i recently got a metal halide unit with a ME bulb and i hate the yellow orange color it throws. it hurts my eyes and gives me a headache. i contacted the person i got it from and he said the light fixture he sent can hold both ME and HPS bulbs. now for my question what are the pros/cons of either bulb i hear the HPS is a whiter light and would be much more tolerable to my eyes but my paphs are more important than my eyes so i want to know what is better thanks in advance
stan :D

Stan,
That sounds backwards. Generally Metal Halide is the bluer spectrum (for growing plants in general and foliage growth) while High Pressure Sodium is the redder spectrum (for blooming.)
HPS generally gives of a much more orangey color like a lot of street lamps. Are you sure your bulb is not HPS?

when i was searching on ebay i noticed that my bulbs i am using have that long tube that looks like HPS so i think they are hps. ok now wich one is better?? i guess i could alternate every 3 months or so. what does everyone else do? plants are going to bloom anyway so i think focusing on growth is more important!

Kinda funny actually, cause I thought mine was HPS but it was MH, but that's actually good because I was going to have a hard time "living" with HPS in my living room.

I have a lot of natural sunlight also, where I grow, so I can get the red spectrum from that, in addition to the Metal Halide. Do you have natural light in your growing area? I think you do....

actually heather i have no natural sunlight i moved everything to the basement for better humidity and i lost the battle over the spare bedroom :embarass: but i have over 20 plants in bud or sheath so i will use this bulb for a little while then switch to metal halide does that sound right? i just hate the yellow :evil: i think the best way to go for me is use a metal halide bulb and fertilize with a blooming fertilizer best of both worlds :D

Stan, I'm using HPS with Sonagro bulb, so the system provides both red and blue spectrum. You can always alternate the bulbs every 3 or 4 months and if your system accepts both bulbs simultaneously, then that is even better! Heather, you have it the other way around, I think with your conditions, with natural light from your window, an HPS would work better than MH.

No, Pete, it wouldn't because I can't have HPS in my living room. So, I'm happy with what I have.

That s why greenhouses use HPS and not MH to supplement light but if you think your MH is good enough, good for you! :D

thanks pete! i think i will alternate the bulbs every 3 months now where can i get a good deal on a new metal halide bulb???

Well, maybe someone else who uses MH will weigh in with their experience. I know there are plenty of people who use them.

thanks pete! i think i will alternate the bulbs every 3 months now where can i get a good deal on a new metal halide bulb???

You're welcome and good luck, Stan! :-dance:

as i look on ebay the metal halides look like the screw in part is skinnier than my HPS. also the metal halides have a big hump in the middle. are the diameters different between the HPS and ME

Stan, you are correct,and I believe the "screw in" part is the same size and that is why your system allows interchangeability. :Grin:

i hope so they just look different on the web? thanks again pete! also is there a better one to buy 10,000 or 20,000 K?????

Stan, do you have the company's website? If you do, then you can get all the info and recommendations directly from them. They may even carry the right kind of bulbs and give you the best suggestions. :D

well my problem is i bought the system used. the bulb that came with it looks just like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-400-watt-HPS-GE-Lucalox-Lamp-hydroponic-grow-light_W0QQitemZ7714968971QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem
and the metal halides look like they are to skinny to fit in the light fixture
http://cgi.ebay.com/GE-400-Watt-Metal-Halide-Light-Bulb_W0QQitemZ4403206010QQcategoryZ20706QQssPageNa meZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The MH end looks too skinny is because the bulbs are fat and HPS bulbs are narrower. :D

so to sum this thread up that ME bulb has the same diameter as my HPS bulb?

I agree with Big H! MH bulbs are bigger than a softball, while HPS are very narrow like a bud vase.

sorry i meant the same diameter in terms of the screw in part

so to sum this thread up that ME bulb has the same diameter as my HPS bulb?

Yep and make sure you buy the right bulbs for your system.

so to sum this thread up that ME bulb has the same diameter as my HPS bulb?

Yep and make sure you buy the right bulbs for your system.
would that info be on the bottom of the ballest???
like i said i bought it used and the only info i got was it could take both ME and HPS bulbs

If your system is a 400 watt system (just guessing here), then you can't use 1000 watt bulbs or 200 watt bulbs, 400 watt bulbs only.

