Newbie answers to lighting: HPSvsCFL During Flower = Quantity and Quality

onthedl0008 said:

Damn computer difficulties!
Nozzle nice name by the way lol!
All mh did for me when introducing it to my flower room was make my plants grow tall uncontrollably and gave some of my girls balls and seeds on an otherwise seedless batch.
I think its cuz In nature and during life cycles plants grow with specific spectrums given by the sun in different seasons.
Plant use blue (actinic) spectrum during the summer to begin there life and mature into the sex roles they assume. ( 65k daylight cfls-True actinic halide lamp ) give these spectrums.
Plants use red light during fall to winter to flower, bud and reproduce.(hps lamps produce specific spectrums plants use the most during reproduction, as do 2700k cfls offer these spectrums)
I personally think u would be better of with ur cfls directly above ur colas and investing in a cheap hps fixture ranging from 32 bux.
The pix are at the top. If you want Fully matured, fat dense buds in the end,then spend that 32bux bro trust me.


By the way the biggest cola in the pic grown under the hps lamp wieghed in at 19 grams dried.
The heaviest dried cola on that palnt grown under the cfl was 6 grams dried.

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MH did not do that to your plants.

Spectrum has a more significant impact on indica varieties but down near the equator, the sun is the same year round.

Yo Douch Nozzle, man don't worry about any of that. I've flowered with MH no problems. All you'd get with an HPS over a MH is a little more weight. That's why I suggest a little more time to let the colas fatten up. MH nug quality is second to none.

Ok then i say go ahead and waste ur time with cfls, as like the comparisons in the pics.

onthedl0008 said:

Ok then i say go ahead and waste ur time with cfls, as like the comparisons in the pics.

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Dudes talking about using a metal halide. Remember?..... one page ago?..............

Yea after i submitted my response i realized that and was going to edit but said screw it! Either way you look at it,its scientifically proven that hps lighting is the best proven source of light for plants in flower cycle.
Once again this whole thread was only created to try and help people when purchasing there light sources. And let them know that alternative light sources were available at low prices, that they just needed to look around the same spots they are buying the cfls and use as lil ingenuity thats all.
Damn Faux havent u ever had a purps/kush moment ? Was thinking that Faux=Fox or something but now leaning more towards the fiesty side lol.Are those cuttings or seedlings in ur journal?

onthedl0008 said:

Yea after i submitted my response i realized that and was going to edit but said screw it! Either way you look at it,its scientifically proven that hps lighting is the best proven source of light for plants in flower cycle.
Once again this whole thread was only created to try and help people when purchasing there light sources. And let them know that alternative light sources were available at low prices, that they just needed to look around the same spots they are buying the cfls and use as lil ingenuity thats all.
Damn Faux havent u ever had a purps/kush moment ? Was thinking that Faux=Fox or something but now leaning more towards the fiesty side lol.Are those cuttings or seedlings in ur journal?

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Never had a purps/kush moment; I smoke sativas. Faux is French for fake. Those are clones.

Thx guys!! I've been growing under CFL's and T5's, but I just ordered a 400W HPS(Hortilux) with a MH Conversion Bulb Add On. Im glad i did. Do I have to do anything special when i put them under my new setup? Also, I'm ready to flower i heard when you switch from 18/6 to 12/12 that you should give them a day or two in the dark. Is that true?

Dont have to do anything special smokey just set up ur hps and put ur plants under it and go directly to 12/12.The most important thing i think when setting up ur lamps is make sure u keep it as close as u can to the tops to utilize lumen output without hurting ur plants. Put ur hand over the top of ur plant ur ok until it starts to feel warm bro. I keep my 400 watt hps about 12-14 inches from the top.
Sexing times i think are determined by strains although alot of people swear by the 24 hrs of darkness but ive never done it.I have however accidentally forced my plants into flowering prematurely when my lamp got unplugged.
Im actually getting the conversion bulb myself to utilize my mh ballast good deal! Sounds like ur going to have a nice grow!

Thx for the tips onthedl0008! I hope everything goes well. And I would hate to burn my baby. Guess i'll need a new fan too, it must get pretty hot under hps lamps.

