Working on my first setup. I've got two 5-gal DWC bubble buckets and planning on growing two fruitful plants. Acquired a 250W/400W switchable ballast and a 400W HPS bulb. I only plan on running 250W. My question is if I can successfully veg a mature plant from seedling or clone from a 250W HPS, or should I just buy a 250W MH for this phase? Is the fluorescent or MH spectrum that much more effective in veg? Thanks for the help, and there will most likely be a follow up question on any response.
It can be done just fine with the 250w HPS if you have no other alternative. A 250w MH would be better for veg since it contains more light of the proper spectrum for vegging. But this does not mean an HPS would not do, i have personally vegged twice in the past with an HPS. No problems besides some more stretching you are going to have in comparison to the MH.
Thanks for the quick reply. Depending on temps., I plan on having the light close to the tops for minimal stretching. The ballast and hood take MH & HPS, but I'll run the HPS bulb just for this run. Once I confirm they are girls, I plan on setting up a T5 fluorescent in the other room for a veg/ cloning area. If I got wily and wanted to switch to 400W in the 2nd half of flowing, would that be too much for just two plants?
At the beginning you are going to have it further away in order to not burn the very sensitive seedlings. Once they are established (around 2nd week), move it as close as you can, put your hand under it and if you feel no heat you are fine. If you do, move it higher. No, 400w would not be too much for 2 plants. The more light you shine on the 2 babies, the better the harvest is going to be. If you look up on grows in Google, you will see that a guy named Heath Robinson had 5x600w bulbs around a single plant. So, for sure a 400w would not be excessive for 2 plants .