HPS or compact flourescent for veg

[sandman1982]

My friend has these plants that are growing in a drip system. He curently has them under 4 30w compact flourescents. They are about 2.5 weeks old. The other day he was blessed with a 400w HPS. He was wondering if he should continue using the flourescents until flowering, or go ahead and throw them under the hps for the rest of the whole deal.

[Swizzy89304]

Unless he can get hold of a MH until its time to put them into flowering, stick with the HPS. It cant hurt to use the HPS and flourescents though.

[sandman1982]

so, it wont hurt the young plants to have them under the 400 hps?

[The White Snoop]

If the plant is 2+ wks old use the 400.It will have to be further away from the bulb but you will have much stronger growth then cfls.
The best way to do it is cfls for clones and seedlings. MH(blue spectrum) for Veg and HPS(red spectrum) for flower.

[latewood]

WSnoop is on the money. Distance from the plants, is the 'KEY'; Always with lighting.


I use a mixture of MH and cfl's for clones/seedlings/veg. I just keep my MH's alot further away. you can use the small cfl.s for side lighting to help bolster the lower vegitation.

[pimpingonwaxbitch]

Denfinetly put the 400hps. Alls you will have to do is use it for about 2-3weeks more and then flower. Hydro is fast so however big you want it shouldn't take long. But remeber hps make plants grow lanky and tall. So you might want them to be bigger then usual to get the same yeild if veging with it. The hps is 100 times better then 120 watts of fluros. I would use both tho. Like they said, make sure you keep the light far away when they are first introduced to the hps. At least 3 feet away so they don't get hurt. They are only 2.5 weeks old. Then slowly move it closer every few days. 1-2 day should be good, before you know they will be almost touching it because they will be growing fast. The light should never be closer the 15-18 inches when they are are happy with the hps and growing.

[krustythfreakinclown]

I grow my plant plant in a Waterfarm and I just use 2 60 watt CFL's until the plant hits 6" tall. Then, I turn on the HPS and continue to veg it until it's 12" tall, then go into flowering. And because hydro grows the plant fast, this only take a week or 2, tops to get the plant from 6" to 12".

It saves my ass on electric costs and keeps the entire growth cycle to a minimum, at any rate. Shorter growth cycle, more harvests per year!

[Garden Knowm]

more light more bud....

the closer the light is to the foilage = more bud...

If the light is further than 12 inches from your plants... and it is to hot... do not raise the light, instead.... lower the temperature (using exhaust fans, draw the heat away from your plants/lights) and incrrease the air flow... there is no use in using HIDs if you are not going to keep them close to your plants... 1000 watt HIDS should produce buds the size of yor forearm! ... if they dont, they are not being used correctly..

and NOW you KNOWM

[Opie Yutts]

More light equals more weed. Use it whenever possible. It also needs more ventilation.

[chef423]

umm, so more than 10,000 L is ok?? as long as your not buring the leaves or have improper cooling?

chef

[SmokinRandy420]

ok heres my question im looking at CFL's online theres all kinds of them like stark white , cool white ,warm white , and daylight which are the best cfls for a grow from start to finish?

[chef423]

hehe, so many questions, so little time... :rasta:

[Opie Yutts]

If you're using CFL's, you'll want the kind that produce light.

[GatzBurst]

you would be good with coolwhite for veg, and warm for flower. Just make sure to check what they are on the K scale. 6500 for veg and about 3000 for flower should do the trick. if you will have both, you can use both. Ideally, both spectrums would be present, though it is not necessary to produce great results.

[BlackBliss]

HPS all the way except for clones, then use fluorescents....!
Cheers,
Bliss.

[GatzBurst]

Thank u. Black Bliss, you veg under HPS? Ive heard great things about it, and a bud of mine hits it with some hps during veg. It makes sense, since the lumens are there. Blue spectrum promotes foliar and stem growth best, reddish spec. promotes bud growth best. Good stuff?

[misk]

i grew using just HPS and had no problems at all, the plant was grown outdoors until 2" tall then transplanted and ran a 600watt HPS, the plant never skipped a beat :D had growth of around 30cm a month, easy.

[BlackBliss]

Thanks mate......HPS can be used for vegging, and flowering......clones on the other hand are just to week to be able to absorbe that sort of intensity at that stage......let them root.....then they are fine to put under the HPS....bigger and better results! :thumbsup:
Peace Out!
Bliss.

[oldnslow]

Never used the cfl's before but do most of my sprouting,cloning,vegging under 4ft floro shoplites, and using cool white bulbs. Mainly its to save on heat production and elec costs. Heat in the summer can be a concern, and floros will clone and veg very nicely if you keep the tops very close to the bulb. With my 4ft shoplites, i can actually let the bulb touch the grow top for a day without any permanent damage.

Nothing wrong with using the hps either. It burns hotter, keep the bulb a foot away from the tops, but it puts out much more lumens than the floros.

It kinda works out either way. Hps offers more lumens but, burns hotter and has to be farther away from the tops.
Floros burn cooler and can be right on the tops, but produce less usable lite. The big difference is when they are flowering, then you pretty well have to use the hps and MORE POWER..... HARAGG. Good luck.:thumbsup:

[BlackBliss]

so that just defeats the prupose of having the HPS in the first place, if you've got it, use it i say.
Bliss.

[BlackBliss]

lol hey bro

[BlackBliss]

cheeky bugger :thumbsup:

[Buffalo Bill]

The best way to determine how low you can hang your hps light over your plants is to put your hand rigth on top of your tallest plant, palm down and hold it there for 2 minutes. It is important to hold your hand there for a sustained period of time. If your hand is still comfortable you can continue to lower the light as low 12 inches above the tops of your plants as long as the hand test keeps working. You really do not want an hps light any closer. Remember, that once things get going and the canopy of your garden is established that the hps light can only penetrate the canopy approximately 2 feet. hope this helps! Best of luck! Take care, be well and grow on....

[Gemdaddy54]

I would.You might be amazed.

[Daddynobucks]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
cheeky bugger :thumbsup:

I love your disclaimer:thumbsup:

Daddy
it even made Mrs. Daddy smile