Yessir u were already going to need a fan in there for air movement anyhow. Try to Position it so its blows over the lamp,at the same time this will put a nice indirect flow of air on ur plants they will need.Air flow is going to also help strengthen ur stem and stalk shoots to help hold up the wieght of ur colas(fat nuggies)! Good luck bro ur all set up for an awesome grow!

Ok just went out and got another 70 watt hps today to add to my current grow.
Onsale for 42 bux at home depot! On the box it claims to be same as 425 hps but most true ballast started 400 watt hps lamps burn at about 45000 lumens of output.
The fixture i got today is not same as 425 watt hps obviously because on the box the total lumen out put for the bulb is only 10500.But u can utilize these lumens significantly by hanging this fixture easily 6 inches from the tops of ur plants.
Compared to cfl that would have meant i had to purchase at least 6 42 watt 27k cfls with a lumen output of 1900 lumens a piece @ about 10 bux a piece with taxes.
Hope this helps peeps in making there decissions on lighting.If the pix werent obvious enuff. LIke i said i started this thread so peeps didnt make the same mistakes i first made.
Listen to the pros hps is the only solution to mature, monsterous buds in the end result. Whenever i see cfl grown buds or mh grown buds im still impressed with the grows, i just cant help thinking to myself of what they would look like with an hps lamp over them .
Anyways like i said the pics are at the beginning of the thread. Just here to let ya know there are some very affordable fixtures to get instead of just accepting non yielding cfl light grows.

I'm convinced and will order one of those 150W econo lights for my flowering stage...
Thanks!

How many watts were the CFL's? I'm curious if like say 10 42W cfls would come close to a 400W HPS. I do use the MH and HPS here mainly because of the large number of bulbs I'd have to buy to match the wattage and also as someone else mentioned, when you start getting into the 100W cfl range, it can be more costly than an HPS.

onthedl0008 is that the best you could do under CFL? (those initial pics you posted to prove your point) Those buds are some of the worst I have seen under CFL. All you have to do is look at the Bud For Less book, or head over to the micro grow forum at icmag. You can also click the link in my sig for a kick ass SOG with CFL's.

HPS is BETTER than CFLS, but CFLS done properly are not as bad as you are making them out to be. 8 - 42 actual watt CFL's produce close to 8 ounces.

FYI I have a Lumitek 250HPS but it is far too hot for a small grow cab, so I am not just a CFL cheerleader. In fact, HPS does not even begin to get really efficient until you get to the 400 - 600 hps bulb ranges.

delerious said:

How many watts were the CFL's? I'm curious if like say 10 42W cfls would come close to a 400W HPS. I do use the MH and HPS here mainly because of the large number of bulbs I'd have to buy to match the wattage and also as someone else mentioned, when you start getting into the 100W cfl range, it can be more costly than an HPS.

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I would say anything over 200 watts and you lose out due to the efficiency of an HPS. If you are contemplating that many CFL's, you might as well just buy a 400hps. CFL's are not efficient at all for anything larger than say 3-4 plants. (Micro SOG notwithstanding)

onthedl0008 , to prove that I am not just BS'ing you about your grow...look at this guy. He grew in a tupperware with 4 - 42 watt CFL's and yields 4 solid ounces. No airy buds at all. So if you are getting crappy grows with CFL's, maybe you should adjust your technique.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=51381&page=1&pp=15&highlight=lifeless

I'm stll not convinced, are you going to do some more grows in case you did something wrong ? Are you sure the camera angles were correct ? I bet if you used a different brand CFL it would probably work better. My cousin's brother's sisters girlfriend uses CFL and her buds are way bigger than your HPS ones, how do you explain that ? How come the advertising says my CFL is the same as your 400 watt HPS and I'm only burning 32 watts, I'm getting better results and saving electricity and not having to worry about IR signature just in case a military test firing of a heat seeking missile goes wrong, I'll be safe, will you ? I also read that if you use HPS to flower you probably didn't graduate high school, are dumber than a stump, have no life and spend your waking hours here on the internet, what do you got to say now mr. smarty HPS guy ?????????

