Side lighting

[growingfree]

I am currently using 2 600 mh lights in veg state ,was wondering if adding some 6500k cfl's around sides of plants would benefit my yield. Also when I begin 12/12 have read some theory's that you may want to switch bulbs out on last week or two before harvest from hps to mh. Would leaving hps bulbs in and adding a couple cfl's 6500k do the job or not. Don't want to confuse plants I know root growth should be complete by then what do you think. Thanks. Keep it green and clean.

 

[KarlJay]

Re: side ighting

Side lights work, they help. CFLs work well for putting between plants because they don't make a lot of heat. They are small and can be put on a clamp holder and moved easy.

Switching bulbs in the last week: HPS is used for flowering and I too have read that adding MH for the last week is good. You have two 600W lights, that's the same that I have and a great setup. I plan on using MH at the end but I'm not sure if I'll use one or both.
I think most just run HPS all the way thru flowering and have excellent results, I don't know if the gains (if any) for using MH are worth the risk (if any). I might just pull in the T8/CFL veg bulbs and keep both of the HPS going. I'm most concerned with risk than small gains, so I really don't know.

Also, UVB (reptile lights) are supposed to help too. I might look into that as well.

I think your idea of leaving the HPS and adding 6500K would do the trick. If you think about it, the sun doesn't switch color, it offers all the colors, so mixing lights can't hurt. As far as helping much, my guess is that it does help, but how much it helps is not clear.

 

[KarlJay]

Re: side ighting

One other note, side lights should be used only after you have the regular lighting. With 2 600s you should have the regular lighting under control (depending on how large your grow is).

Sounds like you have a great setup!

I'm getting ready to spread my 600s further apart to get more side lighting from above. Two 600s offer some great options for getting the light to the plants.

 

[growingfree]

Re: side ighting

I agree on the versatility of the 2 600 setups . As for the reptile lights wouldn't use they give off bad uva's they would work great if your growing lizards, I hope your not. Some reptile light are full spectrum but they just don't give off a beneficial amount of the light needed. Good luck and keep it green.

 

[KarlJay]

Re: side ighting

IIRC, the reptile lights are used to add UVB to your mix. Not intended to be the only light.

The reason I brought it up was that someone posted about the value of UVB. They pointed out the high UVB happens in only a few places naturally, and the outcome was higher quality.

The conclusion was that adding UVB would result in higher quality.

I asked about it in a different thread because I thought, why not use tanning bed lights, but it seems nobody is doing that.

Might be interesting for someone to do a side-by-side just to see if it makes any difference.

 

[Rodrigo]

Re: side ighting

I use side lights and it works great, it is definitely a good choice. Both my veg and flower room are quite small (working on it), they are 2x2 ft and grow 3 ladies in there so I have to maximize yield). On the veg side I have four fluorescent tubes standing upright in the corners, two warm and 2 cool (not sure about the details like wattage or Kelvin) and I made two hoods with two sides of a zinc pipe and put two CFLs on each and they sit atop the canopy about 4 inches.
The flower side has a 400w HPS on the top and three 100w CFLs hanging in the foliage. These make a huge difference, I put them in there about 4 weeks after flower started so the buds that are growing there are that much behind the others. But the difference they made was amazing, buds are growing everywhere and looking great. So for the next run I'm putting 3 CFLs more to improve the results even more (hopefully)
I'm growing AK-48 from Nirvana and I use an organic hydro system, drip irrigation for veg and ebb & flood for flower. Advanced Nutrients Iguana Juice for nutes (Grow and Bloom).

So I'd definitely recommend using side light, just keep in mind that the extra heat might cause damage if you're not careful.

Happy growing!