400w Metal Halide for first month of flowering?

Okay, right now i have a 600w HPS which covers a 3 x 3 area. I figure i can fit 6 comfortably. I was wondering... could i double what im doing by getting a 400w metal halide for the first 4 months of flowering then switch to the 600w hps for the the main budding phase. Someone was telling me that plants grow denser with sturdier stems under MH light, and since the first 3 -4 weeks is stretching could MH light help control stretch? Could a 400w MH keep up with 6 medium sized plants for a month in flowering?

I've got six mothers under a 400w MH and I wouldn't want to do it. The light doesn't penetrate to the lower branches well enough. In any event, your thinking is upside down. The blue light from the MH promotes vegetative growth, it doesn't inhibit it.

PC :smokin:

i use a mh for the veg, and switch to a hps for whole flowering

Use the Hps from start to finish. If you wanted you could just add the 400 MH to the scheme of things.If you took them out from under a 600 and replaced the lamp with a 400 at the same height.You will for sure have stretching.What controls stretching is how close you are able to get your lamp to the tops of the plants.The strain has alot to do with stretch,too.Hope this helped ya some!

Ga Grown!

So a 400w HPS couldn't keep up either? They would be right next to each other so they would share light.... I guess ill have to buy another 600w HPS if im gonna double what im doin... Hey georgia which hydro store do you use? Atlantis?

"The blue light from the MH promotes vegetative growth, it doesn't inhibit it."
I've noticed that MH make veggetataive plants more compact and tighter internodes. I was wondering, since the first couple weeks of flowering are a vegataive stretch would it help them grow compact and tight internodes.

Maybe I didn't understand your question quite right. What light(s) do you have right now?

PC :smokin:

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Originally Posted by Earthy Dank

So a 400w HPS couldn't keep up either? They would be right next to each other so they would share light.... I guess ill have to buy another 600w HPS if im gonna double what im doin... Hey georgia which hydro store do you use? Atlantis?

"The blue light from the MH promotes vegetative growth, it doesn't inhibit it."
I've noticed that MH make veggetataive plants more compact and tighter internodes. I was wondering, since the first couple weeks of flowering are a vegataive stretch would it help them grow compact and tight internodes.

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Just try ebay.I saw a killer Future-Brite 600.They run almost 325.00 new. I got 4. I don't see why the 600 and 400 would not be enough? You could really boost your efforts if you were to try a light mover,and the 600 watter.It would even the light out.

Ga Grown!

If you have the means to use a mh then use it during the stretch or just until you see buds start to form. MH bulbs will help decrease the stretch. Now, some strains will stretch more then others, and sometimes a grower will want the plant to stretch normally. This is up to you and your grow space/style.
Light movers are awesome, but in a 3x3 area I don't see the benefit.

I've done a lot of reading about this on ICmag, and plan to do it for my flowering plants.
Flowering with a MH will promote denser buds, because of node spacing, it also helps control stretch. so you are right on track Earthly.

There are people who do entire grows under MH and have excellent results.

Which would be better a 600w HPs on a light mover or a 600w mh and 600w HPS (disregarding price).

yes, it produces denser buds because theres less of them

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Originally Posted by Earthy Dank

Which would be better a 600w HPs on a light mover or a 600w mh and 600w HPS (disregarding price).

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Both, but you better be able to exhaust all the heat in that small space. The room is to small for a mover unless you are planning on trying one of those movers that spin.

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Originally Posted by growbe

Both, but you better be able to exhaust all the heat in that small space. The room is to small for a mover unless you are planning on trying one of those movers that spin.

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Its not a 3x3 area... that just how much light coveragre my 600w'er has. I really have like 10x20 feet of grow space... so space isn't an issue. So how long of a light rail could i use without lowering the light intensity? I think im going to get some "smart" ballasts when i save up some cash.

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Originally Posted by growbe

If you have the means to use a mh then use it during the stretch or just until you see buds start to form. MH bulbs will help decrease the stretch. .

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This is FABULOUS advice. During this period you can also continue to use some nitrogen in your fert schedule. Then go up to a 600 or even 1000 HPS to finish.

