I've read some of the stickies and have a decent understanding of how to proceed with this. The only thing these guides seem to forget is the question of price. I am looking for a setup to grow a single plant indoors for under 200$. The thing I'm confused about right now is what kind of lighting I should get. Is there such a thing as a 100W high pressure sodium lamp? Does the fixture/ballast for a HPS light need to be a special one? I'd guess so because of the insane wattage they pull. I heard somehow say a single compact fluo light would be enough for one plant, but I'm concerned about how that would affect the plant's yield. Thank you for your time.
Yeah amazon is where it's at for cheap grow equiptment. I think this is exactly what for your looking for: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001JL0BWG/ref=mp_s_a_6?pi=SL75&qid=1349545456&sr=8-6
You can definitely get a 150W HPS. But it does have to have a special ballast/socket. You can't just stick an HPS bulb in a regular lamp fixture. A single compact fluoro (like a 42 watt) might be enough to keep a single vegging plant alive, but definitely not enough to flower.
Sure, you can use more CFLs. You want 6500K bulbs (daylight) for veg and 2700K (soft white) for flower. But a 150W HPS is going to give you better buds and use about the same amount of power as enough CFLs to flower would.
[quote name='"InTheGarden"']Sure, you can use more CFLs. You want 6500K bulbs (daylight) for veg and 2700K (soft white) for flower. But a 150W HPS is going to give you better buds and use about the same amount of power as enough CFLs to flower would.[/quote] Solid info in ITG, everything you need for CFLs adds up. 85 bucks and you havr a single fixture that produces larger buds.
If you're not going HPS you're wasting your time and money. $170 should get you a CMH light (ceramic metal halide) from HTG, and you can use that for both veg and flower. Realistically the entry point for a decent grow is $500+. You need good ventilation. Start there. If stealth is important, you'll need a carbon air filter. If you want the plants to be healthy you need to know the ph of anything you give them (water and/or nutes) this will require a combo pen or at the least some litmus strips. Start by trying to pop some bag seed, and then slowly add equipment. You can get away without a fan for like three weeks (start to smell) but will need to make sure they have plenty of fresh air to breathe. Also, get a temperature and humidity gauge. Goodwill or Walmart. If you don't have this basic info you'll never be able to figure out what's wrong with your plant (believe me, you will have problems at some point). Honestly, unless you have the $ to start up and a good safe situation to grow in, you're better off just buying the occasional bag.