New to this but loving it!

NewToThis87

NewToThis87

New Member
Helloo guys!

I am new to indoor growing, first time to do that, growing outdoor is much easier, now my setup is 3X 32 wat CFL light for every plant 3inches far from the plants with 2 small fans.

3 days ago i germinated a couple of seeds and moved it to the small pots, do you think is it a good setup?? Any advise would be much appriciated.
 
Cubes15128

Cubes15128

Well-Known Member
Do you have the funds to get better lights? Cfls are alright for early veg, at least 100w per plant is what I've heard. What color temp are they? 6500k has the best results in veg. I would try to invest in some cob lights soon if I were you!
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
NewToThis87 said:
And i am using this potting soil with perlite mixed with it, is it good? Thanks in advance
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looks O.K as long as you use enough perlite to give you good drainage . I use an inexpensive potting soil http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kellogg-Garden-Organics-1-5-cu-ft-Patio-Plus-Premium-Outdoor-Potting-Mix-681/100160888?keyword=kellogg+organic+plus+potting+soil with about 25% perlite and espoma tomato tone and it works great. for a small PU grow. expensive soil and nutrients are not necessary.keep it simple till you learn how to grow.a lot of people started with CFLs and many have good grows with them
you can learn a lot from youtube. 23 watt cfls would be the most efficiency. my first grow was with CFLs and then I moved up to T5s. growing in soil with florescent or CMH lights will give you the best flavor and potency but on your first grow just focus and keeping the plants alive til harvest.keep it simple and don't over water or over feed your plants ( most common newbie error) GOOD LUCK AND WELCOME TO RIU
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
NewToThis87 said:
Thaaaanks a lot!!! I will do that and water less instead of every 2 hours to maximum once a day
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stick you finger in the soil and do not water until the top 2 inches of soil feels dry I grow in 5 gallon nursery pots (plastic) and water once a week.for nutrients this chart might help. as for cheap LEDs they are actually less efficient than CFLs
as you can see the vipraspectra 450 watt draws 206 watts of power but only produces 26.951 watts of light (13% efficiency) a 23 watt CFL produces 1600 lumens (5.12 watts of light) (22.26% efficiency) COBs or 561 strip lights,T5s or HIDs (HPS,MH or CMH)are the only way to get better efficiency. without buying a $1000 plug and play grow light. don't trust anyone (including me) do your own research.for me that's part of the fun of growing
 

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Kerovan

Kerovan

Well-Known Member
mauricem00 said:
stick you finger in the soil and do not water until the top 2 inches of soil feels dry I grow in 5 gallon nursery pots (plastic) and water once a week.for nutrients this chart might help. as for cheap LEDs they are actually less efficient than CFLs
as you can see the vipraspectra 450 watt draws 206 watts of power but only produces 26.951 watts of light (13% efficiency) a 23 watt CFL produces 1600 lumens (5.12 watts of light) (22.26% efficiency) COBs or 561 strip lights,T5s or HIDs (HPS,MH or CMH)are the only way to get better efficiency. without buying a $1000 plug and play grow light. don't trust anyone (including me) do your own research.for me that's part of the fun of growing
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That is very misleading. They are getting the efficiency rating by measuring lumens which has nothing to do with growing plants. You can completely ignore lumens when it comes to plant lighting. What matters is the PAR rating, photosynthetically active radiation. That is what matters to plants and the cheap vipar spectra is a lot better than cfl's in that department.
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
Kerovan said:
That is very misleading. They are getting the efficiency rating by measuring lumens which has nothing to do with growing plants. You can completely ignore lumens when it comes to plant lighting. What matters is the PAR rating, photosynthetically active radiation. That is what matters to plants and the cheap vipar spectra is a lot better than cfl's in that department.
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lumens and PPFD are based on radiant power adjusted for spectrum. radiant power and spectrum are what need to be considered when comparing plant lights.these test result are provided by the manufacturer. anyone with any training in electronics should be able to understand these test results but it seems that the LED crowd does not like facts that do not support their beliefs . par watts is an advertising term with no scientific value. PPF and PPFD are radiant power multiplied by wavelength and a constant to give photons mass so that the equations work.but special relativity shows that any mass traveling at the speed of light would have infinite energy. for a given radiant power a deep red led will produce a 50% higher PPF rating than a violet (440nm) led .but plants grow best with full spectrum light including UV. what is misleading are claims made by the led crowd. this LED makers is honest enough to provide test results for their light but they use the same diodes and drivers that are used in most cheap LED grow lights and some expensive ones.
 
ViceCityGrower

ViceCityGrower

Well-Known Member
Well in my tent I have 2 vipar 300s and they work just fine. Last harvest was close to 7 zips from 2 plants. Everyone that smokes it loves it and buds are dense as well. I understand the technical side of things but for price plus electricity cost and ease of use (because I could not manage the heat) these work perfect for me. I've used cfl, T5, mh/hps and these are what I can manage. They are better than the cfl or the T5s for me anyway
 
ViceCityGrower

ViceCityGrower

Well-Known Member
SPLFreak808 said:
If you really want to stick with light bulbs then here, 9000lm/87w $22.93

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HC7BHUK/ref=asc_df_B01HC7BHUK5195405/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01HC7BHUK&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167126811300&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6249078880859995970&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032799&hvtargid=pla-307659765086
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Those look nice. Didn't have those when I started, boy we've come a long way in lighting choices
 
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