what is the least yeild i can expect?

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
one last thing, can i use a lamp for the 150watt cfl that is rated up to 300-watt incandescent if the incandescent equal is 500watts?
Didn't I just tell you that it is 150w? It's not drawing 500w, just 150w. Seriously, you are not at all prepared for this. I give up, do some homework on your own.
 

bluntmassa1

Well-Known Member
ok ive decided that i am going to keep the 2 32watt t8 for veg and for flowering i will use that for the undergrowth and im looking at a 150 watt cfl 5000k 8800 lumens. i might get 1 for every 2 plants, would this help the yeild more, i know this is my first grow and i shouldnt expect too much but im just trying to get the most out of what im working with, thanks for the help.
I would paint your grow space with flat white paint or line it with mylar get every thing out of them lights. nothing beats a good hid light though not even led's I wouldn't spend much on cfl's they sound good an all but your getting a whole lot more lumens per watt with hids so its actually the most eficient lighting right behind led's but hids are better for growing.
 

rcw1018

Member
i was listening, just wanted to be 110% sure i wasnt going to mess up the bulbs or burn my house down. thanks for the help.
 

dadio161

Well-Known Member
no sence on vegging them too tall as they will only get so much light to the girls. you need more light. keep em short for now. Won't yield much.
 

bamacheese

Well-Known Member
i was listening, just wanted to be 110% sure i wasnt going to mess up the bulbs or burn my house down. thanks for the help.
Dude, PLEASE LISTEN, WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE YOU YEARS OF BULLSHIT TRIAL AND ERROR. This is my last attempt at helping you.

You need to get HID Lighting to properly flower your plants. High Intensity Discharge lighting is essential to properly flower your plants. A lot of people like to use Fluorescent lighting for the veg stage, including me, but FLUORO'S WILL NOT SUFFICE FOR FLOWERING. If you want to be harvesting 7 grams per plant, go ahead and buy 2 150 watt CFL's to flower under. Or you can listen to the people on here that know what they are talking about. A 250 watt HPS is only around $100. By the time you get your 2 other CFL's + Ballasts + Money you've already wasted buying stuff before you even got sound advice, you would have plenty to have already gotten your HPS for flowering. Keep the t5's for vegging, they work great, although you won't be able to veg a plant properly for longer than a month under them. If you want to properly veg a plant, you will need another form of HID lighting, a Metal Halide. Maybe you can get a Switchable 250 Watt MH/HPS setup. If you get a 250 watt light, you should be looking at pulling 2-4 ounces per harvest. If you keep ignoring what we are trying to tell you, expect to fail miserably and waste a whole lot of money on the way trying. I wish I had somebody to tell me these things when I was starting, and it is REALLY frustrating to see somebody being told the proper information, and still make the same mistakes we are trying to save you from. SHIT :evil: . Lol good luck man, Hope this helps, Don't mean to sound like a dick. But listen!!!!
 

lokie

Well-Known Member
T5 and LED gardeners may have a different opinion.

While HID does provide a powerful substitution for the sun in indoor gardning
it is not the end of the light spectrum.

I use HID because I can, others may have restrictions that prevent HID as an option.

In short use what you have/can afford. Yes HID is better than cfl and T5 but good bud can be grown
using other light sources.
 

Clown Baby

Well-Known Member
75% Miracle Grow Seed Starting mix?? Google Fox Farms Happy Frog, and drop the $20 for a bag of soil. You're just wasting your time and electricity bro...Expect to see mediocre pissed off plants otherwise..Also you will need more lighting to flower. Do some research!!

MG soil is fine.

But to the OP: You can't veg for 6 weeks and then flower with only T8s. If you use T8's you need to do some serious SCROGing, and even then you're not going to get great yields. If you want a good yield, you should probably look into HPS lighting. It's an investment, but it'll pay for itself after the first run.

Also, a seed starting mix is not very hot. If you're growing in pots, you're going to need nutes after a couple of weeks. I'd suggest a simple 1part like dynagro or floranova.
 

batf1nk

Well-Known Member
Seriously bro you need to listen to these peeps... most of us started on CFL.. I sure did... one grow and all them bulbs were in the bin.

