HPS vs MH vs LED for Sativa

[LostTribe]

Hi everyone,

I did a bit of searching and cannot find a thread specific for which lighting best serves pure sativa growing.

I have experience with HPS specifically Hortilux Super HPS.

I seem to recall Dubi stating that a blue spectrum is more natural and thus better overall for growing Sativa's. Can anyone confirm? I am also looking at an led, but I have a 400w switchable ballast so it might prove cheaper to just grab a Hortilux Blue MH bulb instead.

Thoughts and experience greatly appreciated!
LT

 

[Shadowsfall]

From what I understand sativas like higher amts of blue spectrum but it's the far blue uv and far red i.r that tropical sun produces that makes em special I'm currently running new cmh higher amts of uv from eye hortilux and there ceramic hps tons of far red I've found leds veg extremely fast I've always used 1000w shps and super blues and the excelenvce brand on amazon works great 260w draw so far only issue I can see is penetration so I'm only gonna use for veg and sog grows hopefully helps you out

 

[CannaRed]

I asked about this one time. I was told to try to match the spectrum to where the plant was bred.
That's hard being the spectrum changes with the hours and months.

Good luck. I'm tagging along to see any answers.

 

[BenoitV1984]

Do you know of something called punctuation ?

From what I understand sativas like higher amts of blue spectrum but it's the far blue uv and far red i.r that tropical sun produces that makes em special I'm currently running new cmh higher amts of uv from eye hortilux and there ceramic hps tons of far red I've found leds veg extremely fast I've always used 1000w shps and super blues and the excelenvce brand on amazon works great 260w draw so far only issue I can see is penetration so I'm only gonna use for veg and sog grows hopefully helps you out

 

[Sunshineinabag]

moving right along please........

 

[unregistered190]

I recently inquired about a sativa strain from a breeder I have been following for some time and one of the tips I got was

“ MH or blue spectrum works best to keep equatorial sativa happy”

Since this is in the Ace forum I will not mention source

 

[Shadowsfall]

Some info from eye on spectrum

Some info from eye on spectrum

These are what I've found. Based from posts from dubi and tangwena, the spectrum produced is superior to regular hps, or metal halide. I always hated English class, too much emphasis on proper grammar.. what good is it when fasho is included as a real word. Lol, goodluck with your new grow liked the c99 thread

 

[Shadowsfall]

Tangwena mentions how eye cmh doesn't have uv blockers don't tend plants while on sunburns will follow I'll post my findings as well once seeds get here running large version of said set up

 

[SUPER_HAZE]

I have talked about this topic in another forum in Spanish.

If you have no problems with the cold temperature, the LED is the best. It is the future.

With a 4000k cob led they will grow a lot, due to the blue spectrum. With a 3000k or 2700k led they will grow smaller. In indoor growing so much can be a problem.
I think a 3000k led for the whole cycle would be fine. Also 4000k in growth and 3000k in flowering.

Just my opinion

 

[DNM1]

Just recently upgraded a HPS bulb(had 2x600W Dual HPS), was lacking light intensity, size of plants, to one HPS with 30% extra blue light,1000W.It was needed
Was looking at led lights, recent cannabis exhibition
Yes,blue light does help, if you can have rooting system at around 24C, led lights I have a feeling will do a good job, maybe even better?
Sativas need certain "environmental conditions" to thrive, light intensity etc
Hope it helps somewhat LS

 

[Sunshineinabag]

the highest mtns are nearest to the equator if memory serves .....i think these equatorial sats like those elevations as well

 

[LostTribe]

I PM'd Dubi will update if he doesn't respond here.

For what I am doing I think the most economical thing is to just grab a MH 400 bulb as it would be useful for veg and mom's and may even benefit the pure Sativas. I would like to see what he says about the LED's and others as well. I don't see much benefit in changing ballast and going with new tech.

I still get the dankest frostiest dense buds anyone I smoke out has ever seen with the Hortilux Super HPS I am sure I am ~1gpw. 20 year old tech and its been pumping out the same quality and quantity ever since.

LT

 

[YukonKronic]

I ran 600w MH and also tried HPS. MH gave slightly lower yields but slightly more clarity and up feeling to the high as well as denser buds and more Terps.
Get crazy.. use a digital ballast and run MH for veg and stretch. HPS through stacking then back to MH for last phases of flowering to bump density and Terps. Go balls to the wall and get a 10k finishing MH bulb for last ten to 14 days and watch your frost grow frost.

MarsHydro white LED is beating both for growth rates Terps and frost but canopy penetration can be an issue. I can’t reliably say wether LED gives larger buds or yields but considering its efficiency the math alone says that watt for watt LED will be better yielding as well.
Check my thread out... I’m about started stacking on a scrog with like 900 watts LED lighting and I’m already thinking it’s going to be a good pull.

 

[YukonKronic]

And LED doesn’t burn out for years.... I’m a convert.

