Help with Lights please!

I am about to plant 5 barneys blue cheese seeds and am growing this indoors in soil. i am wondering if any1 can help me with the lights and amount of watts i should buy....also if anyone knows for this strain if i should put it under 12/12 lighting or 18/6 hour lighting..any info would b greatly appreciated !!

Depends on your budget... You can go with cfl's on the cheap... Or get a MH/HPS system....

whats the cost of both? and i have no idea what either of those mean haha sorry im new to growin i that what the lights are called?

Do some research... It's very important you get the proper lighting...

Here's a couple informative threads...

https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-fluorescent-lighting/107992-tutorial-growing-cfls.html

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/449721-revised-edited-ultimate-noob-guide.html

If you want something simple for you and your grow tent roll with some CFL 6400k or 5000k spectrum light bulbs. These are cheaper and work well and produce less heat. If you want to do the research and have the cash go for MH/HPS system like Kmkrsh said; They work much better. When i mean research look up how many watts you are going to use and how you are going to keep the system cool. Inline fans and what not. There is a lot to do when it comes to MH/HPS systems and it's good to educate your self befor jumping in. On the other hand like i said you can get CFL 23 or 42 watt bulbs and have relatively low heat and fit many bulbs in a small area. Dont just jump the gun on planting your seeds. Do some research and it will pay off i promise you.

crsokker8 said:

whats the cost of both? and i have no idea what either of those mean haha sorry im new to growin i that what the lights are called?

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Ebay the lights for costs-----CFL(compact flourescents) HPS (High Pressure Sodium) MH (Metal halide) T5 flourescents.....

You have a lot of things to consider when starting to consider lighting, ie.. how much space do you have available LxWxH? Where is it going to be grown, tent, closet, seperate room in your house?

How much Are you wanting to yield? Are you just wanting enough to get you through till the next crop or medicate for awhile?

Sounds to me like you have alot of research to do....but have no fear we are here to help? There are some really good guys on here with alot of different experience and will offer different advice....I love it cause I have 10 yrs of exp and still learn something new!!!! Good luck!! And remember the only stupid question is the one you dont ask!!

well how much can you afford to spend on lighting and fans, etc?

cfls are the cheapest but also the least effective. if you use cfls you wont get lots of bud and you'll have to plant in small containers as you cant grow 5 plants in 5gal buckets with just a few cfls.

HID lighting (metal halide and high pressure sodium: aka mh and hps) are gonna be the most bang for your buck but will cost more electricity to run and also require the use of my fans, heat control, etc. HID lights are the most effective as far as growing plants go. you can get them in various wattage ratings...from as low as 70-150w all the way up to 1000w-1500w.

If you just want to plant the 5 in 1 gal pots you could get away with some cfls but it wont yield much. a 400w-600w HPS light would allow you to plant them in 3 gal pots and you'd get a much bigger yield.

HPS is about twice as efficient as CFLs.

you can buy them from htgsupply.com

heres a link to their systems rating between 150-250w. this would be good for a beginner. http://htgsupply.com/Category-250---175---150-Watt-Magnetic-Grow-Light-Systems.asp

heres some of their 400w systems http://htgsupply.com/Category-400-Watt-Magnetic-Grow-Light-Systems.asp

just play around on the site and take a look. they have all different ones. alternatively you could go down to home depot or lowes and get a few packs of 23w cfls that are either 6500K or 2700K (5000K and 2200K is ok but nothing in the 3xxxK-4xxxK range is a good idea) and a few power strips and you'll be good to go for much cheaper.

once you get the hang of it with cfls (if thats the way you decide to go) then you'll probably want to move up to HPS as you'll be getting more lumens for your $$ (btw. more lumens = more buds pretty much)

Thanks everyone for the help it is much appreciated. i am going to be doing this in a closet area about 6x6, and have 5 plants. the cost shouldnt be an issue i have about 500 bucks left to buy all the suplies necesary such as lighting, nutrients, and soil. i would like to get something that will provide me with a good yield and medicate me for a month or 2. this is my first grow and would like to use lights that would be easy to use while sitll gettin the job done?

and yes i would like to use the MH/HPS method i will just need to figure out how to set it up in a closet with a fan if thats possible and figure out how to keep the right temperature

Something like this would be good for that space... Definately get a couple months worth...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/600W-DIGITA...197?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae19e3f8d

or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/600W-DIGITA...197?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae19e3f8d

Just some ideas...

if you have $500 then thats easily enough for a 600w light. be warned though you'll need fans. intake/exhaust. ie. good ventilation as HPS lights do give off a good amount of heat. also you have to keep the light roughly 12-18 inches away from the tops of the plants or you'll burn them.

its a good idea to have an intake, an exhaust and at least one fan blowing over the top of the canopy (that will further help keep the heat off the plants while keeping the light as close as possible)

htgsupply has a 600w digital ballast system for like $220-250. soil wont be too high. if you want you can get a bag (a lil over 10 gal worth) for $20 or less easy. nutes wont be much either...maybe $30-40 at the absolute most for the basics.

if you're new to growing i swear by fox farm ocean forest and/or light warrior w/ maybe some added perlite (home depot sells it for cheap in a huge light green bag for like 15 bucks). becareful to mix the perlite in a well ventilated area as you dont want to ingest the dust particles.

