What's the deal with dual spectrum HID bulbs?

Hey guys,

I've been trying to do some research on dual spectrum bulbs, but had little luck finding any decent info.

I was wondering if a dual spectrum bulb would be better than a HPS for flowering - particularly in my case as I flower my plants small as I have limited head room. Thus the additional blue from the lamp should help with their growth right?

If anyone has any links or information to share I'd appreciate it greatly!

Thanks a lot =)

MH has the blue for vegging.
HPS has the orange/red for flowering.

Can you use only one or the other? Yes you can.
From what I have seen for dual lights, they use the HPS and MH at the same time and gives the plants the full spectrum of light at the same time.

More bulbs, more heat, but better for the plants. But I don't run dual even though I have two lights. I MH for veg and change bulbs to HPS for flowering.

One of my ballasts died last week (under warranty) so me having two separate lights saved my grow. Every few hours I swap the cables from my reflectors on the working ballast to try and keep the coverage even.

Dirty Harry said:

MH has the blue for vegging.
HPS has the orange/red for flowering.

Can you use only one or the other? Yes you can.
From what I have seen for dual lights, they use the HPS and MH at the same time and gives the plants the full spectrum of light at the same time.

More bulbs, more heat, but better for the plants. But I don't run dual even though I have two lights. I MH for veg and change bulbs to HPS for flowering.

One of my ballasts died last week (under warranty) so me having two separate lights saved my grow. Every few hours I swap the cables from my reflectors on the working ballast to try and keep the coverage even.

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Thanks for the reply mate but I think you've misinterpreted what I said. I'm on about one bulb that contains both spectrums, here's a link for example

http://www.basementlighting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?page=1/PROD/LAS6h

I was just wondering if they were worthwhile that was all =)

I think it is worth it. I have read about people paying $80-$90 for a "tweaked" spectrum light. They state it made a big difference compared to using the standard hardware store MH or HPS bulbs. The general bulbs are make more for public lighting while the spectrum bulbs were designed for plants and their needs.

I get what is available from the hardware stores, but lots of people swear by the more expensive lights designed for plant growing.

Useless crap that takes the lumens from the spectrum you actually need and puts it in a spectrum you don't. Now tweaked ones that claim more lumens or whatever may be another story. Eitherway though a 5000k bulb or a bulb that is 6500K and 2300K split still is putting energy into a spectrum the plant can't use as well so you would be losing lumens efficency.

AquafinaOrbit said:

Useless crap that takes the lumens from the spectrum you actually need and puts it in a spectrum you don't. Now tweaked ones that claim more lumens or whatever may be another story. Eitherway though a 5000k bulb or a bulb that is 6500K and 2300K split still is putting energy into a spectrum the plant can't use as well so you would be losing lumens efficency.

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but surely a plant wants some amount of blue light during flowering? especially near the start?

thanks for the replies

The hps still emits blue spectrum.

ok thanks very much Punk,

can anyone just give me a yes/no answer:

Is a dual spectrum bulb better for flowering, particularly in the early stages?

Thanks!

those hps with a tiny amount of blue is a waste of money

i would say trial and error if youve used the standerd software before and u liked or disliked your results you should try it and se3 if it fits ure taste or has a dramatic effect on ure plants to change to the plant specified bulbs,only results can tell you the answer.,.,.,.,.,i would say try it if u used standerd bulbs and u want to xperiment and have the xtra couple dol lars

well on my first grow i used a 600 watt dual spectrum hps an had great results
but now i use 900watts worth of cfls 1 blue 6500k, 1 dual spectrum 6500k-2700k, 1 red 2700k all 300 watt bulbs then when flowering use the 600 watt hps dual spectrum grolux 95000 lumens
i always like to add mix spectrum i think it does your plants a load of good so in my opinion dual spectrum deffo worth it

ok thanks all for the replies

seems to be a mixed consensus atm, any other opinions?

Cheers

bump! no one has any concrete evidence regarding these bulbs?

sophanox said:

bump! no one has any concrete evidence regarding these bulbs?

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I think 100 people will have 100 different opinions on this. Some swear that the more expensive bulbs made a big difference on their grow but it isn't clear it was the light or if they just took good care of the plants.

I grow small for the fun and challenge of it, so I use the cheap bulbs.

I would say if you got the money for one of the expensive bulbs, compare a grow against the cheap bulbs. If you see a difference that makes up for the price, there is your answer. If you don't see much of a difference, then stick to the cheap bulbs.

It's up to what works for "YOU". Keep in mind that light is important, but other factors also effect the plants. Great lights won't do much if you not doing the nutes, PH, ventilation/temp control, and pest avoidance correctly.

It's not really so much about which way is "better". It's about which one gives the results that you are looking for!

"Red" light (HPS) is more efficient, it produces more light energy per each watt, but makes plants a little "Stretchy".
"Blue" light (MH) is a little less efficient, but the abundance of blue spectrum creats compact, stocky growth by comparison (some of us find this to be a great advantage!). Plus, MH puts out more UV-B, if you like that sort of thing.

When you combine the two spectrums (either in one bulb or multiple bulbs) you get the best of both worlds!