MH vs HPS Test

[BBFan]

So I decided to try a side by side grow and see for myself the difference between metal halide and high pressure sodium and the differences in my particular set-up.

A little background-

These are clones taken from the same mom on 9/5 and put under 12/12 on 9/30- so 2 weeks since I flipped. The mom was showing preflowers for at least a week before I took the clones.

The MH bulb is a 400 watt Sunmaster Cool Deluxe. Expensive bulb, cost me $110.00 at the hydro store . It does put out some spectrum in the 580 to 600 nm range, but most of it's output is in the blue range.

The HPS is a conversion bulb in a 400 watt M59 ballast putting out 360 watts. It's an Eye Sunlux Ultra and all of it's output is in the 575 to 630 nm range. Nothing special about the bulb- basic hps IMHO.

So here's the pics so far- nutes, ph, schedule has been identical for both. The MH plant is on the left in both pics and the hps is on the right. Comments?

 

[maineharvest]

Does hps push out 400w or 360w? They both look great!!

 

[BBFan]

The hps puts out 360 watts. 10% loss because it's a conversion bulb.

The fan leaves on the hps plant are probably 50% larger. I've always been a strong believer in MH, but I'm starting to have doubts.

 

[maineharvest]

My vote is on hps. On my current grow I vegged under an hps and it is not even comparanble how much better it does than the floros I used to use. I bet the hps yields a little bit more than the mh even though its less watts.

 

[Pepper]

I vegge and flower with hps I dont use MH at all.
I use 6500k t5 to root for 1 wk then its hps time.

 

[dirtyolsouth]

HI BBfan,

Very interesting comparison BBfan... Thanks for the post! It sure looks like the hps plant is noticeably more dense with flowers and the leaf canopy is fuller too. I think I'd be tempted to swap the plants spots to see if the other one catches up or swap out the MH for another HPS until later in the grow. Maybe the time to introduce the MH into the spectrum would be the last 2-3 weeks during the finishing stage when they have slowed down and may benefit from the 575 to 630 nm range...?

Happy Growing!

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Lumen per lumen a MH will kill a HPS imo. Watt per watt you are losing about 15000 lumen with the MH bulb compared to the HPS. A 600w MH and a 400w HPS would be a good side by side test because the lumens would almost match.

HPS wins in the efficiency category because of it's higher lumen output.

 

[BBFan]

HI BBfan,

Very interesting comparison BBfan... Thanks for the post! It sure looks like the hps plant is noticeably more dense with flowers and the leaf canopy is fuller too. I think I'd be tempted to swap the plants spots to see if the other one catches up or swap out the MH for another HPS until later in the grow. Maybe the time to introduce the MH into the spectrum would be the last 2-3 weeks during the finishing stage when they have slowed down and may benefit from the 575 to 630 nm range...?

Happy Growing!

Hey DOS!

How's everything? Thanks for the input. I'm tempted to throw another HPS in there, but I've been spouting the virtues of mh for a long time and dismissing the comments of growers who use only hps. If things keep going this way, looks like I'm in for a big serving of humble pie. I have to finish them out and see what the yield numbers are.

Lumen per lumen a MH will kill a HPS imo. Watt per watt you are losing about 15000 lumen with the MH bulb compared to the HPS. A 600w MH and a 400w HPS would be a good side by side test because the lumens would almost match.

Hey bombbud- good to see you around.

You know, you're absolutely right. That would make a huge difference in results. That's 50% more lumens- great point. I overlooked that. So that in itself is going to skew my results. Maybe I won't need to eat that humble pie after all.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Hey bombbud- good to see you around.

You know, you're absolutely right. That would make a huge difference in results. That's 50% more lumens- great point. I overlooked that. So that in itself is going to skew my results. Maybe I won't need to eat that humble pie after all.

Good to see you too BBF.

Another good thing about the MH is its a full spectrum bulb or covers a wider range than the HPS and has a waaaay higher CRI rating(how close the light is to the suns light) than HPS. Look into the ceramic metal halide or CMD bulbs. I know people that swear they grow better plants than HPS or MH...even with the lower lumen output.

 

[Budders Keeper]

I've always been a strong believer in MH, but I'm starting to have doubts.

You ain't the only one. One thing I noticed this morning is my Mh flowers seem to be putting on the trich's a lot faster. It may hurt them in the end... we'll see. Thanks for the comparison!

 

[prosport00]

I have a grow going right now in the 3rd week and am using 400 watt Sunglo warm deluxe MH bulbs and things are going well. These bulbs are higher in the red spectrum than a standard MH. They say you can use it all the way through budding so I am going to try it the whole grow just to see how it does.

 

[BBFan]

You ain't the only one. One thing I noticed this morning is my Mh flowers seem to be putting on the trich's a lot faster. It may hurt them in the end... we'll see. Thanks for the comparison!

Hey Budders Keeper! How are you doing? Thanks for the comment.

I've read that mj produces more trichs to protect itself from ultraviolet light- and mh produces more blue light (violet) spectrum than hps, so I'm a big believer in that benefit over hps.

I actually have 2 plants going under the mh- one of them I'm hitting with uvb lighting as well- and I've definitely got more trichs on that clone than the others. But I'm waiting a little longer to put up those pics- I can't quite capture them on the photos I'm taking.

I'd love to see pics of your plants! Good luck to you and be safe!

 

[BBFan]

I have a grow going right now in the 3rd week and am using 400 watt Sunglo warm deluxe MH bulbs and things are going well. These bulbs are higher in the red spectrum than a standard MH. They say you can use it all the way through budding so I am going to try it the whole grow just to see how it does.

Keep us posted ProSport! I'd be real interested in hearing about your results. Do you have a previous grow to compare to?