First time grower here, I'm trying to make do with what I've got at the moment but my plant is getting to the point where I need to step up my game a bit. I've got one Himalayan Gold in a slightly modified Aerogarden in a closet that is about 2 feet wide (very small space). I'm using GH Flora 3-part nutes and the stock Aerogarden lights at the moment. I'm about 10 days into flowering so far, and I am aware that in order to get some quality bud (and a good yield) I'll need to step up the lighting a bit. This is my dilemma. I have no idea what lights would be best for my situation. I am aware of the advantages and disadvantages of every kind of lighting, but have never had any hands-on experience with anything but CFLs. I was seriously looking into investing in some LED panels, but after doing some research I decided against that idea. I then looked into a purely CFL grow (heat and power are a huge issue for me), but I'm looking for the best quality buds I can grow and they just don't seem to cut it. My question is this: How can I make the best possible buds given my situation? I would LOVE to just get an HPS system and be done with it, but I am extremely worried about the heat generated and power consumed. Would this really be an issue in my space? Am I better off with CFLs or LEDs (or a combination of the two)? I really just want to have an awesome stash of homegrown bud, but I'm afraid the limiting factors may be too...limiting. Any help is appreciated! p.s. The yellowing in the third pic is just from when my girl grew into the CFLs. Oops
if your trying to get the most out of your light, then take down the tin-foil. Flat white paint is much better because it cause hot-spots. if you don't want to use white paint, then use an emergency blanket, but please toss out the tin-foil. other than that looks normal, if you don't have a way of controlling ph, then that is something you need to solve asap. how tall is the space you are using? and how easily can you vent that space?
Well the walls are already painted flat white, so I guess I'll just take down the foil. I could've sworn it was helping but I'm sure you know better . As for the PH...the burning you see on the lower leaves is from when I gave her too many nutes as a seedling. Since then I feel I have corrected the problem, but I could be wrong. What are some signs you see that the PH is off? The space is 5' tall or so, and I cannot modify or vent the walls in any way. I do have a relatively powerful fan blowing air out of the closet (negative pressure), though I'm not sure this would be enough airflow to accommodate an HPS.
He's right about the foil, loose it or use the dull side if you have to. I don't know if thats the HPS light your talking about but I wouldn't wrap it up in anything flammable. If your worried about heat CFL's will work fine. You'll never know if your going to be happy with CFL's until you try it.
No that's the stock Aerogarden fixture with two CFLs in it, not sure how powerful they are. The only reason I haven't tried more CFLs yet is because I'm pretty limited on funds and want to make an educated decision before I go out and buy anything. Besides, from what I've researched, it seems as if it will take more energy to run a ton of CFLs than if I were to just get an HPS, just to produce bud that still isn't on par with an HPS. If I were to go the HPS route, what kind of wattage would I need to get bomb-ass bud from anywhere up to 4 (relatively small) plants in my space? Also, what should I be paying for each respective wattage of HPS?
i paid 220 for a 600w cool tube hps/mh with shipping. just ebay it and see what they are going for. i think a 400w for 2'x2' might be a little overkill but you would get nice dense nugs. also consider some sort of ventilation because it will throw off a ton of heat, a fan blowing on it will be fine but it will stink up your home and light up half your house with the door open to provide fresh air. maybe get a new door and put like like a register vent on top and blow the hot air out of top. then figure out some way to make a light trap for intake(if intake is going through door). you will also need a powerful fan(like squirrel cage or inline).
Cool thanks for the info. Yeah I figure 400w is a lot but I'm dying to grow some killer bud and don't want to have to compromise too much. I'm not too worried about the smell really, my neighbors are pretty cool and I usually smoke all day anyway (when I can afford it lol). Also, the closet is pretty deep so I don't think there will be very much light leakage. From the awesome results I've seen, I'd say I'm pretty set on an HPS setup. I just need a bit of guidance because I've never used them before, and have no idea what to expect.
Here's my 400HPS 2'X4' closet grow week 6 in flower,their about 30" tall nice buds (White Widow+ Purple crack
Ah I see. How powerful is the the fan on top? If you aren't having any heat issues I may be able to pull off a similar setup.
Update: My HG has been shooting up pretty quick so I had to start some LST. I wish I had started earlier, but oh well. What do you guys think? p.s. It seems quite a bit less bright in the closet since I took the foil down. I feel like it was reflecting a significant amount more light than the white paint.
I painted mine white and it works fine. The fan size doesn't matter just as long as it removes that top layer of heat. I just use junk laying around or old computer fans. home depot has small exhausted ceiling fans for about $10. Just experiment till you find what works.