Hello. Im still learning and still need to read a lot. Making a shopping list for now. What I have to work with is a PC case that is: 16inH,18inD,7.5W What I want is 2 plants (I assume more would not fit). I will put the mylar/car window/stuff lining the case. Couple fans, etc. This will be soil grown. What I'm not sure on is what lights I need. From what I read, I can use the HPSs for all stages. I'd like to make this as simple as possible, with an electric timer. The lights will be on a power strip on the top/inside case with plug-to-bulb adapters. My questions. Can I have a link to the cheapest, best HPS, bulbs that will work for me. I know hps is not the cheapest thing, but if I can get a direct link to some that somebody els uses and likes, that would be cool. Also, how many should I use, 2 or 3? A link to a good timer would also be appreciated. Thanks! burke~ (i'll put pics up as I get started.)
You won't be able to get away using HID lights in a pc case. They give off tremendous amounts of heat. In a pccase there's not enough ventilation in a pc case disperse the heat. That said you need led or cfl lights. I recommend cfl, they are cheaper and you can get more light in there. For seedling and veg stage your going to want 23watt or higher 6500k (color temperature) bulbs. You will probably want 100watts per plant with cfls, you can probably get away with 100 for the first and 50 for the any additional. For flowering you'll want higher wattage 2700k bulbs. (I'm using 6 42watt 2700k for one plant) they give off the spectrum of the light plants use to flower. The More lights the better. But remember you'll want great ventilation because more lights = more heat but a bigger yield. Also keep the lights within 3 inches of the plant tops Also hps bulbs can't be attached to a regular socket. You need a seperate ballast that would never fit in to a pc case.
ooo, ok. thanks man. So basically your swapping bulbs after a certain amount of time for different stages then. That's cool, I can do that. so i can just go to homedepot or lowes and get these lights. So in this size of case, I should get 2 x 23watt 6500k CFL and for the last stage i will swap these with 2 x higher watt CFL 2700k bulbs then? (I assume I can fit more lights in, maybe 3 or 4 on top if I can fit'em)
Think I'll go with these: *Four 26w 6500k CFL bulbs seeding *Four 26w 2700k CFL bulbs flowering Unless i can find higher watts cheap.
Hmm, I found [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-ESL40TN-Fluorescent-High-Wattage/dp/B001AZOV9K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303512972&sr=8-2"]these[/ame] lights but they are 5/34in. I think that's too tall once I have the power strip and socket to bulb adapter.. If they where 5in, think I'd be ok.