mcfanders said:
Thank you Stoney Bud. Will the soft light 2700k be of any supplemental value to the metal halide 44 watt if positioned above?
The effect of light on plants can be summed up pretty easy. Light is actually physical particles called "Photons". They have mass. They have weight. They have substance.
Photons that are within a spectrum that can be used by a plant in photosynthesis are used by the plant in that manner. The quantity of photons that strike any given square inch of light absorbing cells on the plant are what determine how well the plant will grow.
Other factors with inside grows like heat, humidity, nutrients, temperatures above and in the root zone, pH and content of the water and pests all have the ability to alter the growth of the plant in conjunction with the light given the plants.
It always cracks me up when a newbie says "Its only a weed after all, all ya gotta do is throw it in some dirt and water it".
That's true if you want a seeded crop of plants that have survivors at about a 50-1 ratio, with the "1" being the survivor.
When adding lights to a grow, many things have to be considered;
1. Is it going to add enough light and add it effectively to substantiate the costs and labor of adding it?
2. Is it the correct type of lighting for the application being used?
3. Would it be more cost effective to use another type of light instead of one I just happened to have laying around?
4. Am I using the proper light or am I trying to justify using the one I want to use?
Sorry for the long answer to a short question, but there is so much more to the equation then just using whatever light you happen to have on hand already.
Canopy management, Temperature management, nutrient and water management and root zone management are all just as important as the lighting. The lighting also plays as part of each of those factors also in terms of root health and growth, nutrient take-up, stem elongation and structure, leaf size, health and positioning and plant temps.
I aways advise people to attempt to plan their entire grow BEFORE planting a single seed or taking a cutting.
Learning BEFORE you have problems is WAY easier than trying to learn how to fix problems that were caused because you didn't learn before the problem was caused.
Yes, any additional light that is of a spectrum your plant can use will add to it's overall growth as long as it causes no other problems in itself.