I have two of these:
Here's a link to the manufacturer's product page if you feel you need it.
They were given to me by an electrical subcontractor working on one of our projects. Most of the specs are irrelevant for my question, but I want to give as much info as I can before asking my questions. I truncated a lot, but here are the listed specs that I feel are relevant:
-EISA Compliant - Pulse Start
-High light output & long lamp life provide cost effective & low maintenance operation
-Open-air ballast for cooler operation
-Multi-Tap ballast:120V, 208V, 240V, 277V:Factory wired at 120V
-Clear 400 watt metal halide lamp included
-Metal halide lamp has a color temperature of 4000K
-Mogul-base porcelain Type O exclusion "pink" socket
I am currently only using one of the two I got. The light has a factory reflector available, which I bought and installed in lieu of the wire protective cage.
My questions are thus: S
Specifically, the color temperature... After doing some research, the 4000K temp doesn't do a lot for plant growth based on what I read. For growth, most HID MH bulbs are 5500K. Is this correct? I'm basing my information on this chart:
Secondly, the fixture has a Type O mogul base. Can I simply buy a MH bulb that fits the base and that is designed for growing (5500K) and pop it in this fixture since the ballast is designed for a 400W MH bulb?
Regarding my last question, does anyone know where I can get a 400w MH bulb, mogul base, with color spectrum of 5500k-6500K that isn't ridiculously expensive?
Should I be asking this in the hydroponics forum or the greenhouse forum?
The vegetable forum gets WAY more hits than any other...
