in larger tighter buds ... But would a 600w hps and 2 x 150w cfls be too much light? Can you have too much light? I can manage the heat issues no problem ... But can you cause "sun burn" or similar to a plant ... And how much light would it take to do so?I am currently practicing my grow technique on some bag seeds before I germ my good seeds, so I think I may install the lights and see for myself ... Worst case I end up killing some crap bag seeds right?

**Closetgardner** · 01-19-2013, 06:24 AM

Plants can be "sun burned" lol it's called light bleaching. Just don't have the light to close to the plants and you'll be fine man. Bleaching is easy to spot though, it turns the buds/leafs at the top of the plant to go white in color. I reckon you'll be cushty using the 600 and your cfl's. Me personally i would start with the cfl's for a few weeks then put the 600w in as there is only so much light a plant can use at the beginning. good luck with your grow man

**Gr33nh34t** · 01-19-2013, 05:39 PM

I am running some 100w 6500k spec cfls for seedlings to about 3-5" tall, then they go under the HID for veg. My plan was to run the 150w dual spec cfls in addition to the 600w HID MH about 1 week before switching to 12/12. Then when switching to 12/12 I will keep the MH in for 1-2weeks, then swap out for the HPS. I was thinking this would create less stress on my ladies as it will more closely mimic the changing of the seasons. Instead of 1 day running the MH and the next running a HPS. Lighting doesn't change this fast naturally, so I wanted to make the transition more gradual from the veg to flower spectrums.Any thoughts? Has anybody tried a gradual light change into flower?

**Gr33nh34t** · 01-19-2013, 05:43 PM

Sorry, got away from my actual question here. My main concern is adding the dual spectrum while still running the 600w MH. I know having some 6500k or veg spectrum in flower results in larger tighter buds. Can adding 2700k or flower spectrum during the veg cycle cause any harm, cell repair confusion, mutations, etc...

**King Cobra** · 02-06-2013, 11:24 AM

No reason why you could not have the dual spec in there... thats what they are for!! You will still get the penetration with the MH, but you cnat beat the HPS for the red spec. A good rule of thumb is to have a least half of the amount of red spec in blue,,so if you have a 600w hps i would only use about a 1/4 of that in Mh or CFL, as a 600w hps is a lot of light. But any lower like a 400w hps or 250w hpsi would use half from seed.