First Timer Light Question

hi all its my first post and i've read alot of the GrowFAQs and been through about 31 pages of posting. i do still have questions.

i plan to grow about 2 small plants no bigger then 3 feet when done flowering

currently germinating with 2 Philips Plant and Aquarium 18" Fluorescent lights - 15 watts, 2700K, 500 lumens

was wondering what kind of lighting i need, i would like to stick to CFL if possible and how much do i need of it.

questions are
how much watts/lumens/spectrum i need for the next few stages - veg, maturing, budding.

Thanks again

ur using light for germinating? the seeds should be in a warm dark wet place.

use as much lighting as u possibly can. theres no limit.

lol thats not what i meant, sorry im not very good at the lingo but, its planted, it just hasnt came out of the soil yet, already finished germinating........my box im building it in is 3ftx2ftx1ft (heightxlengthxdepth)

i already had these two lights so i thought id use them until i see a little sprout come out of the soil.

my plan was for 3 CLF's at 27 watts and they would be positioned around the plants in a triangle, with the two 15watt lights above, would that be enough?

what sort of strain ae you going to grow?

the lights you stated should grow a small plant fine, not as much yeild as a hps light but still enough for you first time round.

im sure others will forward there views to.

my friend just hooked me up with some seeds he didnt want, i dont know the strain.
for the flowering stage though, i was thinking of adding 2 warm lights would that be bad?
But do you think you can estimate a yield? on a 3ft flowered plant

oh btw thanks alot for the quick helpful posts

cfls are perfect for veg. im not to sure about the small ones and low wattage ones. i used ecolite 125w last time.

sorry i couldnt tell you what sort of production you would have as i havent completed a grow yet, i have learnt what i know from others on here. why not say about 7 - 14 grams, could be less could be more. you will get a nice smoke though no doubt.

no adding warm colour lights will not harm anything. what kind of lights are they?

lol no worries, i say keep trying i bet you will get it.
But i just had a brainfart and i thought about it i am growing only 2 small 3ft plants at a time and ill be lucky if both are female. i just thought since im already using CFL's and my budget is dead since i smoked so much last week. i just thought of maybe buying a total of 6-8 CFL's at 27watts, plus my grolite, and my 2 Tubed FL's. and just test it.

Would taht work, and what kind of timer would i need to run all of thsoe lights.

Thanks alot again

yeh that should work out fine thats 200+ watts plus your tubes and growlights.

you need a timer like this 24 HOUR PLUG IN MAINS TIMER/CLOCK HOME SECURITY - BNIP- on eBay, also, Other Safety Security, Safety Security, Home Garden (end time 02-Oct-08 12:53:55 BST)

thats a cheap one but you can get more expensive if you like.

have you started your seeds yet?

yeah i already germinated them, i planted them this afternoon.
also im working on the lighting the next two days and was wondering how and what do i need to wire the CFL's into one wall plug or what is the best way....because both my growlight and the two FL's are wall outlet plugins so i dont need to wire it.
only problem is i dont really know the light cycle that well yet still looking at guides
but i think i got an idea could you correct me if im wrong
24hr light during veg
16/8 during maturing?
12/12 during flowering?

u can use 24/0, 20/4, 18/6 for veg. 12/12 is for flowering.

most used light schedule is 18/6 for vegging and 12/12 for flowering.

not sure where you got the middle part from

bad sources hahahhaa, but thanks alot for the help. i got everything in mind now all i need is to figure out how to wire 6 CFL's into a single wall outlet plug

Fyfe said:

most used light schedule is 18/6 for vegging and 12/12 for flowering.

not sure where you got the middle part from

Click to expand...

because thats a vegging cycle. it can be done using that. it can be done using 21/3 if u wish...

sorry i never explained what i misunderstood, it came across that he was going to use thre diffrent light schedules, veg then something else (i forget already stupid short term memory) then flowering.

EDIT: that was it maturing.

smokeh said:

because thats a vegging cycle. it can be done using that. it can be done using 21/3 if u wish...

Click to expand...

lol i think he was talking to me about adding an extra dealio in the middle haha
i called it veg - maturing - flowering, but i just realized maturing and flowering are the same hahahha my bad

conversation to confusing now

so anyway, i hope the grow goes well. are you going to keep us updated with pics? we all like pics on here

you bet as soon as i get my camera back from home ill make a thread

anything sprouted yet?

maturing isn't a stage, it's vegetation from sprout to flower. you can do either 24 hour or 16/8, don't matter, some people say there is some change