LIGHTS...wich ones...?

there seems to be contraversy over what type of lights to use cuse everywhere i read i see different opinions....what lights are the best for optimal grow and yeild....i want to get some gooden after this 1st experiment grow......but i want to be completely set up to grow some DANK (before i germ and plant) hahaha .....right now i am growing "bag seeds" all tho its some good sht i want to order " paradise amstradam flame" its suppose to have 19+% thc and taste like fruit.....i want this ..... but i want it to be able to grow to the VERY BEST of its potential...

please tell me exactly (cause im slow) what kind of lighting system to get and im only talking like 3-5 plants in small places (it said also that it was a short bushy chrstmas tree type grower) and if its a bulb that takes a special ballast tell me.....

id also like to know more on how to "hide" your grow rooms heat signature...

any help would be much appreciated

metal halide for vegging and high pressure sodium for flowering. the wattage is up to what you can afford to buy and run. cfls are good as cheap alternatives but will NOT produce the same yeild, they are better used as supplemental lights for the sides or bottom of your plants. if u can only afford one light then buy an hps, it will veg(although not just as good as mh) and it will flower. most hps bulbs are now dual spectrum meaning that they contain a little of the blue light that mh gives out as well as light at the red spectrum. i run 1000watt hps for flower and will be vegging my next crop under 400w mh and 600watt hps combined. hps is unquestionably the best product for indoor growing.

ok so mh in veg with hps and then in flower NO mh and MORE hps.....do i nee fixtures to screw them in or will regular light sockets do?

what about hiding the heat signature?

I agree with Dura72 100% Good luck!

nope almost all hps and mh lights take what is called a mogul base

its larger than a standard socket

but the question is

how much space are we talkin?
how small is small, cuz thats gonna make alot of your decisions for you.

as to your thermal signature.

this is the shit here http://www.reflectixinc.com/basepage.asp?Page=Duct+Insulation&PageIndex=619

high r factor, very thin, comes in large rolls, and is more reflective than mylar.
youll need a cool air inlet near the bottom of the room
best way to deal with hot air exhuast is an attic, vent into the attic through 4" aluminum vent duct, connect several lengths together untill you have about 40 feet of it in the attic, wind it back and forth across the floor of the attic (hid under insulation if u need to) anyway by the time the air exhuasts its had enough time for thermal transfer to be at ambient.

double insulate anywall that is an outside wall

mh and hps are not regular bulbs they are hid bulbs(high intensity discharge) and they require a unit called a ballast to work them. im no electrician but its kinda like they need a pulse of energy to boot them up and keep them running. the ballast just plugs into the wall. google hydroponic shops and just browse around, ur gaunna need a bulb, a fitting or reflector hood and a ballast, you can buy them as one single item. u really want a ballast that can do both mh and hps(interchangeable) that way all you need to do is change bulbs at flowering. also you'll need some method of lowering and raising ur lights, i use a thing called an 'easy roll', it a little spring loaded spool of string that allows u to move ur lights easily, only cost a few bucks.

what kinda budget are you on and what kinda grow are u lookin (hydro,soil, etc) for and like nowitall said what kinda area have u got? if ur a begginer i would suggest a soil grow , its relatively simple and allows you to fuck up occasionally.

NOWitall said:

....
but the question is

how much space are we talkin?
how small is small, cuz thats gonna make alot of your decisions for you.
....

Click to expand...

<-- Exactly, this information is critical.

However, be aware that if you want the best bud you will need HPS or MH or both ( also called HID lighting ) So the idea is to try to fit the largest one in your space that you can pull the heat off of. Once we have your dimensions and ventilation, I'm sure you will get good specific advice on lighting.

btw check out grow journals, whatever ur situation or planned set up there will be some one who has had a similar experience and u can glean loads of tips and advice from them and if it you screw up they rollitup ghosts who haunt this place( like me, i have no life, i fish and grow weed) can always help you or tell u where to look for help.

ok for right now its in my closet w my clothes, i started with an entertainment tv stan as a cabnet but was too small for my shop light so now everything is on top and my wife wants it out ne way....so total room is approxx 10 ft tall 4-5 ft wide and 2ft deep. later for the gooden i want to have it in a 5*5 or better room outside.... so lets not worry with the "closet 1st grow" .... the new room I want to be "the one" will be out side right now is just a big shed with nothing but plywood walls........the are several rooms inside but are all just studs no sheet rock so i will be starting from SCRATCH. i want to build it so there is NO heat signature detectable from outside or smells in the air I am in the country but many small planes and nosey neighbors....not wanting to be a manufacture or make money as a "dope man" i just want some personal that no one knows about and so I can stop telling every one I smoke when I park at the real " dope mans " house.

just put up sheet rock with a cavity that can be filled with an insulation( some of my terms may be british but you yanks have different names for building materials and electric cables etc, what u call sheet rock is what we call plasterboard or gyproc). insides the walls either cover in mylar sheets or paint flat white. ur really lucky because ur starting from scratch so u can run wires behind ur walls and even put socket that u may not use right now but can leave for future improvement. as for number of plant it really depends on what ur wanting, are going with lowryders are you ganna lst are u organic/soil or are you hydro. hydros more expensive and less forgiving but the yeild is larger. ur heat sig should be fine if u follow nowitalls advice. do you need a carbon scrubber or is smell not an issue? think and get a bit of paper and draw a plan as to where vent holes etc need to be cut, remember your plants need fresh air, you cant just seal them in.