for nutes i also swear by fox farm. on their website they have a feed chart that is pretty much fool proof. you dont need all of their products. you could get away with their "grow big" and "tiger bloom" only if you wish. big bloom would be a nice one to get too if you feel like blowing an extra $15-$20).

fox farm is generally only available at hydro stores or online. you wont find it at home depot, lowes, walmart, etc. same goes for their soil.

whatever you do don't use miracle grow or the cheap soil at home depot/lowes because changes are it has bugs or will grow mushrooms ,etc.

crsokker8 said:

Thanks everyone for the help it is much appreciated. i am going to be doing this in a closet area about 6x6, and have 5 plants. the cost shouldnt be an issue i have about 500 bucks left to buy all the suplies necesary such as lighting, nutrients, and soil. i would like to get something that will provide me with a good yield and medicate me for a month or 2. this is my first grow and would like to use lights that would be easy to use while sitll gettin the job done?

Click to expand...

Well with only 500 bucks left I would use T5 flourescents, get 1 or 2, 4ft 4bulb fixtures with yo yo's, www.htgsupply.com and may want to look at their nute packages as well FoxFarm or Root organics are both good iin my opinion, you can get both spectrum bulbs from them as well. They also have a 4ft 8 lamp fixture that is badass also, to me this would give you the best environment to control heat as well plus give enough money to invest in some odor control

PapaSmoke81 said:

Well with only 500 bucks left I would use T5 flourescents, get 1 or 2, 4ft 4bulb fixtures with yo yo's, www.htgsupply.com and may want to look at their nute packages as well FoxFarm or Root organics are both good iin my opinion, you can get both spectrum bulbs from them as well. They also have a 4ft 8 lamp fixture that is badass also, to me this would give you the best environment to control heat as well plus give enough money to invest in some odor control

Click to expand...

This is not plug for HTG its just who I use because there is no hydro stores around me.

thank u both i am learnign alot haha this is very helpful.....cfl's sound to me like i shuld use them for my first time since they seem alot easier and a little cheaper. Will cfl's still grow my plants good? i am hoping to get an ounce out of each plant if possible i have the blue cheese. and in another closet if possible as well i have 8 autoflowering seeds. will cfl still work with a 24 hour autoflower setup? and if i use the cfl's in the closet with the blue cheese i wont need a fan correct? i will only need light, cfl, nutes, soil? sooo many questions sorry guys but thanks for all the help!

you'll probably want fans regardless if you use HID or not. You want good air circulation otherwise in flowering you could get mold easily if your humidity is too high w/ little to no air flow.

also a fan helps simulate wind which will cause the plants to grow thicker stems/branches to support the buds during flowering (otherwise the plant could bend or "lay down" once buds develop because they cannot hold the weight)

cfls would be ideal for auto flowers. remember autos flower no matter you light schedule so your lights will run around 20-24hrs a day. with regular beans they need 18/6 (18 hrs on 6 hrs off) for veg or better (ie. 20/4 24/0) and to flower they will have to get 12hrs of light and 12hrs of uninterrupted darkness everyday.

getting 1oz per plant from 5 plants under cfls is do able but you'll have to have a very good grow (unlikely on your first try).

you'd need lots of cfls for 5 plants. you figure you'll need 4 for just 1 plant (you need 100w of light not equivalent) so thats at least 4 26w cfls per plant. you'd be using 500w for 5 plants to get an oz each where if you get a HID you will double your yield for the same amount of electricity being used.

imo it'll be worth it to cop the hid from the jump.

you dont have to use a 600. if you prefer a 400 or 250 would be fine. my advice is use 2gal pots if use a 400 and 1gal pots if u use a 250.

generally a 400w = 4 plants in 3 gal pots. a 250 for 2 or 3 plants....a 600 is good for 6 plants in 3 gal pots etc.

smaller pots = more plants...bigger pots = fewer plants.

so id use the cfls for autos and an hid for your blue cheese.

Thank you so much themanwiththeplan all this help is really great. last question was for the regular beans are u tryin to say i need to grow it on 18/6,,,then switch it to 12/12 once i start seeing flowers budding? thanks!

regular as in the blue cheese

crsokker8 said:

thank u both i am learnign alot haha this is very helpful.....cfl's sound to me like i shuld use them for my first time since they seem alot easier and a little cheaper. Will cfl's still grow my plants good? i am hoping to get an ounce out of each plant if possible i have the blue cheese. and in another closet if possible as well i have 8 autoflowering seeds. will cfl still work with a 24 hour autoflower setup? and if i use the cfl's in the closet with the blue cheese i wont need a fan correct? i will only need light, cfl, nutes, soil? sooo many questions sorry guys but thanks for all the help!

Click to expand...

I'm rocking a t5 2' 8 bulb setup right now and i love it. It covers a good area. You could get a t5 setup and add a few cfls in and around your plants and you will be surprised by the results. t5 = canopy coverage while cfl = penetration by putting them any place that needs lights. At the end of the day though I wish i would of gotten a MH/HPS setup, but i didn't have the cash at the time. If you get a 600w HPS system that is a damn good amount of lumens

how far should i keep the t5 and cfl's away fro the plant inchees wise?