absolute min cfl wattage for 5 plants

mclovin478 said:

get a cool tube for the 600 and heat would be less of an issue. i would never run a 1k bulb, you get a better footprint from 600w and there more efficient..

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cooltubes reduce the lumen output to a point that the added benefit of them running 3-5 degrees cooler isn't worth it. That being said I DO have a cooltube and have run it for years although I will be replacing it with an air cooled hood. A 600w is the most efficient lamp. A 1k watt puts down more lumen but two 600 watts would come out better than running one 1k watt.

FourZeroTwo said:

ahh that makes sense, id probably go for the higher wattage light now this is deff a noob question.. lol could you use any tent? or a tent specifically ment for growing? lol

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Tents made for cultivating.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/78-x78-x78-...345?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1a4c5b31

mr2shim said:

cooltubes reduce the lumen output to a point that the added benefit of them running 3-5 degrees cooler isn't worth it. That being said I DO have a cooltube and have run it for years although I will be replacing it with an air cooled hood. A 600w is the most efficient lamp. A 1k watt puts down more lumen but two 600 watts would come out better than running one 1k watt.



Tents made for cultivating.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/78-x78-x78-...345?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1a4c5b31

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ahh gotcha! i see! two 600's it is then xD lol thanks for all the info! hopefully they have those types of lights where i live! i seen that there is a grow store by me, so ill take a look there also

Lol! my first ever grow i did in small wardrobe & used 4 domestic CFL's totalling 54W - did 4 plants with 3 weeks veg & got probably just under an oz back in total. To be fair, i reckon there's no reason i couldn't have got abit more weight still, as theres a fair few things i couldve done better & 2 of the plants were CheezeWreck which seemed to be a well finicky & delicate sativa; both end up like palm trees with no lower foliage & just 1 big bud at top! Lol!


So yeah, u can do it with very minimal light, but it does also involve alot of re-positioning lights, bending leaves, etc most days, so does drain ur innovation & attention.

But most definitely overall, the more light the better - CFLwise i'd say 100W per plant is good measure for decent average return. Ideally buy loadsa 20W or 25W, etc, as then u can position them all around the plant & get close in, which is arguably more effective than just having 1 100W bulb hanging directly overhead. Tho multiple bulbs can be a pain, as u gotta find loadsa clip-on sockets cheap, and/or think out some way of safely positioning all those lights so close. It can be a challenge & u do end up with loadsa plugs too, which can mean buying a few 4-way gang plugs too!

Either way, i'd say ur best bet is just to give it a go with whatever u can get. Start it going anyway, as any amount of light will still grow it & u can at least practice keeping it healthy & hardy and practice attending to its needs. And u can always add more light at any time anyway.

Lol! tho just seen ur now already banging it up to 2 x 600W HPS!! Way to go dude! Nice!

Thats a whole different ballgame to 100W CFL per plant!!

The best way to explain how much light your plant needs is to think of the sun on a hot mid-summers day. This would be the ideal lumens per sq ft and is approx. 10,000L per sq.ft. If you have a space that is, let's say 4x4ft that is 16 sq.feet and the absolute bare minimum to keep plants alive and growing somewhat is 3000 per sq.foot. So, for example, it would be ok to have 110,000L, that would work ok being that you get roughly 6800L per sq.ft but it wouldn't be optimal. Optimal would be slightly less or more than 160,000L. You can spend extra money and get things optimal or you can get by, up to you and what you want for a yield. BTW an HID is better, as you have heard by now. Your best bet is do the calculations of lumen output of different lights and choose for the space your filling and plants. Hope this helps man.

thanks for the posts guys! I gotta find some of those clip on sockets lol ill be adding some additional light other then the two 600w HPS lights.

BCBuddy420, thanks for the info! that makes sense, would a combo of lights effect the plant at all? like using CFL HID and HPS? i dont want my money to go to waste because ive already bought some lol

Hey no problem at all HID ( High Intensity Discharge) is offered in MH(metal halide) and HPS (high pressure sodium) that is the only two types of basic HID lighting ( the best IMO). A lot of guys like to use for example; 1 x 600 watt hps with several cfl's hanging down beneath the penetration point of the 600watts range, targeting the lower buds for better yields. CfL's need to be kept very close (2-4 inches) to effective. As long as the heat emitted does not burn foliage then your A-OK. So to answer your question light can be used in many combinations, it's just up to that grower to try things out and decide what works for them. Keeping in mind math helps to achieve an optimal spectrum/lumen rating for your situation. I have used half hps and half mh in flowering for amazing results! Combo it up if you want to, find your happy lighting!

I can see this is a little more work then I thought! Its fun though xD lol I dont think i can find the HPS/MH lights at walmart, they dont seem to be the right thing :/ ill have to trave alittle bit to get them (live in a small town) but it will be worth it! ill check the home depot in the next town, hopefully they will have them! appreicate man! youve been a big help! maybe they will have socket clamps too lol need a few of those

BCBuddy420 said:

Hey no problem at all HID ( High Intensity Discharge) is offered in MH(metal halide) and HPS (high pressure sodium) that is the only two types of basic HID lighting ( the best IMO). A lot of guys like to use for example; 1 x 600 watt hps with several cfl's hanging down beneath the penetration point of the 600watts range, targeting the lower buds for better yields. CfL's need to be kept very close (2-4 inches) to effective. As long as the heat emitted does not burn foliage then your A-OK. So to answer your question light can be used in many combinations, it's just up to that grower to try things out and decide what works for them. Keeping in mind math helps to achieve an optimal spectrum/lumen rating for your situation. I have used half hps and half mh in flowering for amazing results! Combo it up if you want to, find your happy lighting!

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CMH is much better than HPS or MH. People typically don't use them though because they only run on magnetic ballasts. CMH's spectrum is the closest to that of the sun. MH and HPS aren't the only types of HID lamps. You also have MV and Xenon Lamps.

FourZeroTwo said:

I can see this is a little more work then I thought! Its fun though xD lol I dont think i can find the HPS/MH lights at walmart, they dont seem to be the right thing :/ ill have to trave alittle bit to get them (live in a small town) but it will be worth it! ill check the home depot in the next town, hopefully they will have them! appreicate man! youve been a big help! maybe they will have socket clamps too lol need a few of those

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You won't find HID lamps at Wally World. You can get them at Home Depot or Lowes, but they're usually for general use and not specifically made for growing. Buying online is your best option for a grow setup. They also run on E39(mogul socket) MUCH bigger than the standard Edison socket found in homes. They also require a ballast to run, plugging them straight into the outlet is a BIG no no.

1000 actual watts of cfl would be more expensive and I am pretty sure as hot if not hotter than one hid bulb.

HTGSupply has, what I consider, good deals on good lights.

400 watt hps/mh digital ballast with hps and mh bulb, 6" cool tube, shipped to the door for around 275$.

Search for hydroponic shop in your area. Dont expect to spend less than $300 just on a good 250w-600w HID lights who else here would want to see a 1000w CFL grow

best bet would be to not get 1000w of cfl and buy a 400w induction lamp you might be able to run 5 plants under a 400w 3000k induction

FourZeroTwo said:

ahhh gotcha, well maybe i should put them in the closet lol probably would be cheaper! my closet is 3 x 5 feet. the room is 12 x 11 feet.

and thanks mr2shim! i deff am going to see if they have any at the store! if i were to get the HID light what wattage would you recrecommed? for the closet?

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Depending how serious you plan to get, you could also get some CFL's to use in the closet for vegging, and plan to use shim's plan for your room to flower, and you'd be able to veg independently of that whenever you wanted.