Son Agro vs other lamps

[Peace seeker]

Is it worth buying a Son Agro (dual espectrum) and using it for both veg and flower or should i invest in a MH (veg) and HPS for flowering?

[koshiva]

You can pretty much do really well with just the HPS for Vege and flowering.
If you were intending to set up a large garden, or were fussy, you could aim toward getting a halide for vege since they do a better job than HPS for that purpose. HPS for vege does pretty well.

I'd go for the Philips bulbs too - forget the rest.

[Peace seeker]

Originally Posted by koshiva

You can pretty much do really well with just the HPS for Vege and flowering.
If you were intending to set up a large garden, or were fussy, you could aim toward getting a halide for vege since they do a better job than HPS for that purpose. HPS for vege does pretty well.

I'd go for the Philips bulbs too - forget the rest.

thanks man

do u think this one will work ok?

Grow light bulbs / lamps (Metal Halide & HPS)

[koshiva]

Will work well.

[Cerebro]

I'm a fan, I'm pretty sure I know a hippie that's also one.
Not much more than an already adequate bulb, but you as an outdoor grower will appreciate the extra spectrum.
I think MH's are overkill unless you want exceptional plants.

[farmergiles]

Peace seeker- I use Sylvania Grolux (dual spectrum) for flowering, they`re cheaper than Phillips although you can`t get a 250, only 400 or 600. I used to use them for veg as well and they work fine (but now I`m using flouros).

Not tempted to get a 400w or are you concerned about heat? I`m sure you`ll get great results with a 250 but more watts will sure make em chunk up.

Originally Posted by Kosh

I'd go for the Philips bulbs too - forget the rest.

So you think Phillips are worth the extra bucks? I know Phillips are a good brand but they`re pricey.

[Peace seeker]

i think a 400W would be too much (heat wise) for that grow tent. Plus i m trying to keep running costs down.

My grow shop doesnt carry a dual-spec 250W, so i ordered the Phillips SonT+.

trying to find out if the SonT plus has blue in it, so i dont have to get a Halide.

Because the tent is 1.60m in height. The pots are 25cm (height), the reflector another 25cm, plus i need another 20-30cm (the distance between the lamp and the plants).

If u add it up, i have about 60-70cm left, for the plants. This means, that i got to grow them bushy. No space for too much stretch, otherwise they can overgrow the tent during flowering.

Thats why i need to see if this lamp has blue in it.


Found a thread of a bloke who uses a 600W SonT+ for both cycles and the plants looked very nice! Bushy and healthy (hydro set up).

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/jo...anna-coco.html

[Cerebro]

My understanding is that both have the usual HPS spectrums, the agro has additional blue, making it superior for veg, the + has additional red, making it better for flower.
Final yield is likely to be the same as you'll get better buds, and since you'll probably be going with short veg to keep size down I think you've chosen well.

[thcbuz]

I've been growing with artificial light since about '83 and here's how I do it and why.I buy the cheapest bulbs I can;period.but I change them every 6 months.why? because of the drop in intensity over time that occurs with all bulbs.you can spend tons of cash on bulbs and you'll be pleased with the beginning results.but the high dollar bulbs fail at the same rate as the cheap-o's.with the cheap-o's you can afford to replace them more often and then you keep your intensity higher more constantly.I also write the date I installed the newest bulb on the reflector so i can track its age.here's a place I use for cheap gear at great prices

Light bulbs, Rope Lights, Halogen and Fluorescent bulb - 1000-Bulbs - The Light Bulb Superstore

[farmergiles]

^ Very good point, HID bulbs do degrade badly over 12 months, six months might be a bit overkill but at least then you know where you are.

[Cerebro]

thcbuz
hope you're well mate, thanks for stopping in.

[thcbuz]

if I was any better Cerebro ,I 'd have to be twins.probably no better or worse than tons of us,just happy to be makin' progress and not wastin' space

[stoneric]

Come to think of it, I can't remeber when I bought my current expensive bulb. That 6 month replacement theory makes sense.

[thcbuz]

I think I give 29-30$ for 400w bulbs and maybe 70$ for 1000w.cheap enough to replace them often and keep the lumens up.I also keep the old bulbs in case one goes bad.ya know ya never know when ones gonna go out;although after almost 20 years of buyin' lights I've never had one actually go out.I have had to replace the igniter in a ballast once.

[Dandaweedman]

Ooh I feel real bad for using the plantastar for 2 years then.

[farmergiles]

Your a bad man Dan!

[Dandaweedman]

Well, we had 2 grow shops here. Great stores too.
1 was an income tax write off for a rich guy that hates drugs (which is why that one was closed down, he finally clued in). The other was run by 2 cops, so it went out of business.

Tough to get lamps and such now as it's about a 6-7 hour drive to the next one.

[Cerebro]

That's a long drive.
What about the internet?

[Dandaweedman]

That's what I was wondering. But who do ya trust as far as online vendors go?

[Cerebro]

There's a seller on ebay.com.au that heaps of ppl I know have had successful purchases thru, no negative experiences, so they're out there.
It shouldn't be too hard to find one that works, but Kanada might be a different kettle of fish.