Greetings, I'm getting ready to take the plunge and begin an indoor grow but I'm really confused with all the lighting options. I have a very large basement with 8 foot ceilings that is completely secure so I don't have a space issue. I'm looking to grow 4 to 6 plants and would like to hear opinions on how I should proceed. I've grown outdoors and a few times in an old phototron 300.The phototron is very small and I wasn't able to get much of anything out of it. From what I've read, it can assist me with clones. Anyway, I'm considering T5 lighting. A 4 Foot 4 bulb unit (2 veg and 2 flower lights) costs around $150.00 on eBay. Will this work or would I be better off getting some other kind of lighting system? I don't have a great deal of money to invest and I was looking for something economical to operate. Can anyone offer suggestions on an economical lighting system that would fit my needs? Where would be a good online site to purchase? Thanks!! Harry
Need Lighting Advice From The Pros
- Thread starter Harry Red
- Start date
darksys
Well-Known Member
u got a shelf in the basement? Fox Farm Forest Soil and some perlate so the plants can breath. i would start there with a 2 flotubes 2inches from the seedlings/plants light for the veg state then move on to 2 HID lights for flowering just my opinion.Flotubes are cheap as dirt you can get 2 for 20$ also when you put the seeds in after they are germinated stick make about a inch and a half hole with your finger make sure the root is sticking up when you do this or your plant wont grow! water them whenever the soil is going dry not totally dry you know what i mean lol pm me for anymore advice.
ThatGuy1985
Well-Known Member
do you smoke crack????
BigBudBalls
Well-Known Member
I'm no pro, but followed a LOT of lighting Qs. (and still, can ya tell?)
Scrap the T5's.
They look great, but cost vs light vs heat, better off with other options.
If you want/can do 2 rooms (one veg and one flowering) Get a few standard floro T8 shop lights for vegging you can adjust the spectrum via mix-match bulbs.
For the flowering room, go for a HPS. I've been down the 70W and 150W security light road, and now going for a 600W HPS with an air cooled hood.
(the 400W HPS seems to have the worst effeciency of the HPS lights)
Now if only a single room, Got straight for the HPS light. Plants will veg fine under it. (Yes, MH is better for veg, but I smoke buds, not leaves. Food for thought.) Or get a conversion bulb or switchable ballast. That way you can get a HPS bulb and a MH bulb for your current stage.
T5's will cost as much (maybe a slight bit less) then the better lights.
Just my 2 pence.
Thanks BigBudBalls. I followed your advice and went with a good quality switchable 400W ballast with both a HPS (55,000 lumens) and a MH (38,000 lumens) bulb. Came with a nice hood and timer. At this point, I'm figuring I'll go with soil and work my way up to hydro. Could you suggest a pot size and soil mixture? I was thinking 12 inch pots and potting soil but I've been reading that some don't suggest using a slow release potting mixture like miracle grow. Roots up? 
BigBudBalls
Well-Known Member
I'm using the Fox Farm stuff (soil and nutes) myself. I also have a couple in Miracle Grow Moisture Control soil
GrnMan's advice is spot on.
Rule of thumb is 1 gallon per foot in height.
Some say to only x-plant once. This might some merit.
Start in cups (with drainage) Then once they are a bit established, off to the new home.
GrnMan's advice is spot on.
Rule of thumb is 1 gallon per foot in height.
Some say to only x-plant once. This might some merit.
Start in cups (with drainage) Then once they are a bit established, off to the new home.
Erysichthon
Well-Known Member
i second bubbles and grnmans advice fully, with a large basement if your gonna spend the cash go hps all the way. on where to purchase, id recommend ebay or htgsupply.
Ery
Ery
Thanks for all the great advice so far. My grow lights (as mentioned above) are one the way and I picked up a bag of FF's Ocean Forrest at a local shop. It was $25.00 a bag. That's pretty expensive for a bag of dirt. 
A couple of questions. Do I need to add nutes right from the start or does the FF Ocean Forrest contain enough nutes out of the bag to last awhile? If so, how much nute should I start with? Do I need to add in perlite or something else? I read somewhere that 70%-30% of soil to perlite is recommended. I have 10 sprouts in small cups looking nice in the phototron. I'm hoping to get 4 or 5 females out of those for this grow. I hope you don't mind but I'm gonna lean on y'all a bit to help me get through this first grow. Thanks!!
A couple of questions. Do I need to add nutes right from the start or does the FF Ocean Forrest contain enough nutes out of the bag to last awhile? If so, how much nute should I start with? Do I need to add in perlite or something else? I read somewhere that 70%-30% of soil to perlite is recommended. I have 10 sprouts in small cups looking nice in the phototron. I'm hoping to get 4 or 5 females out of those for this grow. I hope you don't mind but I'm gonna lean on y'all a bit to help me get through this first grow. Thanks!!