Light Question

Hey guys I have two 500w halogen lamps but after research I realize they just wont do so I am about to purchase a 400w High Pressure Sodium lamp would this be suitable throughout the whole growing or should I purchase two of these?

Thanks alot

hps is great for flowering, for vegetative growth you might want to use a more "blue" spectrum such as mh, cmh, or flouros....hps will work for veg but you will have better results (less stretch) with a wider spectrum.

So should I get a 400w mh lamp for veg then use a 400w hps light for flowering. 'Cause I have enough to buy two lights, would one of each be a better solution?

Use a grolux or sunmaster bulb. They are both hps lamps but have added blue in the spectrum. So no need to change bulbs, same lamp from start to finish.

Ugh, I barely want to respond to this. I'm glad you did enough research to know halogens are not the way to go, but this is still a question thats widely posted and asked over and over.

MH light aids in processing of nitrogen, nitrogen fuels plant growth. HPS light helps the plant process more phosphorous which is used to create chemical energy to grow buds. Both types of light will work for either phase, but with diminished results.

As far as buying two of them? I don't know if you mean buying 2 HPS, a HPS and a MH? What are you asking? If you think you might need 2 lights, you would need to include the space you want to light in your thread. Double check the forum resources and posting guidelines.

And Geozander is always right.

I think you mean "Son Agro" though, not sunmaster.

The bulbs he's referencing are dual-spectrum, and those do work well from start to finish of your plants. I still personally feel you get a far better veg with a straight MH, but dual spec works. Just look for any 430 watt HPS bulb and that will be one.

GrizzlyAdams said:

Ugh, I barely want to respond to this.

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I retract eveything i previously had typed here.

GrizzlyAdams said:

And Geozander is always right.

I think you mean "Son Agro" though, not sunmaster.

The bulbs he's referencing are dual-spectrum, and those do work well from start to finish of your plants. I still personally feel you get a far better veg with a straight MH, but dual spec works. Just look for any 430 watt HPS bulb and that will be one.

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do i detect a bit of sarcasm there grizzly? Remember sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Lol

and here too.

I think he does grow mate. I have spoke to him since he joined the forum. If his info is wrong, just correct it! Its all about different opinions. If there is blatantly wrong info being posted. It is everyones job to post the correct info.

LondonDz said:

Hey guys I have two 500w halogen lamps but after research I realize they just wont do so I am about to purchase a 400w High Pressure Sodium lamp would this be suitable throughout the whole growing or should I purchase two of these?

Thanks alot

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I would say it depends on your budget, your goal, and what method of growing you're going to be doing. Are you going to be running a veg room and a flower room at the same time? Then yes, you'll want two lights. If not, you can buy one light, and a conversion bulb for the other spectrum - I like the HPS switchable ballast - and then get the MH conversion bulb to go with it. If You're running seperate rooms, then do get two, you would be happier with the results. Lastly, if your budget allows, you would probably be happier with a 600w than a 400w - 600w put out almost twice the lumens as 400w do.

Sgt.Sly said:

Wow dood, you are the be all and the end all. All hail Grizzly. Cuz he knows it all.

Man where do you get your facts for your "scientific claims" I been following your posts in lots of other threads, and all you do is regergitate information from other posts. AND SOME OF IT"S dead wrong!

AND THEN you go the distence to ASK PPL for + reps in your signature. THAT's the lamest thing of all.

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SgtSly,
I'm not sure what I did to rattle your cage, but relax. I was reluctant to answer that question because it was vague and it gets asked every third day it seems.

If you have issue with any of the information I post or the help I give people, you are more than welcome to dispute the facts with me. If you are following my posts you should be plenty familiar. I do my best to give the best information possible, if I am incorrect, by all means argue your point.

Regarding the flames directed at me, its not productive. If you have an issue with an RIU member, the guidelines would seem to suggest a PM rather than a public thread. If a PM isn't "good enough" because its not public - I'd ask yourself why you're really trying to correct another member with insults. I've reported your post as it violates RIU's conduct policy.

