Vegging with HPS

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LordWinter

New Member
I have a question about vegging with an HPS bulb. First off, let me state that if I could have afforded an MH bulb too, I would have it now and wouldn't need to ask this. In the long run, I'm not going to have a lot of use for MH other than for mothers, so having two ballasts and two bulbs just wasn't economical.

So, for my question:
If I'm vegging temporarily with a 400w bulb, using 18/6 to grow out my plants for sexing and Clone Mother selection, what is a good distance to keep the bulb from the freshly germinated seedlings to minimize stretch without burning up the babies?
 
DankBudzzz

DankBudzzz

Well-Known Member
24 inches or so would do it. As long as you can't feel the heat on the back of your hand when you put your hand above your plants.
 
tet1953

tet1953

Well-Known Member
I use digital ballasts, so the same lamps use both bulbs. That's what I do. I know a guy that uses just HPS though. He clones in flourescents, then under the HPS they go. Only seen his op once, but as I recall the lights were about 2' away from the plants (major LST op). He just used light cycle to control it. He has fine results, although I can't help but think it would be better with some MH.
 
FriendlyGuy

FriendlyGuy

Well-Known Member
malignant said:
16-12 in if using an aircooled hood.. red spectrum brings out more males anyhow so good luck
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UNLESS YOU CLONE SOME FEMALE BITCHESSSS YEEEEEEEEEE Lord winter wassup man! 400 watt hmm.. basic rule of thumb for ANY lighting is use the back of ur hand under the light at the distance your plants are, if it feels mildy warm, it should be ok. but if it feels like a.. 7 outa 10 uncomfortable warm than thats a definate no go.

I know someone said the same thing but im sure no one got THAT specific.. than again results vary as other people have rougher hands that totally cant feel shit even if I got a magnified glass and shined direct concentrate sunlight. :P :P
 
L

LordWinter

New Member
Thanks guys. I have no doubt that it would be near infinitely better with MH, I just can't afford the bulb and ballast. I'll get one eventually, and relatively soon at that. I just don't have it now, and I'm not going to sit on my hands because I don't have one, yanno? What's the best time to put them under light, anyway?

I keep reading two different views. One that says they can go under once the cotyledons open up, the other says that they shouldn't go under till the plant has at least 2 sets of leaves.

Tet,
You said you friend clones with fluorescents. What kind? I've been told I can use my t-8's to take my vegging plants up to about a foot in height, but I wanna make sure. Yeah, I know they're crappy, just using what I have around the house to save money while I get on my feet.
 
goten

goten

Well-Known Member
I got my 150 hps right on top of my baby ,

about 4 to 5 " i would say

but i got my cab well vented plus a 6" clip on fan blowing over her lol

BUT YEA

if its to hot for your hand then its to hot for your plants
 
L

LordWinter

New Member
Jon, thanks. Subbed to the thread.

Goten, There's no way I can set that bulb within 18" of anything. It's much too hot. There's quite a bit of difference in heat output between a 150w and 400w.

Thank you both for your responses.
 
tet1953

tet1953

Well-Known Member
LordWinter said:
Thanks guys. I have no doubt that it would be near infinitely better with MH, I just can't afford the bulb and ballast. I'll get one eventually, and relatively soon at that. I just don't have it now, and I'm not going to sit on my hands because I don't have one, yanno? What's the best time to put them under light, anyway?

I keep reading two different views. One that says they can go under once the cotyledons open up, the other says that they shouldn't go under till the plant has at least 2 sets of leaves.

Tet,
You said you friend clones with fluorescents. What kind? I've been told I can use my t-8's to take my vegging plants up to about a foot in height, but I wanna make sure. Yeah, I know they're crappy, just using what I have around the house to save money while I get on my feet.
Click to expand...

They're just regular florescent tubes, 4 ft. Might be T8, not sure. Nothing fancy though. He takes them to about a foot to 18 inches under those.
 
woodsmaneh!

woodsmaneh!

