If you do that, make sure you get the type of ballast that will fire a ceramic metal halide.
Will HPS be okay for seedling/veg?
- Thread starter lazykush
- Start date
joe blow greenthumb
Well-Known Member
Mine run under 1k hps beginning to end. If you've got good ventilation and low temps then don't be afraid to get it close early. My tops are roughly 12-15" away.
seedlings should not be under an hps, get a 23w cfl or two untill you are out of the seedling stage
~edit just reread your setup, if your 250w hps is a dimmable one or you can raise it really high you should be alright, im used to my 600w wich would fry seedlings real quick
~edit just reread your setup, if your 250w hps is a dimmable one or you can raise it really high you should be alright, im used to my 600w wich would fry seedlings real quick
You can get a cfl bulb for about 5 bucks. I have SEEN WITH MY OWN EYES seedling withering up from HPS too early.
You can take the chance, and roll the dice, or you can spend 5 bucks on a cfl bulb and just give it 3-5 days to get started.
You can drive a car with 1/2 quart of oil in it, it will work just fine, atleast until the engine locks up... Why take a chance?
bigbull52
Active Member
You had all three under the 150 at the same time? just the HPS?
Howd it turn out for you? yield wise.
BigLittlejohn
Well-Known Member
Vegging with an HPS is fine. I have done it 3 times. As one poster mentions, it can cause some stretching, but it grows just fine. I've added some 6500k CFLs to supplement and add some Blue-light spectrum. I've found that my girls tend to like that.
Trousers
Well-Known Member
I have vegged under my 600 watt hps numerous times. I have nodes that are stacked. I grew one plant that I moved the light up about 2.5 feet away because it seemed like it was too bushy. I wanted it to stretch.
I have a hard time believing that you will end up with "denser, fatter buds at the end."
I would like to see a side by side test before I will believe that.
My buds are so dense, I worry about mold in my tent with rh around 20-30%.
edit: I think MH is better for vegging. I currently do not use MH in either of my grow areas. I have a 400 watt gathering dust, because I am too lazy to switch out entire set ups. I may buy a MH conversion bulb, but I do pretty well without.
AZPsyclops
Well-Known Member
My hydroponic buddy is growing one of my clones from start to finish under a HPS and the thing couldn't be bushier.
trippinoff8ball
Member
i use a 600w hps right from seedlings, all that about the light being too strong is crap the suns more powerful than a hps so how do seedlings survive in the wild? its just about the heat, keep highering the light until you get the right temp
Get busy and try it out. I already have, so I am not speaking from reading other people's shit. I am speaking from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. Just so happens I spent TODAY helping a buddy set up a MH for a veg box because he has been using HPS for veg and flower for the past 2 years. After comparing to my buds (same strains) he is fully convinced (already ordered and received his MH) that he needs the MH.
I guarantee that if you use a MH bulb in veg, followed by HPS in flower you will see a NOTICEABLE difference and you will never go back to veg with HPS.
You arent really trying to compare the sun to a lightbulb?
Seriously, you guys who have never done it both ways, keep believing what you believe. I have seen the difference and when you finally give in and try it, you will be saying exactly what I say. There is no reason whatsoever to skip MH in veg, whatever few dollars it saves you comes out in the final product, you wont even realize it until you do it yourself and then you will be kicking yourself for waiting so long.
Trousers
Well-Known Member
I have vegged with MH and I didn't notice much difference. I have a 400 watt MH sitting unused right now.
You should try decaf and laying off the caps lock.
Hrm, so what was this post then?
Either way I am done with this "debate".
20+ years ago my first grow box was MH with flourescent tubes in all 4 corners.
10 years ago, 1 started using HPS.
5 years ago I started using MH enhanced spectrum veg, HPS enhanced spectrum HPS.
I expect in another 5 years I will be using LEDs.
Good Luck with it.
hotrodharley
Well-Known Member
Done lots of grows under HPS alone. I was breaking limbs before supercropping was ever thought of as a word. Use that stretch and break the limbs to lay over like an open daisy. As they continue to age they fill in a lot of that stretch. If I can sneak in to my flower room just as the HPS shuts off I'll flip a fluoro on tonight and get a pic of my White Label White Skunk in a 5 gallon DWC. What a beauty. Every bit the beauty of my WWA Big Littlejohn! Look for my pics later, brother. Bud city. EC never over .71, PPM around 450. pH now at 6.0 in late flower to let her take in the calcium and magnesium. Drank over 3 gallons in one 2 day period. 1000 watts HPS 2000K.
Hell yeah, if you are doing that much intensive training you could take full advantage of the vigorous veg growth. I doubt lazykush is anywhere ready for something that advanced.
themanwiththeplan
Well-Known Member
either: buy some cfls (or better yet a 2 ft t5 light)
or if spending additional $$$ is not an option...
just start with the hps light higher than normal because the seedlings cant take excessive heat. it has to get a set of leaves or two before you bring the hps closer. hps can grow a plant just fine in veg. dont let anyone tell you differently. sure cfls or MH is ideal but being ideal is just that...ideal. hps is a fine substitute. ive done it many times.
the only big difference in veg is the nodes will be just a little further apart. no big deal unless height is a concern. to try and cut down on the stretch you could run the hps 24/0 instead of 18/6 (if the plant isnt searching for light its not stretching as much and in the dark they stretch to find the light).
or if spending additional $$$ is not an option...
just start with the hps light higher than normal because the seedlings cant take excessive heat. it has to get a set of leaves or two before you bring the hps closer. hps can grow a plant just fine in veg. dont let anyone tell you differently. sure cfls or MH is ideal but being ideal is just that...ideal. hps is a fine substitute. ive done it many times.
the only big difference in veg is the nodes will be just a little further apart. no big deal unless height is a concern. to try and cut down on the stretch you could run the hps 24/0 instead of 18/6 (if the plant isnt searching for light its not stretching as much and in the dark they stretch to find the light).
themanwiththeplan
Well-Known Member
if the hps is so close the seedlings feel warm...then its too close. once they grow a set or two of leaves you can get it closer. also use a fan...itll allow you to get the hps closer than you normally would be able to as the fan can blow the heat away from the seedlings while allowing you to get the most lumens out of your hps.