cfl vs hps

2ft is not enough space for a plant, and certainly not if you want to use hps lights

 

2ft.... the idea is to get the plant as tall and bushy as possible, yea hps give off a sincere amount of heat

 

What are the exact total dimensions of your grow area. Length, width, and height.

 

I'd say that's enough for one plant not two, or 2 very small plants. An hps in that box would probably make it overheat but you could use some of those pc fans they sell at hydro stores that blow at 100 cfm I think. I'm getting the sense tht you want a stealthy grow? I've never had one of those but I would imagine they would make some noise but that might not even be a problem. I would probably just go for the cfls, in that size of space you wont have to worry too much about penetration so you could just fill the top up with lights. Check out some of the things this guy does, he has some closequarter growing aswell Link I needed extra lighting so I semi-copied his hanging light with the fan above it. One more thing, its good to have more small lights than an equal amount of 1-2 big lights.

 

100W CFL will not give you as much lumen as 100W HPS(MH) and on the long run HPS will be cheaper to run.The best ratio LUMEN/WATT is from 600W HPS.
Here is helpful link with more info:Answers about CFL, HPS, How Much Light...
Try to keep your light as close as you possibly can to your plant,more distance between the light and plant = less lumen your plant will receive....Of cos you must have your temperature under control.Sealed air cooled hood can help you keep your light closer to your plants.I had my 600W HPS(MH) 8-12" away from my plants. With CFLs you can go as low as 2-3" away from your plants, but heat control is absolutely important .
Good luck.

 

Even a single 50W hps will give you way more lumen than 2 26w cfls...

 

Best option is to get one online.
Sunlight Supply 900490 System HPS Grow Horticultural Light

You can get it for less than $60.....

 

Dude, do some reading...you have a lot to learn!

 

stop right now. just stop.

not being mean or rude, but you should stick with your CFL dude. in that space there is really like no way. only a 100HPS might work, and after all the tinkering you will have to do to your box, id say build a new one.

LST is great...but you still want some bushiness to it. if your plant is too flat, light wont get to the leaves in the center.

i think your best bet for now is to read up on CFLs and other forums, and improve on your box from there.

 

What he is saying OP is that you obviously need to do some reading on these forums. 150 watts of CFLs is NOWHERE equal to 150 watts of an HID bulb. Read up on a couple of build threads and see what the deal is. Im just trying to save you time and money...and probly a lot of frustration. Just do some more research is all I'm sayin.

 

thx hiphop. that new box you are making is better, but still wont support a HID light in my opinion, unless you are going to drop some mega bucks on fans venting and some kind of vented light hood.

basically il reiderate my main point in that ALOT of us here jumped the gun on our first grows, and wish we could go back in time and change it, but cant. closest thing we have to it is helping other beginners avoid the problems we had.

Final verdict: in your space. i would instal some nice T5 fixtures on the sides, followed by a adjustable ceiling fixture with some Y splitters and 23W CFLs. 40+ i think would take up too much space.

and again. READ DA 4UMS!

 

HPS are usually for large grow rooms where the air/space/flow capacity is high, has proper ventilation too, this is because ...2 or even 3 high wattage HPS bulbs in any location thats big enough to be declared "a room"...will give off more than enough heat and will even kill the plants, i know all this and ive never even used HPS (tho my friends have)
Soooo...from my non-HPS usage and noob experience with them.. (and also from growing techniques/setups/ETC all learned here on GC)
I Would Suggest.......maybe a 100-150w HPS for 1 plant
3footx3foot and id go for about 1M height, try get some sorta mini fan in there...
BUT HEY... listen 2 other guys on here before me cos im still noob'ish....

 

Hey guys, new grower, planning my tent and set up before I start growing so I have everything legitimate.

First, ideally I'd like a tent about 3ft x 3ft x5ft or so, which I think is decent.
Maybe four 100-150 cfl clamp lights on all 4 posts of the tent?

Also, I saw a 5ft x 5ft x5 green house tent with everything a grow tent has but the stealth and mylar..any thoughts? its 75 bucks.