is this light any good?

Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
I have a friend ;) who is contemplating starting a grow indoors. He has access to some lights which have 400w metal halide bulbs.

luminous flux 42000lm
color temp 4200k

are these any good for growing?
how many plants would you expect to grow under one of these bulbs?

sorry for the newbie question.
He is sorting out the ventilation etc but just wondered if the bulbs were any good.

thanks in advance :bigjoint:
 
amcgin02

amcgin02

Well-Known Member
That is the perfect light for the vegetative stage, you can grow some very robust plants under a 400w light, as for how many plants it depends on the size of the plants. Would they be an indica, or sativa, or maybe even a bag seed? Let me know some more details on the plants your choosing and I'll give you an estimate of how many will fit.
 
Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
amcgin02 said:
That is the perfect light for the vegetative stage, you can grow some very robust plants under a 400w light, as for how many plants it depends on the size of the plants. Would they be an indica, or sativa, or maybe even a bag seed? Let me know some more details on the plants your choosing and I'll give you an estimate of how many will fit.
Click to expand...

:D fantastic! i was hoping they would be good bulbs.

I have some hindu kush x Skunk No1 seeds but was going to just stick some of the hundreds of random seeds I have accumulated, to make sure everything is good before I start on the decent seeds.

I know the question is a bit like how long is a piece of string but just a general figure would be helpful :)

thanks again:bigjoint:
 
amcgin02

amcgin02

Well-Known Member
In a sea of green setup you could grow 15-20 plants really close together, but for some hindu kush and some skunk, probably around 6-7 really thick beautiful plants.
 
Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
amcgin02 said:
In a sea of green setup you could grow 15-20 plants really close together, but for some hindu kush and some skunk, probably around 6-7 really thick beautiful plants.
Click to expand...

thanks for the advice :)

would it be suitable to use it right the way throught he growth life? or do i need a different bulb for the pre-veg?
 
judahbotwin

judahbotwin

Active Member
definitely do a trial run with a few plants. you will be surprised how many little things can go wrong on the first attempt. put the good ones in on the second or third group you do. i lost a bunch of good plants in my first attempt. and the 400w is great to do all the vegging. you may want to look into hps for flowering.
happy harvest
 
Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
judahbotwin said:
definitely do a trial run with a few plants. you will be surprised how many little things can go wrong on the first attempt. put the good ones in on the second or third group you do. i lost a bunch of good plants in my first attempt. and the 400w is great to do all the vegging. you may want to look into hps for flowering.
happy harvest
Click to expand...

righteo :D

I got the terminology wrong.. so the veg is hte part before the buds? then the flowering is the bud part..

How long would you veg them for?
What type of bulb would be good for flowering?
If I used the aformentioned bulb for flowering what would the good/bad points be?

thanks again:bigjoint:
 
amcgin02

amcgin02

Well-Known Member
When you start to flower you have to know the plant whill double or triple in size by the time it is done, you should at least wait 3 weeks before flowering. I would not use a 400w mh for flowering, go to a department store and get an hps bulb, its way better man..
 
Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
amcgin02 said:
When you start to flower you have to know the plant whill double or triple in size by the time it is done, you should at least wait 3 weeks before flowering. I would not use a 400w mh for flowering, go to a department store and get an hps bulb, its way better man..
Click to expand...

Thansk for all the info :D
One last question..
Ive been looking at some hps bulbs.
Do I need to swop exact wattage? so If Im using a 400w mh do i need a 400w hps?
also, do i just swop the bulbs in the housing? or would I need another lightfitting for my hps bulbs?

again, mucho gracias for the help :bigjoint:
 
Acidburn999819

Acidburn999819

Well-Known Member
Stoobydoo said:
Thansk for all the info :D
One last question..
Ive been looking at some hps bulbs.
Do I need to swop exact wattage? so If Im using a 400w mh do i need a 400w hps?
also, do i just swop the bulbs in the housing? or would I need another lightfitting for my hps bulbs?

again, mucho gracias for the help :bigjoint:
Click to expand...

sadly you can't just swap bulbs...you will have to buy an HPS fixture.(the ballast don't swap) If you are going to use a 400w MH i would suggest a 400w HPS though it is not required...
 
