Fluorescent or Metal Halide for Veg Room?

[Harry Red]

Greetings,

I have one 400w ballast and hood with both MH and HPS bulbs. My initial thought was to use both of these in sequence for my grows but clearly, having both a separate veg room and separate flowering room would be optimum, so I've decided to go that route.

Considering the plants in the veg room will only need to grow to 18-24 inches tall (I've read that they will triple in height during the flowering phase, correct?), I could purchase another 400w ballast and hood and use the MH bulb I have or I could go with Fluorescent (T5) Tubes or CFL's.

I can purchase 4 CFL's in reflective fixtures for the same price as a 400w ballast & hood. The specs on the bulbs are: 65 watts Fluorex light bulb (110 Volts AC) but is as bright as a 500 watt incandescent light bulb. The output is 6825 lumens X 4 for 27,300. The MH on the other hand is rated at 38,000 lumens.

I'm certainly open to any and all suggestions on how to proceed. I don't have any room size limitations. There's plenty of space there.

Thanks!!

[stewbacca6]

when the plants are small,they cant use all 38000 lumens. However, I really dont know when a plant gets big enough to use all that light.

[Boss]

Always choose lumens over spectrum. The wattage is a personal choice (or environmental one :-)

[Entheo Shaman]

Correct me if I am wrong (I am a newb) But, couldnt you get more lumens from T5 because you could put the light closer to the plants? And all of that without nearly as much heat to deal with?

[Boss]

Probably not. Depends on how many you have, but to get 36k lumens from t5's to start with is a few bulbs. With a cooled system you can get a 400w pretty close to your plants.

If it was me, and I was gonna veg, I would use cfls or t5's just because it's less energy.

[grandma]

Grow with MH,
Bud with HPS.

Clone and raise seeds with CF.

Go for the MH in veg, fluros are great if you have heat and space concerns, but they don't give the growth rate of MH - nowhere near.

[Harry Red]

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[Harry Red]

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice!!

I found an interesting comparison chart here.

While Fluorescent seems like a great idea for some, I don't really have space/temp issues. I guess I question how much more efficient the Fluorescent is when compared to the high output 400watt MH and from what I'm gathering, the MH promotes bushy growth with less stretch than other lights.

I believe I'll opt for another 400 watt ballast/hood and just use the 38,000 lums MH bulb I already have.

[Harry Red]

I'm now wondering if I would be better off using the 400watt MH I have now in the grow room.

I could then go with ar 600watt HPS in the flower room. Or, would a 400watt HPS with a couple of CFLs be just as good and cost less to operate?

Thanks!

[Racefan]

Originally Posted by Harry Red

I'm now wondering if I would be better off using the 400watt MH I have now in the grow room.

I could then go with the 600watt HPS in the flower room.
Thanks!

This is exactly how I would do it! 400mh for veg room and 600HPS for flower room!

[WestCoastToke]

Sounds like a good plan :)

[Harry Red]

I'm leaning toward the the 600watt but it's almost twice the price of a 400Watt HPS (Approx $100 -vs- $200) + shipping. You can buy 2 400Watts HPS for the price of one 600Watt system.