Everyone seems to start their plants out with fluorescents, or other low heat lighting. I don't have fluorescents and plan to start my plants under a 400 watt MH light. I was looking for recommendations on how to best go about doing this without resulting in spindly stems, is there anything i can do to prevent this short of shelling out the cash for fluorescent lights? Would it help to perhaps start them in organic starter plugs under natural sunlight for about a week, and then add them to a hydroponic system under the 400 watt light? Furthermore, theoretically it seems like vegging under a MH light(which has blue spectrum) and then flowering with a HPS(with an orange/red spectrum for blooming) would be most effective, however most users of this site utilize HPS through all stages of growth. Can anyone tell me why they would use HPS through both stages?
So they don't have to by more than one bulb! , yeah but the blue will help to keep the plant short and bushy during veg for sure.
HPS & MH vs floro Personally I use my HPS from seed to finish. The last time I did this was about 2 and 1/2 weeks ago. I never had to prop up the stem once, and it didnt stretch too bad. As far as using the MH from the get go, I dont think you should have any problems. Just make sure that the light is never closer than a foot, and ALWAYS keep a fan on in there atleast blowing at the light if you dont have ducting. Others may dissagree, but I have done it, and it worked great. Do what you want tho, see what works best for you and do it. Hope I could help a little, peace out, Krondikebar
all i got to say is go to lowes and spend 20$ and get a 20 watt flo that should work great for seeds and seedlings and its cheap. u can put them nice and close because the light puts off like no heat so.thats all i can say for the price i think its the way to go.they also for 30$ can get one with 2 20 watt bulbs if u would like.
Or you can goto wal-mart and get a $8 lights of america 4' fixture thats 80watts then get the econo lights for like $3 works fine for my seedlings.
howthathappen- Hey man you can check out my grow and I use a MH during veg and there is such fast and compact growth its unbelievable, this is my first grow but I can see the difference between my plants and other people who don't use a MH during veg. My plants tended to have more leaves, stronger stems, and healthy green growth, the MH is also great for taking pics too =), if you had em both running at the same time. I think with one of the ballasts you can run both a MH and a HPS bulb..I forget if its the HPS or the MH ballast though, and I know thats what im doing, so I say go for it.
Ive started freshly popped beans under a 1000W HPS before so I know it possible...Hell.....3 of the 4 turned out Female......Im fairly certain though, that you need a special ballast to run a HPS OR MH...
whatever you do please don't put a MH bulb in a HPS fixture or vice versa. i use flos for clones and seedling then HPS for flower. I have MH, but the heat is too much for me. i use a 360w HPS conversion bulb, in that mh setup, and a 400w HPS for flower. I have used the MH for veg and I honestly don't see that they grow any better under the MH vs the HPS.
actually wawona ive been using MH bulbs in my HPS ballast for veggin for a little over a year now hasnt cause me ne problems.Its the HPS bulb in the MH ballast u cant do.
Hortilux HPS Why not just get one of those Special Hortilux HPS bulbs with added blue spectrum? Has anyone used one of those? are they worth the extra dough?
When I got my 400w HPS system just last week they included a 400w MH bulb and a 400w HPS bulb. I would think it would be ok to use the MH since they included it, which is what I plan to do when I start my next batch. Actually, if you go on Ebay many of the ads for the lights say they are HPS to MH switchable. Does anyone know for sure if it is ok to switch out the HPS to MH??? I have to say that since I went from the flouros to the HPS my plants thickened up big time. I figure if I use the MH bulb during veg my HPS bulb should last that much longer, thus less money I have to spend.
I have used and highly recommend using Hortilux HPS bulbs, they pump out the Lumens, have a long life with a combined Blue, Green, Red and Orange spectrums. They work great for both veg and flowering for someone who either has only room for one grow room, or doesn't want to spend the extra $$ on another bulb. That said, and although they don't last as long as an HPS, an MH does keep vegging plants tighter and bushier and is a good addtion, if not nessary, to the grow room.
