Help with lighting for flowering.

Ganga89

Well-Known Member
hi, i'm thinking about going into flowering soon as i dont have so much time. therefore i'm only dedicating 3 weeks max for veg. i have been vegging under a mh lamp but was wondering what to do with flowering. i'm going to be using a 125W CFL envirolite for flowering and was wondering should i still use the MH lamp for the entire flowering or just stop using it after the first couple of weeks?

thanks
 

Ativas

Well-Known Member
Absolutely use your MH lamp for flowering - yes, the whole time. The more light you have, the tighter, healthier plants you'll have - and, the more yield you'll harvest in the end. I can't imagine why you would question using more light, or, why on earth you would take it away after 2 weeks? Fill me in on your thinking process. I'm curious.
 

Ganga89

Well-Known Member
o right, ye thats what i wanted to do. but i read someone else's post where someone said use the mh for 2 weeks into flowering for the leaves and then take it away cos it wont do much use as the plants will be requiring red light like a 2700k envirolite or a hps lamp.
 

Ativas

Well-Known Member
Whoever said that a Metal Halide lamp was useless after 2 weeks of flowering has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. On the contray, although HPS lights are better suited for flowering, metal halides do an excellent job. It's amazing the kind of ridiculous things you hear around this place. Wow.
 

Ganga89

Well-Known Member
so could i still flower the plant using the MH lamp, i thought it emitted blue light and the plants need red light during flowering stage. ofc i'll continue to use the MH lamp during flowering, but i'm wondering whether i need to buy the extra 125W CFL envirolite for flowering or not?
 

Ativas

Well-Known Member
Obviously more light never hurts, but since you have to buy the envirolight, it's not necessary to do so. Now, that may depend on the size of the MH you have. I'm assuming it's 400 watts or greater. If it's a 250, the envirolight would be a good idea. (Although there are other options of course.) FYI: If you can only have one HID light for an entire grow, Metal Halides are better overall than High Pressure Sodium. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. Although it's true that HPS are better suited for flowering (as I mentioned earlier) MH bulbs have a fuller spectrum and are therefore preferred for a full grow (if only one choice is available.) Let me explain it another way: There is a fair difference between MH and HPS when it comes to growing in the veg cycle - MH being significantly better for that period - but HPS do not outperform MH in bloom as much as MH outperform HPS in veg. Know what I mean? Ultimately, MH is the choice if you can only have one HID. Again, don't let anyone tell you any different.
 

Ganga89

Well-Known Member
ok thanks a lot for the help. u assumed correctly it is a 400W MH lamp. i wont bother with the enviro for now then, maybe a future grow.
 
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