Closet Tomato Plant

[jotpunkie]

Firstly, I shall introduce myself. I am jotpunkie (as I bet most of us are), and I just last week germinated my first tomato seeds. Four went in, 3 germinated, and 2 are alive and growing (in a single pot) today. They are currently planted in some store-bought potting soil and lit by two fluorescent lights.
1 x 12w Ring Lamp
1 x 20w Cool White 12" Over-head (once provided lighting for my closet-space)
1 x Fan blowing at lowest speed (just added!)

It began only as an experiment and I am currently undecided about what I shall do with them. I have a couple of options:

Wait till plant matures enough, then transfer outdoors.
Buy some lights!


The former is pretty uninteresting, so assuming I were to do the latter:
How little could I be looking to spend in order to get decent results, without raising any flags to my parents (with whom I still reside) about my project?

Could someone point me in the direction of a light or place to look for lights and certain lights for which I should be looking? I have a budget of about $250, which I know can get me one great light. But will it be loud, or power-consuming? Should I go with a DIY LED setup? I need some guidance, as these aren't the only constraints: I leave for college in about a month and needless to say I will not be transferring my potted plant to my dorm; it, along with any lighting, will probably instead be transferred to a friend's house.

Let me repeat, this is simply an experiment as plants and biology et al. interests me. Thanks!

[SauceeMcGee]

You won't be able to get any "tomatoes" in a month my friend.

I am a plant biology major, trust me...from seed, you DEFINITELY will not get any tomatoes before you leave for college

SMG

[jotpunkie]

Well I know that much!

I might have been unclear: I plan to transplant it somewhere else when I leave. For now, I am quite intent on making it strong and resilient so if I choose to move it outdoors it can survive. I am simply looking for suggestions as to light options, as while my current setup is fine for the beginning stages (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong), I want to consider the options and prices of bigger, better lights.

[jotpunkie]

Well I spent about $60 and got quite a bit for my little tomato plants:


4 x 26w (= 100w inc.) Soft White CFL - 1700 lm. ea.
4 x 26w (= 100w inc.) 6500k CFL - 1600 lm. ea.
(1700 * 4 + 1600 * 4 = 13200 lm.)
1 x Grounded timer
2 x Ceramic bulb holder thingy
6 x Lightbulb V splitter


I have one of the bulb holder hanging over the plant, and the other is sitting to one side of it. My next plans are to mount the light sitting beside the plant to the wall, then to install reflectors and/or white surfaces around the plant.

I have 13200 lumen which is pretty good for $60, but I will need to modify the setup a bit in order to use it all effectively.

[SauceeMcGee]

I have questions and a few suggestions:

1.) How big is the space you have now? Is it lightproof?
2.) How big is the space at your friends house? Is this lightproof?
3.) Are you circulating new air in your space or just spinning stagnant air all the time?
4.) How old are your plants?
5.) What light cycle are you on right now?
6.) Where are you located? Depending on where you are, transplanting outdoors could end up to be dissapointing
7.) Please stop calling them tomatoes...
8.) What do you know about plant biology?
9.) In order to do even the smallest good with your plants, you want, at the very least, 2000 lumens per sq. feet
10.) NO MORE THAN ONE PLANT PER POT!


Let's start with these and see what you got

SMG

[purplekush989]

its a bit too late dude. most outdoor plants should be flowering soon.

[SauceeMcGee]

its a bit too late dude. most outdoor plants should be flowering soon.

This is also my concern