grow lights help

[GreatToKnow]

I have a crappy light system a 125w cfl.

Space is a issue i have a grow room which is 6ft by 6 ft
made out of wood. I cant make it any bigger.

I want to buy a new grow light asap it has to be low heat but powerful enough to get a good crop.

Any ideas on what lighting i could use i have about $120 budget :facepalm:
They sell 300w evirolites or they got a 250w hps. They do 30w led grow lights that where made in china.

My next grow i am thinking autoflower. There are a lot of good reviews of the autoflower that i want to get.

in 7 - 8 weeks it will be ready for harvest once you grow.

[Dr rocker]

Whats the height like in the place? You could easy run a 600W HPS if you have an extractor going. Might be able to pick one up second hand with ballast and then buy a new bulb.

Give the height, work out the volume and then that will tell you what size fan you want.

[GreatToKnow]

Whats the height like in the place? You could easy run a 600W HPS if you have an extractor going. Might be able to pick one up second hand with ballast and then buy a new bulb.

Give the height, work out the volume and then that will tell you what size fan you want.

6foot. I have a basic extractor fan "kind found in bathrooms"

[Dose Me]

Dude hop on craigslist and type in "grow" and/or "lights" under the Gardening/Farm section.

You will find people selling their used lights and you will find one 120 dollars or less.

I got two 200w Metal Halides for 40 bucks each. They were dome-reflector warehouse lights but they still work to grow weed.

[GreatToKnow]

Dude hop on craigslist and type in "grow" and/or "lights" under the Gardening/Farm section.

You will find people selling their used lights and you will find one 120 dollars or less.

I got two 200w Metal Halides for 40 bucks each. They were dome-reflector warehouse lights but they still work to grow weed.

I got no problem finding places to buy lights for the money is knowing what type is best and which has low heat.

I am swaying towards getting a big CFL i can pick 2 x 300w clf and holders for about $100 and then i will hae 725w in cfl and they give out 70 lumens per watt
So thats 50750 lumens

[Dose Me]

I got no problem finding places to buy lights for the money is knowing what type is best and which has low heat.

I am swaying towards getting a big CFL i can pick 2 x 300w clf and holders for about $100 and then i will hae 725w in cfl and they give out 70 lumens per watt
So thats 50750 lumens

dude fuck CFL's man if you're gonna drop 100 bucks on a light get a high intensity discharge (MH or HPS).

CFL's are nice but the HUGE ones get just as expensive as normal lamps.


Get ONE 200w lamp. It will run hotter than a CFL but it will actually grow you a decent plant. You will have to just get a fan and have it pointing at the ballast and you will be fine.

Like this.

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/FormulaFortune/DSCN1635.jpg

that's just a 10 dollar fan from walmart. The stand was screwed off and a hole was drilled in the main plastic pole and it was just hung up on a nail. This fan would keep BOTH of those 200w ballasts efficiently cooled in an ATTIC (one of the hardest places in the house to keep cool when its hot and hot when its cool).

Hope that helps. Do not drop mad money on CFL's. Get a serious light and spend the extra 10 bucks and time to cool it.

[GreatToKnow]

dude fuck CFL's man if you're gonna drop 100 bucks on a light get a high intensity discharge (MH or HPS).

CFL's are nice but the HUGE ones get just as expensive as normal lamps.


Get ONE 200w lamp. It will run hotter than a CFL but it will actually grow you a decent plant. You will have to just get a fan and have it pointing at the ballast and you will be fine.

Like this.

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/FormulaFortune/DSCN1635.jpg

that's just a 10 dollar fan from walmart. The stand was screwed off and a hole was drilled in the main plastic pole and it was just hung up on a nail. This fan would keep BOTH of those 200w ballasts efficiently cooled in an ATTIC (one of the hardest places in the house to keep cool when its hot and hot when its cool).

Hope that helps. Do not drop mad money on CFL's. Get a serious light and spend the extra 10 bucks and time to cool it.

