MANY years ago, (in the early 1990's) I was hard-up for a cheap lamp I could grow a little crop with. I read Hight Times then, and saw an article called : "Bring the Mountains Indoors" , about employing Mercury Vapor (clear bulb)- no phosphor coated in the grow-room. I bought a 175w MV Lamp at Lowes and mounted it horizontally (aluminum foil reflector)- It worked. The plants grew short, squat, and "zig-zagged" through the internodes. Plants were BLUE, forget about green
. Grew some smoke from seeds, using only this one Lamp. Buds were tight, and absolutely Covered in trichomes. I remember the smoke was "above average" in potency. The strain was just some decent bagseed. Anyway, my conclusion = These "unconventional lamps" are definitely worth a second glance.