well winters here and i want to grow still

[NightProwler]

so im thinking about growing in the space under my staircase. i've got a spare clamp lamp that i use for my lizards. Now i've heard about "cfl" and hps" lighting... but i have no idea what this stuff is. could anybody give me some info on what kind of a bulb i need to buy for a standard grow, and where i could buy it?

i hope this is a reasonable question to be asking
thanks:)

[green_gardenr]

ok well hps is high pressure sodium a very great loght for growing although it raises electricity and needs a ballast they also get really hot cfls are compact florecent lights which are those little spiral lights that will grow weed fine just need to be closer to the plant and also you gotta kae sure u get right spectrum for each stage like 6500k or daylight type for veg and 2700k or soft white for flower

[NightProwler]

thanks! so if i want to save energy and use a less-hot bulb, i should go with the cfl?

[deftdrummer]

yes, or rather a few of them. You can buy a simple fixture from any hardware store or even wal mart

[jamstigator]

Save energy and less heat, yes, but you also get about half the yield for the power you do use. Not saying that's a bad tradeoff necessarily, just the way it is, and you should probably know that before you go buy 20 CFLs or something. In other words, with a 400-watt high pressure sodium light, the most you could expect to achieve in terms of yield is around 12-14 ounces, and realistically you will probably get half of that. If you use 400 watts of CFLs for flowering, the most you can expect to yield is around 6-7 ounces, and probably more like half of that...for the same amount of electricity used.

A 400-watt HPS light with a good bulb cranks out 55,000 lumens. You'd need like 25+ 26ish-watt CFLs to equal that amount of light and even so, it still wouldn't be as good because of the lack of penetration with CFLs.

Not saying you shouldn't just go the CFL route. If all you want to grow is 2-3 ounces or something every couple of months, they will do the job. I'm just pointing out their inefficiency disadvantages, especially in regards to flowering. Whether that's an issue for you or not is your call. ;)

[JackdaWack]

Best time to grow, less heat, less humidity, get a 250watt hps if ur worried about heat, cfl's work but u will be much happier with the ease of one light compared to 4 or 6, also much better yields. will you be able to run a ventilation system? its very important if you want to use hps, BUT you wont need too much with a 250wtt.

[deftdrummer]

Save energy and less heat, yes, but you also get about half the yield for the power you do use. Not saying that's a bad tradeoff necessarily, just the way it is, and you should probably know that before you go buy 20 CFLs or something. In other words, with a 400-watt high pressure sodium light, the most you could expect to achieve in terms of yield is around 12-14 ounces, and realistically you will probably get half of that. If you use 400 watts of CFLs for flowering, the most you can expect to yield is around 6-7 ounces, and probably more like half of that...for the same amount of electricity used.

really? sure wish I could pull off 14 oz from my 400W HPS light. Realistic numbers are more like an oz per plant X 5-6 plants for a 400 and less / plant the more you have.

[jamstigator]

I use 240 watts of sidelighting CFLs with my 400, and my average yield is 10-12 ounces of buds, plus 2-4 ounces of leaf (including good trim leaf), with two or three plants. I have never hit the 1 gram/watt/grow point, and probably never will, but I do keep trying!