New to the forums, and new to growing, I was wondering if you can run HPS and MH bulbs on the same ballast? I want to get a continuous grow going, and was wondering if I could avoid buying two ballasts. Thank you. Happy Smoking! -MH
Standard ballast will not run a true hps and true mh bulb. You can buy what are called switchable ballast that will allow you to run both, or you can buy mh conversion bulbs that will run in a standard HPS ballast Continuous grows however typically utilize at least two lights in separate areas. The reason for this being that plants in a vegetative state require a different light cycle than plants in a flowering state.
Old school ones it wont work, some, but not all newer ones will. Mine runs both got it on ebay. Just search for 400w mh hps. How you gonna run a continuous harvest though with only one light cycle at a time? You'd want one room to be 24 hour MH and the other to be 12/12 HPS. So even if you had a ballast that ran both, you'd need 2 ballasts. You might just veg w/ cfls and flower w/ HPS. Save alot of electricity that way, and if you time it all just right you can harvest just as often.
Couldn't you just place a timer in between the ballast and the lights? allowing them to operate independently? I am totally new, so I'm just applying basic knowledge, would that work?
Not really, but even if you could you have one ballast per light so that really wouldn't help maintain separate light cycles. Plus your veg area and flower area have to be completely seperated so that light doesnt get into your flower area during the 12 hour dark period. If you haven't done so, read the stickies here, they will give you a much better grasp on what is required to grow marijuana. http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute...s-guide-get-you-started-growing-cannabis.html http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/73015-grandpas-grow-guide.html
Can't do that. There's relay units that can allow you to run 2 lights - but only on a 12-hour cycle. You can't ever have 2 lights lit up at once on a ballast. Magnetic ballasts are cheap - you can get 'em for under $100. Your ballast don't need to be the same size, you can get away with a smaller veg light. If you're using a 400w for flower, try a 150-250w for veg. 1000w for flower? Use 400 to veg. Wanna use a 600 to flower, grab a 250w to veg.