So I'm a little confused on what to do for lighting. I have two of these: Amazon.com: Globe 4860201 13-Watt Ultra-Mini Compact Fluorescent Spiral Bulb (60-Watt Incandescent Equivalent), Soft White, 4 Pack: Home Improvement As well as one of these: SunBlaster T5 High Output 2 ft Light Fixture from Alpha Hydroponics and Garden Supply How many watts would that be? 120 for the 2 CFL's? how much for the T5? I am still trying to get these seedling to sprout, a couple have been there almost 48 hours now and nothing has popped up. Are these lights to close? If so, how far should they be away? As for ventilation, right now there is nothing. I'm not sure how much this will effect my grow, seeing as I only plan on keeping 1 or 2 tops out of these. If anyone has input or suggestions on what to do for that as well please let me know. And last question. I can't seem to get my humidity above 20%, the thermometer just stay's at 20 for rH, how can I raise my humidity? I have a bowl of water on a heating pad, as well as 2 cups of water on the bottom of the armoire with paper towel to "wick" the water out, but it's still at 20%. (Maybe the hygrometer part is broken?) (Note the second picture is before I added the blue container to raise everything) Also, I live with my parent's in the basement (Yes, I'm 18. And yes, it's sad I live in my parents basement lol), so it can't look too obvious. Although I'm pretty sure they have already seen it. Me and my friends smoke about 4 grams or more at times, and there's always pot lying around so smell won't be much of an issue. I just don't want it looking like I obviously have a grow going on.
cfl's are 13w each, so 26 + 24w for the t5. 50w... not enough to grow anything serious. seedlings can take a few days easy. keep them warm and moist. ventilation shouldn't be bad as you don't have a lot of power, make sure it isn't too warm in there (put your hand near the plants, if the lights start making the back of your hand too warm then you have an issue)
maybe, but they won't be very big, or dense nugs lot of work for minimal harvest, some people just like growing a plant tho I'm in it for some weight, I wanna reap my rewards
Right now i'm just doing it more so as an experiment haha. If I where to go buy another light, what would be the best one for my money?
Have always heard with CFLs a 100watt MINIMUM per plant to get decent results. I personally am rolling with a 4 fixture t5 24" and 4 Fixture t12, also have 2 CFLs with 150 watt bulbs that are shining under the plants to the side. Florescent doesn't have the penetratation power of the hps or mh lights so have to have plenty of it. Hope this helps and Good Luck!
t5's are good, you can usually get a 1 ft x 2 ft fixture of 4 bulbs (100w total) for around $100 you have to keep it 3" or so away from the plant canopy for best results tho
Sounds like my best bet would just be go get a 4 bulb fixture and set that up, and keep the CFL's just for that little extra. Thanks for the help guys.
Sounds like a plan! My personal plan is to sell my "overstock" to friends and use the proceeds to upgrade lighting and other things as I go. Can get a nice system slowely this way if you don't have the money to drop. If you are looking for a t5, I found a 4 fixture T5 24" with the bulbs for $85 let me know if you want the link.
Didn't even think of that, I know a couple people who would want em too Yeah man, send me the link or post it if you could!
Hey Canadian. That T5 will be great to veg your plant. Don't stress about your plants not sprouting yet. You are wasting space and money on the cfl's. Once that plant is about 30 - 40 days you are going to need a new light so you can flower it. For that, you really need at least a 400watt HID light. 1000watt is best. You might be able to get 7 or 10 grams of bud under the floro's but if you want the real deal, you need real bright light.
Getting the HID, a MH or HPS isn't the only way to grow a good crop. This is a serious argument that I have seen all over this board. Not saying they don't provide a good crop, but they are more expensive on the electric usage and you have to manage the heat a lot more closely. You can get a very respectable crop out of T5s and CFLs. I would recommend the T5s and more. My personal choice to use Florescent was due to wanting to save money on the electric bill and I really can't risk the heat or fire hazard. Another thing to think about is the amount of grow room that you have. If you are in a smaller area it is better to go Flor. if you have the room the higher end lights will be easier to manage the heat. Personal choice, but I have heard of people getting great harvests on nothing but CFL
CFLs do work. My suggestion are for the 23w to 27w daylight spectrum bulbs. You should put them in medium sized 6" clamp light reflectors. These bulbs need to be kept within 2" of the top of the plant for maximum efficiency. Any further than 5" and there won't be enough energy for growth. Where your bulbs are now is too far away. Start with the CFLs. When the plant is large enough move the CFLs to the sides and place the T5 (also as close as possible) above. You can flower out a single plant this way, although you want to control the shape of the plant as well. Look into LST to control the canopy shape and maximize your wide, shallow, lighting arrangement.
Reflectors will do a lot to help! Also if you paint the walls around the grow a matte white color it will reflect very well without too many problems. LST is a great way to grow with a CFL setup!