Low Wattage HPS/MH

do 50 watt metal halide and high pressure sodium bulbs need a ballast or can you just screw them into a regular household light socket?
i am planning on doing a 2ft 8 tube t5 grow with the addition of 3 50 watt mh bulbs for growth and 3 50 watt hps for flowering. any thoughts?

they still use ballasts. sound like a good fullspectrum GL

Why not go with a 150w HPS fixture that will also drive a 150w CMH bulb? Same wattage as the three lights you are considering and you can substitute the CMH bulb for the MH or just use CMH for the entire grow.

Just a thought.

Yea they would still need a ballast and depending on your grow size I might consider what Plantus is saying and going with one 150W it would be a lot easier and a lot less cords and shit to deal with it Good Luck though bro

ya..where do u even get a 50w ballast..not at the hydro store...gunna have get tht online somewhere or at homedepot maybe? idk but ive never seen a grow with less than a 150w bulb..i wud be curious to see what it coes to add a few 50w MH to my 400w HPS set up..

really if you wanted the best spectrum i would get x2 250w(one hps one MH) and a 4 bulb t5(460nm, 420nm, florasun plant, zoomed reptisun 10.0)

polyarcturus said:

really if you wanted the best spectrum i would get x2 250w(one hps one MH) and a 4 bulb t5(460nm, 420nm, florasun plant, zoomed reptisun 10.0)

Click to expand...

how would you arrange the lights with those? one on each side of the plant?

use the 4 bulb for side light the bulb in this order bottom to top,420nm, reptisun (uv is most usable from the side), 460nm, florasun, then the 2 hids up top the side with MH would be for plant starting flowering and the hps side for half way to the end of flower. in a perpetual 4-6 plant set up like a 2x4 or 3x4

or put them all up top and try SOG or SCROG it with small pots and clones

I got a 125W (actualy a 2x125W) ballast from an old garden light.