High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Grow lights
– High pressure sodium marijuana grow lights are another good choice however they emit a light that is stronger in the orange / red spectrum, around 2,200k, due to their inherent sodium content. If a gardener were to start a young plant under a HPS bulb, she/he would see impressive vertical growth.
Not only is this a great flowering light, it has two features that make it a more economical choice.
- Their average lifespan is twice that of metal halides, but after 18,000 hours of use or 12 to 18 months, they will start to draw more electricity than their rated watts while gradually producing less light because they will require more energy to maintain the gas inside. HPS bulbs are very efficient.
- They produce up to 140 lumens per watt.
HPS grow lights operate and emit light when an electrical current flows through ionized gas or plasma. They usually require some time to heat up and an electronic system known as a ballast (big heavy thing) is required as a type of resistor. The ballast regulates the electrical current flowing through the circuit. When the ballast cannot supply enough voltage it will begin to shut down as the pressure of the tube reduces. Time to get a new bulb.
HPS grow lights emit a huge amount of heat – just imagine a 1,000 watt heater in your room, it will produce similar heat – and HPS grow light heat is radiant and directed straight onto your plants. You will need to have a large gap between your lights and the plants. Smaller wattage systems (100 W and 250 W) should be hung about 2 – 3 feet from the top of the plants. Medium wattage systems (400 W and 600 W) should be hung around 4 feet from the top of the plants. High wattage systems (1000 W and up) should be placed say 4 – 6 feet from the plant tops. You might need to look into the cooling of the grow room.
The HPS grow light is not very good for the growth phase but better for the flowering phase as they are deficient in the blue spectrum. The best bet is to use a MH grow light for vegetative growth and then a HPS for the flowering stage.
Metal Halide (MH Grow Lights) – A type of HID
MH grow lights – Metal halide marijuana grow lights primarily emit light in the blue spectrum which promotes excellent photosynthesis and therefore green vegetative growth. Blue light also keeps plants more compact, it is the closest thing to real sunlight. If you are going to use just one light this is a good compromise.
The average lifespan is about 10,000 cumulative hours. The bulb will light up beyond this time but due to the gradual decline of light, it is not worth your while to wait for the bulb to finally burn out. If you compare their lumen (brightness) per unit of energy consumed metal halide grow lights produce approximately 65 to 115 lumens (brightness) per watt of energy consumed versus a normal incandescent light bulb which produces between 15 and 35 lumens per watt.
MH grow lights also come in a ‘super’ format; if you can find a ‘super MH’ they will produce around 15% more lumens. More yield!
*** Marijuana grow light overview – Click here
whare can you buy these lights at?
[...] Metal halide (MH) grow lights emit light with a lot of blue in the spectrum. This makes them ideal for vegetative growth. However they are not very efficient for flowering. Many growers use metal halide just for the vegetative grow phase and then switch to High Pressure Sodium (HPS) for flowering. If you are not using a mix of both lights throughout the entire grow, this is probably the optimum way of providing light for your plants. More detail on MH grow lights. [...]
What a joy to find such clear thinking. Thanks for psoitng!
my plants are 5 weeks old some of them are a foot and a half and some are 12 inches using 1000 watt metal halide when do i change hps bulb
plants are 5 weeks old using mh bulb they are foot and a half tall when do i switch to hps light
what is the price range for both of these kinds of lights?
Prices of these bulbs varies quite a bit, depending on the watts of the bulbs and brands. 250w 400w 600w and 1000w are pretty much what you can find on market. Choose the right type of bulbs base on how big the area of growing is. Prices for 400w hps/mh bulbs can range from $20 to $100+, 1000w usually starts $30 and can run to mid to high $100. If you are to power both of these bulbs, you need a switchable electronic ballast, which can power both of the bulbs without trouble. Then you need a reflector or hood or tube to improve the efficiency.
A typical setup including a 400w switchable digital electronic ballast, two bulbs, a bascic reflector can range from $140 to over $300 depending on the brand you choose. If you need more info, checkout other pages on this site or email me at law.tan@gmail.com
I’ve used everything from florescent to enhanced HPS and I can tell you right now, for growing pot, stay with the 140K lumen standard HPS 1000 watt bulbs from GE or Sylvania (for indoor growing). You won’t see any difference in your veg using metal halides because as soon as your plants reach 8-14″ you will go to flower anyway. The increased vertical growth is a benefit to getting your plants on 12/12 faster than working with a bluer light. And no, the stems won’t be weak and no elongation will not be any problem, unless you are growing a leggy strain of pot. The price is half as much per bulb. Listen people–the enhanced HPS bulbs are “enhanced” in the blue spectrum, This does NOTHING for flowering. Save your money and buy the standard 100wt HPS bulbs that put out 140K lumens. Done.
How much area does each pant need? Also, the size of the pot the plant needs?
How many hours a day do the sodium lights need to be on for the budding stage?
thanks for the tips on sodium bulbs..xie xie
CAN A PLANT LIVE MORE THAN ONE CYCLE??
when shuld u start feeding? and how much food 2 water, whats the best mixture?
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GROW WITH, WICH LAMP FOR 5 PLAN CHUNK ?
as far as i know mate if you plant it outside in spring it will grow if conditions are good, soil and all,.
[...] through to harvesting. It is possible to change from MH to HPS after a few weeks, but in reality, HPS lighting will suffice for the entire [...]