Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

[simba]

Sid
thats a bit short and long.. you want that 40 gal i think..
how bouts the cover.. can you have something on top..
nah no glass needed yet with will drop temps more..

MPL ya Gifts are great....
i will say this DIY a fan on thot the ballast box.. (some diy involved)
to keep it at ambient temps.. 400 ballast COOKS>> but with cpu fan stays about 80 (safe for under bed or something)

 

[MostHigh]

Just what I needed...more grow gear laying around collecting dust...which is where either a 400 or 600 digi is going to be once I snag a magnetic ballast to run the retro-hps. That sux too! Being as it's xmas hell month time. Anyway.
Thanks for all the info simba...ya done good.

 

[Siddartha]

Those were measurements for a single tub, not the height of two. Still too short? Anything can go on top of it, I was prolly gonna put a scrubber on top.

There is a selection of tubs. I could get a smaller tub or a bigger light at this point, lol. They had the regular 30 gal. tubs, a 40 and a 45, along with several other sizes, lol, but those are the standards I've seen. I guess what I'm really trying to get at is how do I size these things if they don't put out as much heat. I'm sure there will be more guidelines as more people use these lights. I think I'm gonna go with the tallest tub and the 150, but please make a better suggestion if you can.

Thanks for your help!

 

[ixnay007]

I have 250 watt cool tube for my HPS, if I retrofit the CMH in there, what can I use to augment the blue + UVB spectrum, are there CFLs that can supply that light?

 

[JohnnyToke]

I have 250 watt cool tube for my HPS, if I retrofit the CMH in there, what can I use to augment the blue + UVB spectrum, are there CFLs that can supply that light?

the hps bulb you have now and the cmh bulb are of the same shape and prob the same size. it should fit right in the cool tube in place of your hps without any retrofitting.

the cmh covers all the blue you need plus the uvb. you use it veg thru flower. no supplement needed.

regards,
JT

 

[simba]

Most Glad to hear,,..
ya holidays bum out everything.. LOL.. wish we all had $$$$

sid.. my bad.. i didn't realize doubling up.. i musta missed that..
nah your golden with height.. ya 19 - 8" for root area = 11+" for growth not counting top.. (the top allows the lamp cooling etc ) i still say 150.

the uv with, cmh it puts more uvb than hps so your actully geting more than u usto..
try it watch the sacks.. if you think you can push them more then add uvb lamps..
but i only really say add uvb if hps or you know your plant can take that extra push,
to much uvb makes the Trichs Blow up (yes they overfill and rupture) then there no good at all. and also causes plant to spend more energy on sacks than creating space for them to even grow on..

in short ixnay,, your golden with cmh in that setup without supplements.. IMPHO>>

ya what JT Said.
the CMH 250 and 400 HPS RETRO Whites are direct fit into HPS Setups thats the Kicker of these pupies.. Same shape and ballast as HPS lamps but Better..

 

[masterlow37]

CMH 250 and 400 HPS RETRO Whites are direct fit into HPS Setups thats the Kicker of these pupies.. Same shape and ballast as HPS lamps but Better..

How can you not like that !

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

The digitals do not save that much cost on kw usage. Way less than what they claim. There has been a lot of info in several threads here regarding their marketing claims on such. Also how will you feel when that Horti Blue needs replacement? ChaChing.....$$$$$ Not as good of a spectrum either. Not to mention that the Lumatek puts you at risk on the EMI/RF interfearance end and will not last as long as the old school core and coil. Just my honest opinion though.

they save enough so that when your paying the bill and ur maxing the place out... so when edision stagers the charges from 1-30% then 30-90% and 90-199 and 200%+ overbaseline and the kw's are 5x more expensive... i droped 500-600 off a monthly bill by cutting 580kw a month from magnetics to digital 600's combine a meger 5% x 4 ballasts and sometiems it makes a differance. 29 months of digital ballasts cutting 500-600 off my monthly bill, not to mention flying lower on the power radar.
im probably the one good example though.


so id have to blow the dust off the old magnetic 400 because there are no 600 CMH? thoes par watts looks good.

 

[stupor]

I have a grow cabinet that is being transformed from an old victorian kitchen cold box with vents at the bottom and the top. The middle portion (plant area) is 45" tall x 22" deep and only 11" wide. I have a 4" vortex (172 cfm) sucking through a open ended home made cool tube. Outdoor temps are most always cool with the coldest month's average low of 46F and the warmest months average of 70F. My bulb will be a 250W CMH poking out of the end of the cool tube. I want to experiment with having the bulb exposed and unfiltered by the cool tube but still keep it cool, hopefully.

Would this set up be more efficient with the bulb mounted vertically or horizontally?

 

[ixnay007]

the hps bulb you have now and the cmh bulb are of the same shape and prob the same size. it should fit right in the cool tube in place of your hps without any retrofitting.

the cmh covers all the blue you need plus the uvb. you use it veg thru flower. no supplement needed.

regards,
JT

Oh I know they fit just fine, but I've been reading that the glass in the cool tube filters out some of the blue and UV spectrum, and I was wondering if it was necessary to supplement it...

