hello, I just ordered my first seeds off the net. I'm going to grow a few plants (maybe 2 to 4). So I'm trying to get all my parts together--- I'm going to make a box most likely, and I'm going to buy a fan and all that stuff. As for lights I'm lost. I live with other people (but I'm by myself for the summer). i don't want to have a noticeable jump in the electricity bill. So I'm wondering what is the best lightbulb for my situation. I found this website that sells 400 W HPS, MH, and MV lights for pretty cheap. If I had one of these babies running 12 hours per day would I notice a huge jump in my electricity bill. Are there any lightbulbs (websites) you would suggest. Do I need 400 W? or can I go less, and what's the bare minimum? http://www.source4lights.com/product.aspx?prod=1267&bbaff=4751160 http://www.source4lights.com/product.aspx?prod=2812&bbaff=4752230 http://www.source4lights.com/product.aspx?prod=2800&bbaff=4752218 Thanks
Do you already have a ballast because those are only the light bulbs and they don't work in regular light sockets? I've heard that it doesn't raise the bill that much, but just to make sure you should cut down on other things
No I don't have a ballast, I tried looking them up but I'm kinda lost. Any cheap suggestions that would fit those bulbs that i linked above (or other bulb/ballast combo's that are cheap but good!). Which of all 3 of those types of bulbs will be cheapest and best do you think?
A good ballast will run you $200 ea. for every light you want to run. A refurbished ballast from insidesun.com will probobly run you a lot less.
I looked up some ballasts on the internet, it seems the cheapest option is about 85-100 bucks for ballast/bulb combo. I was wondering if there are any bulbs that you would suggest that maybe could just fit into a regular bulb fitting? Thanks
You will need to put your plants under 18/6 to start with bro, for a few weeks at least.. THEN you can cut it back to 12/12 to flower Also you dont wanna be using frosted bulbs either.
there are no bulbs that can grow cannabis that would fit into a regular bulb fitting (known as an incandescent fixture) save for compact fluorescent bulbs (acronym cfls). Sounds like you're willing to invest in a 400 watt hps or mh lighting system though, which is fine, but it sounds like you need to brush up on what a lighting system is actually comprised of. A standard horticulture lighting system consists of four parts: The bulb A ballast box A plug A reflector These four things are more or less required for you to grow cannabis with and you must become familiar with what these terms mean. Basically what you have listed there is cheap because it only comprises of one part of the setup: the bulb. In actuality you have to purchase the other four things seperately, or buy them all together. What genetics did you buy? Depending on how much space, ventilation, money, etc. you have, you can invest in anywhere from a 70 watt to a 1000 watt high intensity discharge (HID) lighting setup. HID consists of three categories: HPS (High Pressure Sodium), MH (Metal Halide), and MV (Mercury Vapor). MV is generally ill-favored in terms of growing. Check out some of the guides around here to brush up on what you're going to need. Wikipedia has a decent article on the basics of growing cannabis, just search "Cannabis Cultivation" and you'll find it. Good luck, hope this helps.