If you,ve got a HPS system then you can change over to Ceramic metal halide without having to change the ballast
I,ve just done so.
These new bulbs are full spectrum & appear just like natural light.
Too early to say if the plants like them better than HPS.

If your system is a 400 watt system (just guessing here), then you can't use 1000 watt bulbs or 200 watt bulbs, 400 watt bulbs only.
gotcha pete it is a 400 watt system it looks like i am going to buy this 400 watt ME
http://cgi.ebay.com/GE-400-Watt-Metal-Halide-Light-Bulb_W0QQitemZ4403206010QQcategoryZ20706QQssPageNa meZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Good! If I were you, I would double check and see what the exact specs are and if it is really switchable because you don't want to find out the wrong way. Good luck! Keep us updated. :D

Stan, did your system come with a glass cover? I would recommend it if it didn't come with one. I have heard of many horror stories of bulbs exploding and millions of shattered glass pieces all over the plants. :shock:

no glass cover i will look into that

Stan, I just sent you a PM in regards to light stands.

gotcha pete it is a 400 watt system it looks like i am going to buy this 400 watt ME

Stan:

You keep saying "ME" bulbs. That's a new one on me - are you sure you don't mean "MH"? Or am I just out of date? Before you rush out and by a metal halide bulb, you should check into the Son-Agro bulbs. Plants use a fairly narrow band in the blue spectrum (for growing) and a couple fairly narrow bands in the red end (to intiate blooming.) Everything else is theoretically just waste light as far as the plants are concerned. Most, if not all, MH bulbs are deficient in the red end. HPS bulbs are deficient in the blue end. Philips put a bit of mercury into their HPS Son-Agro bulbs that they claim increases the blue output by 30% to provide better growth.
I have, in the past, used MH lights and did not get satisfactory flowering so now I use nothing but Son-Agros. There may well be better bulbs out there now - I haven't had any cause to investigate in recent years.

kpb

sorry MH i dont know why i keep saying ME??? this light is just irritating me :mad: i will look into thew sonogro thanks!

I have heard of many horror stories of bulbs exploding and millions of shattered glass pieces all over the plants.
Pete:

Do you have personal knowledge of any of these many horror stories? I heard them all too before I hung a PL light in my outdoor "greenhouse". I even installed a solenoid for my overhead misters so I could water by flipping a switch so I wouldn't have to go near the light. But it's been there for years, it's often well laced with mist and water drops and hasn't exploded yet. Mind, I don't turn the hose directly onto to bulb.

kpb

kpb

I have been using a HPS w SOnAgro bulb for many years and I have nothing but excellent results in growing and blooming my slippers. :D Also, HPS bulbs last longer.

Stan,
Don't over think it too much. You didn't have it before - what were you using then? This will be an improvement and you just bought it. Give it a chance, and in the meantime, look into other options. I don't think you've moved anywhere but forward....

Pete:

Do you have personal knowledge of any of these many horror stories? I heard them all too before I hung a PL light in my outdoor "greenhouse". I even installed a solenoid for my overhead misters so I could water by flipping a switch so I wouldn't have to go near the light. But it's been there for years, it's often well laced with mist and water drops and hasn't exploded yet. Mind, I don't turn the hose directly onto to bulb.

kpb

Yes, I do know of one person who had one bulb explode but luckily he was fine and wasn't around.

thanks heather i just want to make my plants happy :D i probably should have bought new and not used :(

thanks heather i just want to make my plants happy :D i probably should have bought new and not used :(

I know, it gets confusing. But you know, most of us have bloomed plants w/out these things. I guess from my perspective, if I can bloom a plant that I know likes a lot of light from just sunlight, and then from sunlight supplemented with mercury discharge lamps (probably better than before) and then with Metal Halide (most definitely better than before) then I'm pretty happy. Is it the BEST possible thing? Who knows, but I'll keep trying with what works within my constraints until I do have the best. I just want my plants to bloom happily, just like you.

As I said before, I'm just pretty happy blooming plants w/out lights, let alone with! :D

thanks heather i just want to make my plants happy :D i probably should have bought new and not used :(

Stan, your plants will definitely grow and bloom even better with the right HID light for your conditions! :D I have never been happier since the day I installed my first HPS w SonAgro. :-dance: