Supplementing 400w HPS with CFL's

[PrideofCucamong]

I have a few questions about lighting. I am going to be using a 400w HPS light for flowering. I have a bunch of extra CFL's and three T12's laying around. I was thinking about supplementing my HPS with some fluorescent lighting.

Does anyone have an expierence with this. I was thinking about putting them on the side or underneath the plants. Should i just go with the red spectrum or add some blue light to mix it up a bit? I can mount the T12's straight to the walls.

Thanks a lot for any help. I would consider this my first real grow now that i am using some good genetics (not bagseed) and a 400w HPS. I am using pro mix soil and the botanicare pure blend pro series.

 

[Piffington]

Hey the more light the better I think. I supplement 1400w of HPS with CFL's on the spots that aren't getting as much light as others. It can't hurt in the long run so go ahead and try to get as much light as possible for your plants, they'll thank you in the end with a nicer yield.

 

[Gaingreen]

I use both 400 w hps and 2x35 w warm tl side lights, the closer the bud gets to the tl the more crystal i see maybe cause they get a mixed spectrum of both the hps and tl i dunno, all i can say it works for me.

 

[1stimer]

I use T12s for extra lighting. I would go for the blue spectrum bulbs if you are useing HPS just so you have a mixed spectrum.

 

[PrideofCucamong]

Thanks for the info guys.

I have cool whites in my T12's, are these any good? I am also using OTT-LITE horticultural bulbs. Does anyone know the spectrum on these, i cannot find any info on that.

 

[quill]

From Cervantes... "All fluorescent bulbs marketed as full spectrum grow lights are tri-phosphor-coated. Until photo-biologist Dr. John Ott began selling the first 'color corrected' bulbs, all fluorescent lamps were halo-phosphor or deluxe halo-phosphor blends, which did not render the reds well. Tri-phosphor-coated lamps emit the visible light spectrum in spectrums from 2700k to 6400k." He goes on to say that many "full spectrum" bulbs are overpriced and implies that any old tri-phosphor bulb should do the trick. Or you could mix warm and cool as many do. In any case, your ott bulbs sound like they would be fine supplementation for either veg or flower.

q

 

[PrideofCucamong]

Thanks for the info Quill!

 

[Tactik]

"cool white" will be perfect. Cool white is blue-er while warm white is redder.

Using those cool whites will give you a nice mixed spectrum with the hps

 

[bigdaredevil418]

i am switching from mh to hps today....i have some cfl"s as well...thinking the same thing..it was perfect to run across this thread

THANKS
BDD

 

[linksys]

i use a HPS with 2 CFLs one cool white and one warm white, and i definitely notice a difference in the trichs. Seem when i dont use the CFLs the girls aren't that frosty but when i pop in those CFL its frost galore, my 2 cents.