Advice on Lighting Please

I have 8 Plants (4x KC 36, 4x Super Skunk #1) under a 48" 36W Flouro.

They were started in 2" peat pots then transfered to 5" Plastic Pots in a mixture of specialist potting compost/perlite (60/40).

Have fed with miracle grow every week.

They are aprox 21 Days old and are now over 12" Tall with 5 internodes and several shoots coming off the main stems. As this is my first grow i don't plan on spending big money on lighting systems. Having done some homework i have established they need red spectrum light for flowering. I plan to start flowering on 12/12 next week when plants are 4 weeks old - is this too early?(plants are quite big and i don't have much more space for them)

The lamp i have is developed for tropical aquariums and according to the leaflet has a large peak in the blue and red spectrums optimised for plant growth. Check out the graph at:- Arcadia - Original Tropical Lamp

Any advice would be most welcome.

Happy Growing

i have a similar question i have a white lizard heat lamp( Exoterra products - Sun Glo Neodymium Spot ) would this even be worth hooking up?, it says its good for photo synthewhatever

if not maybe these ones? Exoterra products - Sun Glo Neodymium

Floro's will and do produce buds however the buds will be small and looser than those grown with a Sodium Vapor or Metal Halide. If you insist on using floros you can grow some real nice green with compact floro's (CFL) or T5's. T12 floro's just dont cut it for great buds. You can use T5 tubes and get great results, but if you are thinking about costs for growing lighting can be an issue and the most for your money you can get is out of a metal halide system. It would take 42 40 watt t12 floro's to produce the same amount of light 1 400 Metal Halide bulb produces. T5's you would need ten 54 Watt bulbs. 5 compact floro's 125 watts would produce the same as one metal halide as well. So if you really want good buds and save money doing it invest in good lighting.

Here is a good web page to compare lighting: ACF Indoor Plant Grow Light Information Guide

They also sell lighting equitment for growing so stop wasting your money and get something that works!

I hope this helps you two!

Puff,Puff,Pass, 420!!!!!!

I started out with a 250 HPS. Then moved up to a 430 HPS. Then finally, a 600 HPS. Now getting just about an ounce per plant from 14, 2.5 foot plants at the finish. The lights are turned to 12/12 when the plants are 12" high.

Vi

You can start flowering when ever you want but yeild will not be much if you start to early. A picture would greatly help but if they are 12" tall then you should be fine but you yeild will be small. you should look into better lighting though!

Many Thanks Guys. Off to the grow shop next week!.

bigballin007 said:

Floro's will and do produce buds however the buds will be small and looser than those grown with a Sodium Vapor or Metal Halide. If you insist on using floros you can grow some real nice green with compact floro's (CFL) or T5's. T12 floro's just dont cut it for great buds. You can use T5 tubes and get great results, but if you are thinking about costs for growing lighting can be an issue and the most for your money you can get is out of a metal halide system. It would take 42 40 watt t12 floro's to produce the same amount of light 1 400 Metal Halide bulb produces. T5's you would need ten 54 Watt bulbs. 5 compact floro's 125 watts would produce the same as one metal halide as well. So if you really want good buds and save money doing it invest in good lighting.

Here is a good web page to compare lighting: Grow Light Information Guide ACF Indoor Plant

They also sell lighting equitment for growing so stop wasting your money and get something that works!

I hope this helps you two!

Puff,Puff,Pass, 420!!!!!!

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This is my 1st post, but I've read a lot and you're right on, but I would also include High pressure sodium lamps. That link is a good source of basic lighting info. It is a MUST READ for anyone just starting out.

"Big Props" Bigballin.

ViRedd said:

I started out with a 250 HPS. Then moved up to a 430 HPS. Then finally, a 600 HPS. Now getting just about an ounce per plant from 14, 2.5 foot plants at the finish. The lights are turned to 12/12 when the plants are 12" high.

Vi

Click to expand...

Only getting one ounce off a 2 and a half foot plant with a 600 watt HPS light?? must be a mainly sativa or bad strain you are using bedause i have my first grow ever under 4-5 150w red spectrum cfls and my plant will end up around 2.5 feet tall producing more than that.

