Metal halide or high pressure sodium?

buckettoker said:

ok so when i go to home depot this weekend ill pick up an hps and talk to the guy about a ballast?

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Fuck home depot man, un;ess you want to deal with this: GROWFAQ

Otherwise go to your local hydro store or order the real shit online...

mogul. mogul base socket.

and seriously man . i have a 400w mh and a 1000w mh both are shinin like champs on my plants. heres what you do . get on ebay. type in 400,600 or 1000w switchable ballast , get a mh and hps bulb. home depot does not have the right ballasts you need. just stuff to make them .( i live right next to door to them) they do have the mh and hps bulbs. up to 400w. its called a mogul base socket for the bulbs to screw into since they arent like regular light bulbs. i too was confused about lighting till i started buying and researching. and trust me this site is perfect for research.

so i get the mogul base socket and screw the hps or mh bulb into it. but i need a ballast to supply the hps/mh with power? or am i way off.

dude stop fucking with that home depot shit ,your wasting money. go to the hydro store online and get your stuff its worth it. thats why there telling you to get the light. and it plugs into 120 or 240 your choice. try econo cool conversion reflector with ballast at hg and get your bulbs from the same place.that way if you have any questions they can help you.

MH for veg. HPS for flowering!

ok, your right that home depot model looked extremely confusing.
i might look into that ballast+light+reflector set it's only 120.

only 120?!? thats expensive man! for that little light!..u can get a legit 400w hps growing light off ebay for 120$

The ballast is neccesary to ingnite certain gases in H.I.D bulb, you cant run one without it.

so does a metal halide bulb need a ballast?

def do not put a hps bulb in a regular socket.... very bad idea
you need a balast and fixture

buckettoker said:

so does a metal halide bulb need a ballast?

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Yes, a different kind of ballast from HPS. But there is a kind of MH bulb that allows you to use a HPS ballast, called a MH conversion bulb. I don't know if the reverse is available.

do a little research before you ask so many simple questions, most tubular lights, such as CFL, MH, HID, HPS, require a higher level of voltage and current to ignite and excite the gases (simple HS physics). the ballast increases the energy necessary to make these bulbs work.
Yes they are necessary, and YES that is why even the bulbs from HD have a clear label stating, THIS BULB REQUIRES AN ANSI ...... ballast.
if you want cheap, get some CFL's, they work but take longer.

What is the ballast's function?
A ballast serves to start a fluorescent or HID bulb by causing an arc to form inside the bulb. Once the bulb is lit, the current flowing through the bulb must be regulated to keep the arc operating at peak efficiency.

rant done\

ive used both for flowering, and mainly use MH for vegging AND flowering now.

its proven that using MH to to veg and flower = much tighter buds, tighter internoding and higher resin production and higher output.

imagine that.

the best veg ive ever done was vegging with 3 lights, 2 MH and one HPS, between the two MH lights. i rotate my plants every day, so they get the best of both worlds