HOW MANY PEOPLE USE CFL AND HOW MANY HPS OR BOTH?

[redsoxian22]

WHICH ONE IS THE ONE TO USE WHEN VEGGING WHICH ONE WHEN FLOWERING ANY HELP APPRICIATED.

[Racerx]

WHICH ONE IS THE ONE TO USE WHEN VEGGING WHICH ONE WHEN FLOWERING ANY HELP APPRICIATED.

Do some reading, there is a ton of information just on this page...let alone the search. that aside, I am currently using CFLs for clones and they seem to work well but put more heat off then my T5 flourescent which works better (but is loads more expensive and much larger). That said, you just never can have enough light, as long as you can take care of all that heat.

Typically, HPS are reserved for flowering, however they still work damn well for vegging because its still a lot of light (just not the right color, as its more reddish and orange rather then blue). A 1000watt HPS will really set a plant off if everything else is done well. HPS penetrates far better as it is a higher intensity. Metal Halide is the choice for HPS, as it is a high intensity discharge but with the blue colors you want.

For CFLs and flouros, you want higher k range like around 6000 for veg, cool blueish white. Then move down to like 3500 for flowering, warm reddish yellow.

[redsoxian22]

I HAVE APHILLIPS F40T12 AO WATT PLANT AND AQUAIRIUM LIGHT AND I DONT KNOW IF IT IS HPS OR CFL PLEASE HELP

[bongerstonerd00d]

Metal Halide is the choice for HPS, as it is a high intensity discharge but with the blue colors you want. Huh ??



b0nger

[kameo77]

Its neither cfl is compact florescent and hps is high pressure sodium. Yours is just a Florescent tube. But it is still ok should be better lumens then the cfl but no where close to the hps.

[redsoxian22]

WHAT SHOULD I GET?

[slowthestone]

For CFLs and flouros, you want higher k range like around 6000 for veg, cool blueish white. Then move down to like 3500 for flowering, warm reddish yellow.

Yikes racerx....

The only way a 3500 CFL or standard flouro would make it a night on here is if the one of the warmer CFLs took a dump.

Max 3000K for flowering. yea yea....sure you can flower with a cooler color...but why when warmer is better and costs the same? My flowering CFLs range tween 2400 - 2700K. Though I"m drooling for some of the newer 2100Ks that have been around since...not so long ago.

Veg'n with 6500K of course. Trying hard though to find a kik ass CFL in the 10-12K range.

redsoxian22....

Like kameo said...

That most certainly is not an HPS, nor a CFL.

The lamp number you provided...PHILLIPS F40T12, is standard nomenclature for bulbs/lamps.

F40 = 40 watts.
T12 = T12 (think of the T of fluorescent lamps as the V for motor engines.)

Anyway, it is also not a CFL. Which are 'compact' fluorescents and typically screw into a medium base as any standard bulb does.

[kameo77]

If you can aford it get hps if not start with fl. Right know I'm using 4ft fl tubes 1 cool white and the other a plant grow bulb. I have 20 bulbs but I'm growing a lot of plant but there doing pretty good. You have to keep the fl about 2 inches above the plants and its a lot of work to keep adjusting them. So I'll be getting a hps light soon.

[redsoxian22]

WHAT KIND OF HPS SHOULD I GET?

[redsoxian22]

I LIVE THE EAST COAST OF THE US

[kameo77]

Hey I checked on that site Icebelowfreeze and they do have some dam good prices. Thanks for the info just orderded there 400w hps for $100

[Shallow Hal]

i use floro's for clones only , a 400 watt dual spectrum bulb hps for vegging and 2 600 watt ds for flowering.

[babystarbud]

metal halide and HPS are both types of HID, MH bieng better for growing, HPS bieng better for flowering.

either can be used throughout the grow, but each is lacking in certain colours, which is why if you have the money, you can get both for better results.

if your only going to get one light, i would recomend an "enhanced" HPS light, which is "tuned" somhow to give extra blue light which regular HPS lacks, im using one and so far ive got nothing but praise for it.....it looks a bit closer to natural light than a regular hps, but still has a bit of a yellow glow to it

[SpiritLevel]

The mothers sat under 125W EnviroLites 65k/blue natural daylight light Just enough to encourage slow growth over the flowing period

The fresh clones sat under 125W EnviroLites 65k for a few weeks

The rooted clones sat under (x*600W) HighPressureSodium HID throughout their 2-3 weeks of veg and 7-8 weeks of flower

We seldom use Metal Halide HIDs of which we only have 1 250W MH bal/bul/ref lighting system

I think the light discharge from EnviroLites looks similar to CFL. We use CFLs above the propergators but the root development is slow. Prefer EnviroLites

[Kaparski]

Believe me, if I became a full time grower for personal use I'd definietly use HP. THe results compared to flourscent are astonishing.

However with 3000 lumens from my flour bulbs, my plants grow great

[MegaOctane12]

The mothers sat under 125W EnviroLites 65k/blue natural daylight light Just enough to encourage slow growth over the flowing period

The fresh clones sat under 125W EnviroLites 65k for a few weeks

The rooted clones sat under (x*600W) HighPressureSodium HID throughout their 2-3 weeks of veg and 7-8 weeks of flower

We seldom use Metal Halide HIDs of which we only have 1 250W MH bal/bul/ref lighting system

I think the light discharge from EnviroLites looks similar to CFL. We use CFLs above the propergators but the root development is slow. Prefer EnviroLites

I'd say for the light penetration of the bulb, Environlites are pretty expensive, their like a last option if you can't run an extraction fan, just running a small occilating or pc fan around the bulb reduces the heat enough, you don't get the penetration you would with an HPS or MH, that's the only down side.

[MegaOctane12]

metal halide and HPS are both types of HID, MH bieng better for growing, HPS bieng better for flowering.

either can be used throughout the grow, but each is lacking in certain colours, which is why if you have the money, you can get both for better results.

if your only going to get one light, i would recomend an "enhanced" HPS light, which is "tuned" somhow to give extra blue light which regular HPS lacks, im using one and so far ive got nothing but praise for it.....it looks a bit closer to natural light than a regular hps, but still has a bit of a yellow glow to it

You can get grolux bulbs, just an example, they have both spectrum red and blue in equal measure so you can use them throughout the whole grow.

[MegaOctane12]

WHAT KIND OF HPS SHOULD I GET?

Try and find one that enables air cooling through the hood, or use a cool tube. If your using HPS in smaller spaces this is almost essential in my opinion. I don't know if you can really get away with having an HPS just sitting in your closet with a fan at the bottom blowing up the heat, you have to take into consideration that even with a carbon filter/extraction fan at the top of the room, unless its directly connecting to the hood/tube your gona have heat coming off the bulb which will have to rise and then be taken out the room. Intercepting the heat before it hits the plants is the only real option.

[Shallow Hal]

lol 3500 lumens lol ... my 600 watt dual spectrum bulbs pump out 95000 lumens each .

[invision]

if its just a personal grow and your first time i would just invest into either a 150-250watt hps they are pretty cheap (35.00 for the 150) and are tons more efficient than CFL that way if it doesnt work out for you its only a 50.00-75.00 loss in the end