880 or 1000 watts?

[budsta]

Hi ozstoners,

 

I have been growing for ages using 600 watt hps. A while ago I was given an 880 watt hps globe that runs off a 1000 watt mh ballast. The last few grows I have used the 600 as a veg lamp then switched up to the 880 globe to flower. I have always been under the impression (don't know how correct I am though) that hps was a better lamp for flowering due to the more orange light spectrum than mh. I am now wondering if it is worthwhile getting a 1000 watt mh light to flower with as I already have the ballast. Has anyone compared the results from the 880 hps side by side with a 1000 watt mh lamp?

Also if I am running an 880 globe off a 1000 watt ballast is the ballast pulling 1000 watts or am I just using 880 as per the globe? If I am using the energy of a 1000 watt yet only getting 880 watts then surely it is worthwhile going up to the mh 1000 watt globe?

Hope this ramble makes sense to someone!

 

Cheers,

 

Budsta

[Guest Wilderbud]

MH [spring cool blue spectrum for stem/leaf growth] should be used for growing and HPS [Autumn warm red spectrum for branch/bud growth] should be used for flowering - youve got it backwards and if you try to flower under nothing but MH youll be disappointed AFAIK. A MH bulb will produce more intensity per watt also so if you like the 600W or 880W HPS a 400W or 600W MH would light the growspace as much as it does now although itd give a blue hue to the room instead of red.

[pipeman]

I've seen many grows around the net with great results using big metal halide lights for flower. I think you can also get a special HPS bulb that runs off a MH ballast, but I'm not sure. If you could get such a bulb, it would be the best option I'd say.

[budsta]

thanks for your replies guys,

 

Don't think I made myself too clear previously...

 

Wilderbud, yep I know its best to use mh for veg & hps for flower. I only had one light though, a 600 hps, which I used with great success for both grow & bloom. I then got given an extra 1000 mh ballast with an 880 globe. So I now use 600 for veg & 880 for bloom (both hps).

 

Pipeman, I have the special light (ie the 880 hps globe running off a 1000 mh ballst).

 

What I want to know is would I get better results using a 1000 mh globe for bloom rather than an 880 hps? Is there any special coated 1000mh globes for blooming?

Does anyone bloom using just mh? I'm sure some do. What's the comparison between a plant flowered with 880 hps to one done with 1000mh?

I'm wondering that maybe using the full potential (ie 1000 watts) of the ballast is more beneficial than just using 880 watts no matter if mh or hps light?

Also what is this costing me? I mean when I run the 880 watt globe from the 1000 ballast, am I paying for 880 energy watts per hour or am I being charged at 1000 watts per energy hour usage by my rip off electricity company.

 

Hope that has shed some light on my query as it were!

 

Cheers,

 

budsta

[Guest Wilderbud]

I dont know for sure if a more powerful MH is better than a less powerful HPS - Id guess itd be as good.

 

There is AgroSun bulbs which fit into an MH ballast and provide you with more orange/red spectrum and there are other brands although AgroSun is most popular AFAIK - a 1000W AgroSun would be nice and should cost about the same as the 880 conversion bulb.

 

Im a SonTAgro fan and wouldnt use anything else.

[Guest weekprik]

Im a SonTAgro fan and wouldnt use anything else

 

from that I assume then you use 400watters? as isnt the 600s up called Sont-Plus?

 

I also like my son-t-agro, but my son-t-plus produces alot more flower.

[Guest Wilderbud]

Im a SonTAgro fan and wouldnt use anything else

 

from that I assume then you use 400watters? as isnt the 600s up called Sont-Plus?

 

I also like my son-t-agro, but my son-t-plus produces alot more flower.

Yeah, Ive only used a 400W before and only once [anything else has been flouro or outdoors]. I fell in love with the colour changes and how fast my plants grew with it [maybe MH+HPS is as good or better but I dont care as one ballast+lamp for the full grow is the selling point for me].

 

Im pretty sure they only came in 400W or 1000W when I first grew and I didnt know there was a 600W until now.

[Guest weekprik]

I only recently brought my 600,

Up till then all my grows were under the 400 and it still gave me roughly 5 ozs per plant.

The first grow under the 600 had me 13 Ozs off the one plant, but it was sativa dom grown inside and took forever to finish.

 

 

What I want to know is would I get better results using a 1000 mh globe for bloom rather than an 880 hps? Is there any special coated 1000mh globes for blooming?

 

anyone?

Edited October 1, 2003 by weekprik

[Chev]

I only recently brought my 600,

Up till then all my grows were under the 400 and it still gave me roughly 5 ozs per plant.

The first grow under the 600 had me 13 Ozs off the one plant, but it was sativa dom grown inside and took forever to finish.

Fuuuuuuuuuck......you serious? , I just finished my last crop with a 400 w hps. Just dropped a 600w over them. Revegging, and they are HUGE. I'm scared . It's white widow. Turned last night, root pruned 3rd time. Cool.....

[Guest weekprik]

yea but I fucked up withj ventilation so all my coke bottle sized buds were all mouldy in the middle,

 

even with throwing the mould shit away I still pulled 10 Oz though