Mixed spectrum (HPS & MH) for flower.

Raven121415

Raven121415

Well-Known Member
Chunky Stool said:
I assembled my components over a long period of time, so I've got some old school 400w MH ballasts and a couple of 600w digitals, + various cheap LED panels. I've run lizard lights with HPS and gotten great results.
Mixed spectrum provides the best results for me, but it's more like "mixed gear" and the spectrum a side effect.
I recently put some seedlings and a couple of donated plants under a bare bulb 400w MH and they did *not* like it! Probably the UV. I switched back to HPS and they are doing much better.
BTW what happens to spectrum if you drive them below max voltage? A buddy gave me a reflector that had a 1,000w EYE hortilux HPS bulb in it. I'm sure the output is diminished because he ran it for at least a year. All I've got is a 600w digital ballast to drive it. I'm running at the highest setting -- "600w boost".
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I remember reading a thread about this. I believe the consensus was that it will shorten the life of the bulb, change the spectrum negatively from underpowering the bulb, and increase the potential for premature bulb failure.
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Chunky Stool said:
I assembled my components over a long period of time, so I've got some old school 400w MH ballasts and a couple of 600w digitals, + various cheap LED panels. I've run lizard lights with HPS and gotten great results.
Mixed spectrum provides the best results for me, but it's more like "mixed gear" and the spectrum a side effect.
I recently put some seedlings and a couple of donated plants under a bare bulb 400w MH and they did *not* like it! Probably the UV. I switched back to HPS and they are doing much better.
BTW what happens to spectrum if you drive them below max voltage? A buddy gave me a reflector that had a 1,000w EYE hortilux HPS bulb in it. I'm sure the output is diminished because he ran it for at least a year. All I've got is a 600w digital ballast to drive it. I'm running at the highest setting -- "600w boost".
Click to expand...

Hortilux has info and a vid showing the spectrum degragating with dimming the wattage on their super hps.

And I see and my cheap light meter sees that after about 9 months of 12/12 my super HPS need replacement.

The plants stretch more. And They start to loose yield and bud density. Also harder to keep them green by 10 months.

I have a pile of still working super hps bulbs in a drawer. But they don't work well enough for my use. They are now all emergency spares I guess. But I have never had a Hortilux bulb fail yet. Lol.

I bet you would get better results with a cheap plant max 600 or something.
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Raven121415 said:
I remember reading a thread about this. I believe the consensus was that it will shorten the life of the bulb, change the spectrum negatively from underpowering the bulb, and increase the potential for premature bulb failure.
Click to expand...
The boost will shorten life and possibly cause premature failure. i don't know if dimming actually does that. No reason I can think of anyway. :-)
 
bottletoke

bottletoke

Well-Known Member
Raven121415 said:
Well, being that I am still fairly new to all this, and I already own a 2 mo old 1000w HPS, I will just opt for the 400w MH and a light mover. I am going out Friday to purchase a 1000w 10k MH bulb for the finish. I see Ultra Sun and Solis Tek both have them reasonably priced. Any advice on which one to go with.
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buy any lamp that is rated for the position u plan on hanging it. the lamps that are rated for anyposition have thicker glass or have a second layer of glass that will dom ur bright goodness quicker.
also the lamps that are rated "o" for open air have a real thick glass surrounding that will do the same thing and then sum (not the dim sum dessert) over time so if your not paranoid and have a noncombustible layout go for the lamp that is rated "e"(i think) for enclosed fixtures. they shed the heat better so they dont radiate like the thick mofos do plus i strongly believe they last longer.

the end
 
Raven121415

Raven121415

Well-Known Member
bottletoke said:
buy any lamp that is rated for the position u plan on hanging it. the lamps that are rated for anyposition have thicker glass or have a second layer of glass that will dom ur bright goodness quicker.
also the lamps that are rated "o" for open air have a real thick glass surrounding that will do the same thing and then sum (not the dim sum dessert) over time so if your not paranoid and have a noncombustible layout go for the lamp that is rated "e"(i think) for enclosed fixtures. they shed the heat better so they dont radiate like the thick mofos do plus i strongly believe they last longer.

the end
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Damn, I need to start learning more about bulbs apparently. I just knew to look for digi or mag types. I have some cheap bulb that came with my wing and balast. I wonder if it is why I cannot get lower than 28"-30" without heat stress. I have a fan blowing directly above the canopy, and a 4" 190 cfm exhaust fan mounted to the back of the socket as if there were a cool tube there to try to draw some of the heat away. Hell, I even have a window AC mounted and blowing about 18" above the canopy, yet I still am battling this heat.
 
Raven121415

Raven121415

Well-Known Member
MichiganMedGrower said:
Hortilux has info and a vid showing the spectrum degragating with dimming the wattage on their super hps.

And I see and my cheap light meter sees that after about 9 months of 12/12 my super HPS need replacement.

The plants stretch more. And They start to loose yield and bud density. Also harder to keep them green by 10 months.

I have a pile of still working super hps bulbs in a drawer. But they don't work well enough for my use. They are now all emergency spares I guess. But I have never had a Hortilux bulb fail yet. Lol.

