What kind of bulb for a single plant?

[auburn]

if i had a single plant i dont think i would need an expensive big ass bulb. Is there some kind of small hps bulb, maybe a small metal halide aquarium bulb, or other type of lighting that could be applied in this situation? im not gay and growing one plant in my closet or even weed honestly.
http://zoklet.net/bbs/images/editor/smilie.gif

[Lysergic Rain]

Just go buy three 23w CFLs like this
http://selectroclash.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/cfl_light_bulb.jpg
They sell them at walmart

Then buy a three way splitter like this
http://www.qwikfast.co.uk/catalogue/images/silv16a110vsplitter399015.jpg
Also probably sold at walmart or atleast home depot.

Depending on the splitter you get, you'll probably have to wire it your self. Mine had two leads coming off, one black one red. Lets assume your does as well. Buy an extension cord at the dollar store, cut the female end off, separate the wires, and attach one wire to the red and one to the black. I crimped them together because I had the propper tools, but you could also just twist them together and cover in electrical tape. Make sure its not plugged in when you're doing this...

The great thing about CFLs is that they use little electricity and require no heat ventilation. You're going to want to attach a rope or something to the splitter to raise/lower the lights. I'll let you figure that out. You need this because CFLs are only any good if they are like 4in-12in away from the top of the plant.

Rollitup.org is an excellent source for growing...plants.

Here is an entire subforum about using CFLs
http://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/

I'm growing...tomatoes.

Here is the outside
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/8991/img7449medium.jpg

Here is the inside
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1504/img7451medium.jpg
(The plastic on the pots is to prevent moisture loss)

Also, remember to only water your plants with water that you have let sit in an open container for 24hrs to let all the chlorine evaporate. Filtering it is also a good idea, but I didn't bother.

EDIT:
I was wrong, my light fixture has black and white wires, not black and red. If you look closely at the second picture, you can see how I attached them to the extension cord. The third wire you see coming out (its goldish looking) is for ground. I only had a two pronged extension cord, so I didn't bother. But its a good idea to go ahead and connect it if you have a three pronged extension cord.

[auburn]

i love you

[Lysergic Rain]

Its so good to hear it :)

If you want to get serious, check our nirvana-shop.com for seeds and you're going to want a special soil mix. Perlite,
Bone meal, Blood meal, ect.

Check out the rollitup forums, they are the best on the internet for growing.

[5024L]

Or get some fluro tubes.

[auburn]

yeah that site is pretty g. you got a quick estimate on the price of the splitter and bulb per unit? also wouldnt i have to have at least 2-3 power strips, possibly making my bill high?

edit: yeah i was wondering about the viability of tubes. i had so/so experience with them in the past but an actual bulb would work better in my design

edit well i guess i could wire it myself fuck

[Lysergic Rain]

I almost forgot to tell you that the temperature of the light matters when you're talking about CFLs.

You're going to want to daylight bulbs (something in the range of 5000+ kelvin). Check out this (http://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/107992-tutorial-growing-cfls.html) article (scroll down to "Color Temperature"). You should be able to get three 23w CFLs at walmart for $20 or less. The splitter is negligible, like $3 maybe.

Why would you need 3 powerstrips? You just run a single extension cord directly from the wall to the lights. You said you were only growing one plant right?

EDIT: Might I suggest growing more then one plant? As you can see in my pic, I'm growing three plants from six 23w CFLs. You can buy pots at the dollar store and I doubt you can buy soil in small enough amounts for one plant. The cost of growing three plants is like $15 more then the cost of growing one and you get 3x the yield.

[auburn]

this is a theoretical situation where many plants would be seperated in many compartments. some plants may require more/less shorter/longer light or different soil/environments etc. but it seems like i could get someone to wire it up, otherwise i have the design pretty much worked out and will have a supply estimate and full design by this weekend.

[Lysergic Rain]

it seems like i could get someone to wire it up

You literally just cut up an extension cord with a knife and attach with it tape. People think that electricity and electronics are far to complicated for anyone without specialized training to work with, and while many times that is true, there is an astonishing about of stuff a regular guy can do. Even downloading "complicated" circuits off the internet and building them isn't that hard.

Here (http://www.lirc.org/receivers.html) is an infrared receiver for your computer that can be built just by wiring 6 parts from radioshack together and downloading a program off the internet. You can move your mouse around with your TV remote just by following a few very simple instructions. I built it when I was like 12.

[auburn]

lol. i know a bit of carpentry/welding/electrical/etc. and know a bunch of electricians. im not going for some ghetto hidden rig, this shit is going to be streamline state of the art. but yeah, i will probably still do the entire project myself. in like 2-3 months you will see a pic of it, no point in really explaining. lighting was my last issue really.

[zos]

you can also get some very small grow lights, dfl's are fine for veg, but i've never heard anything good about using em for budding.

should bring this up to the happy herb, we need the traffic.

[Ebola]

if i had a single plant i dont think i would need an expensive big ass bulb. Is there some kind of small hps bulb, maybe a small metal halide aquarium bulb, or other type of lighting that could be applied in this situation? http://zoklet.net/bbs/images/editor/smilie.gif

This one? GroLux HPS Bulb (http://www.gchydro.com/Sylvania%2BGrolux%2BHPS%2BBulb.html) ? Might be too much power though :cool: Think you could grow a small forrest with 90K lumens. There is a smaller 400W here (http://www.gchydro.com/Agrosun+Gold+Metal+Halide+Bulb.html)

Also you could use a small fluroscent tube (like the ones mounting only in one end, from office lamps etc.). Most flurecent tubes (though not optimized for plant growth) can be used.

[peu4000]

Use an HPS light for flowering, it is sooooo much better than a CFL.

