Lighting dilemma...

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by StaffOfPower, Sep 16, 2013.

  1. So if someone had a few babies, about 4 leaves per plant, what would be the most economical (affordable) way of providing light? The option is basically CFL lighting, or finding a way to manipulate the natural light (sunlight). Is the latter even possible? Or would it be better to just go buy a few (maybe 6-8?) big 45W CFL bulbs and some reflectors? Unfortunately metal halide / HID / HPS lighting is not an option. Far too expensive at the moment.
     
  2. When you're looking for 'economical' ways to provide light, remember that CFLs are "low energy" for the light they provide but if you have 8x 45 watt CFLs that is still only one more bulb short of being the same energy use as a 400w HID.  And the overall heat generated will be similar too.  Depending on how much your CFLs cost each, plus any extra reflectors or fans you get, a HID kit might not be as expensive as you think.
     
    I'm not sure what you mean by 'manipulating' the natural light, maybe closing the curtains so they get 12 hours of darkness?  You can do that, but you have to be vigilant with your timings, forgetting to change the light conditionals manually could upset your plants and prevent flowering.  Generally speaking, growing indoor plants by a window isn't good for much more than keeping them alive and on hold for a short time.
     
    My suggestion would be 2 of those 45w bulbs, with or without reflectors, as a starting point, and then add another one of them for every plant that you have growing, and that should be sufficient to get a half decent first grow out of up to half a dozen plants.
     
  3. From what it sounds like you'd have to grow with either t5's for CFLs. :personally I'm not a fan of CFL because even though you can add up a whole bunch of them to get the same or more wattage as an HID, you never get the raw light output that you will from HID lighting. You might be able to count up and add up lumens similarly, but you can't really beat lights that give out 90,000+ lumens a bulb.
     
    But if you want to grow indoors you are going to have to invest a decent amount of money on equipment starting up. If you want a good end result and yields worth your time then there are some things you can't skimp on. You will need to grow indoors;
     
    Proper lighting (this thread)
    Ventilation
    Adequate climate control (75-78degrees F temp is ideal lights on, drop 5-10 max for lights off)
    Light sealed grow area (very important if you want sensimilla)
    And finally odor control for security.
     
    It may seem like a lot of stuff to invest in, but I literally get about 3x my total initial cost in harvested weed back, every single harvest. Weed is expensive where I live, so growing 6 ounces saves me 1,500 dollars on weed not bought, and it's always better than what is for sale.
     
  4. Natural light is always preferred, but right now in the northern hemisphere daylight is decreasing and dark hours are increasing. At latitude 44 we are very close to 12/12. If you use natural light you are going to need to make up the difference with artificial light. CFL's will work fine and you can keep the lights 2" to 4" from the plants. For two plants 6 42 watt CFL's  give you 126 watts per plant. That will keep you going for quite a while. I added side lights after the plants were about 1 ft tall. Worked fine. Good luck!
     

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