You should get a 330 all start too. Compare the 2. I'm loving the ones in the "shared garden" (arghh). Ill have them in my own garden shortly. Got a good deal on ballasts and wing reflecotrs from growers house. Probably throw the Apollo 10 in the middle. Finally I'll have a lighting set up worth journaling again. That may not even be a word.
How much difference in heat is there from the 1000w hps?
I'm finally at a point where I can agree with your statement, "Blue causes stretch and Red causes tighter growth."
After using the ULTIMATE spectrum to finish plants and doing a side by side with a CMH I can see what you are saying in FLOWER. This is what I did:
I took an almost finish plant out from under the ULTIMATE spectrum and stuck it under the CMH for the last 2 weeks and found the once tighter grown bud to now have stretched out and become less dense. The individual calyxes themselves actually started reaching towards the light and spreading out.
Then I took an almost finished flowering plant from under the CMH and stuck them under the ULTIMATE spectrum and saw the buds become tighter, denser and also found them to ripen fully as opposed to the CMH.
From this I can agree that in FLOWER, blue light will cause continued growth(photosynthesis) upward, leafy and green where the buds will suffer and not fully develop to that plump, dense form.
A red heavy spectrum (590nm-700nm) will create denser growth and shorter, stockier flowers. A red heavier spectrum will cause the buds to ripen faster and fuller.
I want to also note that I removed both DEEP PURPLE LEDS because the added blue was less beneficial during the last half of flower and much preferred to use the 1000w HPS along with the 4 x red h150's only.
I realize that UV light causes dense trichome growth where they start stacking. I think the best time to use this is in the last few days of ripening. I have stated before that I felt that ALL types of blue light will cause trichome growth stacking, but now I would like to change that statement up a bid from my findings.
I believe that UVA-UVB is better combined with 1000w HPS rather than just deep blue because of the stretch factor I just explained. 400nm-470nm blue light is within the photosynthesis growth zone. UVA-UVB is not and therefore will not start stretching the buds. I still believe that ALL blue light will cause the calyxes to get saturated with trichome stacking, but UVA and B will NOT cause the buds to start spreading out and prevent them from finishing whilst keeping them covered in a snow cap.
When speaking of vegetative growth, a blue heavy spectrum IS ideal due to the shorter internode spacing, darker/fuller green leaves and thicker/stockier stems. I still think that a 12/12 light cycle should be initiated with that SAME blue heavy spectrum to keep stretch to a minimum. But once flower set is established(many points of flower sites) then it's time to switch to that red heavy(590nm-700nm) spectrum to complete the ripening process.
All one has to do is observe Nature to understand why and how this works. Come Summer, the light spectrum outdoors is saturated with blue light for 14 + hours a day and the spectrum only shifts past 630nm during the late afternoon and sunset hours. Come fall where the days become shorter and less blue light is present for the majority of the day. The Sun also becomes "less intense."
This brings me to my next point/idea:
I have always thought it best to start veg with a lower wattage and move to the higher wattage in flower. This does NOT go along with Nature's ways. It is MUCH more important to boost the 590nm-700nm part of the spectrum as opposed to just increasing wattage during the last half of flower. This is where you will start to see the more compact flower growth.
My next flower cycle, I will will be utilizing the 860w Allstart CMH on a 1000w MH ballast. This lamp is rated 3700K, but with the spectral shift from running it at 1000w instead of the factory 860w I estimate the K rating to be around 3000K. It will be interesting to see how airy the flowers will be compared to the RED heavier ULTIMATE spectrum this time around.
I believe now that HPS has it's advantage during the LAST half of flower and not anytime sooner ONLY due to the fact that it has such a high red:blue ratio. YOU DO NOT want to use blue light during the last half of flower. I now believe that UV-A/B has a supreme advantage over blue light because of how it will not cause the plants to remain green and cause the bud growth to spread out and become airy in the last half of flower.
Please leave your comments/thoughts. Results of the ULTIMATE spectrum soon to come. The buds are looking FIRE FIRE FIRE!