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Originally Posted by Earthy Dank

Its not a 3x3 area... that just how much light coveragre my 600w'er has. I really have like 10x20 feet of grow space... so space isn't an issue. So how long of a light rail could i use without lowering the light intensity? I think im going to get some "smart" ballasts when i save up some cash.

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Ooooops, sorry. I thought it was only a 3x3. So I use to grow in a room that was 4 x 7. I ran a 1000 watt bulb on a mover in that room and ave. around 34oz's dried, but I had my grows pretty much dialed in. So for the most part you have a tad bigger room. Now, why not try 2 rails each with a 1000 watt bulb. We all know that dual spectrum is the best, so start one light on one side and the other on the opposite side, crossing in the middle. One will be a mh and the other an hps. Get switchable ballasts so if you want all mh during veg. and all hps in flower you can. If you feel this is not enough then 3 rails, 600 watts each, switchable.
Peace.
P.S. I have grown with and without rails. Adding a rail increased my yield around 8 oz's growing LST. Read that again (8 oz's). Rails allow you to get the light very close to the plants without using glass.

Will a 600 watt cover a 3x6 area? Or will i need another light if i get a light rail. Im savin up to get a digi ballast and a decent hood... I like the sunsystem hoods..

P.S. back to the MH thing, Could the absence of the red spectrum delay the onset of flowering?

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Originally Posted by Earthy Dank

P.S. back to the MH thing, Could the absence of the red spectrum delay the onset of flowering?

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Nope! You've got the appropriate photoperiod, and that's the crucial thing.

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Originally Posted by Earthy Dank

Will a 600 watt cover a 3x6 area? Or will i need another light if i get a light rail. Im savin up to get a digi ballast and a decent hood... I like the sunsystem hoods..

P.S. back to the MH thing, Could the absence of the red spectrum delay the onset of flowering?

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Never used a 600 on a rail in that size of a room, but I'm growing in a 6x2.25 room right now with 670 watts with a rail and it's working great.

Sorry im curious, how do you keep the light close to the plants if its on a track though? A buddy of mine told me that a 400w would only compensate 2 plants, 4 if i switched them during 12/12 cycle.

solid6:
The rail distributes light evenly and prevents 'hot spots' in the room. It's mounted at an appropriate distance above the canopy in general.
A stationary 400 will do a 3x3 floor space nicely; how many plants are under there depends upon your grow style. Small plants=more of them.

I just found a mushroom growing out of the soil in one of my plants pots.. Is this a bad thing?

Naw, probably not. There's a couple threads in the plant problems section specifically about unwanted fungi in pots.

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Originally Posted by Skrappie

I've done a lot of reading about this on ICmag, and plan to do it for my flowering plants.
Flowering with a MH will promote denser buds, because of node spacing, it also helps control stretch. so you are right on track Earthly.

There are people who do entire grows under MH and have excellent results.

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What would be better, an entire grow with HPS or MH?

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Originally Posted by DurbanStone

What would be better, an entire grow with HPS or MH?

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HPS... Because it promote flowering and thats the main idea...

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Originally Posted by DurbanStone

What would be better, an entire grow with HPS or MH?

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Are you asking the question, "If I were to purchase only one HID light should I get a MH or HPS?" or is it purely hypothetical?

If it's the former, get the HPS and veg under flouros.

If it's the latter, I'm torn between saying it's important to minimize stretch (pro-MH) and it's best to optimize flower (pro-HPS). Being more concerned with clone production, to me it's a no-brainer to go with pure MH, but a bud grower would have to weigh options differently.

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Originally Posted by DurbanStone

What would be better, an entire grow with HPS or MH?

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What is better?...an entire grow with both MH and HPS at the same time is better.

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

solid6:
A stationary 400 will do a 3x3 floor space nicely; how many plants are under there depends upon your grow style. Small plants=more of them.

