cfl VS. hps/mh

so right now im running 443 watts of cfl for vegging my wonder woman and special queen im growing them in scrog but my question is i wanted to get a 400 watt mh/hps system would it be bennificial to switch to less watts with a 400 mh.hps or would it be better to stick with my cfl's i was just wondering how much a difference in growth rate would there be and how much of a difference would there be in final yield?

Yes it would be worth every penny. Hps has about twice the lumens per watt as cfl.
And you could keep some or all of the cfls also.

so how much would the growth rate be increased
doubled?

Probably not doubled, but you will notice a difference in a few days i would imagine.
Well that is assuming you can keep temps under control, hid lights are well known for being damn hot.
Are you running 443 actual watts or equivalent watts? (how many bulbs what size?)
Have you ever considered CMH?

i vegged under around 400 watts of cfl's then when i switched to a 400 watt hps for bloom my plants fuckin just exploded with growth. Hard to give a number but definitely a huge diifference. It made a huge enough difference i wanna try vegging with a mh and see what thats like

443 real watts theres a bunch of 23 and 26 watts and a few 42 watts and a couple big 2700 spectrum and whats cmh?

Ceramic Metal Halide, much more of a complete spectrum vs. mh or hps.
They run on hps ballasts (typically, can get a 330 watt for a 400 mh ballast also).
I can get a link if you need, just another thing to consider.
I think the production jump of any of the 3 would be worth the money. And keep some of the smaller cfls for side lighting.

TruenoAE86coupe said:

Ceramic Metal Halide, much more of a complete spectrum vs. mh or hps.
They run on hps ballasts (typically, can get a 330 watt for a 400 mh ballast also).
I can get a link if you need, just another thing to consider.
I think the production jump of any of the 3 would be worth the money. And keep some of the smaller cfls for side lighting.

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Agreed. HID is the way to go

just my 2¢ but alot of people vegg with CFL and flower with a HID system, this is probally what i will be doing when i set up my veg/flower cab and have 2 seperate rooms. but i guess its all a matter of preference. if you only run 1 cycle to a time then the HID lighting will be better and like OP said you can still rig up the CFL in there too as they do produce a good amount of light and are easier to setup in odd places like on a wall or in the floor of the cab.

so with the ceramic light would i still have to use a hps? and here the one i was thinking about getting from ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/400w-400-watt-HPS-MH-Grow-Light-System-Set-Premium-Kit-Dimm-Green-House-iPower-/160683199645?_trksid=p4012.m1374&_trkparms=algo=PI.WATCH&its=C%2BS&itu=UCC&otn=8&ps=63&clkid=4961571318135825495
with the aircoold hood and the mh/hps lights

Ceramic metal halides are blue lamps with a beefed up red spectrum compared to a good HPS bulb which would be a red lamp with a beefed up blue spectrum.

CMH can be used for the entire grow, veg-flower. CMHs produce much higher levels of UV which should help improve quality of the bud but produce lower levels of light which can slightly diminish yield. Unfortunately CMHs only run on magnetic ballasts - that one you want to order is digital and not compatible with most all CMHs. Great deal on that package though - same one I've been recommending to people.

For a CMH you need to get a magnetic ballast and a hood with no glass, so no air cooling. If you plan on a cooled hood, stay with hps/mh.
I can direct you in setting up a cmh system, they can be used from day 1 of veg all the way to harvest without changing anything. The plants seem to typically create more colors and resins, although weight and potency come out about equal to a hps.
I didn't get an air cooled hood, but i payed almost that exact amount for my complete 1000 watt set up including both bulbs. I think you could do way better on price.
Good luck.

i just saw a few posts about people getting busted because there electronic balasts are interupting services from leaking some waves and shit i was wondering what that was all about is it somthing i need to be worried about? and what would a am clock radio do to fix what ever it is that they do to fuck things up?

skunkpunk13 said:

i just saw a few posts about people getting busted because there electronic balasts are interupting services from leaking some waves and shit i was wondering what that was all about is it somthing i need to be worried about? and what would a am clock radio do to fix what ever it is that they do to fuck things up?

Click to expand...

All ballasts emit electromagnetic radiation. Depending on the frequency the ballast runs and the amount of blocking materials this EM radiation can disrupt wireless internet and TV. Generally the higher quality ballasts emit less excess EMR but that's not a rule. I have both a quality ballast and a cheap chinese HTG ballast. The cheap ballast runs hotter, louder, and effects my devises slightly more than the other but I personally have had no major problems.

How close are your neighbors?

I think you need to reread the post.
It talks about using an AM radio to find rf interference coming from your ballast.
This is a very rare occurance in older homes. My house is mid 70's, i have a generic digital ballast and no issues.
Seems like the biggest issues are if you have a coax cable within 10 feet or so of the ballast. Make sure you know where coax runs through your room and remove or shield it.
90% of us at least run hid lights, with this happening so rarely he had to start one of the first posts on this giant site about it.
If you are really that concerned about it you can still buy a magnetic ballast, no issues from those.

id probly say there house is 25 feet away from mine but were in a 2 family house and theres a wireless router in the room under the growroom

I really wouldn't be concerned about it. I'm on my wireless laptop right now a foot or two away from my ballast...

ok i just dont wanna get busted or some shit because of my ballast but once i get it ill try the am radio test i can also post all the stats of the ballast if that would help

If you are worried about this why use an e-ballast?
Just get a magnetic, no issues.

im not really worried about it im just covering the bases if its somthing i need to be aware of possable happening