I'm sorry I just think it's funny all the excuses some people use because that is what they are doing and you show them something else works better and they have no way of coping with it. I'll put here that this is a joke because some ASSFACE will quote it word for word to prove I'm a liar and look what I posted and this proves it, hahahahahahaahahaha.

Good work and I agree with you, thanks for taking the time to do it.

la9, I am not sure of the point you are trying to make. All I am saying is that inevitably someone will state that HPS is better than CFL. WHICH IT IS. However, they then start to make CFLS sound worse than they really are. CFL's are not as good, but they are not THAT bad...especialy T5.

There are quite a few flouro growers who do quite well. These people who post these kinds of comparisons are often not very objective at all. I have seen some awful grows under HPS...that have nothing to do with HPS at all. If I drew the conclusion that HPS sucked because a grower was just starting out...well then I'd be an idiot.

Same goes with CFL. If you are going to do a FAIR comparison, find some of the better HPS grows in the 150 - 250 HPS watt range and compare with some of the better CFL grows in the 150-250 (ACTUAL wattage) grows.

I've seen that the difference is not all that much. (via grams per watt). It isn't until they get into 400 - 600 hps that the difference becomes onesided towards HPS.

I have BOTH types of lighting, I have no real bias. I don't work for a CFL company either.

Isn't it all about the actual wattage and utilization? I like the idea from the previous post of comparing 150W to 250W HPS vs CFL - exact same set up and plants with different lights. You would also want to do it in two separate closets, like a pre-made 3'x3' for each. Maybe Mythbusters should tackle this

Tanuvan said:

onthedl0008 , to prove that I am not just BS'ing you about your grow...look at this guy. He grew in a tupperware with 4 - 42 watt CFL's and yields 4 solid ounces. No airy buds at all. So if you are getting crappy grows with CFL's, maybe you should adjust your technique.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=51381&page=1&pp=15&highlight=lifeless

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Awesome grow! I think it points to the utilization factor. The containers were painted a reflective white and sealed together. No light escapes - 100% is utilized. A light over a table in an open room or a safety blanket draped inside your closet isn't going to nearly as efficient.

westmich said:

Isn't it all about the actual wattage and utilization? I like the idea from the previous post of comparing 150W to 250W HPS vs CFL - exact same set up and plants with different lights. You would also want to do it in two separate closets, like a pre-made 3'x3' for each. Maybe Mythbusters should tackle this




Awesome grow! I think it points to the utilization factor. The containers were painted a reflective white and sealed together. No light escapes - 100% is utilized. A light over a table in an open room or a safety blanket draped inside your closet isn't going to nearly as efficient.

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Good point. The caveat is that you cannot grow with CFL they way you do with HPS because HPS is a more intense light. CFL bulbs are better used in smaller cabinet style grows using SCROG or Micro SOG. An HPS you can just dangle over the plants for the most part. CFL's need to be a bit closer.

An HPS can turn a cabinet grow into an easy bake oven. So they all have their place.

Here is another objective link

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/83378-16k-lumens-hps-vs-cfl.html

Tanuvan said:

la9, I am not sure of the point you are trying to make. All I am saying is that inevitably someone will state that HPS is better than CFL. WHICH IT IS. However, they then start to make CFLS sound worse than they really are. CFL's are not as good, but they are not THAT bad...especialy T5.

There are quite a few flouro growers who do quite well. These people who post these kinds of comparisons are often not very objective at all. I have seen some awful grows under HPS...that have nothing to do with HPS at all. If I drew the conclusion that HPS sucked because a grower was just starting out...well then I'd be an idiot.

Same goes with CFL. If you are going to do a FAIR comparison, find some of the better HPS grows in the 150 - 250 HPS watt range and compare with some of the better CFL grows in the 150-250 (ACTUAL wattage) grows.

I've seen that the difference is not all that much. (via grams per watt). It isn't until they get into 400 - 600 hps that the difference becomes onesided towards HPS.

I have BOTH types of lighting, I have no real bias. I don't work for a CFL company either.

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My point is I made a joke, why you got so serious about it I'll never know, I even wrote it was a joke.

One more time

It's a Joke !!!!!!