Ok so i have a 400 watt MH and also a 400watt HPS light....i have a ballast that is universal so i can use both lights in it.... I was wondering if i would be beneficial to switch the lights say every two days or every other week....could this cause any problems with the plant? I currently have the lights on 24/0....my theory is theyll get more color spectrum and theyre getting the same ammount of light therefore it wont hurt the plant and if anything itll help it....i would use both at the same time but i already have a heat issue with one,,, as long as this wont hurt the plants does anyone have any suggestions on how many days i should keep one light on before i switch to the other ...i think every two days would be a good mix but i have no idea...
lots of noob questions here but here we go. MH should be used for vegetative growth period which is the first 4-5 weeks at a 20/0 schedule. Switch to hps during the flower cycle at a 12/12 duration for the entire flower clycle till the plant is finished any more ? just ask Stickyboi ps good luck dude
I am in the veg stage, for it you need to be doing at the least an 18/6 schedule using the MH bulb only. for 4-5 weeks, longer if you want them bigger they need the time off to rest, it simulates nature and give them "night time" You need to use the HPS only for flowering stage on a 12/12 schedule. Switching will stunt the growth and send it into flowering way too early and essentially fuck the whole thing up. I suggest you do a lot more reading before doing this again, those are definitely noobie thoughts
i know they need at least 18 hours of light during the veg stage but i also know that MH and HPS are both good for the veg stage.... im new to this so it was kind of just a thought but the way i was looking at it was if they get the different color light as long as it is still on the same ammount of time then it will just stimulate the plant more what im talking about is keeping the lights on the same schedule but changing between MH and HPS every two days so the plants will get a more full spectrum of light color to produce chlorophyl... and correct me if im wrong but even if i did change the lights the plants wouldnt go into flowering until i gave them 12 hours of darkness bc thats when it stimulates a hormone in the plant to create bud growth i would have both the MH and HPS lights on the plants at the same time if i didnt have a heat issue thats why im trying to see if it would cause a problem if i switched between the two....and i know theyre both supposed to represent the sun in a different way so i guess im kind of confused as to how this would harm the plants?...will they have to addapt to me switching the light? has anyone every tried switching the lights like im describing and if so what was the outcome?
ummm to tell you the truth your post is more noobie than mine....you can use Mh , HPS, or CFLs during the vegging stage. The lights should be on a cyle of 18/6, 20/4 or 24/0 MH is rated best for vegging and seedling HPS is rated best for Flowering but is also great for vegging CFLs are acceptable for then entire process MH and CFLs can both be used for flowering however yeild would be considerably less than if you used an HPS light also from what i have read which has been days worth of reading the only possibly way for a plant to flower is to put it in the 12/12 light cycle, or to cover a branch for 12 hours out of the light cycle so you can early sex. Or if you get a wack plant it might start budding without even changing the lgihting.
mh for entire veg yle @ 18hrs on hps for entire flowering cycle @ 12 hrs there's defiantly no need to switch out ur bulbs every 2-3 days.
i never said i was an expert just sharing some info that someone else gave to me about a similar situation.
there may not be a need to switch out the lights...however i like to experiment with stuff and see what works best.... the way i see it is like this To plants light is a form of food...Im just wondering if changing out the lights every few days could possibly stimulate more growth....In stoner terms its like feeding your plant chicken every single day which works great but there is other stuff out there also, Now im saying switch out that chicken with some beef (HPS) ....with different chlorophyl activity at different color spectrums of light i think it may stimulate some more growth in the plant....now i could be completely wrong but im not finding any information that shows it could harm the plants, then again im not seeing any that shows it could help.... this is completely all my speculation but i know HPS can be used for vegging as well so im trying to see if there is any way i could be doing my plants better If it hasnt been tested can anyone with enough knowledge on this polant and these lights give me some facts on how changing the lights could possibly affect the plants and why or why not to do this (besides telling me well we already know MH is best for vegging so just use that) im just trying to learn here too and like i said what im thinking could be absolutly wrong so if it is please give me some info or even give me a link to something i could read for me to furtherunderstand why it could cause a problem