Cheapest lighting to run other than the sun

check it out. i'm looking for the cheapest lighting that is still very effective. methods of setting up the lights too. all ideas and are welcome.. i'm more focused on the electric bill too. but please don't focus on just that info. thanks everyone. make this a good and informative thread.

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takeiteasy1 said:

check it out. i'm looking for the cheapest lighting that is still very effective. methods of setting up the lights too. all ideas and are welcome.. i'm more focused on the electric bill too. but please don't focus on just that info. thanks everyone. make this a good and informative thread.

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Well most efficient with electricity is LED for sure however it would be a huge investment to buy if you got a decent setup.
SO i would run clfs.

CFL shop lights work great. T8 style is a little out of date now so can be purchased very cheap $20 for a fixture (on sale) they can cover a large area as the bulbs are 4 feet long. They already have at least a crappy refelctor. THey hold 2 32w T8 20000 lumen bulbs.

400 watt ceramic` metal halide

Either T5 which is both cheap to run and arent expensive or LED, If you do go with LED I am wrappin up my 1st grow using a 300watt Sunshine system light I bought on craigslist for almost half the price

if your looking for effiecieincy you want to go with hps and MH...cfls are pretty cheap, but the other 2 put out more lumens per watt. so you would be better off with 150w hps than 150w of cfls.

bud nugbong said:

if your looking for effiecieincy you want to go with hps and MH...cfls are pretty cheap, but the other 2 put out more lumens per watt. so you would be better off with 150w hps than 150w of cfls.

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agreed. I switched to hps from cfls and am saving more money. Trying to get coverage with cfls will start to cost you

I will agree..go with ceramic metal halide. Just bought a ceramic metal halide bulb, ballast, and reflector for 50 bucks!! Gotta love craigslist

If your looking for a newbie grow. Just buy some desk lamps at wallymart for about $5. If you really want a cheap start-off throw in a 26w cfl with a kelvin rating of 6500. that will get your veg cycle going. As experienced by most growers... you will always keep adding. I recomed for under $20 you get 2 chepo desk lams at $5 each. 2 6500k bulbs at $7, and a space blanket for $3. that setup will get your baby girl sprouted and Veging all for $20. Which will maybe add a few dollars to your Electric bill!

HighLife4Me said:

agreed. I switched to hps from cfls and am saving more money. Trying to get coverage with cfls will start to cost you

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saved more money? i haven't ever heard of that usually the other way around... i've been thinking of using t5's... its just a 4x4 ft grow nothing big.