So here is my first box, the inside is going to be painted white. The top exhaust fans and bottom intake fans will be cut today, also the lights will be put in. So far im going to be running 8 42w CFLs.(Should i go with somthing more/less? Or different?) we intend to have 6 plants or so. The reason i say semi stealth is because the spot it is in is alright, just want to keep it out of the way. Does anyone have any suggestions on what i should do different or add on? Thanks
demensions please? you have to make sure those CFL are "Soft White" or 2700k 48w CFL. that 2700 "k" means kalvin, the kalvin temp means what color the light is, so it's a reddish light,good for bud growth. but the things is with CFLs is minimal light penetration which= minimal yeild.but this is all IMO! but they are awesome for seedling and veg growth! but what im getting at is HPS HID lamps are the best!
it is 5x3 and 4 deep, i thought it was the other way around, that i wanted to start with 6500 then move to 2700? any ideas for other ways of lighting besides the CFLs, im not to familiar with HPS lights sorry
you're right, it's daylight (6500) then soft white for flower (2700). so at least start off buying 6500 then buy 2700 eventually
ok good i was a little confused so far i have 8 and will buy the 2700s when the time comes.. thanks for clearing that up
The 2700k lights are generally dimmer. So in order to compensate you should get as many as you can to surround it. For anything under 3' I would say you are going to want 12 lights at least, possibly 16. Remember that your bud size depends on how much light is available!!! 8 bulbs may sound like a lot now, but once you put your light meter up to it one, or a dozen, and compare it to sun light, you'll see how inadequate cfl's really are. To really get some fat buds I would use 4x4 2700k&6500k on each side of the plant. Obviously you aren't going to need 16 bulbs right away, but when you are ready to switch to 12/12, and you start seeing all the bud sites, you'll be really glad you have them
i would say if your going to spend the money on a HPS go with a 400watt, you might have a little stretching but nothing a little shaking cant fix!
ok so i did some research on HPS bulbs and it looks like ill be going with either a 250w or 400w High Tech Garden Supply High Tech Garden Supply
The more light you can put on her - The higher your yield will be. If you can swing a 400W HPS and toss a few CFL's around it, I'm sure you'll be pretty satisified with your results. As a rule, you want 100W for the first plant and 50W for each plant after minimum.
heres an update with some pictures of the plants. They are still under the CFLs but ill be getting a 400w hps soon http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/492977-how-my-plants-looking-so-far.html#post5991805