Metal Halide Systems

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

The metal halide HID lamp is the most efficient source of artificial white light available to growers today. It comes in 175, 250, 400, 1000, 1100, and 1500-watt sizes. They may be either clear or phosphor coated, and all require a special ballast. The smaller 175 or 250-watt halides are very popular for closet grow rooms. The 400, 1000, and 1100-watt bulbs are very popular with most indoor growers. The 1500-watt halide is avoided due to its relatively short 2000 to 3000 hour life and incredible heat output. American growers generally prefer the larger 1000-watt lamps, and Europeans almost exclusively favor 400-watt metal halide lamps.

The main metal halide manufacturers include General Electric (Multivapor), Osram / Sylvania (Metalarc) and Westinghouse (Metal Halide), Iwasaki (Eye), Venture (SunMaster), and Philips (Son Agro). Each manufacturer makes a super halide which fits and operates in standard halide ballasts and fixtures. Super metal halide produce about 15 percent more lumens than standard halides. Super halides cost a few dollars more than standards but are well worth the money.

SunMaster, a division of Venture Lighting, has developed new horticultural metal halide bulbs. The new bulbs are brighter and provide a spectrum better suited to plant growth. Growers prefer the Warm Deluxe bulbs.

Clear halides are most commonly used by indoor growers. Clear super meta halides supply the bright lumens for plant growth. Clear halides work well for seedling, vegetative, and flower growth.

Phosphor coated 1000-watt halides give off a more diffused light and are easy on the eyes, emitting less ultraviolet light than the clear halides. They produce the same initial lumens and about 4000 fewer lumens than the standard halide and have a slightly different color spectrum. Phosphor coated halides have more yellow, less blue and ultraviolet light. Phosphor coated bulbs used t be popular among growers, but this trend has waned over the last ten years because they are not as bright as clear bulbs.

The 1000-watt super clear halides are the most common halides used to grow marijuana in North America. Compare energy distribution charts and lumen output of all lamps t decide which amp offers the most light for your garden. Typically, a home grower starts with one super metal halide.