Simplest lighting set up for autoflower?

I am an outdoor grower but was thinking of having an over winter indoor grow. I want to keep it simple so I was wondering what is the simplest lighting system I can get for 4 auto plants that would be LST or SCROGed?

I have some clamp lights. Can I just get a couple of grow bulbs? I'd rather not have to spend for an expensive fixture for just a few plants I'm growing for fun.

What is the minimum amount of light (hours and wattage) they need to grow to their potential?

Thanks, in advance for any help you can give - +reps

400W would be the smallest. You can do a 250W, but your yield will be piss.

i hate to say this ... but i had great results with my autos .... i had a small wardrobe .... 4 pc case fans and three 125w duel spectrum CFL lamps and my yeilds we're very reasonable

cost was less then 150 bucks from start to finish and running costs we're dirt cheap

250-400-600w hps lamp would have been better... but for inital cost and running costs ... and with really low heat output CFL got me lean grow after grow for far less

I too grow with CFL's and just harvest3s a bit over 4oz from 3 Afgan Ryder Kush plants. I have 750 watts actual.

I use cfl lighting as well. For me, I just use a 200 watt single bulb. They are huge and 17,600 lumens will not match a MH gram for gram but it's dam close at a hella lot les power consumption. Of course you would want the 2700k for auto flour.

alley, what exactly is the 2700k? I'm an outdoor grower and have zero experience with indoor plant lighting.

troutie - thanks for adding the pic! Awesome little set-up

thats cool Laney
that was my first cabinet... i did 4 auto flower grows in that before i retired it... 3 at a time... pineapple express, critical jack ...and green o'matic.... and i loved it lots (mostly the critical jack i'd grow that again in a heartbeat), and it kept me smoking from morning till night with no running out mares
i'm working on a new grow room at the moment..... its going to be a little bigger


oh ... with cfl and other lamps ... the type of light they create is given a number and a common name ... like 2700k = red ... 6500k= blue ... there are a few variations but these two are what we're looking for for growing ...

blue light (6500k) is great for veggative growth.... red light (2700k) is best for bud development ... i used Duel spectrum (2700 & 6500k) bulbs, having both red and blue in each bulb saved me having to change lamps and stuff because i'm lazy ... and my girls really grew quite fat

Laney said:

alley, what exactly is the 2700k? I'm an outdoor grower and have zero experience with indoor plant lighting.

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2700k refers to the color of light it gives off. 2700k is considered to be in the red spectrum and better for flowering. Just as in the fall or late summer and the days get shorter, more red than blue light is given. This is how the plants know when to flower. People use 6500k bulbs to start off with.. This is more blue and is closer to the light we get from the sun in the spring time. Almost all CFL's are marked but I suggest to get one really big one and this way you don't have to keep messing with light adjustments.
I am not saying I don't like the tree 100watt bulbs pictured above. I think it's awesome.

When I say watts.. Make sure that's actual wattage. Her is a link to a good bulb.. 2700k.. Great for auto flowers. But you might want to start with a couple of cheap 6500k for the first 2 weeks. Those you have to keep really close with a good fan near by.
http://www.lightbulbsurplus.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=243&cPath=122&gclid=CLPPj_3P0bECFYPAKgodDzsA-g#googlebase

Laney said:

I am an outdoor grower but was thinking of having an over winter indoor grow. I want to keep it simple so I was wondering what is the simplest lighting system I can get for 4 auto plants that would be LST or SCROGed?

I have some clamp lights. Can I just get a couple of grow bulbs? I'd rather not have to spend for an expensive fixture for just a few plants I'm growing for fun.

What is the minimum amount of light (hours and wattage) they need to grow to their potential?

Thanks, in advance for any help you can give - +reps

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There's always a tradeoff. HID produces more bud than CFL, more heat to deal with and more expense to get into. Sounds like in your case the previous posters' pictured success with just CFL is hard to argue with.

Yeah, I am getting a lot of ideas from this thread, guys - thank you!

Try keeping your autos on 24 hrs of light for the first 3-4 weeks. They veg out like crazy, thus have better structure for supporting bigger buds. I have tried this with two diff strains, and the results were more than pleasing. Try it. Stay Crunchy!



These were a little more than 60 days.

Dameon said:

Try keeping your autos on 24 hrs of light for the first 3-4 weeks. They veg out like crazy, thus have better structure for supporting bigger buds. I have tried this with two diff strains, and the results were more than pleasing. Try it. Stay Crunchy!


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due to my cabinet being in an unheated outbuilding during the depths of winter i ran mine 23 hours on ...and 1 off (i think everything that lives needs sleep )for the entire length of my grows .... i needed the lamp heat constantly... and your right they love it!!!

troutie said:

due to my cabinet being in an unheated outbuilding during the depths of winter i ran mine 23 hours on ...and 1 off (i think everything that lives needs sleep )for the entire length of my grows .... i needed the lamp heat constantly... and your right they love it!!!

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Wow - I never thought about doing an indoor grow in an outbuilding. That would rock! What growing zone are you in?

Laney said:

Wow - I never thought about doing an indoor grow in an outbuilding. That would rock! What growing zone are you in?

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northern hem ..... summers mild - winters about 9 months long and pretty cold, i was getting approx 35-40f inside the outbuilding constant.... so running my lights 23-1 ment i could maintain 75f without any problems ..... and for the one hour lights out i found i was dropping below the perfered 65f inside the cabinet quite sharply .... thats why i fitted that vivarium heater seen in my previous picture (bottom right of photo)
once i'd fitted that i set it to its lowest setting (64f) and it is thermastaticly controlled.... so i was able to keep it degree perfect day and night

alley.walker said:

I use cfl lighting as well. For me, I just use a 200 watt single bulb. They are huge and 17,600 lumens will not match a MH gram for gram but it's dam close at a hella lot les power consumption. Of course you would want the 2700k for auto flour.
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that reminds me of the first days of my grows ... i just noticed like mine your autos stayed low, and didnt stretch at all during there veg period... unlike some outdoor auto's i've seen.... who says cfl are inferior?? lol