 

[LostTribe]

I ran 600w MH and also tried HPS. MH gave slightly lower yields but slightly more clarity and up feeling to the high as well as denser buds and more Terps.
Get crazy.. use a digital ballast and run MH for veg and stretch. HPS through stacking then back to MH for last phases of flowering to bump density and Terps. Go balls to the wall and get a 10k finishing MH bulb for last ten to 14 days and watch your frost grow frost.

MarsHydro white LED is beating both for growth rates Terps and frost but canopy penetration can be an issue. I can’t reliably say wether LED gives larger buds or yields but considering its efficiency the math alone says that watt for watt LED will be better yielding as well.
Check my thread out... I’m about started stacking on a scrog with like 900 watts LED lighting and I’m already thinking it’s going to be a good pull.

Dubi PM'd and also recommended using multiple lights. I am exploring an LED for a 4x4 tent.

Are these disable from my understanding? I am looking at kits on Alibaba for HLG 550's. I see they have multiple types of spectrums 3k and 4k etc. Also read that I would most likely be looking for a 240w to replace the 400w HID.

 

[Mr D]

MH, HPS, CMH and 3500k 4000k 2700k 5000k LEDs are the lights I have currently and have ran in the past. Ace's Panama, Panama Haze, Killer A5 Haze along with Vietnamese Black are some of my keeper strains that I have been running for at least a year.

The best results I get have more to do with temps than a particular type of light. Lights off temps in the winter are on average 10 degrees lower than in the summer. I get less reflowering and frostier buds during the winter months.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

OrigLight will build you a custom spectrum light. They also have what they call tri-band tuning, so you can dim 3 different sets of the LEDS to adjust the spectrum.

As far as I'm aware, the more blue, the leafier the flowers. The more far-red during lights on (above and beyond the minimums), the stretchier/fluffier the flowers will be. I'm building an OrigLight 330w light into a cab here soon. The goal is to dim down the red during stretch (blue it up), then dial the red back up for HPS style flower formation till the finish.

The newest ceramic based LEDs are rated at 10+ years of 12/12, before they lose less than 10% of their output. HID technology uses around 30% wattage for infra-red production, which comes to nearly 300w out of a 1000w lamp for mostly heat. Using those watts for additional growing spectrum is the main reason why LEDs are showing 2+ gram/watt yields. Combine the increase in yield (per watt) with the reduced number of watts being used, and your cooling costs go down dramatically.

Except for situations which benefit from the extra heat, I truly see HID as a dead tech for cannabis in the next few years. Crazy.

The best results I get have more to do with temps than a particular type of light. Lights off temps in the winter are on average 10 degrees lower than in the summer. I get less reflowering and frostier buds during the winter months.

I'm guessing your grows were also lower RH during the winter, yes? Cool and dry is soooo much better for cannabis quality it's amazing.

 

[Sunshineinabag]

Now does just setting them in the really sunny living room window effect anything if your using these indoor lights to the plants? Is giving them both nat sunlight (when its avail) and hid/led/cmh light ok for the hybrids? im just curious its prob nothing to worry about but ...

 

[Mr D]

OrigLight will build you a custom spectrum light. They also have what they call tri-band tuning, so you can dim 3 different sets of the LEDS to adjust the spectrum.

As far as I'm aware, the more blue, the leafier the flowers. The more far-red during lights on (above and beyond the minimums), the stretchier/fluffier the flowers will be. I'm building an OrigLight 330w light into a cab here soon. The goal is to dim down the red during stretch (blue it up), then dial the red back up for HPS style flower formation till the finish.

The newest ceramic based LEDs are rated at 10+ years of 12/12, before they lose less than 10% of their output. HID technology uses around 30% wattage for infra-red production, which comes to nearly 300w out of a 1000w lamp for mostly heat. Using those watts for additional growing spectrum is the main reason why LEDs are showing 2+ gram/watt yields. Combine the increase in yield (per watt) with the reduced number of watts being used, and your cooling costs go down dramatically.

Except for situations which benefit from the extra heat, I truly see HID as a dead tech for cannabis in the next few years. Crazy.


I'm guessing your grows were also lower RH during the winter, yes? Cool and dry is soooo much better for cannabis quality it's amazing.

Yes sir. It was something I figured out in 1999 after several failed attempts flowering out Neville's Haze to it full potential indoors.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Is giving them both nat sunlight (when its avail) and hid/led/cmh light ok for the hybrids? im just curious its prob nothing to worry about but ...

It takes a few days for cannabis leaves to adjust to a new spectrum. If the HID lighting is insufficient, lighting from a side window could possibly be beneficial. Otherwise, I believe you'll get a much better quality/yield by keeping your environment steady.

Yes sir. It was something I figured out in 1999 after several failed attempts flowering out Neville's Haze to it full potential indoors.

The revolution is slowly beginning to advance.