Time for new Flowering bulbs!! Whats the best people!?

I want the best

hortilux, without a doubt

chuck estevez said:

hortilux, without a doubt

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Agreed on the Hortilux without question.

def hortilux.

What about Lumateks or Philips SON-T?

Thats kinda like asking what the best kind of running shoe is, everyone will say Nike because they market the best. As long as the bulb has the right K rating the light output will be the same as any other, and your plants can't tell if they are under a Nike light.

dusty82 said:

Thats kinda like asking what the best kind of running shoe is, everyone will say Nike because they market the best. As long as the bulb has the right K rating the light output will be the same as any other, and your plants can't tell if they are under a Nike light.

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Nike make lights?

Wink wink....

dusty82 said:

Thats kinda like asking what the best kind of running shoe is, everyone will say Nike because they market the best. As long as the bulb has the right K rating the light output will be the same as any other, and your plants can't tell if they are under a Nike light.

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I disagree, completely. First of all, many bulbs especially the cheaper ones don't explicitly state any color temperature. Some do provide a spectral distribution graph. Of course, you realize that as an HID lamp ages it starts to lose efficiency...right?

Do you happen to know anything about how metal halide or high pressure sodium lamps work? How they are made? Not a heck of a lot like the manufacturing of sneakers. It isn't exactly as if all come from the same magical Chinese lamp fairy, are made from the same stuff or end up behaving the same.

The intense light comes from an electric arc between tungsten electrodes inside of an alumina or quartz tube; which has been filled with one or more Noble gasses (usually xenon, argon). The arc tube is pressurized and also contains mercury, and halide salts or metallic sodium. Essentially the chemistry of the arc tube determines the characteristics of the lamp including the color temperature\spectral distribution, light intensity, luminous efficiency, and even lifespan of the bulb. Aside from tungsten the lamps also contain scandium and\or other rare earth elements.

Not all of the cheaper bulbs are 'bad'. A lot of the cheapest ones are not made with the best materials or to the best specifications. While the plants might not exactly be able to "tell", a good grower certainly could.

dusty82 said:

Thats kinda like asking what the best kind of running shoe is, everyone will say Nike because they market the best. As long as the bulb has the right K rating the light output will be the same as any other, and your plants can't tell if they are under a Nike light.

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Nope, but they'll definitely tell if it's a Hortilux EYE vs a bulb that's not multi-spectrum, or a bulb that wasn't made under the best conditions and is barely making the 1k mark.

seen a test where hortilux P.a.R went way above the others, lumatek was close. P.a.r is what matters

chuck estevez said:

seen a test where hortilux P.a.R went way above the others, lumatek was close. P.a.r is what matters

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Yup, found the test.. or one of them, anyway.




570-590 is lower, but the differences in 630-690 & 400-500 more than make up for it

I like my hortilux

I use digilux, same output as hortilux and cheaper....i own 1 hortilux 1000w hps but thats was a freebie for something i bought. Hortilux is ridiculously priced and they know it. There was a thread on here talking about a website was given the cold shoulder by them because they refused to sell the hortilux bulbs at the ridiculous mark up hortilux tells them to sell at. If my memory serves me correct it was plantlightinghydroponics.com

Edit: heres the link, in my opinion i woll never put any money into their pockets...

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/hortilux-hps-bulbs-c-374_316.html

thinn said:

I use digilux, same output as hortilux and cheaper....i own 1 hortilux 1000w hps but thats was a freebie for something i bought. Hortilux is ridiculously priced and they know it. There was a thread on here talking about a website was given the cold shoulder by them because they refused to sell the hortilux bulbs at the ridiculous mark up hortilux tells them to sell at. If my memory serves me correct it was plantlightinghydroponics.com

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Yup, it was.. their statement:

"Eye Hortilux has instructed their distributors to stop selling plantlightinghydroponics Hortilux branded products because we refuse to sell their products at an artificial price, established by Hortilux, that is 50% higher than our regular selling prices. Hortilux lamps will be discontinued as we run out of stock. We will be offering replacement products equal to or with better performance than Hortilux branded products at discounted prices."

Hortilux is like the Cadillac of grow lamps. You pay premium as assurance that you are getting a premium quality product, but you have to ask yourself if you can't get more or less the same out of a similar model Honda, Toyota or Chevy if ya know what I am saying.

Nullis said:

Hortilux is like the Cadillac of grow lamps. You pay premium as assurance that you are getting a premium quality product, but you have to ask yourself if you can't get more or less the same out of a similar model Honda, Toyota or Chevy if ya know what I am saying.

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I hate paying premium.

Last week I bought a philips 600W SOT-T that was half price. Hydro stores (amongst others) are notorious for overstocking and with a bit of looking about even the quality items ca be found at reduced prices.

well they say honesty is the best policy, i have never used anything put eye hortilux, yes i grabbed my first bulb with bare hands and learned quickly lmao! If i ever go digital ballast ive been told the tech has caught up now and the ushios bulb isnt a standard replacement for the eye, I guess awhile back digi ballasts were blowing out eye hort bulbs? Anyway hortilux bulbs kickass and take names why mess with a GOOD thing?

check out the hortilux blue too, they've just come out with a 600 watt version. you think the super hps is pricey. look at the spectral graph though. I'll be running one of these right beside a super hps. go Hortilux.

I'll have to try out those Hortilux lamps if you guys recommend them so much. Someone in my country must be selling them discounted. lol

either way atm I mix up the spectrum with some 4ftT5's as I don't know what color photons my plants prefer.