200w equiv vs 250hps?

abraham1493

Active Member
Ok guys no im not asking if a 200w equiv cfl is better than a 250hps :p but the real question I have is this.....I curently have a plant about a month in to flowering under a 600w light, this is my second grow but first with the 600w...the lower branches look like they need some help with light, would it be more cost effective to run a 200w cfl by the bottom or hang a 250w hps about mid way next to the plant...would they come out being almost the same effectiveness? i dont want to use the wattage if it wont be that big of a difference.

Thanks to who ever replys, im really interested in this answer.
 

Jack London

New Member
The horticulturist think 450nm blue light for the growth of the plant leaves and roots have an extremely important role in the 600 to 700 nm red light but favorable stem growth and promote plant flowering and chlorophyll formation.Do you want to help the growth of the low, should be a 250w metal halide lamp, rather than cfl or HPS.
 

DST

Well-Known Member
Apical dominance plays a part in your plant determining how the auxins are distributed (with the top receiving the enregy and then it flowing down a plant). Gravity plays a big part in this, and light will also play a big part. Plants are clever in that they'll feed the places that are going to produce well, receive pollen well, and ultimately continue the genetic of the plant. Putting an additional light, providing you are not increasing temperatures in your environment, will ultimately help your lower buds to develop more. Whether or not it will be cost effective is hard to say, but you should have larger flowers all in all.
I like to use a MH in flowering as well, but most good HPS have a decent amount of blue range in them as well. What is the k rating of your cfl? is it a 6400, or 2700, or 4100?
 

Dalek Supreme

Well-Known Member
When it comes to cfl's I use actual watts for reference not equivalent (avoids confusion).Supplemental lighting is allways great.I like to mix the spectrum red and blue for flower.Some peeps harvest the top half and let the now unshaded buds fatten up for a little.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=supplemental%20lighting&pq=supplemental%20lighting%20cannabis&cp=35&gs_id=3p&xhr=t&q=supplemental+lighting+lower+canopy+cannabis&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=supplemental+lighting+lower+canopy+cannabis&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=7b48825fb4a7b87b&biw=1024&bih=607
 

abraham1493

Active Member
Apical dominance plays a part in your plant determining how the auxins are distributed (with the top receiving the enregy and then it flowing down a plant). Gravity plays a big part in this, and light will also play a big part. Plants are clever in that they'll feed the places that are going to produce well, receive pollen well, and ultimately continue the genetic of the plant. Putting an additional light, providing you are not increasing temperatures in your environment, will ultimately help your lower buds to develop more. Whether or not it will be cost effective is hard to say, but you should have larger flowers all in all.
I like to use a MH in flowering as well, but most good HPS have a decent amount of blue range in them as well. What is the k rating of your cfl? is it a 6400, or 2700, or 4100?
My cfls K rating is 6400
 

abraham1493

Active Member
thanks, that is a great idea if I through out the supplemented light idea, im leaning towards the cfl as of now bc i run an ac unit, but come fall and winter i can run both a 600w and 250 hps, I can do it now, its just i dont wanna blow a fuse :) fall is almost here as im in north indiana on the lake. Is it not worth it to have one plant under a 250 and 600w hps?
 

Brokeoldbloke

Active Member
Must be one big plant if you are considering supplementing your 600 w/ another 250w. You could trim off the lower canopy (lolipop style) if its not getting light. That would allow the plant to focus growth on the bud sites that are getting good light.
 

abraham1493

Active Member
HPS gonna be a lot better than the CFL, provided you can deal with the additional heat
My tent right now runs at about 85 degrees F. When i added the 250 for only about 2-3 hours it raised it to 98! lol
im a noobie, as this is only my second grow indoors. first in a tent and first with a 600w light. if i post pics i want some insight and input on how yall think its going. its about a month into budding and its 2ft 5in tall. I tryed to use it as a mother plant and cloned some branches but they dies so i just through it into budding to get what i could.
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
I run old T8 shop light fixtures with wide spectrum tubes and 1 plant tube vertically by my big indicas right now and rotate them twice a day. The side growth is noticeable and bottom buds are huge! I'll chop in 1 to 2 weeks and post pics. I'll trim all leaves off the entire plant and show you. It will also show what fan leaf removal does to harm growth. A fixture fell in a 4.8 quake we had (rotted joist in this rent dump) killing my 2 best of course. But it sliced half the fan leaves on a third plant that lived - one the two ready soon. Less buds and smaller as proof you LEAVE all fan leaves until she tells you she no longer needs them and lets them die.

I have a 1000 HPS over all.
 

taekwondoguy

Well-Known Member
^ Yea fluuoro tubes are good for extra side growth if heat is a concern since they spread the light more than CFLs just make sure they are pretty close. But HPS will outperform CFL everytime in yield with both under optimum conditions.
 

abraham1493

Active Member
I run old T8 shop light fixtures with wide spectrum tubes and 1 plant tube vertically by my big indicas right now and rotate them twice a day. The side growth is noticeable and bottom buds are huge! I'll chop in 1 to 2 weeks and post pics. I'll trim all leaves off the entire plant and show you. It will also show what fan leaf removal does to harm growth. A fixture fell in a 4.8 quake we had (rotted joist in this rent dump) killing my 2 best of course. But it sliced half the fan leaves on a third plant that lived - one the two ready soon. Less buds and smaller as proof you LEAVE all fan leaves until she tells you she no longer needs them and lets them die.

I have a 1000 HPS over all.
Im looking forward to the pics, and the difference from no fan leaves and fan leaves. I have a t8 fixture and bulb just gotta go get it, i never even thought about using those anymore, how many wattage and lumens is yours
 

DelQ

Active Member
Well here is what great side lighting can do for you,, Like they say a picture is worth a thousand words. This branch is at the very bottom and don't cut leaves...

    • photo side 2.jpg






 
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