Just about to start growing

I have had little experience with growing in general I have help out on outdoor gardens but nothing on indoor ones. I was planning on growing about 4 plants in a closet. I am planning on purchasing this T5 FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT Compact 2' hydroponic TEK CFL - (eBay item 260170239525 end time Oct-20-07 21:00:00 PDT)
and was wondering if that would help me grow 4 or 3 plants to about 3 feet, if not what else would help me out.

I don't know about that lighting but why not spend a few more bucks and get a real light.

http://www.htgsupply.com/growlighttypes.asp?categoryID=1&subcategoryID=155

or go through ebay,

NEW 400 watt HPS Grow Light 400w Hydroponic Sodium Lamp - (eBay item 180157057697 end time Sep-30-07 18:30:00 PDT)

I'm using cfl's because I'm a noob and a cheap bastard but I'm going to get at least a 400w hps for next round.

Good luck with your grow!

If you can afford it I would get both a T5 and an HPS. That T5 setup will be real sweet for vegetative growth, than put them under the HPS come flowering time. Sure to be a winner!!! If both are out of the question, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and pick up( 2 ) 4' shoplights and veg with them, than get the HPS in a month or so.

not to be offensive man but that light looks like a p.o.s. especially for 75 bucks not including shipping. you could grow seedlings with that light. but def not fruiting plants. if you really wanna get your game right go with humboldt's suggestion. step up and get a HID light.

if you cant, go with standard cfl's. i read over the item page and i didnt even see a wattage amount for that light. you need around 100 watts per plant to even think about budding them. for 75 bucks u could rig up probly 200 watts of cfl's easy.

Also you dont wanna go with a mirrored surface in your reflector. this will create hotspots in your garden and mirrors arent very good at reflecting light. the CFL that guy made fun of on that page would be a better choice. you want a kinda a rough pleated surface for your reflector, at least Jorge Cervantes says so, i take his adivice over anything.

just keep researching on what it takes to actually accomplish the task and just soak up whatever knowledge you get. best of luck to ya and i hope i can help.

P.s.- the sun puts off 10,000 lumens per square foot. I have 2 600 watt hps's in a 8x4 area. that comes out to 5625 lumens per square foot but my growth has been amazing. just a little knowledge to think about

So what I am getting from this is that to save money for during the vegetative state I would use a t5 and when I wanted them to 12/12 I would switch over to the HPS light like the one I was linked to from humbolt. So I will be growing my plants from clone's. So what is the best position for the t5 and how should I do it go from the side or go from the top I have read that the optimal distance away from the plant is about 2 to 4 inches. I also wanted to know if that I did stay with the t5 should I use blue for the growth and a red for the blooming?

you are learning quickly young grasshopper. lol yeah man that t5 would work for veg, although u might have some slow growth cause i dunno if that will properly light 3-4 plants but u can try it. yeah keep it 2-4 inches away or as close as you can get it to your plants without burning them. and keep it above them. you could buy some compact fluoresecents from pretty much anywhere now and use those as side lighting. but you want the tips to grow up, not over. yes u want blue for veg and red for bloom. your learning man just keep on reading.

if you cant, go with standard cfl's. i read over the item page and i didnt even see a wattage amount for that light. you need around 100 watts per plant to even think about budding them. for 75 bucks u could rig up probly 200 watts of cfl's easy

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If you haven't bought that light yet I would go with billybob and use the cfl's for veg then switch to hps come flowering.

lol yeah man that t5 would work for veg, although u might have some slow growth cause i dunno if that will properly light 3-4 plants but u can try it.

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He's right, cfl's left on 24/7 will speed up the growth procces quite a bit, that's what I'm doing and it's working.