Question about flourescent lights

[Beer_Guy]

I've never grown hydro before, I'm used to growing in pots with dirt. I have a homemade ebb and flow system that seems to work pretty good.
I have 10 40 watt floros in an arc over the plants. Two lights on each side at the bottom are permanent, the rest can be raised and lowered.
Will this be ok for veg and for bloom? Is 16 on and 8 off ok for veg? What is optimum lighting for bloom?
The pump on/off period, what is best for that?

I've been reading here for a while, but just joined yesterday so I could post. You guys (and girls) seem to really know your stuff.
Any pointers and/or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[pufindo]

i think that will be fine for veg. you should look into a hps for flowering though. that way you can maximize your yield. you could flower with flo's, but i think youd get more bud outa a 400 watt hps...

 

[Beer_Guy]

Thanks for the reply.
I have heard that also, it just seems that everyone has an opinion on it and it's hard to determine who is right. Three people tell three different ways.
I have no experience with it so I don't know.
Are you speaking from experience? I hope you are because I'm tired of listening to "My friend told me....".

 

[Tom 'Green' Thumb]

I would go with 18 hours on and six off as you do not know what strain this is and it's better to play it safe. Also, the longer light schedule will increase growth rate. Just a suggestion and good luck!

TGT

 

[GreenThumb]

A grower I know used six 40's overhead and three 26ers at the sides for four plants in soil on a 24/0 cycle. The harvest was great with nice sized cola's.
His last grow he bought a 400 hps for the last 30 days of flowering..
The results were that the cola's were a little bigger but much much tighter!
So if it can be managed, I'd suggest going with the 400 hps..
Good luck.

 

[Beer_Guy]

Thanks for the replies!
I think I will eventually invest in a MH or HPS with a nice big reflector.
A local grower told me that he won't even try floros because "someone told him" it won't work.
I'm looking to prove him wrong, with you guys help of course.

 

[KADE]

Flouros are always needed.. unless u have a very low watt mh. U have to start cuttings and seeds off easy... mh gives u less room for error... HPS is better for flowering.. but plants will grow well after they have roots under it as well. If you had to pick between MH and HPS... you would 100% always pick HPS.
If you wanna know who to trust... anyone that has a rep bar with some lighter green blocks pretty much knows what they are doing. Most information on the MP forum is consistant. Everyone thinks the same.. tried and true strategies for growing.

 

[Beer_Guy]

Thank you KADE, that was very informative. I didn't know about the green bar.
I've grown literally thousands of garden plants under floros very successfully, that always made me wonder why some ppl would say that you can't grow MJ under them.
Now I know, some ppl are always wrong.
I have a couple of HPS's in the garage, I think they're low wattage maybe 100-200 range. Would they be allright to add while flowering?
I wish I had found this place a few years ago....

 

[Mutt]

I wouldn't say you "can't" grow MJ under flos. but to get those tight buds during flower an HPS is a must.
I prefer to veg under mixed (cool and soft white) Flos. I found my female ratio is higher than under an HPS. Also no temp. issues to deal with.
Perfect world would be MH for veg and HPS for flower.

During flower grab those low watt HPS. Use em if ya got em. you'll be a lot happier.

 

[KADE]

Yeah, whip them out.. if u have them light them up. More red hues the better.

 

[Reverend Willis]

Hey Beer Guy. I love my fluoros but I also use a 400 hps for flowering. I've got 3 grow boxes. My smallest, or clonebox, runs 13w to 30w fluoros- depending on my needs in there.
My mombox (1' x 4') has (2)-125w fluoros. One is a 2700 spectrum and the other is 6400. Younger plants like the blue spectrum so they get the best of both worlds under there. I've grown complete start-to-finish plants under there and averaged a yield of 21 - 30 grams per plant of very nice bud.
In the 70s and 80s, I grew a few indoor crops using multiple 4 ft shoplites (40w flos). I wouldn't want to return to those days because I never had results like I've found with the current lighting technology.
My flowering closet has the 400 hps. I've had it a few months and it arrived when my 2 girls were 4 weeks into flower (under the fluoros). They finished under it just fine but I'm looking forward to a full 8-9 weeks of flowering under the 400. If you look around at all the lighting setups, you will probably see more 400w HPS systems than any other. It is the workhorse standard for home growers. You will see a remarkable difference when you add those low-watt HPS to your grow. Best of luck.