I need help finding the right lighting for my single plant. Atm im using a 60 watt halogen (since my only other option was incandesant). How bad is using a halogen bulb? Im probably going to buy a fluorescent bulb but i want to know what the appropriate wattage is. Also if i were to buy two 40 watt fluorescents, would it equal an 80 watt bulb?

get rid of the halogen you can grow with them but you can very very easily burm your plants to death. Goto Lowes and they have 150 w high pressure sodium lights ,they are labeled for porch lights grab one theyre like 100 to 150 bucks if i remember right they might be cheaper thats the best for flowering and works good for veggin also

I got a 100w hps from lowes for 15 dollars on clearance. Go with as many CFLs as you can. Make sure you get your desired spectrum. 6500k is good. Get the highest wattage CFL you can. Lumens don't add up like watts do, so get the biggest bulbs you can, and as many of them as you can

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Current Grow 8/20/09: http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...ple-widow.html

thanks for the help guys

Halogen bulbs aren't the best choice for growing because they are hot and don't produce light in best spectrum. The plant will grow and flower, but the yield won't compare to compact fluorescents (CFL).

You'd be better off using a couple 42w CFL with an output of 6500k. In flower it would be wise to add a couple 42w cfl 2700k. I have to order my 42w online because I can't find them locally.

Watts refer to energy used by the light, not output. 2 40w fluorescents would be greater than an 80w bulb, but you also need to consider the temperature (Kelvin or "k") of the light. you want 6500k for veg and 2700k for flower. you can add some 5000k if you want, but should always have the 2700k and 6500k. and you can use both 2700 and 6500 during both veg and flower.

In addition to the temperature, the amount of light, expressed in lumens. A typical 42w cfl produces about 2800 lumens and sunlight produces 10,000 lumens per sq ft. So 1 light per plant is probably minimum and 2 would be better. There is no such thing as too much light. You could have too much heat, but not too much light.

Lumens decrease rapidly with distance. Lights should be as close to plants as possible. Heat is the limiting factor. CFL's can usually be 2-3 inches from plant.

If you are growing one plant, I'd recommend 1 42w 6500k CFL an 1 42w 2700k CFL and rotate the plant a bit and move the lights around a bit.

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"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." T.S. Eliott

hps will give you the best results in flower stage

yea, hps is the best

but a couple 42w cfls will run about $30 and a couple clamp reflecters are about $20 is a much cheaper way to go. hps would be better yet, but would cost probably twice as much.

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"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." T.S. Eliott

Everything jeffchr said is excellent information.

To add to it: if you go with cfls, your best bet is to look for 40/42 watters (150 watt equivalent), they are usually the most effecient as far as watts used for lumens produced. Your best results will be using 6500k for veg and 2700k for flowering, although mixing them up a little bit is good for the plant as well.

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Yeah....I lie. A LOT. Especially about growing weed. I'm not into that. I just grow tomatoes.