CFL Closet Grow.

[k1ucHt]

Alright me and a friend are attempting a closet grow using CFL light bulbs. The closet is 30in wide 24in deep and the box is going to be 4ft high. Initially we plan to grow 5-10 plants at least until flowering stage to distinguish which are male and female then weed them out depending on space. My question is as far as the lighting goes how many watts are necessary for such a small growing space. Right now we have two CFL bulbs one being 20w(1200 lumens) and the other 26w(1600 lumens). We were planning on buying two more 42w bulbs will this be sufficient to grow roughly 3-4 decent sized healthy female plants?

Below are some pictures of the closet so you have an idea of the space we're working with.

[BkSkillz]

keep them about an inch away from the plants rotate them daily and make sure u have fresh air constantly circulating the grow space(fresh air in from the bottom used air out towards the top)you'll be fine for time being when moving into flowering stage you'll want to add more light for better yeild pay attention to the kelvins 2700k is red spectrum cfls for flowering 5000k and up is blue spectrum for veging...good luck

[k1ucHt]

Sounds good Bk...

Alright I have a question now, we're thinking about picking up two of these http://www.1000bulbs.com/products.php?cat=85-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent-Light-Bulb good or bad choice? Which one is more beneficial. We'll also be throwing in one more 20w and another 26w. So thats a total of 262watts in the space above.

Looking for maximum yeild and quality. What do you guys think?

[Da1KrayzieThug]

Look into and invest in a 250W HPS unit. It'll pay you back in the end.

[BkSkillz]

those lights look good the one on the bottom is blue spectrum so it'll be good to start off with the one on the top can be added later to induce flowering

[Da1KrayzieThug]

Again, you said you wanted yield. If used correctly, CFL's give you 0.3grams per watt. HPS gives you more along the lines of 1g per watt. I can't remember exactly the watts per square foot or any of that but either way 1.0>0.3. So you be the judge if you want baseball sized kolas compared to marker sized ones.

[bc.bud]

im in the same situation i got 3 gorgious very healthy female clones i got them setup in my furnace room .THE room is about 2.5 ft by 2ft and 6 ft tall. i have the hole areao covered in shiny foil, i also have a cfl light system but i made a reflective viser for the 100W light.i also have a fan constintally blowing them a nice breeze 24/7. my plants are about 28days old and im giving them 18/6 lighting ....
Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for me to make my gro better.
thanks alot ppl.

[k1ucHt]

Alright.. what about two of these http://www.elights.com/philhpsmogba.html ?

Should the HPS and CFL lights be on at the same time throughout the project?

[Sativagrowin]

That would be just fine but remember that that link was for just the bulb and not the whole light. To run a 400 watt HPS you need ballast. Youll be lookin at spendin around $175 for a cheap unit.

Laterz

[Da1KrayzieThug]

That would be just fine but remember that that link was for just the bulb and not the whole light. To run a 400 watt HPS you need ballast. Youll be lookin at spendin around $175 for a cheap unit.

Laterz

He's right. Also, the CFLs would add to the growth in yield if they are 5000Kelvins or higher and they'd contribute more to flowering if they are closer to 2500K. Either one would contribute to both in some way or another. They are especially good for the parts of the plant that are not getting any light for any reason. I remember when HARDDON was showing that grow that he got off the internet. The guy who grew them started getting much better undergrowth once he put the CFLs underneath the plants.

[k1ucHt]

Sounds good to me guys. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to buy cheap HPS units then?

Also here are the bulbs we have now, I'm assuming they should just be used during the vegitation stage but I just wanna make sure there sufficient:

CFL 20(75)watt Soft White
CFL 26(100)watt Soft White
CFL 26(100)watt Warm White
CFL 26(100)watt warm white

*The bottom two say they are 3000k, I am unaware of the top two.

I appreciate all the help so far thanks guys.

[Da1KrayzieThug]

No they are fine regardless of their Kelvins but I'm just telling you about what would be optimal. As for the HPS:

http://dyna-brite.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/items.asp?Cc=H2&iTpStatus=1&Tp=&Bc=
http://futuregarden.com/cgi-bin/shop/group-list.html?mCat=lighting&inetdesc=system100-270hps&lmenu=lighting

There you go cutie pie. :D

[Da1KrayzieThug]

Oh and Ebay is always an option. I personally love Ebay, but Zandor has had problems so it's your call :).

[k1ucHt]

Thanks!! Question though.. why should I only get a 250w system? I was looking at 400w.

[BukDatAss]

the more light the better go 400w

[k1ucHt]

Alright now I've come across this very cheap site (or so it seems compared to what i've been seeing) which of these would you guys recommend http://www.insidesun.com/index.php/action/category/id/2/subid/1/ if for some reason these are no good please let me know why. Thanks Again!

[k1ucHt]

Nevermind in that last post.. low prices but insane shipping.

http://futuregarden.com/cgi-bin/shop/30-3115.html

What do you guys think of this? Also do these typically come with at least one bulb?

[Da1KrayzieThug]

Nevermind in that last post.. low prices but insane shipping.

http://futuregarden.com/cgi-bin/shop/30-3115.html

What do you guys think of this? Also do these typically come with at least one bulb?

I'm pretty sure they do, but I recommended a 250W because I figured you were low on money and most the 250Watters were cheaper than 400. Goodluck. But if you have the money then yea 400W would be a much better decision.

[k1ucHt]

Alright we pretty much have the final setup ready but I just want to check and make sure this isn't going to be too much on the plants to start. We have the four CFL lights listed above and just purchased this HPS system https://www.futuregarden.com/cgi-bin/shop/30-3115.html is it safe to have all this lighting(498watts) on the plants from start to finish? We plan on going 24/7 for the first 3 weeks and swtiching over to 12/12 after that (how long will it typically be from there?). As far as soil goes do you guys have any brand suggestions, I read there is no need to add fertalizer to the mix till after about 3 weeks since the soil itself will contain a sufficient amount for the small plant. What about water though, is room temperature Poland Spring alright to be feeding these plants? I know the pH should be between 6.5-7.0 but I wouldn't trust the tap.

Sorry for all the questions just wanna make this go as smoothly as possible.

Thanks Again!

[Fugitive]

There is never too much light, only too much heat caused by the lights. In seedling stage you might want to use fluorescents because the plants are more delicate then. Try and make it past the first two weeks and you will be fine :)