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Thanks alot, I was just curious because I didnt know since the MH was such high wattage and K, if it was necessary to get the seedling/clone as close

An HPS with a blue spectrum such as the Hortilux HPS with blue spectrum would be the best way to go IMO. Test has shown that just a small amount of blue/MH light in the bulb will help to stop stretching. Also, hands down the most lumun will give you the best outcome time and time again. Also, I would only use Hortilux bulbs on a 600 ballast, they seem to have a longer bulb life than other brands when it comes to the 600. A 600 MH and 600 HPS is over kill IMO for a 3x3 area and you will have allot of heat issues as well. Done right you should be able to produce a Lb with a fair strain and a handle on your feeding schedule.
I haven't read the second page of this thread so, some may have said the same thing already, or completely contradicted my info, but you can easily confirm or dis confirm my input.
Adieu

i was thinking about starting flowering under the flouros for the 1st 4weeks then under the hps , want 2 try and get a crop off every 4 weeks with out buying another hps.

Smokenss, then find a shorter strain, one that comes down in 6 weeks.
Flowering under flouros is not optimal but if you're going to do it that way I would not suggest going past the 2-week mark under flouros.

Top 44 is a quick finesher from what I am told, and Stinky is right.
Stinky Dropped you a line again, hope to hear from you.
Adieu

Top 44 is a quick finesher from what I am told, and Stinky is right.
Stinky, I Dropped you a line again, hope to hear from you.
Adieu

Bear, I sent you a letter back. It has been a very hard month- I'm sorry I took so long.

Blue bear, are you talking about an lbs under 600watt hps? or 1200?

Hi peeps,

So, having read this thread I thought I would just get some clarification. Here is a picture of my great white sharks just entering their 5 week of veg. I'm planning to go to 12/12 within the next day or so and just wanted to make sure that the plan is correct. I'm going to keep the 400W MH going until I see them start to flower and then change over to a 400W HPS. The question is, would this be the best thing to do?

Bazza

Under a 600 it takes skill, but with a fair hand it can be done. Need a nice strain that you can become familiar with and a good feeding schedule and a decent veg time unless you are going to go sog with 15 to 20 plants in that area. think about this, 8 zips are very doable with a 400W and they only have half the lumens as the 600 with allot less penetration. I haven't known many, but there are few who have even pulled a LB off a 400. I am not gifted like that unfortunately though.
There is a 600w club over at IC mag, you may want to check it out. I don't want to make you to over ambitious, so do a little more reading about what is a reasonable expectation for the 600 and just try to enjoy your grow, because when you get caught up in the numbers game you make this thing master and not a friend IMO.
Adieu

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Originally Posted by bazzae123

Hi peeps,

So, having read this thread I thought I would just get some clarification. Here is a picture of my great white sharks just entering their 5 week of veg. I'm planning to go to 12/12 within the next day or so and just wanted to make sure that the plan is correct. I'm going to keep the 400W MH going until I see them start to flower and then change over to a 400W HPS. The question is, would this be the best thing to do?

Bazza

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A lot of growers like to stay with the MH for 1-4 weeks of flowering 12/12 cycle to reduce stretch in the plants. I like at least 5 weeks.

The white strains like White Shark do like to stretch. Those do look nice, at 5 weeks veg...:thumbsup:

Why not use both MHand HPS it wont hurt anything and you get both blue and the red light spectrum. My grow buddy uses a 1000 MH and a 1000 HPS and hes been using them for years.:rasta::rastasmoke::pimp:

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Originally Posted by BlueBear

Under a 600 it takes skill, but with a fair hand it can be done. Need a nice strain that you can become familiar with and a good feeding schedule and a decent veg time unless you are going to go sog with 15 to 20 plants in that area. think about this, 8 zips are very doable with a 400W and they only have half the lumens as the 600 with allot less penetration. I haven't known many, but there are few who have even pulled a LB off a 400. I am not gifted like that unfortunately though.
There is a 600w club over at IC mag, you may want to check it out. I don't want to make you to over ambitious, so do a little more reading about what is a reasonable expectation for the 600 and just try to enjoy your grow, because when you get caught up in the numbers game you make this thing master and not a friend IMO.
Adieu

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Thanks dude :)

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Originally Posted by bazzae123

Hi peeps,

So, having read this thread I thought I would just get some clarification. Here is a picture of my great white sharks just entering their 5 week of veg. I'm planning to go to 12/12 within the next day or so and just wanted to make sure that the plan is correct. I'm going to keep the 400W MH going until I see them start to flower and then change over to a 400W HPS. The question is, would this be the best thing to do?

Bazza

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Yes.