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fatal_fatalii

Grow light question.

16 years ago

I saw an ad for a grow light that advertises as for use in a HPS/ High pressure sodium ballast but claims to also be a sodium to halide lamp conversion.

Can the blue spectrum be emitted from a hybrid MH/HPS ballast on a bulb that advertises itself as a sodium lamp?

I would also like to transplant my peppers/ tomatoes when they get bigger and not merely grow them indoors. Will there be a sudden shock or burning when placing them into natural sunlight?

Comments (8)

  • 16 years ago

    Can the blue spectrum be emitted from a hybrid MH/HPS ballast on a bulb that advertises itself as a sodium lamp?

    I suspect you have misinterpreted. There are special MH "conversion" bulbs, e.g., Philips Ceramic Metal Halide, for use with regular HPS ballasts. I never heard of a hybrid ballast. Also, there are special HPS bulbs, e.g., EYE Hortilux and Philips Son Agro, with more blue than regular HPS bulbs used for street lighting.

    Will there be a sudden shock or burning when placing them into natural sunlight?

    It is my experience that severe sunburn will happen for plants grown under regular HPS but not MH. I don't know about the special HPS.

  • 16 years ago

    The wind, and the sun, and the rain can all ruin a plant that is not use to outdoor climate. Think of it this way: you are use to listening to music in headphones that is comfortable. How would your ears feel if the sound was doubled or tripled suddenly?

    Plants are the same way. They get say 45,000 lumens of light, then suddenly, they are getting 90,000. Plus, that nice little fan you used to keep air circulating will be replaced by 10-15 mph winds.

    The best practice is to introduce them into their bold, brave new world slowly. It only takes a week to ten days.

    Mike

  • 16 years ago

    To answer your question fatal_fatalii, yes. The bulb advertises itself as a HPS because it runs on a HPS ballast. To simplify, it's a Metal Halide bulb, that operates on a HPS ballast. The reason you would want to have both is that most plants have two growth phases. Vegetative growth(leafy)uses MH and Flowering/Fruiting growth uses HPS. You can grow plants with either or, but for optimum growth, use both. The color spectrum each bulb emits is specific to the plants growth phase.
    Mike's right. It's called "hardening" your plant. Leave it in it's pot for about a week outside before you transplant to the ground. That way you won't stress it out too much at once. You might also try putting it in a shadier area, so it can adjust slowly.
    Just for a side note, there are hybrid ballasts. They are called Electronic ballasts. They operate MH and HPS. A few examples are the Sun system Galaxy(what I use), Lumatek and Future-Brite. There is also the old switchable ballasts, that have a toggle switch for which ever bulb you choose.
    I hope this helps.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Garden

  • 16 years ago

    I got a Click Jacking alert from noscript on your Urban Garden link ugf.

  • 16 years ago

    What you may be seeing is ads for a MasterColor Ceramic Metal Halide this is a MH bulb that runs in a HPS fixture.

    I use this bulb myself and really like it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: MasterColor Ceramic Metal Halide

  • 16 years ago

    @taz6122, what's a click jacking alert from nonscript?

  • 16 years ago

    @taz6122

    Well I'm not trying to maliciously get your confidential info, so no worries.

    FYI, you might want to use Google chrome instead of Mozilla as your web browser?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Garden

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