I'm not knocking CFL's I know people that have used them to great effect with more than enough yield for themselves, but they are experienced growers. You cant simply chuck a load of CFL's in and expect much, other things need to be done to maximise yield like lst/supercropping/mainlining/SCROG.

Get yourself down the local DIY shop and look for a HID security light, I've seen people use them in small cabinet grows on here, search it up.

Good luck in your quest of dank
 

rcw1018

Member
thanks for all the help, i guess everytime i looked up hid lighting i would get a little scared of them because of the price of the ballasts and then i would see these cfls that i can just throw into a $10 lamp and go, i think im going to bite the bullet and invest in the hid, i just need something that will be enough for 4 plants that are lined up in a row. if it comes down to it i can do 2x2 rows but i would prefer to keep them lined up, any ideas? or would just about any hid do the trick.
 

rcw1018

Member
also with the nutes, if i get the dynagrow or floranova would that be the right nutes for the whole grow? or would i have to change something up at a certain point?
 

PutItInTheBowl

Active Member
hey rcw... just go through the forums or go on google and type your question first then if you cant find a viable answer then come ask here.. im not tellin you to fuck off im just sayin try to inform yourself before you ask 100 questions... who is growing you or the person on the screen typing? trial and error is the best way to go... get your setup together and try it out on a seed or 2 then go from there you will learn alot from your first grow...
goodluck man!
 

Cobnobuler

Well-Known Member
at least 3 grams
My buddy pulled a whooping 2 grams once. It can be done.
Like they say here, you gotta do your own research and homework. The answers to any questions you might have are all out there over and over. The bigger you want your plants to be, the more lighting you need. For instance you can use CFL bulbs for an entire grow, but dont expect a bumper crop yield either. Light has to penetrate down through the plant and the taller it is, the more you need.
Light, environment, soil, and nutrients are all critically important, and wherever you cut corners, your grow will suffer for it. In this hobby, you literally will reap what you sow.
 

rcw1018

Member
ok, got it narrowed down to two lights, a 400watt hps or 2 150watt hps. i think the 2 150watt ones would be good because i want them lined up, but i would like to hear someother thoughts, thanks.
 

Cobnobuler

Well-Known Member

Shaggn

Well-Known Member
I would go with the 400 as well and have it setup in a square box style rather than lined up!!

Only problem I have with all your questions is you're not doing the research and are going to get in so deep and realize you need more items than your pocket can cover. Make sure you fully understand that you will also need an extraction fan, 1 or 2 fans for internal air flow (depending on area n fan size) a carbon filter/scrubber, nutes and there will be other odds n ends as you grow along!! Make and plan your list before buying if your on a tight budget. Running low on cash, Visit the DiY section and build your own scrubber to help save on some coin. Remember your just starting out and need the basics, after that u can upgrade when extra coin is available..

RIU hands down has more info than any other site i've been on. A lot of knowledgeable peeps in here!!! Peace :)
 

Cobnobuler

Well-Known Member
I would go with the 400 as well and have it setup in a square box style rather than lined up!!

Only problem I have with all your questions is you're not doing the research and are going to get in so deep and realize you need more items than your pocket can cover. Make sure you fully understand that you will also need an extraction fan, 1 or 2 fans for internal air flow (depending on area n fan size) a carbon filter/scrubber, nutes and there will be other odds n ends as you grow along!! Make and plan your list before buying if your on a tight budget. Running low on cash, Visit the DiY section and build your own scrubber to help save on some coin. Remember your just starting out and need the basics, after that u can upgrade when extra coin is available..

RIU hands down has more info than any other site i've been on. A lot of knowledgeable peeps in here!!! Peace :)
No doubt, I run 400 watts myself and it didnt take long to be in over a grand and I dont even have a scrubber. When the moneys tight, its best to remember whats critical, Lights, medium, and whatever keeps the environment friendly for growing ( fans etc)
You can go with a basic veg/flower nute combo and get through an entire grow with them.
 
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