First grow, autoflowering - Advice desperately needed

Hey Rollitup,

Have lurked for a long time and enjoy the community here so I decided here would be the best place to go for advice on my first grow.

Now I need to stress, this is basically a test grow, looking to spend minimal money. I have one Auto Anesthesia seed, and a small cupboard I want to use for the grow.
The main thing I need to know about is lighting. Wattage required etc, you know. Besides that I'd like some info on what kind of soil to use and probably, most importantly, things that will ruin the grow.

I'm not looking for world class weed from this grow, but something decent. Consider this practice for further grows.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated thanks!

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HID is considered by many as the best...MH for grow and HPS for flower.....but either or will work for the entire grow

LED is becoming popular but is considered rather expensive, but prices are becoming better, I believe we will see vast improvements in the next few years

High Output florescent tubes (T5) are often used in veg room...... you can flower with them but yield may be less than the above lights

CFL....very common for first time growers...cheap, easy to buy and setup, effective, less heat issues. (use mostly 6500K for veg, mostly 2700K for flower...and 5000K can be added for additional spectrum)

BTW: welcome to RIU

Alright, cool!

So is wattage of the bulbs particularly important? What would be considered too high, too low? And when you say 2700k, for example, are we talking about spectrums here or what?

Apologies for all the questions, as I say, I have no experience in this but have been reading up for a long time to prepare myself haha

Cfl is the way to go if you on a budget bro and if your space is confined you'll be able to sort your heat issues out easier look into LST'ing methods. Get a couple of the cfl like indoor sun king said 6500k-2700k im sure if you keep reading on this forum you'll find what bulbs to use during each stage of growth. Most growers will combine the 2 spectrums and use them all the way thru. As far as soil its really what you have to money for I started with FFOF its pretty easy and I also did MG not too bad but had a N def all way thru, things that will ruin a grow is too much damn lol attention and not staying out of the grow area as a new grower you'll see what im talking about. Good luck and never stop reading on how to improve.

CFL are rated by temp/colour....6500K is the temp (higher the number the cooler the light)

they come in various watts, from 13 to 300 watts.

Many consider the 23 watt as the most efficient and the best price....but many use bigger lights.

most would agree that side lighting is important for CFL, and keep them close (1 or 2 inches)