Newb Getting ready (Lighting Questions Ahead)

Yo, I am SilentHawk36, and i appreciate all the people out there. I have learned so much from this site, but i still have a couple questions as i get ready for my 1st real grow ;)
(2 failed attempts 1 indoors(had to kill em to avoid getting caught) and 1 outdoors that just straight up failed.

Anyways i have some questions about lighting as i prepare for my 1st sucessful (hopefully) indoor grow. I will have the entire summer worry free so i am betting i pull something off.

What would someone reccomend to a newb like me for a lighting system that will run me around 200 or less. I want something realible and something affordable that will not break.

Also i would like to use the same lighting system from start to finish. I realize that lighting is the name of the game in most cases, so i want something that would really make them florish.

I have 2 hydro stores near me and while i dont plan to go hydro (soil) i could check them out. I would ideally like something i could purchase at a home depot or wally world cause these stores are quite far away.

I am open to all discussions and be warned that if you post i will proboly ask you more questions :thumbsup:

Thanks, and take a hit for your contribution,

Hawk.

what size room do you have to grow in???

I have a closet that i plan to grow at least 4 plants in. I plan to start them in the pot i will end them in so they containers are fairly large.

I may make a second shelf in the closet and grow 2 more. But i havent decided on that yet.

Thanks,

Hawk.

Im pretty new at this too. Im about 3 weeks into my first grow and im using cfl. It seems like everyone will recommend HPS but there is a problem that it seems many people like myself cannot get around.. There is no way i can deal with the heat that comes off of these lamps. the only thing i would consider for flowerinf is a 150w hps with remote ballast. The cfl are working great for flowering and ill try em for flowering and then probably make the switch but just remember you said you almost got busted earlier so im assuming you wanna grow in a small space and unless you wanna keep this shit small and quiet HPS poses a problem...at least for me...hope it helps

Zep,

What kind of CFL's did you use and how many/size.

Could you snap a pic of the box so i know what to look for. Also what did you mount them in.

Much thanks,

Hawk.

if you can vent properley i would go for a 400w hps and use a sunmaster bulb which you can veg aswell as bloom under,other option a 400w mh/hps converstion mh bulb for veg change to hps for bloom.there is probably many more options for you but this is the road i would look down.good luck!

Matt,

What would be required to vent a setup like the one you sugested. Also how much would it cost?

Thanks,

Hawk.

You are just growing over the summer so you really want one light for less hassle. As mattmao said, 400w hps would be ideal however they are costly.

Atm I am using a 125w hps for 6 plants and am having little progress. This is why I have purchased 6 15w CFLs that will boost veg and I can combine them with my HPS for flowering. For speedy veg get atleast 4 CFLs one for each plant, they are cheap so you will get profit if you come to sell etc. Plus they are small and easier to place/hide if worse comes to worse.

As for flowering you can try the CFLs (I haven't got that far so wouldn't know) or try maybe borrowing a lamp as it is only a single grow. I wouldn't suggest MH as people seem to give them negative feedback and don't suit flowering.

By the way i got busted by my parents and they are now helping me grow lmao.

Remember nutes!

I hope this helps and if you need help please ask i'll bookmark your thread!

*You can ignore me if you wish as i am a first time grower, but I can only help and I have got a lot of knowledge from this site + personal experience*

would also try to go with a hps really cant recomend a wattage without knowing the size of the closet but you will probably be looking at 250 or 400 watts

the cfl i use are from the home depot...if you go through electical they sell these 150w max clamp lights for about 5 or 6 bucks and splitters for about a buck. So now your clamp light can hold 2 bulbs. for my veg i have
4-27w blue spectrum bulds and 2-42w red spectrum for flowering ill switch probable all but one to the 42watters. im using a dwc bucket that is on top of a wire rack i got at wallmart for 15$ the lights clamp on perfectly to these adjustable racks. and since you can move these clamp lights you can get them very close to the plant and raise them whenever. my plant is also in a growbox i got at homedepot, one of those little workforce garage storage things. i put two computer fans in one echaust the other to cool the plant and my cfl still heat up the box a little so i cant imagine what a hps would do to that small of a space.. if i go with hps later ill deffinately get another fan.....remember the worst thing that can happen is you start a fire....if this happens youll get busted and not have a place to live.

Thanks for the input people its much appreciated. :D

I would like a lighting setup that i can potentially use past the summer. I plan to move into a place and have some plants going all the time. But as of right now i am getting in on a apartment (all 420 friendly folks) for the summer, so past that i cannot predict. I will proboly look for somewhere 420 friendly so i can continue.

Anyways could someone post a pic or a good discription of what they use for CFL's at home depot or something. Cause i will be shopping and dont want to get the wrong thing. Also a HPS is a option since my and my bro are kinda going 1/2s on the setup (and the fruits :)) so i might be able to afford this option.

I would like to go with CFL's and a small HPS if there is such thing.

