HID vs. T5HO in my growing area

[jkt97401]

Joseia,

I appreciate all of your information! Do you have any tips to keep plants around the edge from leaning? I know you're not supposed to rotate or move a plant when it's in spike but what about the rest of the year? Rotate it?

I am excited to get my lights!

[jkt97401]

Also, do you switch between MH and HPS or is MH sufficient for you?

[My Green Pets]

I also grow under a 400w MH conversion bulb in an HPS ballast. And I grow Vandas under them! But I have a very large space and big windows for additional light.

Previous posts about lights exploding etc are right on the money, high intensity discharge lights like high pressure sodium and metal halide or mercury vapor require more careful planning and maintenance. BUT! They are worth it. They produce so much more light for the wattage!

As far as distance from light goes, I keep my vandas at least 50 centimeters from the bulbs. They are very hot. Make sure you have the right type of bulb and a protective fixture.

Although they do require more caution, they are still perfectly safe and produce tons off light. I would never bother with fluorescents!

[jkt97401]

Originally Posted by CambriaWhat

I also grow under a 400w MH conversion bulb in an HPS ballast. And I grow Vandas under them! But I have a very large space and big windows for additional light.

Previous posts about lights exploding etc are right on the money, high intensity discharge lights like high pressure sodium and metal halide or mercury vapor require more careful planning and maintenance. BUT! They are worth it. They produce so much more light for the wattage!

As far as distance from light goes, I keep my vandas at least 50 centimeters from the bulbs. They are very hot. Make sure you have the right type of bulb and a protective fixture.

Although they do require more caution, they are still perfectly safe and produce tons off light. I would never bother with fluorescents!

Thank you!

I think I am going to go with HID, it seems like a good option for me. Do you switch between MH and HPS bulbs?

[Joseia]

Originally Posted by jkt97401

Joseia,

I appreciate all of your information! Do you have any tips to keep plants around the edge from leaning? I know you're not supposed to rotate or move a plant when it's in spike but what about the rest of the year? Rotate it?

I am excited to get my lights!

I don't rotate the plants, but I am a newb, so maybe I should be lol. Over time, I have mainly dealt with that issue by mounting orchids like Brassavolas instead of using a pot. I would think mounted phals would grow well like that also, reaching towards the light. And I am switching over to minis, which makes it easier to fit them more directly under the light.

---------- Post added at 09:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------

Originally Posted by jkt97401

Also, do you switch between MH and HPS or is MH sufficient for you?

I do not switch between MH and HPS, I only use an MH conversion bulb.

[jkt97401]

Originally Posted by Joseia

I don't rotate the plants, but I am a newb, so maybe I should be lol. Over time, I have mainly dealt with that issue by mounting orchids like Brassavolas instead of using a pot. I would think mounted phals would grow well like that also, reaching towards the light. And I am switching over to minis, which makes it easier to fit them more directly under the light.

---------- Post added at 09:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------



I do not switch between MH and HPS, I only use an MH conversion bulb.

Does having a MH conversion bulb do anything to the spectrum or does it simply mean you can use it with an HPS ballast?

Thank you again!

[trident00]

I recently went with a Sun Systems LEC 315 120v. Light emitting ceramic metal halide system. I like that it's way more efficient than traditional metal halide systems, and gives off way less heat. It's spectrum is awesome and is working very well for me. Cheers

[Joseia]

Originally Posted by jkt97401

Does having a MH conversion bulb do anything to the spectrum or does it simply mean you can use it with an HPS ballast?

Thank you again!

I bought an HPS ballast so I could use HPS bulbs in the future if I wanted to, so I bought an MH conversion bulb that will work in an HPS ballast. The bulb I use is a Plantmax bulb with a color temp of 7200k. It also has some red spectrum added supposedly, they market it as a grow bulb. Seems to work pretty good for me.