Mixing lights no go or good to go

First time grower here so please be gentle I've got a 250 watt cfl blue spectrum and a 600w hps I understood the 600w hps was for flowering and the cfl for veg but can I mix the two of these together heat isn't a problem from the hps so that's no issue the plants were clones from a friend and have showed only a little growth since transplanted after they were rooted successfully some had already been flowering for two weeks so have some deformities still showing on those single leaves instead of the standard leaf shape etc but that should soon sort itself out i put the hps in last night and had a go at the two of them together and obviously the hps light took over with the redder spectrum but just wondering if the extra added blue spectrum from the cfl which is needed for veg is worth keeping or to stop using the hps and stick to the cfl for now thanks for any information,GIA

I have run a mixed spectrum system, my ballast supports two fixtures. I ran a 600w MH and 400w HPS for the whole veg cycle and then shifted everything to HPS for flower. No issues and it mimics the sun in terms of wider freq spectrum. I have grown under CFL's, but HID's will outshine them every time. If you have a digital ballast, likely it will accept both MH and HPS so might be worth getting a Metal Halide bulb. Even if you have a magnetic ballast, there are conversion bulbs that work well.

If I were growing 6 to 8 plants at a time like I used to, the 1000w set up makes sense. 600w MH will veg out 4 plants till they fill a 4x4 tent. For vegging on the wider spectrum, you want the lesser powered system to be offering your red spectrum lighting and your more powerful system to be offering your blue spectrum.

OK thanks I do have a digital ballast so will maybe swith it out for a 400w mh if I do this would the cfl still be in play for the veg alongside the metal halide or just take out for the low power they use is it worth keeping in

Your CFL's can be used to offer in some red spectrum light, but they do not offer too much in the way of penetration so it would likely not net you much for the kilowatts used to power it. Also, you will want to avoid anything shading your 400w light. You should be able to get a 400w MH bulb that is decent for around $30-$40 US. The cheaper ones tend to be for lighting like at gas stations and stuff. Worth getting a bulb that is tailored for growing and they generally cost a little more.

How many plants in what size space?

Going to go for a 400w mh then switch to 600w hps and take out the cfl for seedlings or clones in a separate area and the space is 1.5mx1.5m Square and its for 7 but can create another space if needed

Nice. The 400w will do an fair bit of growing in that space, the 600w will be all that much better. Ventilation is important with the 600w and able. The 400 will create a decent amount of heat, but I have a 4" high volume centrifugal fan that has to run all the time to pull through the tent and vent out of the room. It is enough that we barely had to run the heater for the past few snows.

I grew my first bunch of grows with a 400w and never had any complaints about yield. Really did not feel the 600w would be that much better...but it is! Best of luck and look forward to hearing how things progress in the garden!

klmmicro said:

Nice. The 400w will do an fair bit of growing in that space, the 600w will be all that much better. Ventilation is important with the 600w and able. The 400 will create a decent amount of heat, but I have a 4" high volume centrifugal fan that has to run all the time to pull through the tent and vent out of the room. It is enough that we barely had to run the heater for the past few snows.

I grew my first bunch of grows with a 400w and never had any complaints about yield. Really did not feel the 600w would be that much better...but it is! Best of luck and look forward to hearing how things progress in the garden!

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Yes thats the last thing I need to do is get my extraction kit but that's on the way and i will update as time progresses thanks