First Grow - CFL Madness!

[Builttospill]

Hey all. First post! Okay, now I would like to start a grow and I THINK Ive got everything down. I am only contemplating this and nothing is set in stone about growing and if I do start a grow, it'll probably be in the next year or so as Im living with a roommate and I dont think he's comfprtable with me growing so Im waiting to move out. My growbox would be 14.5'' deep, 24'' wide, and 4 feet tall (sweeeeeet oak cabinet with a nice deep red stain, why not use it?) BTW, this is going to be an all CFL grow and only 2 plants are going to be grown. Will be using either SCROG or LST methods.

Out of the following, which would you pick and why?

(6) 55 watt CFLs from 1000bulbs.com
-3600 lumens
-2700K
Total wattage: 330
Total lumens: 21600
Total price w/ shipping: $101.36

OR

(2) 125 watt CFLs from 4hydro.com
-Unknown lumens, most likely around 8000 - 10000?
-2700K
Total wattge: 250
Total lumens: approx. 16000 - 20000?
Total price w/ shipping: $118.07


I am also open to any other suggestions of CFLs and combos and what not.

I would also like to know how much heat will generate with either of these combos and if a negative pressure vent system is adequate cooling. Could I use a glass lens to help keep things cool, sort of like a cool tube? Thanks alot for any input!

[MolinoMan]

ok, well i think it would be far more beneficial to use set 1 for these reasons.

1. With only two lights you will not be able to get the as good efficiency because most likely you would put them above and that only gives sufficient light to the top whereas if you had 3 per plant you could place them where the plant can utilize the light the most.

2. The first set is cheaper and you get more watts so what hell.

3. You can use regular fixtures (up to 60 watts) whereas with the 125 watt you would have to get more expensive fixtures (money once again)

And have you looked into maybe getting 3 55 watt soft color bulbs and 3 55 watt daylight color bulbs and only grow one plant? This way you can utilize the spectrum better and therefor potentially get better yields.

[SurfsUpBrah]

Don't Forget Some Daylight Bulbs

[Builttospill]

Hey thanks for the responses. I should of mentioned that Im going to be using 2 85 watt 6500K CFLs for vegging.

Should I go SCROG instead of LST for 2 plants in this space? Would 1 SCROG or LST plant be more logical than 2 SCROG or LST plants?

[Builttospill]

Anyone?

[DrBudGreengenes]

Originally Posted by Builttospill

Anyone?

Have ya' thought about SOG?
See the grow in my Sig.

[PhoenixPharmer]

I'd definatly go W/ option 1...

But I think you could only successfully veg 3-4 plants max under that set up...

I also wanna let you know CFL's are probably the worst option for flowering.

[valleyhempz]

well if you scrog it i think it would better evenly spread the cfls light but thats up too you, sea of green would work well with cfls too

[Builttospill]

I only want to grow 2 plants in this cabinet. And according to DrBud other there, CFLs arent a bad way to go PhoenixFarmer. I would love to go HPS/MH but Im unsure of the heat issues i would run into with the size of my cab. I cant really have loud blowers going to keep things cool. Any suggestions on a HPS/MH? And efficient ways of cooling? Thanks.

[HeadshopGirl]

i would spend $50 more and buy a HPS if i were you. you're gonna get way better results that way

[IMgreen]

what she said!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ksid=p3907.m29

[Builttospill]

Okay. If I could have a proper vent system setup for a hps/mh I would. BUT, I need this to be stealth. So loud and bulky blowers are out of the question. THIS IS WHY I'M GOING ALL CFLS.

[Sloppy G]

If ur gonna spend $120 on CFL's, would it be more effective to just get a 400W HPS system for approx. $150?...

[abitavenger135]

he said he's shooting for stealth and temps/ventilation are a problem so cfl's are his choice

[IMgreen]

just wondering here...

why not just go to home depot get yourself some clamp lights for $10 and a few bulbs?

This was you can invest time first and $$ later

And you'll still need to spend a bit on mylar, lightproofing and ventilation