Grow your own: Light types

Not sure if anyone is interested in growing there own, but i thought i could provide some info. to help along if you are.:)

Quote:

---

High intensity discharge lamps are easier to use, and more efficient. Low wattage HID's are sometimes sold for household outdoor use. Large Wattage lamps are used for lighting streets, parking lots, stadiums and other large areas. They come in two basic flavors:



METAL HALIDE: or MH lamps emit a white light that looks slightly bluish. They are used to light stadiums, convention centers, gymnasiums, and other large areas
where a natural looking light is desired.



HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM: or HPS lamps emit a pink or amber light. They are used for lighting parking lots and other areas where the color of the light is not important. HPS units are much more efficient than MH ones, producing more light and less energy consumed. They are often used alone with no detrimental effect on the plants, and will promote faster plant growth than MH lamps during both vegetative growth and flowering. Combinations of bulbs are _NOT_ required, as the HPS lamp does produce all of the light spectrums necessary for healthy growth. There is a relatively new type of HPS lamp that has become available. It is called the...

Son Agro lamp

Basically the designers of this lamp took a 400w HPS lamp, and added another 30W element to it, However, this new element puts out blue light, to help fill in the parts of the spectrum that a standard HPS is missing. We use SON-T Plus or Agro for years now. And the Bulbs are highly efficient and can be used for 6 crops. I think they're really terrific!




What sizes are for you to use?

MH lamps are available in 175, 200, 400 and 1000 watt sizes. HPS lamps come in 50, 75, 150, 400, 600 and 1000 watt sizes. It works with a 400w HPS ballast. Each lamp requires its own ballast, which comes with the fixtures that are designed to use these lamps, and are also available separately. The Son-Agro (and similar bulbs) can now be found in 170w, 270w, 430w, & 1000w].



The following chart shows how much light each lamp emits, and the area that it covers adequately.


Lamp # of Lumens Sq. Ft


Gardens should receive 1000-3000 lumens per square foot. Successful gardens usually are lit at around 2,000 lumens per square foot. During the vegetative stage, plants stretch out when they receive low levels of light. During flowering the flowers are looser and sparse.



So what is the best lamp for growing?

It depends on your budget. HPS lamps are by far the best overall, but they are also the most costly to purchase and setup. I've also add some pics about High Pressure Sodium bulb suited for SGR 200 Ballast. The colour spectrum is highest in the yellow, orange and red end, which makes the SON-T PLUS especially suitable for flowering 55,000 lume which comes together with the PHILIPS SGR 200 - SON-T PLUS 400 watt High Pressure Sodium Ballast. Optimum illumination for a 60 cm x 180 cm area. Including SON-T PLUS bulb

---

knee doc

Well I don't know about the types over there but using black light in a dark room works AMAZING on BC DRO and Northern Lights don't know why ;)


Funny sometimes people come into Canadian Tire and they ask for a light for "plants" I really know what they want it for so I tell them 500 Watt halogen bulb, LOL, cause it's gonna burn the plant!

Quote:

---

Originally posted by PimpMasterT
Well I don't know about the types over there but using black light in a dark room works AMAZING on BC DRO and Northern Lights don't know why ;)


Funny sometimes people come into Canadian Tire and they ask for a light for "plants" I really know what they want it for so I tell them 500 Watt halogen bulb, LOL, cause it's gonna burn the plant!

---

i heard of black light b 4 but wot is it?

The light isn't really black it's purple, it reacts with many items
they use it here to see if money is legit, cause there a water marks that glow blue if it's legit, and credit cards have hidden insignias that react with it as well.

You can pick up 60w black light bulbs for like $3.60 at Canadian Tire over here or easier to pick up a black light mod used in a case mod for lik $50 usd wihich lasts a long time


Note, if using black light you will need around 10 bulbs or 7 tubes

so its uv light then simpley

yes


booboo:)

Not quite boo boo..
Black light is the inverse of white light... Ie: If you get 2 Noises and phase them 180 degrees apart the noise is cancelled (Much like Mercedes Benz's Anti noise systems fitted to cars). hence the same will happen to all light... if you get 2 light spectrums ie: Black and white, and phase the 180 degrees apart, you get NO light whatsoever... So if there is White light there must be Black light to dreate No light.
Black light can actually be seen if you wish to experiment. Try running headlong at a concrete lamppost, and when you sit in a crumpled heap after connecting with the aforementioned lamppost look around you... you will notice a partial, or total blackness for a few seconds.... This is because your eyes have adjusted to the blacklight spectrum due to a severe blow to the head, and as you eyes adjust to normal you blacklight vision will diminish...

regards,
Cybertaff

lol:D very good m8 you learn sommit new every day eh?



booboo:)

well i used 4 x polar white 100 watt flourecent tubes for my vegative unit and 2 x 400w HPS and 2 x 400w Metal Halide for my flowering unit.

it kicked ass, needed sunglasses just to walk in the room and u still see spots for 10 mins after coming out.

I have never heard of anyone flowering using flouro tubes of any colour black, white, purple or others. They simply do not produce enough lumens

They can not.
Blacklights do not produce the correct spectrum of light to grow plants.

The only lights that currently produce the required color spectrum of light to grow plants are the following;

Suitable for Growing:

Flourescent (Tube shaped)

Compact Fluorescent
(a flourescent tube with ballast included that screws into regular light fixture)

Metal Halide (MH) Best for Vegetative growth, but it doesn't contain all of the spectrum needed later during flowering for truly outstanding buds. the light shines a blueish/white color

High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Best for Flowering. Ok for Vegetative. shines a yellow/orange color. All can be purchased at your local home/lumber store.

Not suitable for growing:

Blacklight type flourescent lights.

ANY incandescent lamp
(if it screws into a regular lamp, it won't produce worthwhile buds). Exception, compact flouro mentioned above)

Halogen

Mercury Vapor

ALL you need to know about growing lights

http://www.overgrow.com/tools/powercost.php ok guys this link is for your cost calc it allows you to enter lights on and off
wattage and then calc waht your grow is costing to run.


the link below is to all the inf on light for growing


http://www.overgrow.com/faq/browse.php?topic=101

for the 6 or so weeks of flowering i used 2 x sodiums and 2 x halide for the 1st 4 weeks then all sodium for the last 2-3 weeks

works really well

halides are really too much for veggies until liteteally a weeks or 2 before they are ready to flower

but if there is something that you can rely on its that every grower does it slightly different and they all think their way is the best

This worked well for me and was passed to me by a successful grower

How much did that setup cost you approx MajorFU?

got the flouro's off a m8 for £0

the HPS systems cost loads @ the time but are cheaper now

the reason to go for the 400w systems is that they take halide and sodium 400w bulbs so u can swap when needed

My unit cost me about £500 and i made £800 from my first and only crop