MH or HPS for start to finish growing?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by herbislove, Jan 17, 2009.

  1. alright so I grow indoors but I'm not into hydro, im a soil man. But we all deal with lighting. I've never been one to go out and spend a lot of money on specialty grow lamps, I've always used 400w MH for vegitation growing and then switched to 600w HPS's when I lower my light time to encourage flowering. this method has produced some truly dank smoke for me in the past two years but I'm a stoner before I'm a grower and I'm kind of getting lazy. obviously I don't use these harsh lights on my seedlings. but for here on out after thery graduate from cups to pots I'd like to keep one type of light over them from start to finish. Does anyone have a suggestion (preferably based off of experience) on whether I should go with the MH or HPS for start to finish growing? I've used the same method from the time I began growing so I'm having trouble deciding. PLEASE HELP.

    sincereley, herbislove.
     
  2. #2 amoril, Jan 17, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 18, 2009
    consensus HPS all the way

    you want your plant at it finest more during flower than you do in veg, bc youll have a stronger final product.

    probably better to have really dense, dank ass buds than to have slightly more buds that are really light and airy
     
  3. Hi
    I know that some folks will probabley disagree with me,but oh well,I am a huge Halide fan,I have been friends with a local greenhouse family for 25 plus years and have seen many sucessful techniques over the years,If you have studied horticulture you will understand that blue light promotes healthier tissue than red light,you can use either from start to finish and end up with dankness if you have good genetics to start with,I have done both from start to finish and I prefer the halide finished product vs the hps finished product,I have better bud density,less stretch,and they seem to get more frosty also.
     
  4. I agree with you on the speciality bulbs also,I have bought those expensive bulbs and they work well,I have found that the cheap industrial bulbs work well also,I cant tell the difference between them in the end result,so I get the cheapies and keep them fresh and they will never disappoint.
     
  5. I can't refute gettintall's direct experience, if that's what he has seen then that is what he has seen, but I agree with amoril that the consensus is HPS is the way to go if you are going to use only one bulb for the whole grow. MH is better for vegging but HPS can work well for vegging also. In flowering, however, the blue spectrum of MH is not best for bud development.
     
  6. It does take an extra week to ten days to ripen tho, this an AK.,It is under a 400mh vertical bulb,
     

    Attached Files:

  7. Ever considered a dual spectrum bulb?

    D.
    :smoke:
     
  8. well that's kind of what I was getting at when I said I wasn't into specialty bulbs, lamps, systems, etc.
    I just can't justify spending 3-400 dollars on a lamp when I can do it for 1-250 with the basic stuff.
     
  9. i say hps because hps puts out more lumens than a MH
     
  10. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".......sounds like your doing it by the book right now with great results........come on dude. You can spend the little bit of extra time to change your lights out. It sounds like you know your shit.....IMHO you've got the optimal lighting right now.
     
  11. Yeah I guess your right this whole forum really just backs up the facts. MH=veg HPS=flower/fruit
    I think I'm going to stick with my lighting. I think my only real problem is I'm ready to do something different, I mean for the most part we're all trying to grow a higher yield with more potency. maybe
    I'll try to venture into hydro for a lil bit, or maybe try to switch up the nutes.
     
  12. MH is best for veg ( however u can use it right through )
    HPS is best for 12/12 ( however u can use it right through )

    Use both together, and that's a dream crop.


    laters


    [FONT=&quot]_____________________________________________________________[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]PS:[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]I am a pathological liar.......And post only out of boredom![/FONT]
    http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/313576-white-widow-pics-grow-1-city.html
     
  13. herbislove, your dead right about switching something OTHER than your lights.

    better nute blends, trying new grow mediums

    Ive also been thinking about a 12/13 or 12/14 cycle...
     

  14. So do you recommend the dual arc lights? I also have a conversion 1000w MH that i'm debating rotating daily between my 4 shades. D you think it would help?
     
  15. A conversion ballast is the way to go.:wave:



    [FONT=&quot]_____________________________________________________________[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]PS:[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]I am a pathological liar.......And post only out of boredom![/FONT]
    http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/313576-white-widow-pics-grow-1-city.html
     
  16. Its actually a conversion MH bulb that i can use on HPS ballast.
     
  17. There are MH conversion bulbs made to work on a HPS ballast, HPS conversion bulbs made to work on a MH ballast, and there are also switchable ballasts that can accommodate both a regular MH and a regular HPS. All just different approaches to the same idea, allowing to use both MH and HPS withougt needing two different ballasts.
     
  18. Yes for sure I'm aware of that, I was just pointing out what I had. If i was to rotate my MH bulb how long do you think I should leave it on each shade before switching back to the HPS? I'm thinking a day or two per week. Would the dual arc bulbs be worth it ? The ones I've found are approx $100 and produce 600w of HPS and 400W MH.
     
  19. Yeah, I really was answering the other guys.

    Can't say that I understand what you are saying about rotating your MH to different shades.

    And dual spectrum definitely is best, but it seems more of each person's evaluation as to whether it is "worth it".
     
  20. What I meant by rotating is this. During the flowering stage I use 1000w HPS on my plants. I have one MH conversion bulb, I can take out the HPS and use instead the MH one or two days a week. Would this be helpful or has anyone heard of it being done?
     

Share This Page