shopping Which light to buy, hps or mh

I'm looking to buy a 600w light and was wanting to know a good brand to purchase. You can look all day but some of you guys that use them would have input on a quality light. I also was wanting to grow peppers indoors and having trouble deciding the spectrum that would provide optimum growing conditions for my plants. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Natty, they say to use the MH for the growing state, than the HPS for the flowering stage, What you should look into is getting a light that has a digital ballast and able to support both bulbs. If you were closer to me here in fla, i would sell you my 400 watter set up i want to get rid of, but it will be just way to expensive to ship it.
 
Several good companies out there like CAP extreme coil over magnetic ballast switchable (lifetime warranty) for $165.
Or Humbolts black box also magnetic switchable 5 year warranty. I also have a cheap harvest pro (my first lamp) that I have run for close to seven years now.

Magnetic ballast tech my be old school, but its time tested and proven. Give them a little air circulation and they will last forever.

Consider the above a cost effective and solid place to start your grow.
 
my balast does hps and mh.
you can grow all the way through with mh or hps. Some of my seedlings have only seen hps and they aren't leggy.
 
I have a magnet hps ballast with 600 watt hps as well as 600 watt mh conversion bulb. Last season I started my Bhuts on the mh and was not that impressed with the growth rate. After changing to the hps I saw a significant increase in growth so this year I've only ran the hps. I have very nice bushy plants and considering the extra cost of the conversion bulb, it was a waste of money. This is my experience, take it for what you will. Remember that these bulbs all have a life expectancy and the older they get the less light they put out... Also as they age they draw more power. 1 or 2 seasons is all I'd run them depending on manufacturer.
 
The difference in growth could very well have been a fluke of timing. I Was of the understanding mh is best for growth too.
 
MH is for the growth stage and HPS is for flowering.

If you are only going to use one go with HPS because what you want are more flowers/pods.

Hortilux have the best lights imo and side by side with a cheaper bulb there is a big difference.
 
I'm leaning more towards the hps for several reasons. One being that the bulbs from what I understand put out more lumens, and like lock said I want more pods/flowers.
 
If you grow only on HPS you will have taller plants and will be less bushy... I would recommend using MH or a MH Conversion bulb for the growth state until the plants start to flower which at the point you switch to HPS.
 
choose a warmer mh bulb and you can get a wider spectrum from red to blues {4,000k}, hps does not put out much blue light needed for growth, but does put out up to 30 percent more light per watt than mh

unless you have a room dedicated to just flowering i would go with mh, if you mix growing and flowering with out blue spectrum your leaves may lack chlorophyll, and get yellow on your leaves
 
Ok. This has been said a million times on here. Peppers are not pot. Marijuana is light sensitive. Peppers are not. Peppers don't care if the light is blue or red, as long as the lumen output is optimal then peppers don't care. Please stop spreading false information about better growing or flowering spectrums for peppers. There is not one...
 
Ok. This has been said a million times on here. Peppers are not pot. Marijuana is light sensitive. Peppers are not. Peppers don't care if the light is blue or red, as long as the lumen output is optimal then peppers don't care. Please stop spreading false information about better growing or flowering spectrums for peppers. There is not one...

wow pretty stiff, and unnecessary accusation in my opinion, i was unaware peppers are the only plant that did not produce chlorophyll or require it during growth, but i have only been using them since 1987 what do i know ?, and yes there is no photo-period on peppers but apples and oranges when it comes photo-period and spectrum






Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is a green pigment found in cyanobacteria and the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros ("green") and φύλλον, phyllon ("leaf"). Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light. Chlorophyll absorbs light most strongly in the blue portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, followed by the red portion. However, it is a poor absorber of green and near-green portions of the spectrum, hence the green color of chlorophyll-containing tissues.[sup][1][/sup] Chlorophyll was first isolated by Joseph Bienaimé Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier in 1817.[sup][2][/sup]
 
Thanks for all the input guys, are the ballast that run both bulbs quality? I was looking at the purple apollo stuff, they seem to be a very good price and reviews are good.
 
Ok. This has been said a million times on here. Peppers are not pot. Marijuana is light sensitive. Peppers are not. Peppers don't care if the light is blue or red, as long as the lumen output is optimal then peppers don't care. Please stop spreading false information about better growing or flowering spectrums for peppers. There is not one...

I would also disagree here. MH is def. better for the growth stage and you will see a bushy/shorter plant which is ideal when growing indoors. If you grow 100% with HPS you will see a taller plant that is less bushy. I have grown both ways indoors and speak from exp.
 
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