alright this is my first time ever taking a shot at growing so this based off what i read and the resoucres im able to get from living in canada, lots off feedback and suggestions PLEASE! For soil im using about 50% Scotts premium potting mix, around 40% perlite and the rest will be a mix of compost and petemoss. Im building a wood box to grow in that will be around 3ft length, 1.5ft width and almost 4ft tall, therfor space is limited. Going with cfl lights, going to get 3 23 watt daylight cfl bulbs (6500k) for vegging/growing and 3 23 watt daylight (2700), im thinking this will be enough for only 3 plants. some advice on how to set them up and wire them would be helpful For nutrients im getting jacks classic all purpose for seeding and vegging and then jacks bloomers for flowering. advice on how much i should use to water and how often would be awsome in terms of ventalation and airflow im not to sure what to do at all For managing the smell i plan to use a ONA tub and have a fan blowing air into a bucket and pushing the smell out holes in the bottum of the bucket, hopefully that will deal with the smell as im handi enough to set up a carbon filter and im on a tight budget for seeds ive heard northern lights are good and they dont grow too tall but still open to suggestions All this is based off what ive read and my budget, nothing from experience so im open to lots of feedback and suggestions
i had the understanding that a 23w meant 100w? im pretty confused with this but if that was wrong then i guess 3 100w daylight 6500k lights and then 3 100w 2700k?
The "rule of thumb" is 100 REAL watts for one plant with an additional 50 watts per plant after that. Meaning: the the 23w cfl is 23 REAL watts - forget what the package says about what it "replaces" or is "as bright as" - your watt concern is what it says the ACTUAL amount of watts it uses is. One vegging plant should be fine with four or five 23 watters at 6500k with a couple or three more 23 watters for each additional plant. Also, you don't need all that light at the outset but another rules of thumb is that with cfl's, more is better - at least until the point of cumulative heat issues with a bunch of lamps - a fan is a good thing to have in that respect, as well as simply moving air around which is good for the plants. Same goes for the flower cycle, with the idea that you want top canopy lighting of course, but since cfls don't penetrate like a HPS, again - extra lamps for side lighting so more light is thrown deeper into the foliage is also beneficial. On my cfl grown I was able to successfully veg four plants with an array I built http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-m...ixture-w-reflector-assembly.html#post11306306 It used eight 26 watters on the array, plus another couple clip light 26 watters for side on "fill" light. Then, when I put them into flower, I replaced them all with lower K cfl's as well as adding a couple more higher wattage (with larger lamps) cfl's into the array and on the sides where by the time I was finishing flower, I was running about 380 REAL watts of lights. Hope that clarifies things for you - good luck!
Awsome thanks for the advice, I really like the setup you have so I'm going to give a go at constructing something like that. I think I'll get 3 actual 100 watt 6500ks for veg and then switch out 3 100 watt 2700ks for flowering so 100 watts per plant. Also for venting I was gonna put a vent near the bottom of the box and have a fan outside the box blowing air into it and then another vent near the top on the otherwise where The air and heat can escape
The largest cfl I've used is a 65 (real) watt lamp and it produced a good amount of heat. Something to consider there. Also, I find that I prefer using a greater number of smaller lamps because of how they can be dynamically placed for throwing light into the foliage, multiple lamps with their individual surface areas being spread around makes for an easier heat dispersion, the relatively small impact and ease of replacement if one were to fail, and absolutely as a matter of cost for the lamp. Just food for thought. Consider checking the DIY's on boxes and the like - one thing that I know is crucial when you get to flowering is the light/dark cycle in that the dark needs to be completely dark - no light leaks - or you risk hermies. You have to have air vents for air handling and there's many DIY ideas for engineering them to disable light from coming in during your dark period. Just a good idea to consider that now instead of constructing your box and going with it, only to discover going into flower that you have light leaks from the vents and having to deal with it then. Definitely air coming in to be low and air going out up high.