I could afford a Hortilux 600w Poot

Which says

Great value reconditioned 600w Grow light

- German Made Hortilux Schreder poot grow light

- High Quality Magnetic ballast with thermal cut off

- Compatible with HPS or Metal Halide lamps

- Complete with 600w Son T Plus lamp

- Complete with hanging chains

- Newly wired flex with UK 13amp plug

- Aluminium closed reflector focuses and concentrate light towards growing area

- 12 Months no quibbles replacement light guarantee

Philips SON-T Master GreenPower

Philips SON-T Master GreenPower High Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulbs have Philips' PIA technology for increased reliability and lower early failure rate, with reliable ignition throughout lifetime.

Producing 2000 degrees Kelvin, the SON-T grow lamps are ideal for growing vegetables and flowers.

Use as supplemental light to raise growth light levels in order to enhance photosynthesis to improve plant growth or alone as artificial light for garden cultivation without daylight.

A clear Universal bulb with mogul base, the SON-T Master GreenPower lamp is completely lead-free. It produces higher than normal lumens.

- 600 watt: 90,000 lumen

Dimensions

Reflector - 39 - 35cm

But i am not sure how hot that would get. Its a pretty mean mother of a lamp i believe and its just $120 inc shipping

[Dose Me]

a 600w would get pretty hot especially if it doesn't have an auto-cooling hood.

Get a 200w and you should be able to control the temp rather easily. Even with two of em.

[the internet jesus]

you HAVE to have an hps or at least a 6 bulb t5 for flowering a decent plantm anyone who tells you otherwise is a fuckin retard dont waste your money on cfls you will get shitty airy plants. you can get an aggromax 600 watt hps bulb @ ~100000 lumens

[the internet jesus]

also check ebay you can get a 600 ballast bat wingh bulb and socket for about 120 i think check HTG's ebay store

[zombo.com]

my 400 watt metal halide was easily cooled with a small fan as well....

anything bigger than that, 600 or a thousand and you'll be running into those heat issues you're worrying about.

with 5 feet to work with stay away from CFL's. i'm not saying they're shitty, but for any plant bigger than a foot....they're shitty. unless maybe you run em all along the side as supplemental side lighting. but you'd still want to put a real HID light of some type over top.

[Slapshot]

CFL's are used mainly for seedlings and clones because they don't penetrate very far. I'd say 90% of your 5' plant is just getting ambient light from the room, hence my comment in your other thread (no offense). You'd be better off topping and training 1 fat bush under that light

Think about installing a good inline fan or an air conditioner, you've got a lot of space just going to waste because you can't light the room properly without overheating it. If you use an inline fan plugged into a thermostat, you'd be good to go with a 600w.

[GreatToKnow]

Thank for the advice guys i will get a better light next week. cfls suck. Only reason i got one is because a certain forum swore by them lol

[Dose Me]

Thank for the advice guys i will get a better light next week. cfls suck. Only reason i got one is because a certain forum swore by them lol

CFL's are GREAT for the vegetation phase of your plants growth. Thats why people love them so much you can get a good veg with no heat and little cost in energy.

Flowering however is much more difficult with them as your plant needs some really high energy to develop potent buds.

Don't be afraid to veg with CFL's.

I would have a closet with CFL's that the plants would veg in...then make a closet with your 200w or 400w and keep that on 12/12. With the two rooms you can perpetually harvest a crop constantly.

[GreatToKnow]

what would a 300w clf do for a auto Ryder/auto flower they are pretty small and squat.

stupidest thing is that the 125w grow my top44 well i got a good crop from that
they are made specifically for flowering stage. However the new seed i got shiva shanti 2 do not like the CFL.

I do want a high yield and just trying to jugle budget with no heat and high power.

Ideally i would like a 250w something that my extractor fan will go on.

One other question which nuits are good for n00bs. I saw bio canna which looked good.