[prodikal]

Use an HPS light for flowering, it is sooooo much better than a CFL.


We had our plant under a 250w HPS and it took a long time for pre-flowers to show so we extended the grow room and tossed in another 3 female plants under a 450w HPS. But for your solution ever heard of LED grow lights or Enviro grow lights a simple google search will yield results :) happy growing a few tips get epson salts incase theres a sodium build up in your soil that will cause yellowing of the leaves get an electronic PH meter to test your feed too hope all goes well :)

[zos]

i's really like to see some good results off of led's, 2 thousand watters like i'm running now suck down a lot of juice. about an extra 60 bucks in electricity.

[Lysergic Rain]

You don't want to grow with LEDs

Check out this comparison video
http://chemphoria.com/forum/index.php?topic=281.0

[auburn]

leds are definitely blow assey but ill give them some time to advance before i take a shit on them

[ate]

Lysergic Rain had it pretty much. HPS's are hot and hard to vent and loud and require more electricity, etc etc.

It's all about the results you want. Have you found out how to splice the wire and make a circuit?

[AxelXavier]

IF YOUR GOING TO DO CFL, your going to need 2 different types. daylight for vegetation and soft white for flowering. its of course good to have a one or 2 of the alternate in either stage. but its 2 different spectrums of light produced, soft white i believe produces more of a red spectrum which naturally occurs later in a summer growing season. but in either phase your going to want at least 3 of the main type and 1 of the alternate to reproduce proper wave lengths

[AxelXavier]

leds are definitely blow assey but ill give them some time to advance before i take a shit on them

only if your using it as a main source of light. they have higher output leds and a panel isnt expensive to make it just takes time

[Stock Market Anomalies]

This one? GroLux HPS Bulb (http://www.gchydro.com/Sylvania%2BGrolux%2BHPS%2BBulb.html) ? Might be too much power though :cool: Think you could grow a small forrest with 90K lumens. There is a smaller 400W here (http://www.gchydro.com/Agrosun+Gold+Metal+Halide+Bulb.html)

Also you could use a small fluroscent tube (like the ones mounting only in one end, from office lamps etc.). Most flurecent tubes (though not optimized for plant growth) can be used.

400w overkill for a single plant I think

[zos]

No such thing as too much light.
but you can get a couple huge mothers under a single 400w.
so yeah for a single plant probably more then you want to invest.
they do make smaller hps which are always going to beat out cfl's though.
i'll dig up a couple links and post them up in the 'herb for you.
I've been neglecting the closet grow equipment angle, its a good thread idea.

[face_smack360]

Why isn't this in Herb? :confused:

[zos]

Why isn't this in Herb? :confused:

lol, i'm pretty sure this thread was the one that made me start thinking about renaming the herb so people would know where to go for grow questions.

nfhc mods, can i haz it?

[Rizzo in a box]

haha, yeah, throwin' it yr way zos.

TBH I skimmed over the title and thought it was about making light bulb vapes. :facepalm:

[Stock Market Anomalies]

haha, yeah, throwin' it yr way zos.

TBH I skimmed over the title and thought it was about making light bulb vapes. :facepalm:

"yr" fucking retarded. :thumbsdown:

[tariel]

If you go for a lowryder type strain, you can get by using only soft white(2700k) from the beginning. Currently I have 2 lowryder 2 x ak47 and they are doing great on 2700k from the beginning. It seems like the biggest factor limiting thier size is that I repotted them, apparently autoflowering stains don't like that.

If you are growing non autoflowering strains, and insist on using cfl's, then a mixed spectrum is the way to go. Something like 80/20 7000k/2700k for veg and vica versa for flowering. I have seen much better results from a mixed spectrum like this rather then using exclusively 7000k/2700k.

Of course, if you have the space and you are able to vent the heat, a HPS is the way to go. They ae much more efficient in terms of lumens per watt. But CFL'S are perfect for a closet grow.

[zos]

I found a couple very small 150 watt hps fixtures on ebay for around 60-70 bucks.
great investment for 1 or 2 plants.
heat from one that small wouldn't be a big deal and electricity wouldn't even be noticeable.

[ate]

400w overkill for a single plant I think

http://zoklet.net/bbs/picture.php?albumid=139&pictureid=1294

[tariel]

http://zoklet.net/bbs/picture.php?albumid=139&pictureid=1294

That plant may be doing well, but you could probably fit more under a 400w HPS. Therefor 400w HPS IS overkill for 1 plant.

[ate]

Nah.

[zos]

lol, no such thing as too much light.
i can't wait until i've got 3kw over a single table.

[Stock Market Anomalies]

Stole two grow lights 150w and 200w last night, found this place just out of town that grows herbs and shit they've got heated greenhouses with lights, I just cut a slit in the far end with an box cutter (door end was too close to their house for comfort) and let myself in. I could have gotten another one from that greenhouse and probably three more from the next one over but on the second trip back to my truck a passing car slowed right the fuck down and sketched me out. If anyones looking for lights it might just be worth making inquiries about local farms that sell fresh shit year round and driving by when its starting to get dark, greenhouses with lights on are easy as hell to pick out. Theres another place near here I'm going to check out tomorrow night easy money and easy to get rid of too, it seems not a month goes by I come across someone looking for lights. :thumbsup:

And yeh, more light is good light but the OP specifically said he doesn't want to spend the money on something like a 400w light which makes sense for a one plant (hope to fuck hes getting a clone/femmed seed) closet grow.

[ate]

Stealing from hand= bad vibes, possibly a rock salt flying passed or into you.

Stealing from corporate entity = security chasing you.

[L33tz]

haha, yeah, throwin' it yr way zos.

TBH I skimmed over the title and thought it was about making light bulb vapes. :facepalm:

i thought it meant the bulb of a plant..