Would a 400watt hps suffice for 10 plants? Also, what would be the best bulb to use?

agromax, and thats the minimum you could possibly do for ten plants. add some cfls

600 watt would be the best for 10 plants or even a 1k. I think 4-6 plants is prime for 4/6 plants. You should probable get some cfls for side lighting as well.

I have 2x 400w MH/HPS lamps providing light for 20 plants.

Its more than enough. One 400w should provide enough light for 10 plants depending on placement.

that helps put it in perspective, lightings always a constant source of confusion, soooo many numbers and equations and raitios ...

Does anyone have experience using LED's? What were the results? Heat output? Power requirements? But most importantly, results/yield.

Starting form seeds, I was wondering how soon you can put your babies under a 600w MH? Right off the bat or wait a few weeks under floros?

Currently, they are only 11 days old from seed germination and I have them in a propagation dome (to control heat & humidity) and are under some crappy 4' t8 bulbs. I can see there are starting to stretch and are only on their 2 branch/leaf nodes set at about 3" tall or so. Is it to soon to put them under a 600w MH light setup? I just thought you wanted to wait some time (couple weeks) before putting them under a HID light.

Some advice would be appreciated...thanks!

Starting form seeds, I was wondering how soon you can put your babies under a 600w MH? Right off the bat or wait a few weeks under floros?

Currently, they are only 11 days old from seed germination and I have them in a propagation dome (to control heat & humidity) and are under some crappy 4' t8 bulbs. I can see there are starting to stretch and are only on their 2 branch/leaf nodes set at about 3" tall or so. Is it to soon to put them under a 600w MH light setup? I just thought you wanted to wait some time (couple weeks) before putting them under a HID light.

Some advice would be appreciated...thanks!

This might (most likely) be a dumb question, so *puts on flame retardant suit* here it goes: I'm about to start my first grow, been cramming grow guides and FAQs aside from the fundamentals everything is just hazy lol. My question is can I use eight (yes, 8 ) CFLs simultaneously along with A 400 watt mh/hps for veg/flower? Or will my dro pale in comparison to my electric bill? Would it even make the slightest difference? I'm aware of the different spectrums and such. My setup will only allow me to grow up to 6 plants (hydro).

T5 fluorescents are perfectly fine for the vegetative stages and will help to conserve on your energy bill and heat, therefore eliminating your need for extensive cooling techniques. However, to maximize your yields, high pressure sodium (H.P.S.) or metal halide (M.H.) bulbs are necessary. The rule of thumb as I understand it is 100w/plant is needed for optimum growth. (ex. 400w/4 plants, 600w/6 plants and 1000w for 10 plants being the maximum per light. With the introduction of HPS or MH bulbs into your grow room, you will need to address your cooling and ventilation issues as they will be great with all of the heat being generated. I will suggest a portable a/c unit. 600 b.t.u's are recommended per 100w of high intensity light being used. Using this formula, I have a 12,000 b.t.u. portable a/c unit cooling my (2) 1000w H.P.S. bulbs. On the other hand, my vegetative room has all T5 fluorescents and is in need of no air conditioning. The optimum temp for growing the plants in any stage is 72-76 with 80 being the hottest it should get. I hope this info helps and happy growing.

I'm really new at this and had some questions about lighting. After some research I think I've selected the two bulbs I will use, they are both 42 watt CFLs and are 2,700K and 6,500K. I understand fluorescents may not be ideal for flowering, but I'm not too concerned about yield. The only thing I'm not sure about is how many to use at a time. The grow area is small and will only accommodate two or three plants. Would six bulbs be overkill? Some of the guides I've found suggest it wouldn't, but I'm still worried I'll fry the plants.

These are the bulbs if anyone is curious.

http://www.elightbulbs.com/TCP-11871-48942-27K-42W-10M-Twist-Screw-Base-Compact-Fluorescent-Light-Bulb
http://www.elightbulbs.com/TCP-29070-28942-65K-42W-10M-SPRINGLAMP-Twist-Screw-Base-Compact-Fluorescent-Light-Bulb