Hello, this is my first post on GrassCity. I'm looking into starting my first grow with autoflowers. I have a decent cupboard space about 4ft wide and 8 ft long. I'm looking to plant about 12 and was wondering how many lights I would need. I was hoping to get one light for all using my adjust a wing and if that was possible, wondered which type would be best for this. any info on lighting for this size space with that many plants would be really helpful Thanks !
Hi... General rule of thumb is 100w for the 1st plant and 50w for each additional. If using CFLs, use the actual wattage, not the equivilant wattage. If using HID lights (HPS & MH), then you will have to plan for venting the heat they produce. As far as the color, vegging works best with MH hid or CFLs in the 2700k range. For flowering, use a HPS hid or CFLs in the 6000k range. Kamel has a tutorial in the beginning of this forum about using CFLs and there is an entire forum on lighting for any other questions.. Good Luck!
Get a well-known good quality 1000w HPS or preferably HPS/MH so you can use MH for veg. CFL's are cheaper but I find do not work well at-all if you are planning to grow 12 plants under then. The 1000w HPS will run hot, get a cooling system with it. It can be anywhere at cheap as $200 (risky if its poor quality) to $400 for an average range. Currently I am growing 3 plants under a 400w MH/HPS
Get one of those fixtures they use at football stadiums . 30 , 1000 watt metal halides should be enough for a few plants
I was looking at a Sunmaster 1000 watt Dual Spectrum bulb to fit in my adjust a wing, would this be enough ? I've got heat extraction covered. If this was not an option, how many 300w dual Spectrum CFL's would i need to cover 12 autoflowers ? This seems like a much cheaper option as they are self-ballasted and the bulbs are around £40 ...
The CFLs are cheaper to buy but will cost more in electricity for the same amount of light. HPS is definitely the way to go if you have enough money. I started with CFLs and then quickly realised I'd need HPS so it was a lot of money wasted. This kind of explains what I mean http://thegreenpagesgrowguide.com/lighting.php?menu=2
I've already got an adjust-a-wing, all i need is a ballast (£50) and a bulb (£40). In terms of lighting, that doesn't seem too expensive to me...am i missing something ?
no that seems fine for lighting. obviously you will have to control the temps with that bulb, but you will find out after you set it up how much of a problem this is for you.
12 auto's I think a 600w would work fine, but a 1000w would be better, if it is feasible for your grow.
I do 12 in 5 gallon buckets in a 6x6x6 tent with a 600 hps an I pull around 2 lbs per havest. Don't use a cabinet if u have room. I built my tent an it cost around 30 bucks
I live in the UK so its pretty god damn cold here atm, my room temp atm is about 6 degrees so i think even with a 1000w its not gonna heat up that much. If it does i will worry about it then but for atm i'm planning 12 auto's in 3 gallon pots under 1 1000w hps dual spectrum. Once it's up and running I will post pics. thanks for the help guys !
I'm not really experienced but I've seen some sick Auto Flower pics grown under some T5's, you could probably make a nice "daisy chain" of them for a cupboard grow and they don't give off too much heat since it's gonna be tight space to work with. if you're not worried about the electricity bill I'd say go for a 400-1000w HPS
Probably because i'm a sucker for marketing. No but to be honest, if i install a dual spectrum light on an 18-6 cycle thats all i have to do in terms of lighting (at least that's how i see it) and it will allow me to get a feel for growing. Ppl have mentioned just using a normal strain and forcing it early but I wouldn't have the first idea how to manage that... If it was just as easy to do it with a normal strain in the same time period i would be very tempted but i feel like i would need alot more help
The only difference in autos and normal strains is that you have to reduce lighting to 12/12 to force flower... autos just flower naturally