Geozander,
Naw man, I wasn't being sarcastic at all. When you open your mouth you know exactly what leaves it. I just knew sunmaster made several types of bulbs and an inexperienced buyer might just snatch up any 400 and make an assumption. Sillier things have happened. I still got teh respect for the Geo

**Edit**
@ DoeEyed.
Conversion Bulbs in Digital Ballasts. Don't do it, sometimes you will get lucky and the bulb will run for near its life expectancy but it usually burns out before 10-20% when used with a digital ballast. A MH conversion bulb is the MH filament in HPS mountings. Digital ballasts send whatever power they need to and the conversion confuses the ballast given its both bulbs crunched together. Sunmaster has stopped warrantying any conversion bulb used in an digital ballast and the growshop guy said others would likely be following suit. Digital ballasts kick ass, just make sure you get a true bulb for them. That being said, there are supposedly some conversion bulbs that work? http://www.4hydroponics.com/lighting/plantmax600conv.asp but I haven't heard anything about them.

GrizzlyAdams said:

**Edit**
@ DoeEyed.
Conversion Bulbs in Digital Ballasts. Don't do it, sometimes you will get lucky and the bulb will run for near its life expectancy but it usually burns out before 10-20% when used with a digital ballast. A MH conversion bulb is the MH filament in HPS mountings. Digital ballasts send whatever power they need to and the conversion confuses the ballast given its both bulbs crunched together. Sunmaster has stopped warrantying any conversion bulb used in an digital ballast and the growshop guy said others would likely be following suit. Digital ballasts kick ass, just make sure you get a true bulb for them. That being said, there are supposedly some conversion bulbs that work? http://www.4hydroponics.com/lighting/plantmax600conv.asp but I haven't heard anything about them.

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Maybe true, I can't say from experience, but I don't have digital ballasts.

Yeah, I contacted the manufacturer for Lumatek after I had a 600w MH conversion bulb blow after around 500 hours. Its a dismal feeling opening a growspace and seeing darkness rather than light as if you'd caged an angel.

GrizzlyAdams said:

...light as if you'd caged an angel.

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haha Very apt description, I love it.

Thanks to those who helped, GrizzlyAdams sorry if I seemed to annoy you mate, but I had been looking around the forums alot and I had seen plenty of prior information about the lights but I just wanted a definitive opinion. Sorry that it rubbed you the wrong way man.

Flaming Wasnt nessecary at all, i agree fully with Grizzly. With that said, i have to put in my 2 cents. I use both Digi Ballasts, as well as Magnetic. I have two 1000w Magnetic ballasts, and i use Sunmaster HPS bulbs, aswell as AgroMax 1000w MH Conversion bulbs. The MH Conversion bulbs work amazingly well and ive been using them for about 6 1/2 months so far. Theyre performing extremely well, and my light meter says that they havent deiminished in brightness at all. In comparison to a brand new standard MH bulb, i would say you lose very little by way of lumens if your going to use a Conversion bulb -- as long as you make sure your not buying a budget bulb. Agro is a reasonably priced bulb, its not the most expensive you can buy, but its also not even close to bottom rung. I would use AgroMax MH bulbs any day. HPS is another story though, lol.

As for Digitall ballasts -- Most Digital ballasts your going to buy are Switchable ballasts. Meaning that you DONT NEED TO USE A CONVERSION BULB in order to use both MH and HPS in the ballast. Thats one of the main attractions of going digital IMHO. If you are buying a digi ballast thats not switchable, then your better off going magnetic IMO, because its a waste of money.

Now LondonDZ,
If you have money for TWO lights, then pick yourself up TWO Switchable digital ballasts. Theyre about $50 - $80 more expensive than a regular magnetic ballast, but if you go Digital, then youlll have two fully functional switchable lights, meaning that you wont have to only use one for each spectrum, you can use MH in both during veg, and have twice the space to grow with. OR, you can always put one MH bulb in one ballast, and one HPS in the other ballast, and run both spectrums at all times. This is the best of both worlds, and you will see amazing results. Ive seen grows where the grower uses both spectrums in HUGE grow rooms. The plants under the HPS lights are nice looking, and the plants under the MH lights are nice too - but the plants that are caught under the spaces where both spectrums are mixed are Effin amazing looking. More frosted in trichomes, bulkier in some cases, and just over all looking healthier.

