Light question

I plan on building a small grow box to fit a plant or 2. The box is going to be just a plain rectangular box which is going to be no taller than 4 to 5ft,2 to 3ft wide, 2to 3 ft depth. i was probably going to use an aerogarden and i think you can take off the lamp so i can have more height later. Thats the reason why i plan on installing some kind of light system. i want to use cfls. thinking about running it on the sides. Thats why i need you my fellow users for advice. I think the easiest thing so i heard is there is a cfl socket that you can just plug in to an outlet and i was hoping that was true. If so i can take those and put some kind of pulley system.

Thanks in advance to your time and help

Hitide

go to wallmart and they have converters for bulbs that allows you to plug your light in to a socket $1 -$2
i got some

socket........ outlet you get it..ive been

home depot sells 'lamp sockets' for like $7 ea. with the power cord and all,but youll need at least 3 of those and 3 two bulb y adaptors for a total of 6 lights.but id use at lest 12 total,so 6 lamp sockets and 6 y adaptors.use 26watt 6500k bulbs to grow and 2700k to bloom.for the same money, you can also look into a t5 fixture.4 2 footers would be ok,and come ready to plug in for about $120

thanks for the quick advice. can i be shown some pictures of t5 fixtures? or point me to the right direction +rep for you guys that helped out and continue to.

here ya go
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Lamp-2-foot-T5-GROW-LIGHT-w-SIX-6500K-TWO-FEET-BULBS_W0QQitemZ180194886695QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item29f473c427&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

its 20x25 inches and has 6 two foot t5 bulbs for $150.only 12,000 lumenens, but i bet it runs cool and saves electricity.youll need the 2700k bulbs to flower with, but this comes with the 6500k for veg growth.you can always use this for veg,even if you get a hps to bloom with down the road.

dan catalyst said:

here ya go
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Lamp-2-foot-T5-GROW-LIGHT-w-SIX-6500K-TWO-FEET-BULBS_W0QQitemZ180194886695QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item29f473c427&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

its 20x25 inches and has 6 two foot t5 bulbs for $150.only 12,000 lumenens, but i bet it runs cool and saves electricity.youll need the 2700k bulbs to flower with, but this comes with the 6500k for veg growth.you can always use this for veg,even if you get a hps to bloom with down the road.

Click to expand...

If you do decide to go with this setup make sure that you either employ a SOG or SCROG technique as you want to keep the lights super close to the plants. Using the mentioned techniques you can maintain a flat canopy which will allow for maximum light penetration. You can use these lights for the whole cycle just make sure you get different spectrum bulbs. 6500k for veg, 2200-2700k for flowering. Peace

its funny i just did a similar set up like this last year i used a big wooden cage converted to a growbox (ended up working well) i originally started with cfl's before switching to fluros...the main thing which is imparitive is good planing cuz in that small growspace i found that it was difficult to have two fans fluro tubes and the plants themselves in such a confined place fluros in my opinion would be the best because even in direct contact it does not burn the plant or harm it in ne way...but all in all good luck on your quest i wish the best of luck to you and be sure too keep us posted whenever you get the chance

hey smokedr, did you use t5's or t8's? I have personally used t8's I know that the t5's have higher lumen output and prob more heat? Could your foilage grow into the hoods and remain green for days or did it become crispy after it touched the bulb?

i used neither t5's or t8's i used a combination of different color spectrum bulbs for veg, and another for flower, the plant was working well but another downside to having only one or two plants unless there feminized then your have to expect dissapointment because consiquently your plants will mainly be male

whats your opinions on using led lights? Info on them?

Im thinking about just staying with cfls for now. not sure weather i should just place one t5 fixture on top or buy 2 and place on the sides.

comments and advice please!
Thanks again

hitide said:

whats your opinions on using led lights? Info on them?

Im thinking about just staying with cfls for now. not sure weather i should just place one t5 fixture on top or buy 2 and place on the sides.

comments and advice please!
Thanks again

Click to expand...

My personal opinion based on stuff I have read.

LED: Expensive....prob within 10 years the tech. will get better, price will drop and this might become a main lighting source. Benefit of the system is that it can create the exact wavelengths in which the plants process most efficiently. So in theory there is no waste light. The run super cool and use very little power. Do some research, and I am sure you will find that it is just not for most people. Unless you have a large bankroll and like to experiment I would steer clear from these for some time.

If you are going to use floro tech. I would suggest using 4' t5 tubes and using a scrog technique to maintain canopy control. I think that this is the most efficient way to use floro tech. The 4' hoods are very easy to adjust and by using the scrog you can keep the lights right on the canapy because it will be very even and flat, just like your light assembly. If you try and use CFL (the curly lights) You need to posistion them somehow all around your plant to provide even light coverage. Check out "Someguys" journal, I will post link for you at bottom of this post. He shows what you can do with this type of setup.

Any more questions just keep asking, and myself or other members will try and help best we can

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/192292-someguys-perpetual-parabolic-scrog-cabinet.html

thanks for the reply

whats scrog? whats a parabolic setup or a flat screen for? why do they use lst?

Read through that journal I showed you, and refer to the Grow FAQ on those questions. SCROG=Screen of Green which is very similar to see of green except a screen is added. Parabolic utilizes the setup of the HID light because it is more concetrated directly underneath, the parabolic screen allows all the tops to stay the same distance from the bulb in essence. Flat screen is for floro tubes becuz they are long and skinny and best used super close to foilage