6 200watt CFL in a 14sq/ft closet

Hey folks,

New member here. So I've got a nice closet id like to put to use, moved into this apartment a few months and its a pretty chill setting. This will be my first indoor grow, i grew a couple succesful outdoor seasons back in the day. So the plan is to use the big CFLs. Of course i'd love to run HPS but this has to be somewhat discreet.

So I wanted to bounce a few ideas around, I might do a journal dunno yet.

With these bulbs here I should be around 4350 lumes per sq/ft, Sounds good?

I wanna know if this is something that will stay cool enough to not be ventilated?

What are some peoples opinions on the best way to grow with these lights? LST, SOG, etc

Should I buy a whole set of 6500K for veg and a whole set of 2700K for flower, or can I get away with 5000K for the whole thing? Should I mix and match? Say 2 of each?

The ventilation thing is key, this closet has to be totally self contained... Any other ideas or pointers would be much appreciated! Thanks everybody

somehow 1200 watts of cfl's doesn't really seem 'discreet' to me, then again ive never had 6 large cfl's in one place. youre gonna need ventilation though seriously, and with 1200 watts youre wasting your money with cfl's. im sure some people would agree that if youre trying to grow that big a scale hps is the most efficient

Well it doesn't have to be super discreet, just can't be running big hot lights with exhaust ducts running through the house and stuff. Of course I'll have some fans running in there, and be opening the door a couple times a day, I was thinking this would be enough to ventilate? I thought this would be OK, am I wrong?

Cost isn't a factor, id rather have something that works for me and everything. I would like to use HPS but its just too much.

if you are set on cfl. buy 4 of each. run 4-6500k, 2-3000k in veg, and 4-3000k and 2-6500k in flower

and do some lst. will be most efficient.

What do you think about ventilation?

edit: an osculating fan would be enough for ventilation. cracking/opening the door when you check on them will rid of any heat buildups.
used to run my 120w led in a 2'x4'x6' tent, with no ventilation, and heat still wasnt an issue.


But you can also run a 400 watter if you are worried about heat. 400 watters dont put off much more heat than a cfl.

and you can get a switchable mh/hps ballast to run both veg and flower.

what is your grow area? dimensions.

36" deep x 55" wide x 85" high... There is a clothes hanger bar up high I plan on using to hang the light from, and there is power in the closet.

I like the idea of a switchable HID... You think I'll be ok running a 400w in this space with out any particular exhaust/intake?

look at something like this. if the price is around your range i would consider it.
http://htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-Ultimate-400w-HPS-&-MH-Grow-Light.asp

if you veg for 20/4 or 18/6. and run the lights at night. for veg, have the light shut off like 12pm-4pm or 11am-5pm depending on the schedule. and run flower from like 6pm-6am
then i wouldnt think heat would become a huge issue.

used to run my 600watt hps for veg 18 hours in a smaller closet with temps hitting like 82 max.

Did the smell ever become an issue? How much did it waft around outside the closet

was only using a blanket to cover the doorway (no door) and there was no smell outside of the closet.

smell isnt a total issue with few plants. my last batch of flower 13 plants, only had a feint smell.
grow was below the stairs in the garage, and had small amounts of space for smell to reach into the apartment, and it wasnt even noticable. not until you went down in the room, and were next to the plants.

vilify said:

look at something like this. if the price is around your range i would consider it.
http://htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-Ultimate-400w-HPS-&-MH-Grow-Light.asp

if you veg for 20/4 or 18/6. and run the lights at night. for veg, have the light shut off like 12pm-4pm or 11am-5pm depending on the schedule. and run flower from like 6pm-6am
then i wouldnt think heat would become a huge issue.

used to run my 600watt hps for veg 18 hours in a smaller closet with temps hitting like 82 max.

Click to expand...

Nice link, I had forgotten about that site. You can't beat that price for a fixture, ballast, and bulbs. Speaking of bulbs, the best price I can find for 200W CFL's is $35 at Menards. Multiply this times 6 and you mine as well buy the htg unit.

thats a lot cheaper than i found. I was looking at 55 a piece from horticulture source . com, the HPS is way cheaper and what i've wanted to run the whole time but I was just concerned about heat. Do the "name brand" ballasts operate anymore efficiently/cooler? How about bulbs? Are the name brand ones worth it? I was looking at this light, but was unsure of which bbulbs to get.

http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=8679

Ok heres a quick pic of the closet. As you can see there is a light in there that i plan tapping juice from. It has its own switch outside the cloest which is nice, will have the whole grow on one switch. The clothes hanger bar is about 61" high, that should be plenty of height to use to hang the light from right?