Im fairly new to growing and have acquired a 55x55x79" tent. I'll be growing 6 plants And have a 1000 watt Hps grow light. I know that should be enough to handle the 6 plants but the Ballast is switchable. I can also use 1000 watt Mh bulbs. What I wanted to know is which light would be better during what time of the grow. I havn't bought a mh bulb yet only have the Hps bulb. Can anyone suggest when I should utilize each light and if anyone has a recommendation for a mh bulb. Or will the hps light be good from germination to harvest? Any pointers or tips would be great.
Use MH during veg period lights 18 hours on and 6 hours off (3-4weeks), use HPS during flowering period - lights 12 hours on and 12 hours off (on the 3 rd or 4th week 'till the end (another 5-6 weeks) . You can use HPS or MH from start to finish just do not forget to change the light schedule ,plants will grow but development and final result will be slightly inferior compare to the same grow under correct light during specific grow cycle . Speaking of brands , I like Digilux . It is one of the best on the market ,kind of pricy (around $90 per bulb) but good quality and it is comes with 1 year warranty .
Just curious to why hps is better for veg? Is it the spectrum of light? What would the benefit be of using the two lights be?
During the veg period plant mostly using blue spectrum for development , so more blue- faster (better )development .MH emit more blue spectrum than HPS , so logically speaking HPS not going to be as effective as MH during that stage of the plant life . Same thing is going on during the flowering . Plant need more of the red spectrum during that stage and HPS emits more of the red than MH does , so again logically speaking HPS provides more benefits for plant development during that stage of the plants life . But of cos plant will grow under MH or HPS from the start to finish , but the entire point of indoor grow is to push your plant to its limit by creating close to perfect grow environment and as result reward will be much higher compare to sloppy grow ....
Yeah absolutely that's why I wanted these answers. Much more worth it to dish out the extra 90 for the mh bulb aswell. Thx for the responses have eased my mind. Last question on the lighting I'm assuming the mh will be best for the germination stage with 24 hours light? And is about 12-24 inches above the plants best position? Next I just need to read on soil and nutrients I'm sure ill have a couple questions on that as well after I read thru some posts.
You can use CFL during first few days ,or you can use MH right fro the start (this is what I do). Distance between your seedling and light depends on the temperature .Try to keep temperature not higher than 82f at the canopy level(if it is slightly higher it is not going to kill your plant but try to keep it below 82f if you can). I usually place my 600W HID 10"-8" above the canopy (it is sealed independent cooling light with 450cfm fan and 150cfm fan for tent ventilation). So place a thermometer on the same level as your seedlings and keep the light far enough for the temperature to be in range. Nutrients can be somewhat confusing, new growers do not know what to get and how to use it. Try Technaflora starter kit this kit has enough nutrients to support grow of 2-3 plants from very beginning to the end and it comes with feeding schedule which will tell you when and how and how much to use . I personally like it and had a grate results in DWC and RDWC set ups.(Do not know much about soil grows)...
Ty for the insight and answering some of my questions. I'll have to post a pic when they start coming together . +1 rep for sure. Thanks