so i think that i ahve found the perfect grow room for my needs. im not looking to grow more than maybe 2 plants at a time. the room is roughly 2'x2' and just under 4' tall. i know its not a big, but i dont need it to be.

since its so small, i was going to line the walls with probably stirofoam (or, if its too much, just paint it), and as far as growing medium, i was planning on growing in dirt. since im doing this on a budget (college student here) i was going to use floro lights. i know they arent the greatest, but from my research it seems like they will work alright throughout the life cycle. what would be the best kinds to use? and any other tips or pointers. the light threads here all seem to be just about the MH and the HPS lights... i dont have that kind of cash right now...

Get as many cfl's as you can. 8-16 would prolly do it for 2 plants..

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damn thats a lot of tubes...

so what is the best all around light.. going thru the lighting page in the question thread i see that HPS is good for flowering but MH is good for growing.

i went to home depot today and they had a HPS outdoor light fixture and 70 watt bulb. since my grow room is pretty small, would this be enough?

What Widow was saying is that u should get CFL´s (Compact fluoros), altho u can get tubes if u preffer
The best light really depends on the growspace and how much $$$ are u willing to spend on a HID lamp and its running cost...If your growspace is really small u should consider Fluoros but in other hand if u have enough $$$$$ to propper vent ur growspace with some serious extractors and fans get a HID lamp, in wich case i would get either a HPS or a HPS Conversion Bulb.

My space was just 2' x 2.5', but 7' tall. With tight training in 5 gal buckets, I could get 4 plants going, though 2 was really optimal. I settled for doing 3 at a time just so I could have more variety, it probably cost me a couple ounces of yield per grow.

HID is going to give you problems in that space. First off, you'll need a bigger light, as the 70w only gives you 17.5 watts/sq. ft. To go with a bigger light, you'll definitely have some heat issues in just 16 cubic feet - nothing a blower can't fix, but you're on a budget, so.... Heightwise, a plant just 2' tall in a 1' pot puts your tops right into the bulb. You'll get singed, if you don't catch fire altogether.

Hang a buttload of CFLs and if you've truly got 4' of vertical, 48" flouro fixtures to line the side walls are really cheap when sold as shop lights - all other sizes of tubes and fixtures are much more expensive. You're still going to have heat issues, so give that some thought.

i know for a fact that a 48" fluoro wont fit, i tried it the other day.


cfl's... are they more expensive then the regualar flouros?

Depends on the wattage, they're very efficient and for the heat and price most people go with 23 watt cfls.

Hey bud.. you got 4sq.ft. total floor space and 2 plants.. you probably can use 2 42w cfl's for veggin, more is better tho. If you decide to flower with cfl's you might wanna consider 8 or more like widow said..

Your 70w HPS will work better for flowering but you will want atleast 2 of them and then temps might be a concern..

Good luck!

Remember in this case the more the better.

my space is a little bigger than that and i use cfl. i made a light bar that is 3ft long and it has 8 sockets which with a splitter in each is 16 bulbs. im getting plenty of lumens. i used dollar store alum bread pans to make reflectors. my biggest expense was the cool white bulbs at $6 apiece. soft what i bought a shit load of p.g.e. discounted bulbs for .50 each things are looking nice with my bagseeds at 1 1/2 weeks (sorry no camera) but cfls seem to be doing the trick.