Fluorescent all the way????

so can you plug one of those HPS bulbs in a normal light socket? im guessing not, but im a newbie.

jonnyk said:

Why do you guys think a 600w is so much more effective that a 400w? Let say the space is 8 ft tall, 4 ft wide, 5 ft long. What would you stick in it for flowering?
a 400w MH and 400w hps.
a 400w MH and a 600w HPS
or what ever other variation you want...Just curious...

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600w normally means more light. Just check the lumens the lamp produces, then divide that by the watts.. and you get the efficiency of the lamp.

For a 4x4 grow on a budget I'd go with a 600w HPS. If you can break for the dual-lamp hood/reflector get the 600w HPS and a 400w MH. That combination seems to be the most efficient for cost, CRI, color spectrum, and lumens produced per watts consumed.

I've been searching the market for various lamps and the 400w MH seems to be the most efficient given the specs, the 600w HPS is the same. That totals 1000w of power and normally 130-140,000 Lumens covering the blue and red spectrum.

Check email468's journal for more information.. TONS of information.

steezyg said:

so can you plug one of those HPS bulbs in a normal light socket? im guessing not, but im a newbie.

Click to expand...

No way. Do some searching on HPS lights, the need a special socket, ballast, hood, VENTILATION, ect.

Fluorescents are easier to obtain, less heat, they use normal sockets, but you need a lot of them to match the HPS. Check the CFL sub-category for what others have done to get an idea.. then check out the DIY sub-category for some simple ways to optimize your op.

For the veg stage, I will always lean towards the T5's. Cheap, efficient, and they can be placed right on top of the canopy. Plants stay small and bushy, the high powered MH and HPS make the plants stretch to the light since it is set 2+ ft. above the canopy (due to heat, plants burn easily).



Enigma

ManInTheShed said:

wot would happen if i used 2 standard fluorescent lights, The daylight (white version) and the cool white type. would they be able to grow throughout the vegetative and flowering stages? so far, they are doing pretty well, four days after germination they are all sprouted and standing at 2.5-3.5 inches tall.
Would i be able to use the lights throughout their whole life???

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you need CFL lights bro, I am using 107w of CFL for 5 plants in veg mode and I cleaned it up so that the light hits all the leafs but I want to up the amount of lights that I am using, I want to run 9 CFL lights for bud mode and I'm gona try to get at least 1 plant harvest every day

Well this is my first try growing under compact fluorescent bulb and I'm in 2nd week of flowering, and I can say that you can grow under CFL, just make sure that you have at least 40 CFL watts per square meter area and use a combination of Soft White and Cool White Bulbs and keep the light around 2cm from the top of the plant.

You may also want to check the forum for fluorescent bulb growing guide. Many people have had good experience with fluorescent bulb. Go check the forum out if you want to.

Here's the link:
CFL Growing [Archive] - Marijuana Growing

Happy Toking...

This is the link to the Sub-forum:

CFL Growing

Here is a book that was used to grow 8 ounces using CFLs

See More Buds - Grow Marijuana DVD

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