GypsyBush

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
I wish best of luck on your grow...

Allow me to introduce you to your newest Best Friend for a while...lol...

GrowFAQ

But I just wanted to make sure you realize that...

HID LIGHTING IS BALLAST BULB SPECIFIC...

A 400 WATT MH BULB NEEDS TO GO IN A 400 WATT MH BALLAST

AND CONVERSELY

A 400 WATT HPS BULB NEEDS TO GO IN A 400 WATT HPS BALLAST

PERIOD... NO WAY AROUND THAT...

Now... there are digital ballasts that will run both MH and HPS, but you need to make sure before you go blowing your cash into little glass shards... and possibly get hurt/start a fire...

HID is no joke... be safe...

Hope this helps... :bigjoint:
​
 
GypsyBush

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
musicjunkey said:
haha yes theirs ways around it you just need to be a qualified electrician. you can use a mh ballast to run a hps
Click to expand...
You really expect me to tell a person that wants to screw a HPS bulb into a Mh ballast to take their ballast apart and wire in an ignitor????

Sorry bro... as far as newbs need to know... they need the right equipment...

If he was a qualified electrician he would not be asking the question...

Let's work to keep things safe...

the last thing we need is newbs taking their ballasts apart and setting their house on fire...

Now..

+ rep for calling me out... and knowing your shit...

but let's just keep it simple and safe for now... shall we? :eyesmoke:
 
Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
Rigteo :)

Thanks for the info..
I've got my 400w mh now and will get it rigged tonight, I've been looking at the sodium bulbs so will now look at the fittings too. Shame you can't just swop the bulbs as I can get 4 mh housings/ballasts for free. I am going to start with 6 random seeds that I have already germinated in the tissue paper and had growing on my window sill for 2 weeks.
I have read the grow guide you linked and a few others I've found but there's no substitute for the forums. I really appreciate any help I get :)
 
GypsyBush

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
Stoobydoo said:
Rigteo :)

Thanks for the info..
I've got my 400w mh now and will get it rigged tonight, I've been looking at the sodium bulbs so will now look at the fittings too. Shame you can't just swop the bulbs as I can get 4 mh housings/ballasts for free. I am going to start with 6 random seeds that I have already germinated in the tissue paper and had growing on my window sill for 2 weeks.
I have read the grow guide you linked and a few others I've found but there's no substitute for the forums. I really appreciate any help I get :)
Click to expand...
You can flower with MH too... some will argue HPS is more effective for flowering...

If I had them for free... I would use them without looking back...

But everyone's budget is different....

I know for a fact you can get really nice fat buds with MH alone...

Just food for thought...

Do your own research...

Best of Luck... :bigjoint:
 
Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
GypsyBush said:
You can flower with MH too... some will argue HPS is more effective for flowering...

If I had them for free... I would use them without looking back...

But everyone's budget is different....

I know for a fact you can get really nice fat buds with MH alone...

Just food for thought...

Do your own research...

Best of Luck... :bigjoint:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply..

I am on quite a tight budget at the moment so if I could flower with my mh then I will do just that. I think, with this being my first go that I will try it with the mh and if I'm not happy with the result I'll buy a sodium then. My 6 little seedlings are under the mh now and are loving it! they look so happy its untrue.
After looking at pictures of plants from you other growers I can see that mine are tall and spindley compared to yours. I know now by reading its because they have been grown in a window sill and not really cared for, but now they are under the light I hop ethey will sort themselves out :D

thanks again for the help people :bigjoint:
 
Stoobydoo

Stoobydoo

Active Member
DRGreyMind said:
i was just skimming through your thread so someone might have already mentioned it but you could just buy a ballast that runs both MH and HPS, heres a link to a cheap but good ballast that runs both types http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk/Grow-Lights-182/Ballasts-Digital-Ballasts-472/Compact-Ballasts-201.aspx
Click to expand...

NICE! that seems like s good solution to me :bigjoint: I'm tempted to buy it now, but its gonna wait till payday..

I'm glad I found this site now, I first tried another well kknown site (well the only one i knew of) and didnt get half the help I have had here. :eyesmoke:

thanks again people bongsmilie
 
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