# Metal Halide Hortilux Blue



## Alistair (May 20, 2008)

Hey everybody,

I just bought a Hortilux MH Blue bulb.  This bulb puts out more UV light than the average bulb.  I was thinking about using this bulb for both vegatative and flowering cycles.  Has anyone ever used this particular bulb or one that is similar to it?  I wanted to buy a ceramic metal halide, but I think this is similar to the CMH.  It doesn' put out as much yellow light as HPS bulbs do, but it still puts out quite a bit of yellow.  The person that sold it to me advised me to still use the HPS for flowering, because of the yellow light. Does anyone here have any experience using this type of bulb for both vegetative as well as flowering cycles?  I want to see if the extra UV will make the buds more potent with THC.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Alistair


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## Growdude (May 20, 2008)

I think buds just come out more potent when flowered with a regular MH, maybe its th UV.

Ive done a side by side with 2 400 watt fixtures 1 MH, 1 HPS
The HPS side did seem to have a bit more gurth to the buds but the MH side did look more "jewled up"

Cant say I can look thru my jars and tell the diferance now though.


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## Brouli (May 20, 2008)

UVB  makes more resin production not uv   and yes with hps u will get more but i like rather MH or Cool blue for extra kick, blue keeps it young


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## Growdude (May 20, 2008)

Brouli said:
			
		

> UVB makes more resin production not uv and yes with hps u will get more but i like rather MH or Cool blue for extra kick, blue keeps it young


 
Doesnt the MH put out more UVB then the HPS?


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## Brouli (May 20, 2008)

not sure but the most uvb is from aquarium ligts and terrarium i will check on that and i will get back to u


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## Brouli (May 20, 2008)

thats a long and good article on uvb and plants
http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/90/1/127


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## Alistair (May 20, 2008)

Ok, since I can't use both HPS and the MH blue light at the same time, I'll need to decide to use one or the other for flowering.  It seems that some people use MH for vegetative as well as flowering.  However, there are people that use HPS for vegetative and flowering.  So, a couple of you seem to think that using MH for flowering works nicely.  I need more input.  Who recommends using HPS for flowering and how many recommend trying the MH- blue that I have for flowering. 
PS  The HPS I have is also made by hortilux.  I use 400 watt bulbs.


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## Alistair (May 20, 2008)

Another PS.

I just read that normally HPS bulbs produce bigger buds, but MH bulbs produce more UVB light, and therefore potentially more thc.  I also read that HPS bulbs put out more orange and red light than MH bulbs.  However, when comparing the graphs for light output for both the Hortilux -Blue and the Hortilux Super HPS, I notice that the Hortilux blue light puts out more of all the different colors in the visible light spectrum than the HPS, except for in the yellow range, where HPS puts out a bit more (not much more) yellow light.  So, it would seem that this Hortilux MH bulb would be a good one to try for flowering.  

I've been looking for specs on how much uvb light these bulbs put out, but so far all I know is what I get from reading the box the bulb came in.  The box simply gives a warning about the short-wave uv radiation, but it doesn't say how much is produced by the bulb.


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## Alistair (May 20, 2008)

Upon doing more reading I've discovered that the MH bulbs have an inner shield that protects the outside environment from UV light.  So, it would seem that the best bet for UVB light would be one of those aquarium or reptile lights.


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## liermam (May 21, 2008)

You can get 26 watt Repti-Glo UVB 10.0 lights. They are 26 watt CFL's. I'd say one of those for ever 200W of HID is enough. 

MH isn't better for flowering IMO, even after factoring in extra UVB light.


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## Brouli (May 21, 2008)

dude if u gona use  blue spectrum for flowering  instead of spending money on ballasts and bulbs u could go to home depot get  5  65watt Fluorex ( +/- 6825 lumens 6500K) lights and there u go  one for each side and 1 in the top in ur grow box  almost no heat ad u set,  for   $210 for everything  that gives u  34125 lumens in blue spectrum  and u using 325 watts less power and more lumens than hortilux.




P.S  
i know im good


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## Alistair (May 21, 2008)

Yeah, well I don't need a new ballast to use the Hortilux blue; however, I've pretty much decided that the blue lamp isn't what I want for flowering.  If I keep the lamp it will be for the purpose it is marketed, to increase vegetative growth.

I don't understand why the hortilux hps is better than the hortilux blue lamp for flowering, because when you compare the graphs for the light in the visible sectrum, you'll notice that the hps lamp is only better in yellow and green wavelengths.  For every other color the blue lamp is much better.  But just the same, for some reason all sites I visited say that the HPS is better for flowering, so I will continue to use the hps lamp.
For UVB radiation I'm considering using one of the reptile lights I saw advertised by Petsmart.

I wonder if the blue lamp is worth keeping for increased vegetative growth?


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## streamit (May 21, 2008)

Best results are with full spectrum veg with mh add hps when flowering.Look @ this jewl 0_o woah Hortilux Super Blue Dual Arc Lamp its a 600w hps arc tube and a 400w mh arc packet in one bulb. Can't wait to get a few of these.


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## Alistair (May 21, 2008)

Now that sounds like a plan!  However, that would require a different ballast for me.  Something to dream about for now. I hope it works out for you.


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## IllusionalFate (May 21, 2008)

Growdude said:
			
		

> I think buds just come out more potent when flowered with a regular MH, maybe its th UV.
> 
> Ive done a side by side with 2 400 watt fixtures 1 MH, 1 HPS
> The HPS side did seem to have a bit more gurth to the buds but the MH side did look more "jewled up"
> ...


Well there you go, once your plants were harvested you didn't see the difference that you did when looking at them under the light. This most likely had to do with the light spectrums, maybe the MH blue brought out the trichomes more than the HPS.

Potency is determined by genetics, not light. Light determines how much of that potent bud you will get altogether.

Alistair Young, one thing that's very important in determining how well a light's effectiveness will be for a certain stage of growth is color temperature. Hortilux Super HPS is 2050k, and their Blue MH is 6500k. During flowering, cannabis plants use light mainly in the 2000k-3500k spectrum best to produce the highest yields.


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## liermam (May 21, 2008)

I'm telling you man. Get the reptile CFL's. They put out as much UVB per 26watt bulbs as like a 400w MH lamp.


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