I bet you would get better results with a cheap plant max 600 or something.
Click to expand...
The Super HPS is the $130 one right? I found one for $65 but am not believing it is new as claimed. I have heard people sell used bulbs on fleabay and claim them as new.
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Raven121415 said:
The Super HPS is the $130 one right? I found one for $65 but am not believing it is new as claimed. I have heard people sell used bulbs on fleabay and claim them as new.
Click to expand...

I get Hortilux 600 super hps single ended bulbs at plantlighting hydroponics for about $65 each. They are legitimate new bulbs.

Hortilux has a number label on the glass bulb that changes color when it is used. I forget the colors.
 
Chunky Stool

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
MichiganMedGrower said:
Hortilux has info and a vid showing the spectrum degragating with dimming the wattage on their super hps.

And I see and my cheap light meter sees that after about 9 months of 12/12 my super HPS need replacement.

The plants stretch more. And They start to loose yield and bud density. Also harder to keep them green by 10 months.

I have a pile of still working super hps bulbs in a drawer. But they don't work well enough for my use. They are now all emergency spares I guess. But I have never had a Hortilux bulb fail yet. Lol.

I bet you would get better results with a cheap plant max 600 or something.
Click to expand...
Intensity and spectrum aren't synonymous.
How do you know the spectrum isn't just "changing" and not "degrading" when a 1,000 watt bulb is driven with a 600w ballast?
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Chunky Stool said:
Intensity and spectrum aren't synonymous.
How do you know the spectrum isn't just "changing" and not "degrading" when a 1,000 watt bulb is driven with a 600w ballast?
Click to expand...
The company shows the important parts of the spectrum reducing more. I didn't save the video.

I am sure in actual growing the effects mare more minor than major. You asked the question. I guess I can search for the info.
 
HydroRed

HydroRed

Well-Known Member
Its like back in the day using a 600W bulb on a 400W magnetic ballast. It worked in a pinch, but made noise. It can't be good for the bulb life.....or the ballast I'd imagine.
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
HydroRed said:
Its like back in the day using a 600W bulb on a 400W magnetic ballast. It worked in a pinch, but made noise. It can't be good for the bulb life.....or the ballast I'd imagine.
Click to expand...

Bulbs are made with a combustible gas inside that is engineered to give the advertised spectrum at a certain temperature inside the bulb.

This requires the bulb to be run at spec for best results.

But like I said. The plants will still grow under a dimmed bulb. Just not as well.
 
HydroRed

HydroRed

Well-Known Member
Raven121415 said:
I currently have a 1000w HPS, and have been considering adding a 600w MH to that on a light mover. Would 600w MH to 1000w HPS be a good mix? Looking to take advantage of the UVB in the MH as well. Anyone doing, or have done this with good results?
Click to expand...
And to try to help with what the OP was asking, I'd suggest getting a 4' T5HO with a 10K Agromax UV-A Plus
and run it along with your HPS. I use one of these with each of my 1K HPS lights. Its a lot of blue with UV-A for very little money and power consumption (52W each 4' fixture).
Perfect combo for use with HPS that you dont have to worry about running on seperate short timer like with UV-B.
Bulb:
https://www.htgsupply.com/products/agromax-4-foot-t5-uv-a-plus-bulb

T5HO Fixture. These are the ones I have but I only paid $22 each on Amazon. Im sure you can find a much better price if you look.
https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Blaze-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Greenhouse/dp/B001QXR5YO
 
Raven121415

Raven121415

Well-Known Member
HydroRed said:
And to try to help with what the OP was asking, I'd suggest getting a 4' T5HO with a 10K Agromax UV-A Plus
and run it along with your HPS. I use one of these with each of my 1K HPS lights. Its a lot of blue with UV-A for very little money and power consumption (52W each 4' fixture).
Perfect combo for use with HPS that you dont have to worry about running on seperate short timer like with UV-B.
Bulb:
https://www.htgsupply.com/products/agromax-4-foot-t5-uv-a-plus-bulb

T5HO Fixture. These are the ones I have but I only paid $22 each on Amazon. Im sure you can find a much better price if you look.
https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Blaze-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Greenhouse/dp/B001QXR5YO
Click to expand...
I have an 4' 8 bulb T5 HO, but I am using that for most of veg. The plan is then to transplant into final 15 gal pots in the flower room under the 400w MH for another 3 weeks or so, then under the 1000w MH for the 1st 2 weeks of flower, then switch to 1000w HPS Super HPS and 400w MH until the last 2-3 weeks then 1000w 10k MH.
 
Chunky Stool

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
Raven121415 said:
I have an 4' 8 bulb T5 HO, but I am using that for most of veg. The plan is then to transplant into final 15 gal pots in the flower room under the 400w MH for another 3 weeks or so, then under the 1000w MH for the 1st 2 weeks of flower, then switch to 1000w HPS Super HPS and 400w MH until the last 2-3 weeks then 1000w 10k MH.
Click to expand...
That sounds complicated. :eyesmoke:
 
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