[Corey]

Woah dude you're really wasting some cash


Go to lowes. Pick up 27 watt CFL, equivalent to 100 watts, only uses 27watts on your electric bill, also doesn't get nearly as hot

Pick up anywhere from 6, which will give the minimum amount of lumens, 2700k, I DEFINATELY RECOMMEND MORE. If your spending $100 on 120 watts, you could easily save $95 on CFL's . If you can, i'd get 4 six packs, soft white, and cool blue, or whatever it is. Soft white is for the flowering stage and cool is for veg...this makes the plant grow naturally like if it was outside, october is harvest and throughout harvest the weather is cooler.
simple, if you want more help just google "CFL 27watt grow" you'll get more info this is just what i remember from the top of my head

[zombo.com]

a 1000w light is only 25 bucks a month in juice, don't worry about your electricity bill, your computer probably uses more than your light will.

[the internet jesus]

^not unless you have a 1000w power supply on your pc lol

[GreatToKnow]

i dont think a 24w cfl is going to do the trick dude.

125w in the uk costs £20 a month to run so thats $35 a month electric is not that cheap down here.

i am am not sure what to do yet. I will shop around and experiment with stuff. Ideally i would love a 250 or a 400w grolux iv used a 14w growlux tube for veg once and the results where good.

so who knows. i know its gotta be good whatever i get coz i am a medical user and need to harvest enough every year to last the year. I doubt cfl is going to do that.

If i got a auto flowering bubblegum it takes 7 weeks to finish if i use a 250w hps grolux then i should get some decent crop.

I have been feeding the plants on rabbits shit because its got a decent amount of NPK in it and plants love it and i get a ton of every day :rolleyes:
you just make a tea out of it and give the cold tea to the plants

[zombo.com]

^not unless you have a 1000w power supply on your pc lol

750watt, but it's on all the time, the lights only run 12/12.

forte- goddamn dude, that's...crazy, are you sure? what are they charging per kilowatt hour? it should be on your electric bill somewhere.

if that's the case maybe spending the money on and LED grow light would be worth looking into, they're the best power consumption wise, but kinda expensive in startup costs. (IDCHIEF swears by them, but i havem't tried growing exclusively with them myself)

[GreatToKnow]

750watt, but it's on all the time, the lights only run 12/12.

forte- goddamn dude, that's...crazy, are you sure? what are they charging per kilowatt hour? it should be on your electric bill somewhere.

if that's the case maybe spending the money on and LED grow light would be worth looking into, they're the best power consumption wise, but kinda expensive in startup costs. (IDCHIEF swears by them, but i havem't tried growing exclusively with them myself)

It is crazy. Led's are perfect but to expensive. That is why i might look in to building my own. They want $100 for a 15w led panel for a 200w its like $600
and leds do not cost that much to buy in the electronics store.
They are like 40 cents each led.

heck if i could build some good led panels i could sell them online discounted like lets say instead of $600 i could thrown them out for $200.

Led is good but they rip you off for it.

That is why CFL are so good because they are cheap. Its a shame there is not a good cheap alternative to cfl.

[GreatToKnow]

Hey guys would this be ok

http://i52.tinypic.com/10dd3ys.jpg

Its a Growbay with 150w or 250w

Integral Control Gear Including Ballast
Internal Ballasts Feature Timed Ignitors
HPS Sodium / Metal Halide Compliant (Uses Both Lamp Types)
Complete With 1 Quality Branded Lamp
Chain Hanging Kit (HK) Included
Pair of Easyroll Hangers (ER) included.


Its a good price $100 for the 250w or $80 for the 150w
what is good about it is that it uses HPS or Halide ?

a 150w wont give off as much heat?
who knows but its a great price and comes with everything including roller hangers.

It can finish of my flowering with it and get some new seeds and do a auto flower grow. That way i can get a good crop.

If i start the veg stage with the bigass CFL and then when its time to flower put the HPS on and i can get some good bud :drool:

[zombo.com]

since it's switchable you can use it very well for both. MH for veg, the hps for bloom, AND the cfl's that you already have throughout for supplemental sidelighting.

that looks pretty much perfect for what your trying to do actually.

