Another newbie question thread

NuggyNugz

NuggyNugz

Member
First off I have read the FAQ on lighting thoroughyly, yet it still seems confusing to me. I know opening a new thread as your first post is frowned upon on some forums but I hope to stick around here and look forward to contributing. (I know this is kind of a long post so go ahead and roll yourself up a fatty. Any help will be MUCH apperciated)

Ok, so I am going to be growing for the first time and I have some questions about lighting. I know that there is a certain watts/lumens per sq ft. and the number can change depending on what light you decide to go with or the height that you place it above the plant or any of the other variables that go into it, so for starters my grow space is approximeately 4x3 ft in which I am hoping to grow 4 plants and the seeds I will be planting are going to be ordered from a seed bank and will be of high quality. Anyway I was thinking of going with compact flouro's, so basically what I am asking for are recommendations or expierences with lighting that will put me in the ballpark of what lumens per sq I will need in the beginning stages of my grow. A recommendation on a certain brand would be great. Are compact flouro's a good choice? Is there a better choice?

Again any help will be apperciated. Happy toking :weed:
 
campwoof

campwoof

Member
Go with cfl because they produce little heat (something you will have to be concerned about). You will need 200 - 400 watts total in cfls, 6500k for veg, 2700k for flower. You can get 65 watt cfls now for under $20 each.
 
NuggyNugz

NuggyNugz

Member
campwoof said:
Go with cfl because they produce little heat (something you will have to be concerned about). You will need 200 - 400 watts total in cfls, 6500k for veg, 2700k for flower. You can get 65 watt cfls now for under $20 each.
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Thanks man, when you say 6500k for veg and 2700k for flower are you talking about the lumens? Sorry its just the lighting is foreign to me and I am having a hard time figuring it out with research. I know I sound stupid and apologize if I did something wrong when starting a new thread.
 
L

lilsnippy

Active Member
NuggyNugz said:
Thanks man, when you say 6500k for veg and 2700k for flower are you talking about the lumens? Sorry its just the lighting is foreign to me and I am having a hard time figuring it out with research. I know I sound stupid and apologize if I did something wrong when starting a new thread.
Click to expand...

Nah he means that you need 2 different types of lights, not lumens. 6500k is a "bright white" bulb and the 2700k's which are "warm red".

You use the 6500k bulbs for the first part of the *grow when the lights are set to 18/4 (light is on for 18hours and off for 4 hours). The 2700k bulbs are used for the "Budding" part of the grow and the lights are set to 12/12 (12 hours on, 12 hours off).

heller confusing to get the hang of at first...
 
G

growone

Well-Known Member
cfl's are a good way to go, but you need to be aware of some of the trade offs with the other lighting choices - i'll limit to hps.most common choice
cfl's are easy to work with and easy for a beginner setup - hps can be if you buy a full fixture setup, but that's more expensive
you mention 4 x 3 - cfl's are very flexible in locating - hps(using just 1 hps) prefers a square or regular space - you could of course get 2 hps but again cost becomes higher
hps will probably give you a denser bud than cfl, but that's not hard and firm - some strains will be quite dense with cfl
 
mrCRC420

mrCRC420

Well-Known Member
4x3x? What's your height b/c during flowering your plants will grow 2-3X their height at the end of their veg cycle. Go with fluros, HIDs would be much too hot in that space to produce amazing results. Get what you have the $, I'd say the most Watts for your budget. They will stay relatively cool. I don't have names but I've seen sick results with those 5' double tubed fluro kits. I don't fuc with CFLs.
 
NuggyNugz

NuggyNugz

Member
mrCRC420 said:
4x3x? What's your height b/c during flowering.
Click to expand...

7'9


How exactly am I supposed to figure the amount of lumens needed for 4 plants? The only info I could find is lumens per sq ft but since I wont be using the entire space should I measure the space that the pots in which I will eventually transplant them to take up? Since the cfl's are going to be close, If I'm not mistaken within a foot, it seems to make sense that there wouldn't be much wasted light. Or is my theory flawed....
 
G

growone

Well-Known Member
depends on how much of the space the plants will be taking up
4 plants could take up 12 sq. feet easily - if you don't plan to fill up the space it's more efficient to hang some reflective material near the open sides of the plants for greater lumen efficiency
 
campwoof

campwoof

Member
The rule of thumb is 100w per plant but many say 100w for the first plant and 50 each for the additionals.
 
NuggyNugz

NuggyNugz

Member
No I just wasnt thinking about when they start to grow lol they dont just grow straight up I'm a dumbass. Also I am planning on ordering Top 44, since it is recommended for newbs, and it is a short plant so I'm guessing it will be wider than a taller plant.

BTW anyone ever used www.marijuana-seeds.nl ? From what I have read it is one of the most reputable banks around.
 
M

mikeoils

New Member
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S

sirsmokealot1112

Member
alright i have a question but i think i have the right bulbs...

i have this 300 watt bulb..its not cfl when should i use it?
and i have a 2700k cfl the spiral kind lots of those and smaller?
my plants are just coming up out the ground but my purple kush plant
is booming fast as hell thick nice root...and still just coming up the dirt..?

i'll post pics soon but when should i use bulbs?
im not using any now until they all come up from the dirt
 
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