Just got a 5 pack of lowryders and looking to produce one every 2 months. Closet grow. I would like to know the best light I can use but also a light that wont change up the electric bill and be so costly. Remember, im only looking to produce one at a time so i dont need something ridiculously good or expensive, im just looking for a good, efficient light I can buy at a local home depot or wal mart to get the job done. Thanks
CFL bulbs are cheap and can be picked up at most hardware stores. You should use some with more blue for veg and red for flower, with auto's it might be a good idea to mix some. They also run quite cool so you can have them near the top of the plants. Head into the journals section and check out some grows if you're looking for ideas
thanks man. What wattage should I get? Ive looked around at journals but I couldn't really understand what lighting they were using or how efficient and expensive it was to run it. Ive successfully done about 5 plants last year but they were outdoor, so im kind of new to indoor. Also along with the wattage, how many should I use at a time?
when you go to buy some cfls, make sure you look at the ACTUAL wattage instead of the wattage subsitute. They have daylight and soft white types and those are the ones you should mix up. I believe they are 2700k (kalvins i believe) and 6500k. mix those and get a couple. Ive heard that around three should do the trick but the more the better. and be sure to get actual wattage above 25w. i read somewhere that the ones less than 25 dont help too much
Well I guess I could chime in here even though the forums (stickies especially) are littered with this information. It sounds like efficiency is more of a concern for you than quality. Pretty much Suspect is right to go with CFL. You will want at least 100Watts of light for your plant to get a decent yield and grow. THIS DOES NOT MEAN 1 100WATT BULB. You need 100 ACTUAL watts. When a CFL bulb says it's wattage it is usually in equivalent watts. Basically you have to look for how much energy it consumes. "Only uses 23Watts". I have found that 100 Watt CFLs are usually 23 Actual Watts, 150 Watt CFLs are 40-43 Actual Watts. Don't use anything smaller than the 23 Actual watt bulbs. Then we get into spectrum. On the box they will either say: Daylight, bright white, warm white, soft white. For veg you want Daylight and for flower you want soft white. Daylight is 6500k and Soft white is 2700k. In your case you might want 75% Daylight and 25% soft white, then for flower reverse it. CFLs take little money to run. A 120Watt setup would cost you like 5-8 dollars a month extra on a 24/0 light cycle. Don't expect a yield every 2 months though - that's crazy talk Also indoor grows are no where near outdoor grows...you just can't make the sun in your closet. Yields will be smaller than you expect, especially with CFL's. Hope that helps, Syn
Thanks man, i really appreciate it. I say a yield every 2 months/2 and a half months because thats how long lowryders take right? I know im not getting much, im only expecting to yield only 28-30g a plant. This is just personal smoke. Im tired of dealing with dealers so i thought i would do this
you gotta allow for drying, curing and other delays to. Also I have not grown lowriders but an oz per plant seems a liitle much for them but I could be wrong. Good luck
yea as usual mentioned an oz per plant is quite high for a lowryder grown under CFL's but not mad crazy lol, id hope for less so ur not dissapointed, then if u get more it a bonus, ive grown LR#2 under CFL's & ive found they go a couple weeks longer than what the breeder says but i beleive this is down to the CFL's & their poor light penertration, ive noticed alot of CFL grows go bit longer than HPS
Yea, i understand the drying and curing will be 2-3 weeks in itself if i want to do it right, im just talking about from seed to flowering. Thanks mills, that gives me a better insight on what to expect. The package says it can produce 30-50g per plant but i do understand that it all depends on how well of a job you do.