Light spectrum and bulb type?

I am finally graduating from cfl's to HID and I'm trying to decide which bulb/ballast type to buy. I'm a firm believer that HPS produce bigger, denser colas, and that MH produce better quality bud. Obviously I don't have first hand experience, I only know from the testimony of multitudes of people on RIU and other forums. That's where the rest of you come in. Does anyone know a good bulb and ballast setup for getting a wider color spectrum than just the traditional MH for veg and HPS for flower. I can live with mh for veg but I'd like something covering a wider range for flower. Anyone have any knowledge on this subject. HPS ballast with CMH for veg and a wider spectrum HPS bulb for flower? Or a MH ballast with MH for veg and wider spectrum MH bulb for flower? So many variations...

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I'll get specific , I don't know what you want but get a solis tek matrix and any wattage (600 would be optimal ) hortilux super hps you want.

as for the MH get a hortilux blue, the new 600s are out soon if not now.

better yet get two solis matrix and those lamps mentioned above and run the blue in veg and when you flip just add the super hps.

let me go on to say, you wanna add some uv towards the end of the flower cycle? get a sunpulse 10k finishing mh lamp(again of any wattage with the solis ballast, it's actually 3 ballasts in one.) according to the scientist.

No secrets there, MH for veg...HPS for flower. I have heard f putting the MH in for the last week or two. It could maybe up resin production similar to certain UV spectrums do. I think it's really just lowering/limit the intensity on the trichome so that they don't degrade as easy.

But if you only are getting one then go hps. Plants will veg just fine under hps and it will blow mh away in flower. I don't remember the exact #'s but MH is a lot less lumens than hps of the same wattage. Lumens are not the best way to measure light but it's how most HID bulbs are advertise. Par is the best way to measure any light source for plant growth.

Here's the bulb comparison for HPS par.
http://growershouse.com/blog/hid-bulb-test-comparison-review-hortilux-ushio-digilux-baddass-solistek-lumatek-maxlume-growlite-ultra-sun/

Sorry I should have mentioned this before, I want to try and buy only one type of ballast. Dbkick banks for the suggestion, ill check it out. And I will be running 600watt bulbs

Skittlesmcp said:

Sorry I should have mentioned this before, I want to try and buy only one type of ballast. Dbkick banks for the suggestion, ill check it out. And I will be running 600watt bulbs

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the real cool thing about the solistek matrix is you can run any bulb from 400 to 1000 watts in it. but def good choice going with the 600, I have run a 1000 from day one but will soon switch to two 600s.

That solis tek matrix looks sick, kinda on the expensive side but seems like it might be worth it. Especially if you have more than one ballast and get the remote.

And it can run either type of bulb? HPS or mh?

yes, I bought one myself and won't be buying anything else, not because it will run mh and hps (most ballasts will do that) but because you can just swap out a lamp and it will know how much power, the remote is cool too and also needed to use the internal timer.

I highly recommend solis, another good point is rf interference , if you skimp on the digital ballast it may cause rf interference that COULD put the neighborhoods cable out of service, attention not needed.

I was running a cheap china made digital, had the cable guy over because of an issue, he says "so you're the one thats been lighting up the neighborhood" , he already knew that I'm sure. didn't let them in the basement either, I would now since fuck it, it's legal and if they want to call the pigs on a legal grow more power to them.

All very good points. By the way, I've been curious what its been like in Colorado since legalization. I considered moving there even but it's a major move from where I am.

Don't bother spending $80 or more on name brand bulbs. Most people try to keep them for a 3-4 grows, even up to a year (yikes). I suggest the $30 Phillips bulbs and replace every 2nd grow...

mtlhaze said:

Don't bother spending $80 or more on name brand bulbs. Most people try to keep them for a 3-4 grows, even up to a year (yikes). I suggest the $30 Phillips bulbs and replace every 2nd grow...

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right. spectrum and materials used have nothing to do with the way the light is made, I think everyone talking up cheap lamps has never used a decent lamp, 2 grows? whatever.

Hortilux has a great spectrum but suffer from premature lumen loss. I have been running a 600 watt Digital Plus bulb from HTG for a year now and it is still putting out 89,000 lumens.

bigv1976 said:

Hortilux has a great spectrum but suffer from premature lumen loss. I have been running a 600 watt Digital Plus bulb from HTG for a year now and it is still putting out 89,000 lumens.

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8 to 12 months according to the hortilux page. A small price for quality

Skittlesmcp said:

All very good points. By the way, I've been curious what its been like in Colorado since legalization. I considered moving there even but it's a major move from where I am.

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thought I had addressed your question but I see I didn't. eh, it all seems the same to me, I still go by a different set of laws but am happy to see 64 passed.