Lighting For Veg, HPS Or Metal Halide?

Hey everyone,

I started out the ladies, on 18/6 under a 400w HPS for veg. The thing is they started to flower after vegging for around 45 days. My buddy told me that the reason theyre starting to flower is because i should be using The 400w Metal Halide Bulb for Vegging, And The 400w HPS for flowering. So, first of all i was wondering if this was true. Second of all if it is true, is it safe to switch my ladies from an HPS, to Metal Halide bulb or should i just leave them under the HPS and not worry about it. By the way im NEVER trying to flower these girl they are strickly to be used as mother plants. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

SittinStoney

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Originally Posted by SittinStoney420

Hey everyone,

I started out the ladies, on 18/6 under a 400w HPS for veg. The thing is they started to flower after vegging for around 45 days. My buddy told me that the reason theyre starting to flower is because i should be using The 400w Metal Halide Bulb for Vegging, And The 400w HPS for flowering. So, first of all i was wondering if this was true. Second of all if it is true, is it safe to switch my ladies from an HPS, to Metal Halide bulb or should i just leave them under the HPS and not worry about it. By the way im NEVER trying to flower these girl they are strickly to be used as mother plants. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

SittinStoney

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Metal Halide provides blue spectral energy required for vegetative growth. It is better to use MH in vegetative stage than HPS... but 18/6 under HPS is O.K for vegetative growth as well. What strain are you growing?
If you want to keep those girls as mother plants, you should use MH.

MH. Go hortilux or Sunmaster.

It is Hortilux, Is it cool to just switch them or will it send my ladies into shock? BTW i have them on 24/0 now because i was told it was better for vegging. Thanks for your replys. They are MUCH appreciated. I love this website cus people acctually take time out of there lives to answer your questions, when they really dont have to. Maybe im just stoned :) , But i think thats cool.

Please Anybody, I need to know if its alright to switch the lights, without shocking or stunting my ladies. Any help would be great

I'D GO AHEAD AND SWITCH EM. IT WONT HURT EM AT ALL. SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT WANNA CHECK YOUR TIMER AND MAKE SURE IT'S WORKING CORRECTLY. THEY SHOULD'NT FLOWER AT ALL, WITH ANY LIGHT, 1N 18/6. HOPE THIS HELPS.

Switch to MH, also switch to 24/0 unless you have some reason not to.

You won't shock the plants.

the hortilux hps bulb has the added blue spectrum and works great for vegging. put the plants on 24/0 though. some plants show sex with preflowers once they get old enough even in veg

Thanks all for replys, i now have them under a 400w MH bulb and they are doing great.

In my opinion SunMaster bulbs and Eye Hortilux are the best bulbs on the market for horticultural purposes. Selecting the correct bulb can make all the difference in your grow op. Her are the website links for these two manufacturers for your reference.
www.eyehortilux.com
www.sunmastergrowlamps.com

Make sure to download the .pdf files of the bulb you intend to purchase. It will give you detailed information on the bulbs mortality rate and actual wattage used. As for your question Metal Halide is need for good vegitative growth as opposed to High Pressure Sodium lighting as it will be needed for the flowering stage. If you can only afford one go with the HPS bulb such as a Eye Hortilux Super HPS as it provides 30% blue spectrum light which will mimic some properties of a MH bulb. If your ballast is not a switchable model [MH and HPS] they also manufacture Conversion Bulbs for use with non-switchable ballasts. This website has the best prices on bulbs I have ever seen on the internet and you will save big cash.
www.hydrowarehouse.com
I hope I was of help to you. Have a good day freind.