can anyone give me any advice on starting a perpetual grow? right now i have a stealth grow but i recently got some more space so i figure i take advantage of it.. My plan is 2 grow tents one veg and one flower... trying to go the cheapest route possible...whats the big difference in vegging with flouro and MH? quicker veg times? dont have a set amount i would like to harvest but of course im trying to get MAX possible... grow tents im looking at are 40x40x86 need suggestions on lighting and maybe even strains..looking for high potentcy and big yield.. my plan was to have a custom flouro ballast with about 12 spiral cfl's for vegging and whats the smallest hps i can use for flowering 4 plants max?
get yourself a 600w HPS cooltube for the flowering phase. you can cheap out on the lights in the veg phase but i would suggest you dont do it in flowering. those 250w fluros 6500k grow ones work wonders if you back that up with some 2700 warm whites t5s i think you can light up the tent enough for a nice veg tent. i calculated how much i would have to spend on fluros and figured out i would be better of going with a ballast and a 600W. its a little more money but those 250w ongly give off around 19k lumens and at 1ft away the intensity is halfed. the hps gives of 90k lumens so you can imagine the diffrence. also get one of those ballasts that you can keep outside the tent it really helps with some of the heat problems. hope my rants helped some.
appreciate it bro can u link me to the 250w flouro. I do want to use HPS for flowering but i want to keep the electricity down as much as possible and start up costs on the veg side and i figure they dont need that high intensity. just trying to weigh out the pros and cons of MH in veg VS flouro. any 600 HPS lights u recommend as well?
something like this? 600 Watt Digital Ballast + 600W HPS Bulb Grow Light Air Cool Tube Hydro System 829347920419 | eBay
yes this one looks like the deal. about the cfl 250 250W WATT FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT 6500K CFL NEW USA | eBay this one is the one im talking about and if you add like 2-5 2700k warm white fluro tubes as side lighting you still will get bushy plants and no extra stem growth Regarding nutes i would try out the GHE line just be careful its made for hydro so everything it says on the bottle you gotta put down by 50% they are easy to use. just dont overdo them start slowly and expiriment on one plant how much you can get away with. these are inexpensive and do work compared to what things like big bud and whatchamever cost. the green and brown one for veg then you switch to red and brown once in bloom. then they have a product called ripen wich i havent used but ive heard good things about. you apply it near the end just be careful dont add it right before you cut down as it will ruin the flavor if not flushed. about the ballast i would check out a magnetic one before i went digital. they are much cheaper and they aint so much more expensive in electric costs. considering you ongly run them 12 hours a day. and using fluros i suggest you get a timer for veg too since you can cut off 6 hours by using 18/6 instead of 24h.
gunna appreciate all the help... those cfl's look beats compared to the ones im using now... how many do u think i need for veg area .. my veg area will hold the clones and plants ready to go to flower room...thinking of splitting the tent or just putting them all together which would be best? right now i use a mixed spectrum for veg with compact cfl's 2 red bulbs and 4 daylight bulbs....is there really a benefit vs just using the bulbs specific for veg? Im thinking of going sour diesel on this grow what do u think as far as yield is that a good pick?
i am going to be using an attic and i checked the area today and it was pretty hot up there i didnt want to be there for more than 15 mins i dont know the exact temps yet. whats my best way of cooling this area down efficiently? i just want to keep the temps inside the grow tents reasonable not cool the whole attic...
there are no windows in the attic ? also im just using one of these 250W for veg i highly recommend it if you pair it with a cople of t5 warm whites you get enough for the whole tent. i have never had real cooling problems since im above 60 longditute. thats a good question for someone else. but i figure if you can drag cool air in you have no problems.
MH for veg, HPS supplemented with UVB bulbs for flower...trust me on that, the UVB reptile bulbs are a trichomes greatest allie, afterall they ARE there only to protect forming seeds from UVB light lol. Take the cubic feet measurment of your area, and find the cheapest fan you can that evacuates that much or more air in 5 minutes time, add an intake fan that moves slightly less to maintain negative pressure if you start taking clones, i would recomend one 13 watt 6500k cfl per 4 4 clones at about 6-8 inches