Do you guys have any recommendations as to how high my MH should be above my plants at all points? I need to figure this out as well as what dimness % to use with my ballast since I know the full 100% on the 1000w is brutal. I'm planning on doing 9 autos starting in 3G pots for my next run. I have a t5 fluorescent, but I can't light them all under it. So I'll need to start with my MH from germ.
I started MH from germ my first grow. Lovely tight nodes. 100% in ballast all the way or if your worried run it at 50% for the first two or three weeks. I had a 600W at 100% since sprout. Start as high as it goes for seedlings . 40inches+? Adjust lower by the inch every few days. Seedlings can't take as much light, but once my plants were mature I think I ended up around mid 20's for inches from canopy, if you see stress, simply raise them back up an inch or two
Great advice. Thank you so much for sharing. I'll be taking this with me as I do my first auto run in a month or so here. I don't feel as bad about initially using the MH now. I gotta light all the nine plants somehow.. The five photos I did for my first ever run last year veg'd nicely under the t5. But when It came time for the 3G pots, they barely fit under it in a line.
3 foot higher then the plants with a fan blowing across strong fan . with no fan 4 foot check the plants often for heat stress setting up a mh bulb every half hour . ok i will stress this . you CAN NOT DIM A MH BULB ! ( IT WILL DESTROY THE BULB ) Trust me here i killed a 220 dollar hortilux bulb lucky they warranty it . the bulb lasted about 2 weeks then started to fall apart inside . i called hortilux directly they explained why its not possible to dim mh . take my word on this . you can dim hps no problem but it wont produce the proper light spectrum . here is what i suggest you do what i used to do when that power bull used to fuck me up the ass when i was younger . today i just built my own power factory joke . i pay that 5k bill .ow well ok this is a trick i suggest you try it works perfectly fine but requires effort on your part. 12 hours of that 1000 watt mh then it turns off and the t5 turn on for 12 hours . so only 1 light is on at a time . just set it up where you wont have to screw with it and have it on times . trust me again it will work perfectly fine and grow very fast saving you cash . i did a side by side results were marginal difference edit i use open hoods why the 3 foot suggestion . edit again most bulbs have it stamped on the box or piece of paper in the box warning do not dim. for mh . i am not sure on 20 dollar bulbs lol if it stops working who cares just buy a new 1 cheaper then paying the power bill lol
I've had zero issues dimming either an MH or HPS. They're cheap bulbs as well. Only issue I ran into is my ballast breaking and me needing to get a new one. You understand how big a t5 fluorescent is right? That's a light I would need to set up with chains and hooks to hold. I'm not going to be switching back between my reflector 1000w light and t5. That would be extremely vexing. It seems unneeded as well since I'm understanding it's perfectly fine to use an MH for germ/early veg.
Don’t do autos. You’ll be severely disappointed after your first grow with photos. Stick to feminized photos and just repeat what you did last grow. I grow one auto with my vegging plants just to have some bonus smoke, but they’re always the least impressive. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
you might pull enough where you very happy keep those auto going . a photo can always pull more you can veg it bigger veg it 6 foot tall then flower. a auto flowers when it wants to my experience is about 3 foot final height . the auto pulled a good yield i was happy . some people only do auto and damn they look good and pull a massive yield
The problem is keeping them happy throughout the grow and filling your canopy. With photos, it’s more predictable and you control when they flower. It’s up to you. I grow one auto while vegging my photos. Vegged a full run of autos from Mephisto and was really disappointed in the results Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
The thing is, in my situation right now, I'm looking for a faster run. I want to give them a go at least once so I know how they do. I get what you're saying though. People think autos are easy, but in reality any slip up is huge since they reach harvest faster than photos. How many autos do you think I should I go for in my space? I'm looking to do at least 9.
If they’re Mephisto do more. You’ll be lucky to get 2 ounces from each Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Yeah, the context of this is that I have a T5 fluorescent that I can't use for that many plants. It did me well for my first run with photos, but that was with five plants. When they were in 3 gallon pots, they barely fit under the T5. Especially with around 9 autos in 3G pots, that's why I need to start with the MH.