Well-Known Member
The Right distance is the one where you are as close as you can without burning the plant. To do this put your hand over the top of the plant with your palm facing down. Leave your hand there for a minute, if you feel heat move the light up and retry. Repeat as the plant grows.
 
deprave

deprave

New Member
fluros are honestly the best for seedlings even shop lights you can keep the light 2 inches away, but with mh/hps you wanna be about 12 to 20 inches to minimize stretch, Hps works fine for vegging but its definitely not as good.
 
Leothwyn

Leothwyn

Well-Known Member
^^Yeah, I've always just used regular old shop lights for cloning. It's just what I was taught, and it has always worked fine for me..
 
Mort Fink

Mort Fink

New Member
LordWinter said:
Thanks guys. I have no doubt that it would be near infinitely better with MH, I just can't afford the bulb and ballast. I'll get one eventually, and relatively soon at that. I just don't have it now, and I'm not going to sit on my hands because I don't have one, yanno? What's the best time to put them under light, anyway?

I keep reading two different views. One that says they can go under once the cotyledons open up, the other says that they shouldn't go under till the plant has at least 2 sets of leaves.

Tet,
You said you friend clones with fluorescents. What kind? I've been told I can use my t-8's to take my vegging plants up to about a foot in height, but I wanna make sure. Yeah, I know they're crappy, just using what I have around the house to save money while I get on my feet.
Click to expand...
Hey man you know about these right? You don't need to buy a new ballast.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=mh+hps+conversion+bulb&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHKZ_enUS433US433&prmd=ivns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1920&bih=1085&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=2171806552729612050&sa=X&ei=xfzeTcGLJ-nRiAK9uPTQCg&ved=0CGoQ8wIwAw
 
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LordWinter

New Member
Actually, I've seen those before. I'm gonna be flowering the results in the tent that the HPS is in, and need a separate location for the moms. I have a homemade box, but all I have in there are T8's. I was thinking of using those for my moms (and rooting clones) once I get them sorted out. Until, that is, I can afford another bulb and ballast. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I realize my question was a bit generalized.
 
goten

goten

Well-Known Member
LordWinter said:
Jon, thanks. Subbed to the thread.

Goten, There's no way I can set that bulb within 18" of anything. It's much too hot. There's quite a bit of difference in heat output between a 150w and 400w.

Thank you both for your responses.
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Oh i agree with you my man

i wasn't suggesting for him to put his that low lol

hell it was hard for me to get mine like that , it took some tweaking in my airflow

I was just telling him he could get it probably get it a little closer with the right ventilation and air flow , that's all my man
 
DankBudzzz

DankBudzzz

Well-Known Member
I retract what I said about 24 inches and I think there is only one answer. As close as possible if your heat is under control. I mentioned 24 inches because I assumed you wouldn't have a professional exaust system if you can't afford another bulb. I'm in the same boat.

I used cfls for the first two weeks but in previous grows I've used HPS from seed. I moved my two week old seedlings under a 1k hps and they've been there vegging for the past 45 days or so. Check out my grow
 
L

LordWinter

New Member
goten said:
Oh i agree with you my man

i wasn't suggesting for him to put his that low lol

hell it was hard for me to get mine like that , it took some tweaking in my airflow

I was just telling him he could get it probably get it a little closer with the right ventilation and air flow , that's all my man
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My bad. Completely misread that.

DankBudzzz said:
I retract what I said about 24 inches and I think there is only one answer. As close as possible if your heat is under control. I mentioned 24 inches because I assumed you wouldn't have a professional exaust system if you can't afford another bulb. I'm in the same boat.

I used cfls for the first two weeks but in previous grows I've used HPS from seed. I moved my two week old seedlings under a 1k hps and they've been there vegging for the past 45 days or so. Check out my grow
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Hehe, heat isn't too much of an issue. It's also part of the reason I didn't get another bulb. My grow area doesn't have good ventilation because of the area I had to place it in, so a fan was a necessity. Money was not there for both, so I took the fan. It's a 4" Centrifugal Fan, 165cfm circulation. Nice little unit, if a bit noisy.

And the newest pics in your thread are from the 1k hps grow? Edit: Don't answer that, I'm completely incapable of reading a thread title. LMAO.
 
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