metal halide & mercury vapor

I was looking at another thread and started thinking. So could you use a mercury vapor light for veg? Is it the same as a mh? I got a 175w mercury vapor light at lowes for about $25 so thats why i'm asking. If its not the same do you think I should take it back?

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lamp Type[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Watts[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lumens/bulb[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Total efficiency[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fluorescent Bulb[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]40watt[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3000lumens[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mercury Vapor[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]175watts[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]8000lumens[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Metal Halide[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]400[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]36000[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]lumens[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]High P. Sodium[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]400[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]45000[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] lumens[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Notice the Mercury Vapor lamps are less efficient than the fluorescent (FL), and can not be positioned as close to the plants, so the plants will not be able to use as much of the MV light. The light distribution is not as good either. MV lamps simply are not suitable for indoor gardening. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Use fluorescent, MH, or HPS lamps only.[/FONT]

Dam, I guess I will take it back then. Dam. I hope I can get my money back. Thanks alot.

check out the HPS at Lowe's... Maybe they will let you return it and get one of those

Well how much do you think it is? I bought all kinds of stuff and if that hps is around $50 then I can get it. I bet its not though. Is it the bulb or/and the ballast because I already have a 400w hps bulb but I don't have the money to buy a ballast. I found one for $55 but I still don't have that. Thanks for all the help.

Does lowes have mh light also?

i got one from lowes but cheapest one was 80 dollars i could find but hps r the way to go

Yeah I took everything I had back. I had a 175w light. 4 cfls, 4 light sockets, and a timer. I did see their hps lights and I seen their mh light but like chronicchef420 said, the cheapest one was like $80 and I already have a 400w hps that I need to get a ballast for. I found a ballast for $55 so I'm going to go ahead and get that. Thanks everyone.

Why not use mv light? I'm using one for veg now and they seem to be doing okay...more info would be awesome

Mauiwaui1988 said:

Why not use mv light? I'm using one for veg now and they seem to be doing okay...more info would be awesome

Click to expand...

as the guy above said they arent energy efficient. cfls are more efficient on electricity. you can get more for your money