MH and HPS questions

Bobby9

Bobby9

Well-Known Member
I have 3 600w HPS lights in my grow room and will be buying one or two MH bulbs for vegging next time round(mid Jan).
My questions are:

1) Can I use ny existing 600w ballasts and light fittings with the Mh bulb's, is it just a straight swap?
2) Would it be best to have 3 MH bulbs for vegging or should I mix 2xMH and 1xHPS bulb?
3) What sort of difference should I expect to see using MH for veg and should I continue to use dual spectrum bulbs for flowering when I start this schedule or get more red spectrum bulbs sush as Sunmaster's?

Cheers in advance:weed:
 
Bobby9 said:
1) Can I use ny existing 600w ballasts and light fittings with the Mh bulb's, is it just a straight swap?
2) Would it be best to have 3 MH bulbs for vegging or should I mix 2xMH and 1xHPS bulb?
3) What sort of difference should I expect to see using MH for veg and should I continue to use dual spectrum bulbs for flowering when I start this schedule or get more red spectrum bulbs sush as Sunmaster's?

Cheers in advance:weed:
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Some ballasts are built for both HPS and MH. Some are built for only one or the other. I'm not an electrician so I don't know the implications of trying to run a bulb off a ballast that isn't designed for it. When it comes to electricity I don't like to fuck around with it so I stick to what the ballast says it is designed for (I have one HPS/MH and one HPS only).

You should use MH for veg and HPS for flowering. MH gives off the blue spectrum light ideal for veg and HPS the orange/red spectrum ideal for flowering.
 
I say yhou use cfl's for vegging. It's cheap and very effective. Saves money, and then put up the HPS for flowering. 3 HPS lights systems is a lot bro. What are you growing in ? Whats the dimensions? Unless your growing a whole room filled of pot you dont need that much light.:weed:
 
I've got a 200w Envirolite for growing from seed/ cutting to 6-8 inch high, then into the veg/flower room which is a purpose built BudBox growtent lined with mylar measuring 2mx2mx2m. I grow 17-20 plants at a time in 3.15 gallon pots with soil, have great intake extraction and can keep my temps just about perfect so the more light the better, just trying to tweak my set up to produce the best.
How can I tell if my ballast is MH compatible?
 
ok well you didn't put that in the beg... Nice setup i like it. Start a journal i'll be subscribed. I'm not too sure about that question.
 
magikal chronik said:
ok well you didn't put that in the beg... Nice setup i like it. Start a journal i'll be subscribed. I'm not too sure about that question.
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Thanks, I plan on doing a jornal once I get a digi camera and learn how to upload photos:-?
Anyone know bwfore I waste £35 a bulb to find they don't work??
 
When you hit reply.. scroll down and youll see manage attatchments. Click on that, then hit browse, make sure you save the pics to your computer. Double click the picture and hit upload. Then you got yourself puttin pics up.:weed:
 
If you've invested in 3x600 watt hps systems then you should certainely have the money for CFLS and you can get them very close to the plant without having to worry as much about ventelation. They do make conversion bulbs but they are more expensive. Truthfully you should have bought a system that runs both from the beginning I.M.O b.c it's expensive to buy conversion bulbs.... CFLS for veg if I were you. 17-20 plants under 3x600 watts seems excessive to me unless you are growing some monsters.... I would use those lights to cover a large room.... not 4sq. meters... but to each his own. good luck !
 
magikal chronik said:
When you hit reply.. scroll down and youll see manage attatchments. Click on that, then hit browse, make sure you save the pics to your computer. Double click the picture and hit upload. Then you got yourself puttin pics up.:weed:
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help man, appreciated:clap:
 
willywooper said:
If you've invested in 3x600 watt hps systems then you should certainely have the money for CFLS and you can get them very close to the plant without having to worry as much about ventelation. They do make conversion bulbs but they are more expensive. Truthfully you should have bought a system that runs both from the beginning I.M.O b.c it's expensive to buy conversion bulbs.... CFLS for veg if I were you. 17-20 plants under 3x600 watts seems excessive to me unless you are growing some monsters.... I would use those lights to cover a large room.... not 4sq. meters... but to each his own. good luck !
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Thanks for your input and your right I should have checked before I bought but during the process of this thread I have managed to find the manufacturer's website and it seems that the extra money I payed for my high quality ballasts has payed off as they support HPS and MH:bigjoint:
I was under the assumption, higher lumens=bigger bud's, you may think its excessive but it's working fine, I mean can you have too much light??
My main question now is what sort of difference can I expect from using MH bulbs after vegging to 6 inches in my smaller tent under my 200w flourescent envirolite? Will the internodal space be less, better foliage etc etc.
Just to re-iterate, I DO have a 200w flourescent light which I take seedlings and clones from rooting/germinating to 6 inch high in a small grow tent(hence no need for cfl's) and then transplant to my larger tent which I have been using Sylvana dual spectrum(red with added blue, hence no need for cfl's) for veg then flower. I now plan to change the second phase to MH until flower then change to a pure HPS(nearly full red) for flower. I want to know what mix(2xMH + 1xHPS bulbs etc) if any to get the best out of vegging before flower and what sort of difference I can expect to see, thanks.
 
Well that's lucky on the ballast. It also means you have a nice one :). More blue spectrum will result in better vegetative growth. I'm not sure you even need to add any red spectrum at all before flowering ? Some people think blue spectrum is needed at the very beginning (7-10) days of flowering to give the plants a growth boost right at the beginning. I'm not sure if it works out better. To me it sounds like you'd get bigger plants but not as potent bud. And no you're right the more light the better for sure !!! Maybe do some exprimenting with added blues and reds during different stages of growth if you have the extra time ?? I'd be anxious to read your results for sure !
 
willywooper said:
Well that's lucky on the ballast. It also means you have a nice one :). More blue spectrum will result in better vegetative growth. I'm not sure you even need to add any red spectrum at all before flowering ? Some people think blue spectrum is needed at the very beginning (7-10) days of flowering to give the plants a growth boost right at the beginning. I'm not sure if it works out better. To me it sounds like you'd get bigger plants but not as potent bud. And no you're right the more light the better for sure !!! Maybe do some exprimenting with added blues and reds during different stages of growth if you have the extra time ?? I'd be anxious to read your results for sure !
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Yeah great news about the ballasts, i'm gonna get 3x600w MH bulbs straight away for my next crop, got a blue spectrum 200w Envirolite to start things off then into the main room with the MH.
I've got GreenHouse Lemon Skunk and Cheese goin in with BC God Bud, Barney's Night Shade, Willy Jack Purple Kush x Black Domina and Sensi's Maple Leaf along with Shiva Skunk, trying to find a couple of the best:fire:
 
Well you're on the right track. I've never got to smoke a sensi or barney strain, but I hear they are both wonderful breeders on every strain (especially barney even tho seeds run a tiny bit more). I have different acess to seeds being in the states, so I'm hoping to get a good op going with cheap good nirvana strains like MoracXAfghan/Afghan, Top 44, AK48, Northern lights, and maybe a pure sativa... That's what I'm thinking so far. I don't know if nirvanas sight takes pre-payed credit cards, and I'm uncomfortable sending a money order in b.c I can't lose any extra money at the begining... So I guess I'll have to have someone order them. If I knew a reliable sight to get great strains from to the states, I'd just order 1-3 killer ass strains.
 
The Attitude are great for getting to the states so I hear, very popular on RIU, loads of threads on em.
 
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