Some are replacements for 60 watt or 100 watt bulbs, but only push out 13-23 watts. Do I have to buy using the replacement watts or the actual wattage. Now at $4 to $6 a pop it gets kind of steep attaining the 100 watt minimum. Was not expecting to spend ~$50 for veg lights and close to the same amount for flowering. From everything I've read CFL's are the cheapest option, yet they seem to using the majority of my budget. What is the life expectancy of these bulbs? If the bulbs I start with can go through a full veg cycle I would be okay with it, but if they need to be replaced constantly CFL's just are not cost effective. I saw some colored CFL's today as well, will adding a blue light during the veg cycle and red during flowering increase yield? I remember reading colored lights do affect plants, I just cannot find the info anymore. I am planning to nurture 1 plant, settled on feminized Durban Poison as my baby. All help and input is appreciated, I have set aside time this coming weekend to finish my box and order my seeds, it would be great to get feedback before I start.
Actual watts. The "replacement" or "equivalent" watts is actually just a marketing attempt to compare light output of these bulbs to the light output of household incandescents, so it isn't even "watts" that they really are talking about at all, and also which isn't a relevant comparison for growing. For 1 plant you would do fine with 4-6 bulbs of each color spectrum, so perhaps 12 bulbs in all. You can get them at Walmart, Home Depot, etc for about $2 per bulb. The good news is that these bulbs last a long time, years. Skip the colored bulbs, get 6500k daylight for veg and 2700k warm white or soft white for flower.
I appreciate the info. Maybe I'm shopping at the wrong places. Now I know they last so long I'm not scared off trying it out, I'll try the stores you've mentioned.
The majority of your budget will go on lights , and then there will be alot more cost after that , it just takes time to build up the equiptment/nutes you need , its a big thing to get over , ive been growing for nearly 2 years now and i still havent got my growspace perfect , im still missing a 600 watt hps haha . If i were you id re think the whole lot and think ahead , do you plan on expanding your grow ? because if i could go back i would have just gone for HPS / Metal halide before CFL , They are just so much better , i went from CFL to loads of CFL's , Metal halide and then to HPS . I wasted so much money on crap i didnt need Basically like i said before maybe go back to the drawing board and weigh up your options ? And also thats a good choice of seed , hope you get some dank buds . You should post up a journal and lets us see your baby too Best of luck
I thought I had a handle on the whole growing aspect of bud. Thanks, I will slow down a bit, take another look at threads on GC, and revise my plans accordingly. No point in half assing it.
Canada, and I was thinking the same thing. I'll be checking out Wal-Mart this weekend though, they always have cheap products.