I have decided to upgrade my current set up to a dedicated veg area and seperate flowering area. The new set up will also containg my cloning chamber in the veg area (on a lower shelf). I am trying to achieve a continuous production. I am presently using 600w HPS and have had substantial sucess with it. I will use a 150mm coolshade fitting on the 600w hps in the flowering area and basically retain my current equipment. I would like to keep my electricity use as low as possible and am worried that running two sets of 600w's plus inline fans etc will start getting a bit out of hand. I have learned a lot from this site since joining so I am sure somebody can help me with this question...

Can I set up the veg area to use cfl's and then transfer my plants into the 600w flowering area without any issues, if so how many and of what size will I need? What type of cfl is the go for vegging? The grow areas will both be 600mm x 900mm. Am I right to assume that cfl's will effectively light this area cheaper and cooler than hps? Should I run cfl's down the sides as well?
Any help on this is much appreciated, I will keep posting pics of the setup as I put it together. The picture below is the framing I have started so you can get a better idea of what I have in mind and a pic of my current system.

thanks for any helpAI @ 24 days.4.JPG

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I really don't know shit about cfl's i've always vegged with 1000's i've done 6-8 lighters with thousands and never had any question about my electric and done it for 10 years.How long are you vegging your plants for?My opinion is that you may want to put them in flower a little sooner as that one plant is way over grown for your space

as long as both areas are light tight

I VEG USING CFL AND IT WORKS GREAT I HAVE 24 23 WATT IN VARYING COLORS MOSTLY COOL IT VEGS GREAT I AM A FAN OF MORE IS BETTER AND CFLS ARE CHEAP IF YOU FIND THEM ON SALE I ALSO TAKE THE BULBS APART AND WIRE THEM TOGETHER(YOU CAN TAKE THE BASE OFF THE BULB AND POKE THE WIRES FROM THE BALLAST AND POKE THEM THROUGH THE PLASTIC HOUSING THE INFO IS IN THE FAQ UNDER CFL'S I THINK) I BUILT A SQARE WOODEN FRAME AND DRILLED HOLES INTO IT THAT THE BASE OF THE BULB FITS INTO AND PUT A WIRE TIE AROND IT JUST TO MAKE SURE ANYWAY THIS WORKS WELL AND IS NOT VERY HOT I USE THIS ON A TUB I MADE MY OWN HOOD OUT OF RIBS I CUT HALF ROUND AND THEN BENT LOUAN OVER AND PUT A FAN OUT OF A BATH EXHAUST FAN ON TH TOP OF THE HOOD (CUT ROUND HOLE IN HOOD THEN SCRIBE SIDES OF FAN "CAN" TO GET A NICE FIT AND SEALED THIS RIG RUNS COLD AND CAN BE PLACED 1MM FROM PLANTS AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT TOUCHING THEY DON'T BURN

HOPE THIS IS USEFUL THANX

Thanks EJF,

If I was to go down this road with the cfl's by the time I had 6- 8 or so would I still be using less power than 1 600w hps? What about standard tube type flouros would they do the job (the ones in grow spectrum)?

I live in the tropics so I really like the idea of the reduced heat that the flouros produce.

Also thanks for the tip about vegging, that picture was from my first grow and yes it was much to large for that area. I have sinced change to growing AI and havnt looked back.

Thanks

i also run 18 tube flouro's around the inside of tub to get great light penetration the new t5 ho bulbs are where its at for that app