[GreatToKnow]

since it's switchable you can use it very well for both. MH for veg, the hps for bloom, AND the cfl's that you already have throughout for supplemental sidelighting.

that looks pretty much perfect for what your trying to do actually.

That is what i think. It just needs some flex wire and a 13amp plug which is cheap and easy to pick up

[Dose Me]

I'm really glad you came back and got some solid advice forte.

Apologize for how harshly your first thread turned....but based off what's in here your next grow should show improvement.

[GreatToKnow]

I'm really glad you came back and got some solid advice forte.

Apologize for how harshly your first thread turned....but based off what's in here your next grow should show improvement.

I just pist really that after the last grow i got a wet ounce which when dried was not even a ounce and that was from 4 plants.

I do not smoke much pot " about a sprinkle in the bong every other day"
and my crop lasted me a while.

But hopefully i should have the light very soon and maybe it might improve the size of the buds on the plants i have now. I still got a month or two of flowering left "I hope"

Thing is with this CFL i hung it really close to the buds and now the leafs are shrinking "they dont look burnt"

One thing i do want to grow is some bubblegum :grinblunt: then some skunk those are my fav.

thanks for the sound advice and sorry i did not listen to it the first time around. I can be a bit defensive some times.

[Dose Me]

Yeah man your goal indoors should be an ounce per plant.

Imagine how long 4 would have lasted you.

[zombo.com]

half gram per watt of light is a good rule of thumb. gram per watt means you're doing shit right, 2 grams means your the fucking man.

[GreatToKnow]

Ok so with 250w how many ounce's do you think i will get from 5 plants?
i intend to get 5 feminised :drool:

I am excited.

Now how about nutrients ? will that make even more bud.

[zombo.com]

shoot for 125 grams, DRIED weight. how much you actually get depends on you, and the strain.
Although if you're supplementing with sidelighting those cfl's you could easily go higher, that's going to help plump up those buds under the main cola.


what are you using currently? dirt i'm assuming, but what kind?

if you go expensive (foxfarm), and in a big enough container (5 gallons or so)you won't need to add much until the last few weeks when they go into overdrive at the end of flower.

or you can go cheaper on the initial dirt, but you'll have to feed 'em once in awhile.

check out my thread from yesterday about promix, the girls are only a couple weeks in, but happy and healthy to date, averaging a couple inches a day in new growth.

[GreatToKnow]

shoot for 125 grams, DRIED weight. how much you actually get depends on you, and the strain.
Although if you're supplementing with sidelighting those cfl's you could easily go higher, that's going to help plump up those buds under the main cola.


what are you using currently? dirt i'm assuming, but what kind?

if you go expensive (foxfarm), and in a big enough container (5 gallons or so)you won't need to add much until the last few weeks when they go into overdrive at the end of flower.

or you can go cheaper on the initial dirt, but you'll have to feed 'em once in awhile.

check out my thread from yesterday about promix, the girls are only a couple weeks in, but happy and healthy to date, averaging a couple inches a day in new growth.

I am using soil which my plants seem to like and i am happy just feeding it.
it has enough food in there for 6 weeks then you just add nutrients.
i only have small plant pots not even a gallon.

when i harvest this lot i will repot her and regenerate. I will take clones and when i am finished with the mother i will plant her out in the wild somewhere.

must do it at night so no fucker sees lol

[zombo.com]

much easier going forward to just take your clones first and put a mother in a windowsill or something, regenerating is a hell of a lot of stress.

i've got a 5 foot mother i'm just about to replace myself, she came to me pretty stretched, and 3 feet of stem doesn't do anyone any good. Nice bush though, being able to take a dozen cuttings anytime you want has a lot going for it. Eventually i'll pick a good baby out of one of the batches and toss her in the flower room.