Think it over man, but take into consideration your ventilation also. I dont know what your budget is like, and i dont know what kind of equipment you already have, but if your buying your first growlights, maybe your better off buying one Digital Switchable ballast, hood, and bulbs, and then spending the rest of the cash on Ducting, a Blower, and intake and exhaust fans. Make sure you have proper ventilation for your growspace, its just as if not more important than your lighting is.

Hope that helped a bit. Good luck with your grow.

N stop the damn fighting. Damnit.

-K1.

No worries dude! My only issue was that we have no idea what space you need to light. Its an anal retentive point, but one thats sliding out of control in newbie central. All is well, hope I didn't come off as pissed cuz I wasn't. Just annoyed with unclear questions in general - but hey, misunderstandings are part of the human condition so how can I expect every question to be succinct?! DoeEyed, Geozander and K1 are great people's input to have man, I'm glad you're getting the knowledge you need. Now in response to the bulb nonsense . . .

Currently there isn't a reliable bulb out to my knowledge for 600 watt systems. I know hortilux is working on a full line of digital bulbs called something pulse. Idk, but that line will have a 600 watt true metal halide. Conversion bulbs work fantastic in magnetic systems, I've heard so online, growshops, friends, etc. Conversion meeting digital though is bad mojo. Advice from personal experience, if you decide you really want a 600 watt and you're going to use MH, get a magnetic ballast. The headache of digital/conversion/mh/hps is just something that will give you hemorrhoids.

But what K1 said is a good point, if the digital you're looking at isn't switchable, buy magnetic.

If you do end up with 2 lamps like K1 said you might do, I'd suggest air cooling most definitely as would anyone. Rather than buying a 200 inline fan that moves all the air you need and you have to monkey with atmospheric exchange AND cooling on the same fan. . . . buy an inline fan booster. Use the free air flow CFM, thats what it actually puts out. I have not used one, however DoeEyed turned me on to them. Seems like they're getting rave reviews and Doe loves them as well. Its a suggestion at any rate.

GrizzlyAdams said:

SgtSly,
I'm not sure what I did to rattle your cage, but relax. I was reluctant to answer that question because it was vague and it gets asked every third day it seems.

If you have issue with any of the information I post or the help I give people, you are more than welcome to dispute the facts with me. If you are following my posts you should be plenty familiar. I do my best to give the best information possible, if I am incorrect, by all means argue your point.

Regarding the flames directed at me, its not productive. If you have an issue with an RIU member, the guidelines would seem to suggest a PM rather than a public thread. If a PM isn't "good enough" because its not public - I'd ask yourself why you're really trying to correct another member with insults. I've reported your post as it violates RIU's conduct policy.

Geozander,
Naw man, I wasn't being sarcastic at all. When you open your mouth you know exactly what leaves it. I just knew sunmaster made several types of bulbs and an inexperienced buyer might just snatch up any 400 and make an assumption. Sillier things have happened. I still got teh respect for the Geo

**Edit**
@ DoeEyed.
Conversion Bulbs in Digital Ballasts. Don't do it, sometimes you will get lucky and the bulb will run for near its life expectancy but it usually burns out before 10-20% when used with a digital ballast. A MH conversion bulb is the MH filament in HPS mountings. Digital ballasts send whatever power they need to and the conversion confuses the ballast given its both bulbs crunched together. Sunmaster has stopped warrantying any conversion bulb used in an digital ballast and the growshop guy said others would likely be following suit. Digital ballasts kick ass, just make sure you get a true bulb for them. That being said, there are supposedly some conversion bulbs that work? http://www.4hydroponics.com/lighting/plantmax600conv.asp but I haven't heard anything about them.

Click to expand...

Fair enough, I apoligise for bein harsh. I seen some wacky posts from you in other threads and assumed you were trying to give out wrong info on purpose. Some ppl here think it's funny to give ppl completely wrong info and watch them f*** up. I am however now convinced you're not one of them. My apoligies again.

Im growing two plants, grow room is pretty small, I hve a decent oscillating fan.

I can only manage to buy the 400w hps which will leave me required money for bulbs.

400w Sunmaster Dual Spectrum HPS Bulb


is this suitable along with a conversion bulb?