Help I'm a newb!

[Fatty91]

Hey I don't have alot of money so I can't buy one of those fancy 400wat bulbs will I be ok with just a standard floresent bulb? I'm gonna grow in my closet

 

[Jericho]

Depends.
What size is the closet? how many plants do you plan on having in there? and is there any room for ventalation?

 

[legalize_freedom]

It can be done, but don't expect alot out of it. you will be able to get some light wispy buddage...but not the nice tight nugs you see everyone else here growing.

If I were you I would use that floro to start some plants and veg them through the rest of winter and then find yourself some spots out in the boonies to plant them come spring...you will be much happier than trying to bud them with that light.

 

[ssjric]

Congrats on your first grow. I'm doing the same. Florescent light will be ok throughout your germination, vegetation and flowering. They will take longer to grow and you won't yield as much and it won't be as potent. But yes, it will work and is prolly the cheapest way to go.

 

[the chef]

You could always try cfl's.

 

[GeezerBudd]

You could always try cfl's.

^ He knows about CFL's-Look at his grow journals. ^

I use a 150 watt in my little closet. It took some saving money-but it goes good. There's alot of info on this forum to help you get a grow started.
And if you need clarification or just can't figure something out-just ask.
Someone will help.
Good Luck!!

Gb

 

[the chef]

Ty geezer i'm honored! Cfl's to me is a cheap starting investment in growing your own. There are many who start off this way and evolve to hps, mh, etc.. Some start to finish with cfl's. Most will veg with t-5's and a combo of floro's and other light's with cfl's fer veging only. Some may argue that cfl's are a bad idea but i beg to differ. I've succesfully used cfl's from start to finish since last year with great results! They can be picked up fer good prices at your home depot or lowes. If your going to flower with them i would recommend using the 68 or 65 watt jumbo spirals, i've got 4 of them in my flower tent and i love the end result's. Just my opinion and i hope it helps.

 

[zem]

go for a magnetic ballast 400w hps it should be less than 100$ then build your own hood reflector, you can start with fluros but you'll end up with too little for too much effort IMO

 

[legalize_freedom]

Chef I have 2 spiral type 45 watt cfl's the package they came in said they are equivelant to 150w. I have used them in a cloner set-up that I made. Do you have any idea how many lumens these big cfl's put out? I'm asking because I put them in my veg cab with my t5, because I found out my HO is not that much of an HO...lol...so I wanted to put in as much light as I could. I'm just curious if I'm close to my minimum of 3000 lumens/sq ft. (my t5 apparently only puts out 6800 lumens.)

 

[Hick]

it is a proven "fact".. that hps is actually cheaper and more efficient than flourecsents. watt per watt, lumen per lumen, hps is superior in every aspect.
OR.. in order to produce equal useable spectrum/lumens, you will spend more $'s,(both on initial setup AND on electricity consumed) and produce more heat, with cfls or standard flo's, than with a hid/hps.

 

[2Dog]

u can find great deals on ebay and craigslist!

 

[the chef]

Lf the big jumbo's burn on the red spectrum and push around 2700k. Using the 27 watt daylight's with great success. Gotta agree with hick maybe on the heat issue. Can't with cost though. Total set up with cords and dome reflector is a $100.00. Bulbs can be purchased fer under twenty buck's a piece. Been running the same since last year without replacing one. Final tally on the electricity. + $13.00. That's running two tent's and a bathroom!

 

[LEFTHAND]

Lf the big jumbo's burn on the red spectrum and push around 2700k. Using the 27 watt daylight's with great success. Gotta agree with hick maybe on the heat issue. Can't with cost though. Total set up with cords and dome reflector is a $100.00. Bulbs can be purchased fer under twenty buck's a piece. Been running the same since last year without replacing one. Final tally on the electricity. + $13.00. That's running two tent's and a bathroom!

this convo remids me of To flush or not to flush lol
but on power consumption.. if used as supose to be used cfls i mean.. they bring your elec bill down.. to use them to grow ummm i dunno thats a heated topic fellow MP's..
i swapped out my cfls in my mom box for a 70w HPS and that dropped my power 5-10$ heat dropped as well..
shetty for the clonner hehe..
i have found the coil tube in the cfl's to heat up causing play between the plastic and coil... :confused2: not good.. they were less then a yr old..
im not trying to argue just my opinion..
happy growings yall
LH

 

[Locked]

Congrats on your first grow. I'm doing the same. Florescent light will be ok throughout your germination, vegetation and flowering. They will take longer to grow and you won't yield as much and it won't be as potent. But yes, it will work and is prolly the cheapest way to go.

That's almost as bad as those tv ads for yaz or any of those other meds you see on tv....the warning at the end is almost as long as the rest of the damn commercial...

 

[GeezerBudd]

Ty geezer i'm honored!

Glad you took it that way.
I do use the cfl's for seedlings and clones-they are ideal for that.
And I've seen some of your nice-looking plants also.

Everybody chooses their path I guess.

Peace.

Gb

 

[legalize_freedom]

yeah well in my case I need the extra heat...I put the 2 cfl's in to up the lumens and the temp...it was like 65 in the veg cab, after switching out the 400mh for the t5...clones were shivering when I opened up the door!

 

[the chef]

Alot of good point's here! There no doubt that hps, mh are better in the light catagory. This guy at the start of his thread said he couldn't afford to buy hps. I'm giving him an alternative. Yes they do produce heat! One of the many benfits is you can light all your plant lst'd or not! You can post cfl's to cover your entire plant and not have a single light source to train your plant too. Alot of good reason's why i use cfl's. To say they don't produce or won't put out anything is completely false! The daylight's put out....hell i can't remember. It says it on the package. About 4 is what i use for a plant in veg. The big jumbo's is what i use fer flowering one 68 watt(red) put out 2700 k, i wanna say the 27 watt daylight puts out like 1200 lumens i think.

 

[legalize_freedom]

Hey it may not be ideal...but all one has to do is look in Chef's GJ to see that it can be done, and his nugs may not be as big as those of us that use HID, but they are still as frosty and beautiful as anything that I grow under 1000w. Check out the widowberry thread in this section, this guy grew that plant with CFL's.

So, I have to agree, that anyone saying it can't be done is wrong...is it the ideal, most efficient way? No, but it can be done.