Quote Originally Posted by PurpleWreck
4 for now 2 on the way. they are about 10 days old and the 5 finger leaves are opening up. tallest one about 4-5 inches tall. the room bout 3*3 and 8ft high. was going cfl to save money but was thinking about hps or mh, but wouldn t cost a fortune to run 18-24 hours.
Get a 400w HPS with ballast and reflector and a way to cool it also. Yes, CFL's use less electricity but from a growing standpoint, they are not as efficient in lumens/watt as HID's, and therefore you will need to veg and flower longer, which will also run up the costs (and the risks).

For one or two plants, CFL's are OK. But when you need to cover a 1m x 1m space, CFL's would become a nightmare to wire and constantly reposition for optimum penetration.

CFL's can be great for beginners, but since we are all taking risks to some degree, I'd rather be investing my time and efforts into a quick, efficient grow with superb results.

:twocents: