Cheap source of good lighting?

H

happymedicine

Member
Hey Guys! I have been reading a lot about lighting for an indoor grow, yet have not found answers to some of my more specific questions. One such question is:

What is the least amount of light, type of light, source, etc, to get a good final product out of my plants? I am not going to be distributing this medicine, I will just be using it myself so looks aren't even that big of an issue to me. I would be aiming more for potency and taste. Essentially would two 150 watt HID lights (1-MH & 1-HPS) in the same room be enough to get some good meds out of 6 plants in a small grow room? If not, what would be the least amount of light to yield a delicious and potent end product. Yield amount is not a huge deal to me, as I would make this a perpetual subsistence type of grow. 1/2oz to 1oz per plant is fine.

I tend to grow mostly Indica and Hybrid strains. Flowering a Bubbleberry, GDP and Blue dream under the sun at the moment.

Any advice on this matter would be appreciated. i just want to grow enough for me to smoke and not have to purchase over-priced meds.
 
GoldenGanja13

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
I would go with a VHO T-5 or the lesser HO-T-5. Just use cool blue bulbs for veg and warm red for flowering. They would make the sticky icky, less yield but it pays off in potency. But if you are going perpetual you would need 2 tents.
 
H

happymedicine

Member
GoldenGanja13 said:
I would go with a VHO T-5 or the lesser HO-T-5. Just use cool blue bulbs for veg and warm red for flowering. They would make the sticky icky, less yield but it pays off in potency. But if you are going perpetual you would need 2 tents.
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At the moment I have two 4-foot fluorescent fixtures. There is a GE Kitchen & Bath 40 Watt T12 and a GE Plant and Aquarium 40 Watt T12 in each one (side by side). Is this enough lite to grow 6 plants through flower and still end up with potent meds? I have the plants in 6 5 gallon pots in a greenhouse, spray painted flat white, with the lights on a 16/8 time schedule. there is also a fan that is circulating air throughout the 56"x32"x76" room. the lights are about 4inches away from the tops of the 5" transplants right now.

Can I just keep these plants in here through flowering? To what height should I let the plants grow before changing the lights to 12/12?

Thank you for the response. They really help a lot
 
TommyHobby

TommyHobby

Active Member
age old question with age old answers: Fluorescents for the vegging state, and a 400Watt HPS light for flowering (for up to 6 medium sized plants).
 
Weedler

Weedler

Well-Known Member
I just bought a 250W HPS / MH for $150 shipped off Ebay. I couldn't pass up that deal...
 
H

happymedicine

Member
Spanishfly said:
Fluorescents give you most bang for the buck.
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If you would not mind elaborating. How do you mean they give "more bang for the buck"? I have read similar opinions other places, and know that I have met many people who have grown with fluorescent only. I would just like to know if I can stick with what I have, through flowering, or if I need to up the light source to 2-150watt Lights or just maybe add another Fluorescent ballast? Trying to keep this setup as low cost and efficient as possible. Potency and costs are most important to me. I do not mind having smaller yields, as this medicine will not be for profit. It will be more so I do not have to spend a premium on meds that I can grow myself. Thanks
 
Spanishfly

Spanishfly

Well-Known Member
You can buy CFLs with a power output of 150W cheaper than any other way of getting 150W. But someone will probably show that is wrong.
 
G

gobbly

Well-Known Member
you are right, but there are some subtleties. Flo's of any kind won't penetrate like a point source HID will. Also HID are very efficient, so watt per watt put out slightly more light. Many many people grow just fine under flo's. The main difference that seems to spark many of the debates is penetration and no question, HID rules penetration. But you just grow differently with flo's (short dense plants), and you can compensate for a lot of this.

I personally think T5's are great for a budget/benefit between cfl's and HID's. Oftentimes budget is going to decide which way you will go, but all methods can grow good pot if you do it right.
 
GoldenGanja13

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
For veg I believe the Flluorenct (t-5s) are wonderful, cheap, and less heat. I prefer them over MH. When it comes to Flowering, besides the sun nothing is going to beat HPS (for now).
I grew some Auto's (first time) and I veged them under T-5s, then I split the tent in half and had the auto's under a 600 hps 20/4 . My yeilds where 1.5 - 3.2 oz per auto (4). I wanted to see how they would do under T-5s 100% and I can tell you that the buds are 1/4 the size of the HPS buds. And way less trichs.
happymedicine said:
If you would not mind elaborating. How do you mean they give "more bang for the buck"? I have read similar opinions other places, and know that I have met many people who have grown with fluorescent only. I would just like to know if I can stick with what I have, through flowering, or if I need to up the light source to 2-150watt Lights or just maybe add another Fluorescent ballast? Trying to keep this setup as low cost and efficient as possible. Potency and costs are most important to me. I do not mind having smaller yields, as this medicine will not be for profit. It will be more so I do not have to spend a premium on meds that I can grow myself. Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Serapis

Serapis

Well-Known Member
happymedicine said:
At the moment I have two 4-foot fluorescent fixtures. There is a GE Kitchen & Bath 40 Watt T12 and a GE Plant and Aquarium 40 Watt T12 in each one (side by side). Is this enough lite to grow 6 plants through flower and still end up with potent meds? I have the plants in 6 5 gallon pots in a greenhouse, spray painted flat white, with the lights on a 16/8 time schedule. there is also a fan that is circulating air throughout the 56"x32"x76" room. the lights are about 4inches away from the tops of the 5" transplants right now.

Can I just keep these plants in here through flowering? To what height should I let the plants grow before changing the lights to 12/12?

Thank you for the response. They really help a lot
Click to expand...
4" shop lights tend to be cheap, and you can use t-8 bulbs in them, I do regularly. You can skip the t-5 hype and use t-8. I recommend the cool white plus 65000 t-8 bulbs. A two pack at WalMart is $6 and you can't beat the light. If you are going to try and flower under flourescents, leave one 65k cool white in and add a warm or daylight bulb of the same wattage (40w). Besides HID, Flouros give you best bang for buck per watt/lumen. CFLs are ok, but why bother?
 
GoldenGanja13

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
:razz:T-5 hype ? Are you saying T-8s are just as good or better than HO T-5s ?
Serapis said:
4" shop lights tend to be cheap, and you can use t-8 bulbs in them, I do regularly. You can skip the t-5 hype and use t-8. I recommend the cool white plus 65000 t-8 bulbs. A two pack at WalMart is $6 and you can't beat the light. If you are going to try and flower under flourescents, leave one 65k cool white in and add a warm or daylight bulb of the same wattage (40w). Besides HID, Flouros give you best bang for buck per watt/lumen. CFLs are ok, but why bother?
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GoldenGanja13

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
What ever you choose in size (T) remember that 6500k Cool Blue (all bulbs) for Veg, and 2600k Warm Red (all) for flowering. You want to mimic the season change.
 
pocw94

pocw94

Well-Known Member
if you want tor grow tastty and potent bud then just use MH 4 veg and HPS for flower , but it all depends on how much you wanna spend, if you arent rollin in $$$$ then i would suggest flouro tubes for veg , im using a t12 blasst with 2 bulbs and there working great and was no more then 35 bucks!, but for flowering you gotta whip out the hps for the best results
 
TommyHobby

TommyHobby

Active Member
GoldenGanja13 said:
When it comes to Flowering, besides the sun nothing is going to beat HPS (for now).
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Check out SULFUR PLASMA technology. Newest thing out right now. They have systems that are actually MORE POWERFUL than the SUN's color spectrum and beats anything out there for grow light systems. Gives me a hard-on just thinking about it... LOL. But prepare to take out a home equity loan out for one of these bad boys.... here come the 2 links: http://www.plasma-i.com/ and http://www.chameleongrowsystems.com/store/CGS-SG-VI_MJ13_V7.html
 
GoldenGanja13

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
$1200 covering a 4x4 area at 8" above canopy. I just don't see it. I do not believe that you are going to get good coverage.
TommyHobby said:
Check out SULFUR PLASMA technology. Newest thing out right now. They have systems that are actually MORE POWERFUL than the SUN's color spectrum and beats anything out there for grow light systems. Gives me a hard-on just thinking about it... LOL. But prepare to take out a home equity loan out for one of these bad boys.... here come the 2 links: http://www.plasma-i.com/ and http://www.chameleongrowsystems.com/store/CGS-SG-VI_MJ13_V7.html
Click to expand...
 
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