hps and flouescent?

i currently have a 400w hps bulp on a light rail feeding a 10 plant aeroponics system. The tops of my plants are filling in quite well, forming some solid colas. however all of the lower buds are not getting as much light because the plants are so close together. I do no want to cut any more leaves to expose the lower flowers to light so i have thought of installing flourescent lights on the sides of the plants to get light to the lower flowes, while still trying to keep costs down. my questions with this are:
-what are the effects of using flouresccent in combination with hps?
- good idea or bad idea?
- is it going to be effective enough to justify it?
- has anyone done this and do they recomend it or not?

thanks

flouro tubes work great for sidelighting in flower; they really help puff up the popcorn, and popcorn adds up

awesome to hear that its gonna be a good idea. do you know whether the flourescents will effect the potency of the buds? because i know that hps is best for flowering and potency

actually, mh is best for potency; hps just puts out more lumens (which is why it's used more).

flouro's may help potency, but i don't think so. uvb bulbs will make it more potent, but if you use, be careful not to scorch them.

kp

ok thanks. i tihnk im going to set tp 2 flouescents on each side then. im growing skunk #1 and am wondering if you have dealt with this strain. if so, do you know if it typically produces a good amount of popcorn buds on the lower levels?

billyboy5151 said:

ok thanks. i tihnk im going to set tp 2 flouescents on each side then. im growing skunk #1 and am wondering if you have dealt with this strain. if so, do you know if it typically produces a good amount of popcorn buds on the lower levels?

Click to expand...

traditionally skunk is sativa dom. my skunks grow like a 5050 hybrid (go figure). bushy and leggy at the same time, fair amount of popcorn if you don't prune the lower branches (i never do; imo, any pruning after flower hurts overall yield...)

flouros will also help cola formation, as lighting will be coming from all angles.

kp

sounds like a great planning effort.....the sidelighting really seems to make a good difference...those cola shots that KP posted elsewhere are immediate proof! good work...and good luck.!!

how much wattage would you recomend using on each side?

80w, one cool, one warm tube per side.

thanks kp. very helpful