Tips on growing a tree

Hey Guys,

So I got a nice 6 foot tall, 2 foot by 2 foot box and I'm going to grow a killer huge plant. So I'm worried about lighting, I was thinking of getting 4 6 foot florecent lights in each corner. I looked at the home depot and they were like 30$ a light. How much should they run? Is there any perticular type I need to buy? I'd want a plastic guard on it so it dosn't burn my leaves. Where can I buy these lights for a decent price and how much should they cost? Is there any difference if I buy the fat bulb fixtures or the super thin ones?

Thanks for reading!

u need alot more light than that. put cfl's over the top 2

$30 for a T5 bulb? Ouch , go with CFLs bro. a 10 pack of 15w 6,5ooK , 900 lumes each cost under $12

get an hps bro

the only way to get a huge plate in a 3 to 4 month time frame you need a lot of light. a hps and mh is the way to go that is if you can afford the cost of running a hid system.

its a cardboard box so it has to be CFL or FL I can't risk fire with MH or HPS (its a cardboard box keep in mind). I was going to build an 8 bulbs CFL array for the top, but when it comes to flowering I'll need the light to make it to the bottom, which is why I was planning on using regular FL (4 of them) on in each corner, and it was 30$ for the fixture, never looked at the bulbs. And that's what I'd want for flowring is T5? I could use more than 4 FL for the sides if you guys think it's necessary.

but......you can still get decent smoke from a cheap cfl grow if it is a must.

why not cfl on the tops and the floro tubes on the sides?

Ya I got my SOG going on with CFLs in 4 smaller boxes (~700W worth of CFLs), I just came across a 6 foot box and thought of making a 6 foot plant (tree) for the hell of it. I would not expect it to be done in 4 months, I expect it to veg for at least 4 months, like I said, my SOG is going great, this would be like a little side project

aladdin2685 said:

why not cfl on the tops and the floro tubes on the sides?

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That's what I was thinking, but how many do I need for the sides, and how much should I be paying? What is the max wattage for a T5? (I live in a US city of 500,000 so all the major dept stores are easy to get to)

t-8 and t-12 are cheap but t-5's start getting pricy. i have ten 23-watt cfl's on top and 4 40-watt tubes on the sides.

sittinherebored said:

t-8 and t-12 are cheap but t-5's start getting pricy. i have ten 23-watt cfl's on top and 4 40-watt tubes on the sides.

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That is exatcly what I plan on doing. What's the difference between t-12, t-5 and t-8? Which is best for flowering? Whats the max wattage you can get? Do they run cool?

For that price, you're better off building a grow box and buying a HPS or MH. But the ideal amount of light you'd want is about 10,000 lumens per square foot. I'm just afraid that if you were to grow that tree like you said, the bottom of the tree wouldn't get any/much light.

I'd love to go HPS but with my setup I just can't. I have to keep everything in air tight sealed boxes to keep the smell away, and I've thought about getting a metal shed or something in my basement but the opening to my basement is only like 2 foot by 3 foot trap door so I really can't get anything bigger than a cardboard box. I am very worried the bottom of the plant will not get enough light to form decent buds, but I was hoping the 4 lights along the side would facilitate that. If it's a bad idea I havn't really started yet, but I['m willing to drop ~150$ on this new project.

MasterMD22 said:

its a cardboard box so it has to be CFL or FL I can't risk fire with MH or HPS (its a cardboard box keep in mind). I was going to build an 8 bulbs CFL array for the top, but when it comes to flowering I'll need the light to make it to the bottom, which is why I was planning on using regular FL (4 of them) on in each corner, and it was 30$ for the fixture, never looked at the bulbs. And that's what I'd want for flowring is T5? I could use more than 4 FL for the sides if you guys think it's necessary.

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I would go with CFLs for flowering for sure , Flo tube for veg is iight but I wouldn't use thoes

if u want to spend that much then get a hps. u wont have any lighting problems and you could grow more. thats what i should have done in the first place

sittinherebored said:

if u want to spend that much then get a hps. u wont have any lighting problems and you could grow more. thats what i should have done in the first place

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HPS + cardboard = fire. I'm not home most the day and my insurance dosn't cover fire by grow op.

sittinherebored said:

if u want to spend that much then get a hps. u wont have any lighting problems and you could grow more. thats what i should have done in the first place

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for people who are starting out don't have alot of money started with Floresent lights or CFLs but for the price of the $30 I would just stay with CFLs from start to harvest

Why does your box have to be cardboard? Can't you just buy some wood, and make a box that's a bit more fireproof?

Nocturn3 said:

Why does your box have to be cardboard? Can't you just buy some wood, and make a box that's a bit more fireproof?

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I tried that, I couldn't fit the pieces of wood into the basement. So I cut them all in half and tried again, I got the wood down there but I was trying to fasten all the pieces of cut up wood together and it was a bloody mess. So I just stashed the wood in the corner. If I were able to fit something bigger and safer down that basement hole, believe me I would.

Even the carboard boxes had to be colapsed to make it into the basement