Total newb in need of some flowering/lighting help!!!

J

jon cooley

Member
Ok so I'm brand new at growing so please excuse me if I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Ok so here's the deal, I'm growing one plant (OG Rascal) in a box thats 2 ft wide by 2.5 ft deep by 3 ft tall. My clone is a foot tall now so I'm gonna start flowering her due to my limited space. My question is this, I just bought a 150w hps bulb and ballast kit, is all I need to power the hps bulb the ballast?? Or are there other things I need to buy to power it? Also, will the 150w hps be enough light?? I'm also putting 2- 20 Watt 2700k cfl bulbs on all four sides of the plant, will this be enough to flower? too much?? Any feedback is EXTREMELY appreciated! Thanks everyone!
 
YungMoolaBaby

YungMoolaBaby

Well-Known Member
Plug the bulb into the ballast, and then into a light timer which goes to an outlet. Yes that will be enough light but you better have some good ventilation or it will get hot very fast.
 
J

jon cooley

Member
Thanks, I really appreciate the help. Yea I figured that's heat might become an issue, would you recommend usuing a 100w hps instead?
Or would that not make enough of a difference?
 
Snow Crash

Snow Crash

Well-Known Member
Ventilation is key.

You have all you need, plenty of light, but I'd suggest a Phillips TruColor Ceramic Metal Halide bulb in place of the HPS. Also, Day light spectrum cfl bulbs with the HPS would be a better combination of light spectrum. You want red and blue if you can, not red and more red-orange.

Keep your temperatures beneath 85 or you'll have major issues. 76 is about ideal. The only way to do that is to vent the heat and circulate in fresh air.
 
grobofotwanky

grobofotwanky

Well-Known Member
You will also need a reflector and a socket. That light isn't gonna do much for a plant that will finish at 3 feet + after the stretch. I suggest you start getting her trained and tied down now. Once you get a nice even canopy of tops, throw them in flower. Give me a shout if you need anymore help getting going. Good luck
 
J

jon cooley

Member
Thanks grobofotwanky, would I be ok to make my own reflector out of thin sheet metal?
And do you think its worthless to flower with this short of plant? What if I get the hps as close as I can
To the plant without burning it? Would that cut down on stretching?
 
J

jon cooley

Member
Sorry for another question, but when you say "trained and tied down" what do you mean? How would I go about doing that?
 
L

lee johnson

Member
jon cooley said:
ok so i'm brand new at growing so please excuse me if i have no idea what i'm talking about.
Ok so here's the deal, i'm growing one plant (og rascal) in a box thats 2 ft wide by 2.5 ft deep by 3 ft tall. My clone is a foot tall now so i'm gonna start flowering her due to my limited space. My question is this, i just bought a 150w hps bulb and ballast kit, is all i need to power the hps bulb the ballast?? Or are there other things i need to buy to power it? Also, will the 150w hps be enough light?? I'm also putting 2- 20 watt 2700k cfl bulbs on all four sides of the plant, will this be enough to flower? Too much?? Any feedback is extremely appreciated! Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
to get good result you want at least 400 to 600w of lighting for that small space.also you will nedd a contactor,it is also called a relay its to plug your light into,then you will need timers ans also extracter fans(2) and a good carbon filter.....not cheap but worth it in the end......roll on
 
L

lee johnson

Member
jon cooley said:
sorry for another question, but when you say "trained and tied down" what do you mean? How would i go about doing that?
Click to expand...
you want to control or stabilze the plant so if a flower gets heavy it will be tied in to the main shaft of plant where you should have a stake also to stabilize the plant,do the stake early so as not to hurt any roots........roll on
 
L

lee johnson

Member
jon cooley said:
thanks grobofotwanky, would i be ok to make my own reflector out of thin sheet metal?
And do you think its worthless to flower with this short of plant? What if i get the hps as close as i can
to the plant without burning it? Would that cut down on stretching?
Click to expand...
if you think your tops are going to burn just put your hand obove the plant for 30 seconds and if it feels hot to you then it is too hot for the plant................roll on
 
grobofotwanky

grobofotwanky

Well-Known Member
Keeping the hps as close a possible is key, but all plants stretch when flowering is induced. Just a matter of how much. Some 15%, some 75%. By tied down, I mean to use the bending and securing of branches to shape it and reduce its overall height. Read up on LST and supercropping. As far as reflectors go, check HERE and the DIY section.
 
brownbearclan

brownbearclan

Active Member
Sounds like you're all set just watch those temps/airflow with a HPS they put out a shit ton of heat. =)

lee johnson said:
to get good result you want at least 400 to 600w of lighting for that small space.also you will nedd a contactor,it is also called a relay its to plug your light into,then you will need timers ans also extracter fans(2) and a good carbon filter.....not cheap but worth it in the end......roll on
Click to expand...
A 400-600W HPS in a 2'x2'x3' space might get you a housefire. That's wayyyyyy overkill for that small of a space with only one plant and frankly some pretty bad advice imo. No clue what this guy is rambling on about a 'contactor' but if you've purchased a complete lighting system it will come with a ballast, all the cords, bulb and some sort of reflector and socket setup. Maybe they meant a surge protector to plug your ballast into? Anyway...
 
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