Suggestions on MH lights?

I'm about to order a metal halide light and here's what I'm considering at the moment

400w Lumatek Ballast
400w Metal Halide Regular Bulb
Yield Master II Classic Reflector

Is the Lumatek ballast a good choice or should I go with another? Is it okay that I'm going with just the generic metal halide bulb or should I go with a SunMaster or Hortilux-Blue? Those other ones are so expensive, are they worth it to someone who is low on cash? Is the Yield Master II Classic a good reflector? Do you think I'm making good choices or should I go with something else?

If you have any suggestions about a better ballast/bulb/reflector, or any opinions about the ones in the post let me know. Just let me know which ones you think are the best. Thanks.

I use SunMaster's in my 4 1000 watt 240 dimmable ballast.

Never any problems with these bulbs. MH or HPS.

I use the Hortilux in my mag ballasts, not good enough for the lumatek yet.

Lumatek for yer best boom for yer bucks. SunMaster for yer big bloom in the flower room.

Take it from BoomerBloomer57.

To the Bank.

The expensive bulbs have more blue in the color spectrum but you'll be able to accomplish good results with the cheaper bulbs. But if you have the money, go big or go home.

MH emits a more natural white light. Watt for watt they emit less light than HPS (36,000 lumens for a 400W MH vs 50,000 lumens for a 400W HPS). Plants grow very compactly under the bluer light of MH, therefore many growers use them for vegetative growing and switch to HPS for flowering. Plants do very well under MH throughout their lifecycle, but the lack of red light inhibits flower/fruit production so the plants yield somewhat less. Sunmaster and others now make MH in enhanced spectrums as well; cool MH (4000-6000K) for vegging and warm MH (2000-3000K) for flowering. Light systems designed for aquariums are available with MH in the 9000K range. MH also produces a *small* amount of uvB light which is theorized to increase resin production and therefore increase potency. so it is upon you...

No, I'm not trying to decide between MH and HPS. I'm using an MH for veg and an HPS for flowering. I'm just asking about the best MH bulb/ballast/reflector for the money.

I don't have a lot of money. So is the difference between the sunmaster and generic bulb worth the price difference? And also if the Lumatek is better than a magnetic ballast? But the price difference for the Lumatek vs. Magnetic isn't as much.

Alex17 said:

Is it okay that I'm going with just the generic metal halide bulb or should I go with a SunMaster or Hortilux-Blue? Those other ones are so expensive, are they worth it to someone who is low on cash? Is the .

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If you want to cheap out do it somewhere else other than the bulb. Standard MH (4000K) will give you pathetic grow results compared to 6500 K that a deluxe will give you.

So its worth it to get the SunMaster Cool Deluxe? Or would you suggest a different bulb?

Alex17 said:

So its worth it to get the SunMaster Cool Deluxe? Or would you suggest a different bulb?

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ANYTHING that has 6500 K (or close to that) output will be worth the extra cost over the standard MH.