new to this, 2' x 2' x 4' grow box/ cabinet, im wondering what kind of light fixture and ballast is ideal to use, any help is appreciated!
Too many unknowns to give a good answer. what kind of ventilation will you use? do you have power concerns? How big do you plan to grow your plants? How many plants at once? HIDs give the most light but also the most heat and the highest initial cost. CFLs give usable light with less heat and less cost.
ive got two pc fans one on bottom bringing air in, on on top pushing air out. yeah little bit of a power concern, its my buddy's pad and i dont wanna run up his electric bill. Im thinking if i use CFL's, itll be easier to control the temperature and to keep power usage down. But will i be able to have a very successful grow with CFL's? Also if i go with CFL's, what will i need for one plant in my allotted amount of space? And i wont need a ballast if i go this direction correct? Thanks alot!
You probably want a 250w or 400w HID in that space. CFLs will work, but either your yield will suffer or you will load it up with so many CFLs that you will burn as many watts as the HID did anyway, except the HID delivers around double the lumens per watt. You'll need good ventilation with HID in that size space, probably will want an air-cooled hood but measure first to make sure it will fit in that 2x2 footprint.