what kind of light

i tok a look in the FAQ sction to find what type of light i can use that's cheap like CFL's for flowering/budding can anyone help me out a little here?

GrowinGreen23

you answered your own question... cfl's. if you want cheap that's your option. other than that there is hps but that's not cheap or you could use t5 flouro's (bloom tubes) but they can be pretty expensive as well. there has also been alot of talk about led's recently but i have no experience with them. you could get a 70 or 150 hps security light from home depot for 30-80$ and convert it to a remote ballast and use that. i suppose under 75$ could be considered cheap when talking about a complete hid set-up. good luck.

well i have 2 150 watt cfls running now all i do is just change the light cycle and keep the same lights? i don't need to have more red or blue spectrum coming in?thanks

growingreen23

when you say 150 do you mean true 150watt horticultural cfl's or 42watters that screw into regular sockets and say something like "42watts same as 150 watt incandescent"

yes the 42 watters, i only have 3 plants and not a lot of space so i was told to try those, so doc whats the verdict, can i keep using them?

here i think i know how to show the other thread with my recent pics of the plants
http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=60575

Growingreen23

There is no question that you must use HPS or the sun for the flowering stage. Oh sure, other lights will keep the plants alive, but do you want any weed for your investments of time and money? The only other possible alternative would be MH with a red as possible bulb, but you wont get near the yeild of HPS, and you'll still have to aggressively ventalate.

For flowering I have tried everything except LED, and my understanding is that although LED's may kind of work they are no where near cost effective yet. EVERYTHING that I have tried for flowering except HPS and the sun, was a complete waste of time and money. Oh sure I got buds, but literally about 1 or 2 percent of what I would have got using HPS. I'ld say this is a good number for the flouros, window sill, and incandescants that I have tried.

The good news is anything will work pretty well for the veg. stage. Of course MH works the best, but if I could not use this I would use flourecsents. They run so cool you can put them almost right on the plants.

The important part is the flowering stage.

Hope this helps a little.

To do a grow properly with CFL's you will need about 6 per plant to get good results. Highest wattage you can. For veg get blue spectrum, and for flower get a more reddish spectrum.

Its gunner cost alot to go. The best way to sort yourself out is get a HPS w/ ballast.

You'll get good results, and not have to have lights all over the place....

It's not easy to grow cheap and get good results...

if your finances allow i would get hps. there is no comparing cfl buds to hps buds. if you do have to stay with the 42's i would get 4 or 5 more at least to get a decent yeild. i used to have a scrog cabinet with 4 42's 1 125watt vitelume cfl and a 65watt aquarium cfl strip and the yeild was about a qp every harvest.

Come to think of it, window sill was probably a little higher. Something like 10 percent of HPS.

yeah i guess it does, you're basically saying i need to get out there and get a hps system for about 150 for the three plants i want to flower. i mean i'm not worried about getting a ton cause i'm not selling i'm looking to just try what i have grown and know that i am able to do it again but better with better tools

i guess if i have not other choice then thats what i have to do

Thanks

Growingreen23