 

[simba]

nah your golden..
glass in general blocks UV (uv threw Blue Spec) and qaurtz stops even more..
however compared to hps.. the cmh dumps allot of uv.. so the lil your removing is not needed back unless you see empty sacks..

 

[Siddartha]

I think I may use a cool tube instead of just a pane of glass. It won't really hurt anything other than my wallet and I can use it again.

 

[C21H30O2]

nah your golden..
glass in general blocks UV (uv threw Blue Spec) and qaurtz stops even more..
however compared to hps.. the cmh dumps allot of uv.. so the lil your removing is not needed back unless you see empty sacks..

silica or quartz glass can be nearly completely transparent (90%) to uv light if its made properly.

 

[simba]

Sid, No cool tubes with CMH..IMPHO & and IMPHO no pun inteanded
(in my personal and Professional Honest Opinion)
they need a good reflector and cooltubes are only for Heat issues.. not a reflector thing.. (if you do go Cooltube only one i recommend is and still iffy)

C2 totaly agree but at what cost.. IE lab crap $$$$

 

[MostHigh]

Went to the grow shop today...used the internet to show the owner the Philips CDM400. Dude was impressed. He said he'd check with his wholesaler to see about availability. Which means nothing to anyone here cept me wallet.
In the meantime, I'm still shopping around for a coir & coil ballast. I'm nearly opposed to buying a kit/refill...I've enough things cluttering up the place as it is.

 

[simba]

Ya only few horti shops carry them yet..
and one of them charges $90 for this lamp ..

in horti stores once the Big horti dist Sell them to the stores your going to get jacked on pricing.. No way can you get for 53 at horti store
theyll be atleast $75 (at the least)

 

[MostHigh]

Yea...I've seen a few sites that had the thing priced at $99. Makes ya want to link them to sites with lower prices and lol at them.
I'm hoping, being as that owner is a cool dude, who seem'd glad them being brought to his attention, and how it'll help his own grows, will let me have them at cost.

 

[fanya]

So I'm new and am considering setting something up soon (in a month or 2, I tend to do a lot of research) and just came acrost this post with the CMH bulbs.

I read every post in this thread and none answered my question.

Why should I go with these bulbs over a 1000 watt HPS. I was planing on doing a 5'x5' growing area (light area) using 5 gallon pots (soil growing) so 25 plants in a 25 sq ft area.

So my questions are why should I go with these bulbs over a HPS for flowering. If I would go with the CMH bulbs I would go with a 3'x3' area for each light so a 3'x9' area with a total of 27 plants. Each bulb produces 35000 lumens which would be a total of 105,000 lumens over the grow area.

So...
HPS: 145000 lumes over 25 sqft = 5,600 lumes/sqft
CMH: 105000 lumes over 27 sqft = 3,900 lumes/sqft

From what I have read and understand so far 7,500 lumes/sqft is idea so I'm already under that at 5,600 with a hps so why would I go with a CMH? What would be the advantages if any?

In the area I plan to veg in I'll definately be going with a CMH for that but untill a 1000watt CMH comes out would I be better off with a HPS?

 

[greenisgold]

So I'm new and am considering setting something up soon (in a month or 2, I tend to do a lot of research) and just came acrost this post with the CMH bulbs.

I read every post in this thread and none answered my question.

Why should I go with these bulbs over a 1000 watt HPS. I was planing on doing a 5'x5' growing area (light area) using 5 gallon pots (soil growing) so 25 plants in a 25 sq ft area.

So my questions are why should I go with these bulbs over a HPS for flowering. If I would go with the CMH bulbs I would go with a 3'x3' area for each light so a 3'x9' area with a total of 27 plants. Each bulb produces 35000 lumens which would be a total of 105,000 lumens over the grow area.

So...
HPS: 145000 lumes over 25 sqft = 5,600 lumes/sqft
CMH: 105000 lumes over 27 sqft = 3,900 lumes/sqft

From what I have read and understand so far 7,500 lumes/sqft is idea so I'm already under that at 5,600 with a hps so why would I go with a CMH? What would be the advantages if any?

In the area I plan to veg in I'll definately be going with a CMH for that but untill a 1000watt CMH comes out would I be better off with a HPS?

You have to read more. You are talking in lumens and that is it. You need to think out of the box and start checking out lumens, lumen maintainance, SPD, spectrum, par watts, etc. Lumens are how we as humans see light, not plants. More lumens, the brighter the light and that is it.
But, some grows based on size and such need those 1000 watt bulbs. So it's up to you. You will have great yields with 1000 watt bulbs. I had one 1000 watt bulb (7x4 room) on a mover and my ave/harvest was around 34 oz's.
Peace

 

[MostHigh]

Lumens are an insignificant selling point. For some reason, the common thinking is to force growth upon a plant instead of finessing them. I was sold on that lumens nonsense myself. Then I began researching LEDs, that's where ya find out why all that candle power most visible to the human eye is a frig'n waste on plants.
I see this CMH from Philips and wish I'd known of it long long ago.