How much light is needed?

[weaponmaster15]

I have 6 fluorescent lights with 875 lumens each, and 5000 for color temp. my grow area is about 36" tall, 29" wide, and length of 20". I was wondering how much of them I would need to get a some what good grow. I have two grow areas the same size so should I split them up or what? I also have some red tinted bulbs I was planning on using for flowering.

 

[HeadyPete]

Buy a hps for flowering or forever be unhappy with the results.

Your flouros will work for moms, cloning, and maybe vegging. That's it, unless you want to flower out "hairy toothpicks".

Even a 150 hps is better than your toobz.

Split your areas into 3 chambers:

One for moms/cloning, one for vegging, and one for blooming. Make sure the bloom room is absolutely light proof so that when it's dark, it's completely dark. Any little light leak will **** up your plants in flower. You can combine mom and veg area in one space.

Good luck.

 

[floroscroger]

You can still grow good bud under floros. Hps is better but you can still get very good buds from floros.

 

[panopticist]

You can successfully flower under CFLs...


But HeadyPete is correct when he says that the nuggets won't be quite as dense as those flowered under HID lighting. However, 'hairy toothpicks' is a bit of an overdramatization...

If this is your first grow, and I assume it is by some of the questions you are asking, I say use the CFLs. Once you get comfortable as to how the entire process works, move up to an HPS. CFLs are a bit more forgiving in terms of producing less heat (in general), allow for a closer positioning of your plants to the bulbs, are relatively cheap, easily found, and are easier to handle than HID bulbs.

But to answer your question, the general rule of thumb is 50+ watts of light per square foot.

 

[HeadyPete]

Sorry guys, didn't mean to diss the flouros, just a little overdramatic...heh heh heh.

Nice buds, btw!

 

[weaponmaster15]

trust me if I could afford better then I would but money is a bit tight at the moment, I will be able to upgrade all of my lighting and everything in a few months but I have been floating around this site for about four months under a different name (It would not let me post for some reason) so I made a different one. At the moment I only have like 20 bucks to my name but I have alot of lights laying around my house and they are all flou's.

O and pete, I already have a seperate place to store the mom, The have a small set up going on in my closet just for here. Tons of light all flou's again tho

 

[MoleMcHenry]

check out some of the micro grows on here and see what they are using for vegging and flowering. Depending on what you want to do, it may indeed be more cost efficient to buy a cheap 150 watt HPS. They are going for only $95 from HTG supply. A single CFL bulb can run $7-$12, and most people use 6-8 in their flowering chambers...

 

[Mr_Ed]

Floros work fine. They are best in veg and you need more then 50W/sqft or the plants will tend to be long and lanky. Keep the floros as close to the plants as temps will allow and Scrog or LST so the plant stays short and bushy. As Floro and PanOP have shown above there are lots of people here rocking floros and getting very decent yields.

Now if you want colas as big as your arm you need a MH or HPS.

 

[weaponmaster15]

Thank you everyone, all of that helped alot. I am just growing for myself so there for I just need small amounts of it all. I will stick with my flouro's for now then and go ahead and set up my area.

 

[HeadyPete]

sounds like a plan

 

[DRKN_MNKY420]

Hey weaponmaster,

I am in the same boat. Broke and fluoros only. Well, I used a cardboard box, painted it flat white, then used 1 T5 H.O. Fluoro w/ a combo of red and blue compacts totaling around 130 watts, which I later added a big 65 watt compact 2700k from Menards with about 5-6 weeks left to total out at around 190 watts until the end. My card board box demensions: 25" long, 24" tall, 16" wide.

These were my results w/ 4 plants: 1st three!

This one was a little fluffy, but I am positive it's a Sativa, and that is prob why! I let this one go a couple extra weeks!

Total Dry weight of all 4, around 50 grams maybe a little more!
Well Good luck to ya!
Peace,
DRKN_MNKY420

 

[kjeeks]

If you decide to move up to hps and u are comfortable with basic electricity u can get a 150 hps vapor pendant light for 20 $ at econo lite and remote it your self all u need is a extension cord and u can use the original ballast housing


good luck with your cfl grow

 

[Bud Hi]

I'm in the same floro "boat".. lol little extra cash, but lots of shop bulbs and two kitchen sinks.






I used to call it a tannin bed, cause it's SO Bright lol and my girls Love laying out, in the light

 

[Guest]

he he he awesome bro' that is the raddest thing I have ever seen'

Ez now

Motumba'

 

[FRANKENBLUNT420]

well the debates about lighting for what stages has gone back and forth for years. you cna do it either way but there is still the status quo cfl's for veg and hps for flower.

if you can hold out i would veg them under the cfl until i could get a good hps, reason being is that once you are properly setup, you can take some cuts and then maximize the footprint of whatever light you get.

if space is your thing and loot aswell, then maybe go with the 250HPS for now. but with that small a space i would convert the regent security light (70watt HPS) and rock with that. that space is less than 2', a 70 watter could cover that for sure, make sure youve got your reflection to max whatever light you have (i.e. white walls, mylar, thermal blanket, tinfoil, chrome paint).

you seem to be in the realm of 'DIY for budget reasons alone, but lord knows, it can be done, i have built my fare share of grow equipment to know.