Does anyone have any suggestions on MH vs LED for vegetative growing? Im a bit confused. It seems to me that there would be a higher output of lumens with 2 200 watt led panels then one 400 watt MH lamp. I've heard a lot of good and bad things about LEDS. I know that there not so great for flowering, but have heard mixed things about vegging. I would much rather be running 400 watts of LEDS because it is more efficient in terms of electricity usage and output. Can anyone justify why 400 watts of MH would be better than 400 watts of LEDS? Why would anyone not want to use LEDS for vegging (besides the high upfront cost)? Im currently vegging with 2-150 watt 6500k CFLs and a 90-watt UFO. I dont like the CFLS and want to either switch to a 400 watt MH or add another 300 watts of LEDS. Answers and comments are appreciated. Thanks.
Vegatative Growing: 400W MH or 400W LED?
- Thread starter jargman
- Start date
dyzel
Well-Known Member
MH lamps will have a better penetration through the foliage.
You can buy ballasts that will use both MH and HPS bulbs with the aid of HID conversion bulbs.
This means that you can use MH for flower, and for little extra cost, you can change the bulb to a HPS for flowering. Your plants will love that more than the LEDs!
You can buy ballasts that will use both MH and HPS bulbs with the aid of HID conversion bulbs.
This means that you can use MH for flower, and for little extra cost, you can change the bulb to a HPS for flowering. Your plants will love that more than the LEDs!
So you think even though there will be more lumens with 400 watts of LEDS, MH will still be better? I currently have a 8x4 grow room split into two with a light tight wall. For flowering I have a 600 watt HPS. I say this because the plants will get a lot of light penetration in the flowering room, but do they really need it that much for veg? Is there any other reason anyone could think of using an MH bulb over the same wattage in LEDS besides the negative effects of low light penetration? I think the higher amount of lumens outweighs the low light penetration in terms of rate of growth. But quality I really dont know. Will it effect the way the buds come out?
I'm using 2 50w DIY LEDs for veg, and my friend is using 4 205w LEDs for veg and flower.
My friend has 30" plants flowering under the LEDs and so far the light penetration appears to be fine. Don't compare LED lumens to HID lumens, as it isn't really the deciding factor. LEDs have a superior spectrum to most HID bulbs.
They are much cooler than 400w of HID too, which is helpful.
You said that you have an 8' x 4' room split into two? Is it two 4' x 4' sections? If so I would get one 200w LED for plants 12" and under, and a 400w CMH for plants 12" and up. CMH bulbs have a great spectrum and they use magnetic core HPS ballasts so you could use the same ballast for two bulbs.
My friend has 30" plants flowering under the LEDs and so far the light penetration appears to be fine. Don't compare LED lumens to HID lumens, as it isn't really the deciding factor. LEDs have a superior spectrum to most HID bulbs.
They are much cooler than 400w of HID too, which is helpful.
You said that you have an 8' x 4' room split into two? Is it two 4' x 4' sections? If so I would get one 200w LED for plants 12" and under, and a 400w CMH for plants 12" and up. CMH bulbs have a great spectrum and they use magnetic core HPS ballasts so you could use the same ballast for two bulbs.
bas323
Member
I'm finishing up a grow under LEDs right now and this has been my best grow yet. I'm using 300w of LEDs over 6 plants and they look awesome. Just make sure not to by cheap ebay LEDs from china as you'll get terrible results and the lights will stop working in like a week (made this mistake). Check out my plants (northern lights) at 5 weeks flowering here: https://www.rollitup.org/members/bas323-268527/albums/first-led-grow-13372/
Thanks for the response. Your bud looks a lot like the quality of bud that I got when I flowered with LEDs and CFLs; the bud quality is nice and frosty, but the density is not that great. This is why I have chosen to flower with a HPS bulb. What I really what to know is if the flowers will be affected because I vegged under LED and CFL lights. From as far as I can tell, my plants are doing fine. Check them out in this post: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/347883-led-veg-growth-2.html. But the question is what will happen when I put them under a 600 watt HPS light to flower. We will soon see.