Light Suggestions

i use 2 48'' floros full daylight spectrum and 2 24'' floros for vegging and a 400w hps for budding that is on 10 plants i would think 1 should do the trick,you can get a nice light hood and ballast set up on ebay paid 120$

 

if it gets cold in your basement you'll need a space heater of some kind and a fan to give them air flow temp in my room is 79 degrees

 

Ice: believe it or not, you can grow your own with CFL's and still get a good product. I've done it for about 30 years. You might want to take a look at SeeMoreBuds' book, "MARIJUANA BUDS FOR LESS- GROW 8 OZ. FOR LESS THAN $100." He does exactly what you want to do. His book is probably available here, if not you'll find it at most book stores.

I've found that under CFL's your buds aren't going to be as dense or maybe as big as those grown under MH or HPS but depending on the strain they'll be just as potent. If you're only a personal MMJ grower you might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

I found T-5's to be the answer for me. You have a variety of wavelengths to work with that you can get from most any hydro stores and some come complete with a set of both blue grow lamps and red flowering lamps. I like the simplicity of T-5's because you're dealing with the lamps in a single fixture fed by a single cord. They're also cheap to run and they burn cool so you're not going to create temperature problems.

Something else to consider is that three or four plants times two or three individual curly-cue CFL's ends up with a lot of cords running all over the place that become something like a snake pit scene from an Indiana Jones movie. If you do go with T-5's you have only a single cord but be sure to get a fixture big enough to 'completely cover' your entire grow. (I tried to get it to underline 'completely cover' but I couldn't get it to work). T-5's don't project the light out like HID.

I've always grown in confined spaces; closets, cabinets and a tent but as far as growing in the basement is concerned, there can be a lot of environmental variables there, depending on where you're located. Basements can be cool to cold and damp inviting mold and mildew. I would say if you put a thirty dollar temperature/humidity gauge in there and keep it between 65 to 85 degrees and below 50% humidity you shouldn't have a problem.

Growing in a basement, as long as the windows are blacked out, you should have pretty good security. Four plants can make a pretty good stink so I do appreciate my fan and filter, but in a basement it might not be a problem. Only time will tell. You might want to consider an ozone generator if it gets too bad. How close is your nearest neighbor?

Please keep us posted on what you decide to do and how well it works. I hope this helps. good luck. Hank

 

Can you do it with just one...yes. Go to Amazon they sell a cool tube 400w one for like 150 bucks.

MH is suited for veg, HPS for flowering. Alot like a ton just grow str8 with HPS. You might get a little stretch during veg with HPS but it all fills in. The reason being is most just veg for a month or so then 2 months flowering.

Another reason why alot dont change them out..myself included when I used it..my vent system was integrated into my light woulda been a pain.

In terms of heat you should be ok. Alot of heat build up has to do with a tent that has reflective sides. You will get alot of heat dissipation in a open room. THere will be a limit though to how low you can go.

You might consider a T5 set up. Cheap efficient etc. Not nearly as powerful but many people grow with it.

I find CFLs to be a pain in the ass to grow with. Im to lazy to move things around or constantly adjust. I literally just like to put my plants under my light I check them twice a day when I turn on the lights or off water if I need to and forget about them the rest of the day. Not something obsess with since i been growing a while.

Out of those 3 HID lighting will provide you with the best grow, after that T5 then CFL. Not always the case but usually.

 

Flat white works about the best and paint is cheap.

 

my 1st indoor grow was done using that book by "see more buds". i had cfl,s strung out every where-lol-but it really worked great for a newbie!!!!! i,m now going for the t5,s for my next grow...

 

Henry: What'd I tell you? That's why he's on the top of my list. Hank

 

if i remember right i was talkin bout that post u posted on how electricity works. theres alot of info in that one post alone.