Stone, Appreciate the help man and please bookmark cause no doubt i will have questions once i get going. Also i will be moving in on may 1st so its pretty soon. :cool:

Thanks again,

Hawk.

very little vent needed ,all you need to be sure of that you have air flow running through your room 24/7.on a small set-up computer fans can do the trick. when lights are on leave door slightly ajar and use any household fan to serculate air.what i will try to do in the next couple of days is take pics of my grow room to see if that helps in any way.sorry cant do at moment something wrong with my digital camera.

if you can afford a hps get a hps even if its a 250w and they give of very little heat you will see the benifits,you can always add more lights as you gain knowledge.keep reading, keep learning,keep on growing.

http://sigma-2.com/camerajim/cjgbltclamplight.jpg

the lights that i use from the HD look almost exactly like this but are constructed a little better and the socket splitter just turns one sicket into two.

http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/e...ightbulb_1.jpg

and the cfl light look like this, i got the 27 watters cause they were the biggest blue spectrum and the 42 watters are big fuckers in the red spectrum. also make sure you get the 150 w max light if you so decide bacuase they also sall a 75 watt max.. but with 75 watts you cant put 2 42 watts in the same fixture..i didnt realize and fucked myself over a little oh well only 6 bucks.. sorry no digital cam. i wish i had one cause im proub of my box setup and my plant looks very healthy so i know these are working awesome for veg. i also have mylar everywhere, since i put in the mylar the plant exploded with growth, mylar will save you tons of lumens and enhance your lights drastically so pick some up.

but by all means get hps if you can do it but remember venting properly will add to the cost and you NEED it done properly or else your fucked in so many different dirrection. Also stear clear of 250w campast hps units where the ballast is in the hood with the bulb. Since everything is together the ballast heat plus the bulb heat creates even more problems and you cant vent the fuckers for shit.

spot on laid, make sure your ballast is seperate as if its not digital it will give of a lot of heat,if you get a seperatre one you can have outside of your room.

I have 125w HPS which is small and cost me £40 in total!

Could someone post their pics of the HPS so i know what to look for.

Thanks,

Hawk.

For a 125HPS and some CFLs how would this rate. I am going to be shopping for my lighting this weekend so keep the convo going.

I dont know about where you guys live and how the hydro shops are but where i am you cant really get GREAT deals in the stores it seems like online is where its at. i hate getting stuff online cause i dont want my CC statement reading HYDROPNICS PLUS on it or some shit like that. plus they got to mail the shit to you so youll have to wait for that. I just went through all the crap your doing right now and it is quite a pain in the ass. Ebay has a great store on it that has a 150w hps digital ballast for about 90$ plus the cord sets will be about 20$ plus bulb 40$ reflector, venting. would probably come to a price point of 200 which is where you are at. 150w hps can cover a 3x3 area but ideally your lookin at a 2x2. so if you got 4 plants that should probably work since about half of those will be males anyway unless you end up cloning or using femenized seeds. Just rack your brain and try to think of every possible thing you must take into account for the long run cause it will save you money and time.

ok heres a link of the one i bought:

eBay.co.uk: GENUINE ENVIROLITE 125W GROW LAMP 6400K VEG (item 130103586687 end time 27-Apr-07 19:45:43 BST)

eBay.co.uk: ENVIROLITE HYDROPONICS LAMP HANGER GROW LIGHT NEW! (item 130104004793 end time 28-Apr-07 21:21:27 BST)

eBay.co.uk: GENUINE ENVIROLITE SINGLE LAMP REFLECTOR ! (item 130102209904 end time 24-Apr-07 22:22:34 BST)

DONT BUY ANY OF THE STUFF ABOVE!!

It is much better to buy this package which i didn't see at the time, it comes with the bulb and the fitting attached to the reflector whereas i had to buy it all seperately last time:

eBay.co.uk: MIRROR FINISH REFLECTOR WITH 125W ENVIROLITE 6400K LAMP (item 130105522048 end time 01-May-07 20:45:33 BST)

Here is the 250w one which will produce much better results if you can afford the little extra!!!! :

eBay.co.uk: MIRROR FINISH REFLECTOR WITH 200W ENVIROLITE 6400K LAMP (item 130105522127 end time 01-May-07 20:45:39 BST)

Hope this all helped :)

my problem with those lights is you cant move them around your plant, when flowering wouldnt it be best to encircle your plant with red spectrum cfl rather than the light just comming from the top, wouldnt leaves bloke your lower bud sites thus creating less yield? idk thats just what i would think, thats why i ent with my movable cfl which are a cheaper optin anyway.

You have a good point however, most growers tend to use LSTing which can help, but the best way to get around this is by just tucking the leaves about so that the buds are visible more :)

The best option would be to get one of these and maybe some budget CFLs to help along the process, anyone agree?

i actually just added two more 42 watters to my grow....giving me 4x42= 168watts and 4x27=108watts for a total of 276watts and. This set up cost me under 100$ and i have 16,800 lumens which i believe is only 200 less than a 150w hps. just checked its actually 800 more than most 150w hps.

Great News guys, :)

So yesterday i headed up to the hill (local college type apartment community literally like 80% of all people who live there are in college) to check out my new apartment for may 1st.

So i called him up and he said hey i think you know my roommate, dan.

And i go holy shit, not only have a bought weed from this kid on a couple of occasions, i know he also grows some hydro on a very low key and got hooked up from a friend with seedlings. :thumbsup:

So i go check it out, and since i can grow freely i am definately down. So basically i have a limitless advice on growing and taking care a mere 3 ft away from my room. SWEET!!!!! :stoned:

So as i get ready for germination on sat (paper towel method) i couldnt feel better cause dan also told me i could have seedlings if i wanted. DOPE!!


I am still gonna try on my own (cause dan wont always be around) but i thought i would share the wonderfull news/vibes. Also i am planning to start a grow thread as early as friday so Stone and Laid, Please join me in that.

I am so freakin happy right now you dont even know,

Hawk.

thats pretty rad and if that kids been growing you know your closet idea can work without detection if he has been doing it for a while...i wanted to start a grow thread of my own but dont have a cam and it just aint the same when you cant see the beautiful plant getting closer to harvest...my girl (hopefully) just got topped last night and hasnt shown any real signs of slowed growth which is great. I think the 84 watt boost i just put in is halping it along too...sweet news dude keep us posted.