[Mor3BL7]

glad to see OP is actually being receptive to advice. Kudos!
On topic of regeneration;
after you are done flowering, its good to move outdoors for regeneration.
I like to have my crops done flowering middle of may... then i clip off all the buds except for the lower branches. Then, I dig nice deep holes, fill with some nice soil and mild nutes...
I then transplant the plants into the holes and cover in sort of like an anthill.
ive done this with great success. I end up with 7 foot monsters by the end of the summers grow season.

Autoflowers wont work with this method, but any seasonal change marijuana should take the switchover easily, it helps if it has good genetics tho :)

[zombo.com]

hell you can't even clone with autoflowers..i've decided that they are a conspiracy on the part of the seedbanks to take over the world,

[GreatToKnow]

hell you can't even clone with autoflowers..i've decided that they are a conspiracy on the part of the seedbanks to take over the world,

I may try some auto flowers. I just like that they are short and fast to grow and you can leave the lights on for 20 hours solid each day to grow em and they would still flower.

but i am not sure what my next grow is going to be.might get some auto bubblegum or i might get something strong like diesel , northern lights or get some skunk. I love skunk lol

[GreatToKnow]

Managed to track down a 250w hps with ballast ,lamp for $65 wholesale which is pretty sweet. Now i can get atleast 4 - 8 ounces instead of that crappy little amount i was getting.

[Dose Me]

Managed to track down a 250w hps with ballast ,lamp for $65 wholesale which is pretty sweet. Now i can get atleast 4 - 8 ounces instead of that crappy little amount i was getting.

It will be hard to pull 8 ounces off one 250 but you should do much better.

[Slapshot]

Ok so with 250w how many ounce's do you think i will get from 5 plants?

5 plants is a lot to squeeze under a 250. Sure, it looks like you can fit 5 under it, but smaller pots will get you rootbound, resulting in smaller plants... smaller yield. that 250 should be no more than a foot from the top of the plants, and that's hard to do when you've got 5 of them in buckets. I can't even get 5 under my 400w mh/hps because I keep it 6-12" from the tops.

I'd grow 2 nice bushes in 5 gallon buckets under that light, and use the cfl for 2 clones/seedlings halfway through flower (in a smaller box so it doesn't affect your flowering) to speed up your harvests. I'd expect a qp at harvest.

That 250 should be great to work with though, your plants will thank you.

edit: what I'm trying to say is that for increasing yield... instead of overcrowding your light, workout a system that speeds up your harvest time with 2 stages going at once.

[GreatToKnow]

5 plants is a lot to squeeze under a 250. Sure, it looks like you can fit 5 under it, but smaller pots will get you rootbound, resulting in smaller plants... smaller yield. that 250 should be no more than a foot from the top of the plants, and that's hard to do when you've got 5 of them in buckets. I can't even get 5 under my 400w mh/hps because I keep it 6-12" from the tops.

I'd grow 2 nice bushes in 5 gallon buckets under that light, and use the cfl for 2 clones/seedlings halfway through flower (in a smaller box so it doesn't affect your flowering) to speed up your harvests. I'd expect a qp at harvest.

That 250 should be great to work with though, your plants will thank you.

edit: what I'm trying to say is that for increasing yield... instead of overcrowding your light, workout a system that speeds up your harvest time with 2 stages going at once.

I am not talking about normal sized plants. Small auto flowering

maybe 1 - 2 feet like the auto ryder.

anyways i just pleased i got a better light and now i need more soil etc.

either way i would be happy with 2 plants just enough to get a couple of ounces it beats the small jar that i was getting from the last crop

[GreatToKnow]

I pick up my 250w son t light at the weekend.

My plant is in to its 4th week of flowering i believe and i was wonder if the new light would make the buds much bigger.

It says flowering time is about 2 months so i am half way in to that period.

the buds are quiet big now bigger than my last grow however it would be cook if i could get even bigger buds before its time to harvest.
Iv been feeding them on

N.P.K > 2.4 – 1.4 – .60

They seem to like that manure

[GreatToKnow]

Thanks guys. got my light and it rocks.