Lighting Suggestions???

Hey all! I'm setting up my first grow room now. I have a nice sized closet that I'm workin with....3 x 3.5 x 5.5 (effective grow height since there is a big shelf). I've decided on two plants max since these will be strictly for personal use. I've lined the closet with emergency blankets (mylar baby!). So, here's the question: what kind of lighting should I be going for? Will one 400W HPS be sufficient for veg and flower? Should I be using CFLs for veg and switch to the HPS for flower? What kind of lumens and wattage should I be aiming for for both veg and flower? I really want to do this right the first time, and I'm kinda overwhelmed by the lighting issues, so ALL suggestions are welcome and much appreciated. Thanks guys and girls! :)

P.S. COST is an issue...I'm working on a very limited budget here (poor college kid).

if you are only doing two plants, i would suggest florecents and cfl's. GE makes a flo tube light in various lengths that puts out 3050 lum, 40w, 6500k. this bulb is called daylight. i'm in my first inside grow now, but, these indoor plants have grown better under daylight bulbs than any i've ever had in ACTUAL daylight!

for flower you can switch to some warm cfl's or if you were using a flo for veg, get kitchen and bath bulbs. they are the right spectrum and put out 3400 lum ea.

iv'e had excellent results with these, hope the info helps!

love, brooke

oh yeah, flo's and cfl's are inexpensive. you could deffinately get a full set up for under 70$ easily.

More lumens during veg and fewer during flower right? BTW as an announcement....just discovered a hydroponics store in town! This will be very helpful...I'm not goin the hydro route (for now), but they seem to have a good selection on some of the good ferts and other good supplies I've heard about on the boards :)

Personally, and this is just IMO

You're on track with the 400w HPS. In my first one or two grows i went the 400w HPS and loved it.
A 400 doesnt generate THAT much heat that it's a worry, but it's a good amount of watts for a closet.

Thats just my 2cents

Good luck! kick ass hobby you've chosen :dance:

Fingers :thumbsup:

A 400w HPS would be great if you have a reasonable ventilation system planned. If you can just keep your closet door open when the light is on, that's the cheapest ventilation option. If the door needs to be closed then you'll have more work to do in that area.

And no, you had it reversed: more light during flowering, don't need so much light during veg. I'd just use some 6500K CFLs for veg, like two 42-watt CFLs per plant, or three 30-watt, somewhere around there.

Or check these lights out:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/product.php?product=31682

One of those per plant during veg, and if you can, use them with a 400w HPS for flowering too. I ordered a couple of those in the warmer version (4100K) for flowering an extra female plant I had laying around that I didn't want to kill off. They seem like a pretty decent deal in terms of cost-effectiveness.

I'm doing my 1st grow now and although I didn't really restrict my budget too much, I got a 400 watt HPS and I'm loving it so far. One thing I learned since I started is that it can become a real hobby and you'll be wanting to upgrade and improve things all the time so my advice would be to get the best setup you can afford for now but make sure you have space and options to expand later. I started with a 400 hps in a wardrobe. Now it's a tent, same 400 watt hps plus a cool tube and a fan/filter. Next grow, I'll have some MH conversion bulbs and probably a few flouros and a propogator for clones and seedlings! It never stops...but it's fun :)

Here's my idea: One 400+W for both veg and flower....18/6 veg and then switch to 12/12 for flower.....how does this sound? If I could get some approval then I think that this will be the cheapest/easiest for me, for now atleast. I def hear ya Zoidberg, I stopped by my local hydroponics store this morning and WOW! As soon as I can generate some extra income, I will most definitely be doing some major upgrades. I feel a hydro operation coming on in the not too distant future! Also, yeah, I can keep the door open to the closet for vent. Should I leave it open all the time? Do I need to leave it wide open? Thanks so much, yall (I'm from GA, sorry about the lingo) are so very helpful!

If it gets hot, get the door open. You can't leave it open during the dark periods though. Well, you can, but you wouldn't want to.

If you can keep your temps firmly under control, and never hit 80F, I'd personally run 24/0 for veg - the plants grow faster with continuous light. Does that take more electricity? Sure it does...per day. But then you don't need to run it as MANY days to get the plants to the same size. But some people swear by 18/6. If you need a 'cooling down period' because it gets too hot, then 18/6 is great. If you don't, why slow down growth? I've heard some people say you get more females with 18/6, some books say that too, and some do not. I go by my own experience, and I haven't seen a male since April or May, none at all in my last 3 crops (which sucks because I was hoping to breed a Durban Poison with some Blue Mystics, but all I have are females), and I always run 24/0 (but I also have my temps totally under control, and high temps can cause more males, or worse, hermies).

If you veg under a 400+W *HPS*, I'd recommend getting some 6500K CFLs and use them along with it. That will prevent the stretching you see sometimes when vegging with a warm (light spectrum) HPS light.

Awesome...should I still switch to 12/12 for flowering then? AND should I continue to use the CFLs during flowering too?

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Originally Posted by tenaciousb

Here's my idea: One 400+W for both veg and flower....18/6 veg and then switch to 12/12 for flower.....how does this sound? If I could get some approval then I think that this will be the cheapest/easiest for me, for now atleast. I def hear ya Zoidberg, I stopped by my local hydroponics store this morning and WOW! As soon as I can generate some extra income, I will most definitely be doing some major upgrades. I feel a hydro operation coming on in the not too distant future! Also, yeah, I can keep the door open to the closet for vent. Should I leave it open all the time? Do I need to leave it wide open? Thanks so much, yall (I'm from GA, sorry about the lingo) are so very helpful!

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You're right on the money here buddy, seriously. HPS might well be more suited to flowering, but is more then suffient for veg, its actually ideal.
Halide is actually best for plants where the mass of the plants vegitation is harvested (herbs, or lettuce for example).
A Halide promoted meaty thick veg, yes, but you're working in a closet, you dont need or want any exceedingly meaty vegitation. You'll find air circulation will be a major problem if you end up with an overly meaty plant.

Stick with the single 400w HPS, you wont look back buddy. Oh and about the heat factor, if you pop into a walmart or other superstore you should be able to find standard bathroom extractor fans. These aren't ideal for a large room unless used in great numbers, but for a closet, one would be fantastic.

If you wanted it to be even better, you could drill some holes in the lower walls of the closet as passive intakes, or if the asthetics is important, any small metal or plastic vent that meets your liking would be even more discreet looking.

I've grown with HPS many times (have 2400W's of HPS ATM), and I've owned and grown with a Halide 1000W. My honest opinion, both might well be ideal, but HPS is overall more suited to any plant where floral/bud development is the goal.
Couple that with the fact that you have the size limitation of the grow area, the HPS is the ONLY choice i would consider i think.

But again, thats just my opinion. I'd probably run this one past someone like Zandor (30 something yrs grow experience) Or Tool fan (16 yrs i think). I myself have grown on and off for 13-14 yrs).

Not trying to pull the 'we're better then you' kinda thing there, just saying that in that many years you try a lot of different methods, lights, and products.
I've had some terrible advice thats lead to some really fubard grows, and ive also recieved advice thats taught me half of what i know. I just think it's good karma to keep the gesture going and share the knowledge passed to us, down to the next guy.

Anyway, no matter what method you go with, ur learning sumthin worth knowing.

Good luck buddy

Fingers :stoned: