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Do you need to setup ballasts for all CFLs? Im really confused about the whole lighting thing. I have a 2' x 2' closet which is 7 feet high.
I would love to know the easiest way of setting up a basic lighting system for my size closet with items I can get in my local lighting/diy store, im really not goood with wiring and stuff so I need to find another option... any ideas???
Cheers
X
would four 4 foot flourescent tubes be sufficient for flowering I know they are good for the early stages but im gonna need to stick with the one system from start to finish..thanks again
Your best bet would be to go to ur local walmart and buy some cool white n warm white cfl's...cool white for veg and warm white for flowering or you could just use both colors for veg and flower wich is even better.Its a very inexpensive n easy to set up.
exactly.:thumbsup:
you can even get the lamp kits and wire yourself a christmas light strand of 42w cfls. very cheap and easy.
these lights put off little heat, the only thing you have to worry about is your plants growing into them
Thanks guys!
When you say a christmas light strand can you buy a strand with mulitple light sockets on it kinda like a bigger version of christmas tree lights? that sounds perfect are they easy to find?
Thanks for yoour help so far guys!
I went for my first equipment hunt today and have located most of what I need but I have a few questions..
I found the phillips CFL bulbs 3 x 40w and 3 x 25w but in the shop they had cfl bulbs which were 75w for the same price and they had a much higher lumen count 1000+ per bulb..I know i dont know a lot about growing yet but im assuming the more lumens the better so would 4 of these be as good or better than 3 x 40w + 3 x 25w? (all the bulbs are softone couldnt find other ones is that important?)
Instead of wiring the lights together because I dont know how and not willing to risk dodgy wiring in my apartment im just going to buy four small desk lamps which should do the same job shouldn't they? they only cost about €5 each.
I found a sterilied garden soil that should be ok shouldnt it or should I be getting compost?
The one thing I couldnt find in all the places I went was the nutes 15-30-15?
They all had miracle grow all purpose plant food and stuff like that but nothing had 15-30-15 on it. They also had some kind of tomato food liquid but I didnt know which one would work?
Im almost definitly going to go for some lowryder seeds as they are auto flower and will probably be good for my first grow.
Finally because it is in my closet there is no direct source of fresh air..only when I open my window and the closet door in my room the closet is large enough so if I add a small fan it should help with the circulation but I don't know if this is enough? and is c02 an issue for a small grow such as my own?
Ok the max watttage the phillips CFL bulbs go up to over hers is 20 watts there are no 25w or 42w I think they must only be available in the US?
Does that mean I need to double the amount of lamps I have or are there other altrenatives?
cheers
there are many sites online where you can order cfl's with wattages much higher than 42. i think they go up to 200.
as for the desk lamps, that sounds alright.
there are also clamp lights that are a lot smaller and easier to position. they are just light sockets with a clamp and cord attached to them. for aquariums and stuff. make sure you get the "V" joint for the lights so you can put 2 lights in each lamp.
as for C02, cfl's do not produce enought light energy to process any more than what the leaves are already doing. so dont waist time on that.
in dealing with circulation, is there any way to the attic from your closet? or could you "make" a vent to the attic?
you should try to get a soil mix from a local headshop. they are usually inexpensive and work great. and just get an all purpose vegetative growth fertilizer from the headshop as well. works great for soil mixes.
lowryder sounds fun and interesting, if you decide to pick it i cant wait to see your thread.
by the way, i hope i am helping. im not too good at this, but i know a little bit about cfl's
by the way, i hope i am helping. im not too good at this, but i know a little bit about cfl's[/QUOTE]
Great help so far dude! thanks
no problem man.
so do you have a list of shit your gonna go get?
or have you purchased things yet?
Ok scratch the above idea about buying a bunch of desk lamps and using 23/42w cfls. I found a shop that sells 125w CFL grow lights with connections and all for 40 each and they are like 8000+ lumens each so im gonna buy two. The guy in the store advised me to buy two red spectrum rather than one blue and one red, He said I would get a bigger yield this way is that right?
yeah but a more leggy veg growth i think.
Yes, you'll have much heartier flowers but your stems and leaves will be weak.
If you vegitate your plant with the wrong kelvin it will not produce as potent of a flower as it would if you cycled the kelvins throughout the different stages of growth.
Truthfully, to achieve the highest potency possible, you should try to use as much of BOTH warm and cool kelvin lighting throughout the plants WHOLE growth. This will ensure full spectrum photosynthesizing which will in fact increase the initial THC potency throughout the whole plant when flowering begins.
So personally, I'de go with your original plan to have both spectrums on the plant the whole time. This of course depends on the kelvin rating of those lamps. If they are not extreme it wont work like you want it to. In which case you would be better off with one or the other and not both.
Now if you can afford it, you can't go wrong with having two of the blue spectrum and two of the red.
Here's a little information on Kelvin for you, from what I know:
Kelvin temperature is a numerical measurement that describes the color appearance of the light produced by a lamp and the color appearance of the lamp itself, expressed on the Kelvin (K) scale.
The science behind determining color temperature values starts with the theoretical black body radiator, a block of black metal through which electric current is passed (performed as a computer model). As the metal is heated, it turns red-yellow, then white, then blue; as the temperature of the metal is measured at any given color produced, we then match the color to that temperature and a color temperature value is determined.
Ok so how does this apply to lighting?
Well, the Kelvin temperature of lamps is used to categorize them as warm, neutral or cool sources. The terms are not directly related to temperature; instead, they describe how the light source appears visually.
Warm sources actually have a lower color temperature (3500K or less), producing a red-yellow appearance. Neutral sources (between 3500K and 4100K) tend to have a yellow appearance. A lamp with a color temperature of 5000K is considered pure white light (Full Spectrum) with the lamp becoming more blue in color as the color temperature is increased.
Now Cannabis will survive in a pretty wide range of Kelvin. However, to achieve maximum photosynthesizing it's best to focus on the Kelvin range that is used most by the plant to utilize your light more efficiently.
Which Kelvin range promotes the most efficient photosynthesis energy is debateable but here is a general idea of how it works:
5K - 7K Kelvin:
Promotes bushy growth. Ideal for rapid growth phase of plants.
Greatly enhances all-around plant growth when used with super
high output, high pressure sodium or 3K warm metal halide lamps.
4.2K - 4200 Kelvin:
Can be used as supplimental blue lighting when used with a 3K
source.
4K - 4000 Kelvin:
Best single source for plant growth, producing shorter, bushier
growth than 3700 Kelvin and color rendition. Used in general
plant lighting.
3.7K - 3700 Kelvin:
This coated lamp is used in general plant lighting and for more
rapid growth than 4000 Kelvin produces.
3K - 3200 Kelvin:
Highest photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) value of all HID
lighting for all phases of plant growth. PAR watts account for the
nutritional value of light and are a direct measure of the light
energy available for photosythesis.
2.7K - 2700 Kelvin:
Redder color mix, used for propagation, blooming, supplemental
greenhouse lighting.
And now a little info on Lowryders
Lowryders start to flower after about 10 days of veg... You will not need to buy a blue spectrum bulb for 10 days of veg, why not just get 2 reds, unless you are planning long term. As for Lowryders, you can use a HPS or warm CFLs for the whole grow (I stuck 2 23w cool CFL along with my 6 warm 42w CFLs to get em off to a good start). If you have some cool CFLs, use em, if not, not a big deal for Lowryders.
Long Term
1 Red, 1 Blue
1 Blue for veg
1 Red for flower
Use both all the time.
[edit] I like to stick my plants outside on sunny days so they can get a nice full spectrum of light when possible.
The bottom line is it's always best to use both warm and cool spec.
Some strains will do fine with just the warm. Some won't.
There is a fact that lies between there though. In terms of potency, if you do not use any cool spec during vegitative state your plant will not be as potent.
I always reccommend using both ends of the spectrum. Don't cheat yourself or your plants.