Indoor lighting Questions

[DirtDevil]

Been growing outdoor for years but its time for a change. I know the basics but I would like to know what kind of light to use for a small indoor grow in a 4 x 3/ 1/2 closet in which I plan on growing 3-5 small plants that will be about 2 feet tall. I plan to crop them to keep them short then bud them all very well. I would like to use fluorescents because they are not as hot and burn less energy, can someone please tell me how many watts I will needs or if perhaps I Should go with an HPS light in stead in which case I would like to know how to avoid burning my house down. Any other random indoor tips would be appreciated- DD-

 

[DeoXy]

Hey Dirt... welcome to the forgiving indoors lol

well for a seedling/clone/early veg light that is BOTH $ saving and very well performing would be a T5 system... I run a 6bulb 4ft T5 system... they come in different sizes of coarse.. saves good $ early in.. then I would go with EITHER a 400 watt HPS, or go with what I got.. a lumatek digital 600watt HPS system thats dimable all the way down to 360watts depending on your lighting conditions/needs(best investment I've made) I'm growing in an area sim. to what your trying to do - 2x4ft tent with a little less than 7ft of clearance.. and it's worked out gr8 for me.. my costs are low and with proper grow tech. it can produce you a nice crop.. safely indoors... keep the cords off the ground and away from water... get a reflector that has tempered glass pref. which will protect your bulb and help manage heat if air cooled.. aslong as your wiring isn't rigged and with proper vent. you will be good to go w/o much if any worry/concern

Any other ?'s feel free to ask... GL bro.

 

[ibjamming]

Look through the grow diaries for a grow like you want to do...read, copy, and ask questions as necessary.

 

[DirtDevil]

DeoXy- thanks for your kind reply and sharing of knowledge.

ibjamming- I've been here a while you don't need to tell me I can browse. I asked a specific question so I could get a specific answer, I don't think I'm using up too much bandwidth with my thread so chill.


any more tips would be much appreciated by anyone thank you!!

 

[stillsmokin843]

Deoxy was on pont with the t5 you can put the lights a couple of inches from plant. The when ready for flower pound the with 600. Also one thing ya might want to get is yo yo's for your lights.

 

[DirtDevil]

Deoxy was on pont with the t5 you can put the lights a couple of inches from plant. The when ready for flower pound the with 600. Also one thing ya might want to get is yo yo's for your lights.

by 600 you mean a 600 watt HPS right? And by Yo Yo's you mean a set up where I can raise and lower the lights to keep them just a couple inches from the tops of the plants? right?


Will a t-5 work for budding? or must I use hps? I would really like to stick to flouros if they are capable of budding a plant.

 

[someotherguy]

high man, welcome to indoor growing.

like DeoXy said, T5's can do a very nice job, even
flowering with them can produce good results, but,
lol, there is a better alternative if you want to go
the fluoro route.

here is a link i think you will enjoy reading and in
the thread you will find many links to suppliers,
grower threads and all the wiring info you need.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=132787PLL Club. (if you don't know, now you know)

what they are is a relatively new type of CFL, one that
is remote ballasted so most of the heat can be removed
from the grow space.

also, they are readily available in bulbs ranging from
2700K up to 6500K and, with some digging around,
you can even find them at 1900K and 10000K so you
can really tweak the spectrum you deliver to your girls.

personally, i have a 2 foot T5 that runs 4x24watt bulbs
for a total of 96watts in my mother box and i get very
good growth with it but if i'd discovered PL-L's first i'd have
gone with them as i have 4x 55watt PL-L's in my clone
box and they are only 23 inch's long so i'd have been able
to run 220watts in the same physical space as my T5 takes
up.

lol, then there is CMH to consider, something i'm just now
upgrading my flower box to as i have seen many growers
using them and getting very impressive results.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=72215Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

sorry to cloud the issue even more for you but i think
you'll be glad if you take the time to read both these
threads before you throw down on ANY light.

hope this helps, SOG

 

[Daffy]

He means a 600w HPS.

 

[ibjamming]

No need for the temper big man...

You've got some pretty basic questions that can be answered by looking at just a few actual "closet" grows...

You go right along and reinvent the wheel...

Good luck!

 

[woodie1369]

I flower in a spot that is 2ftX2ft.X7ft. tall at most. I veg under a 4fixture bathroom vanity light with 4 of those screw in splitters so that is 8 23 watt cfls that is a total of 184 watts veg when it is flower time im move them under a 250 watt hps from htgsupply.I must say that this has been doing me good for the past year almost .
I bought a brand new 400 watt from texashydro last year set it up and had to battle the heat this way here i have a couple of 6inch fans blowing directly on the bulbs and it is holdig under 84 degrees in the summer so i cant complain one bit.

hope this helps and gives some insight for you???
I have a few pics in my albums to look at if you like???

 

[DeoXy]

by 600 you mean a 600 watt HPS right? And by Yo Yo's you mean a set up where I can raise and lower the lights to keep them just a couple inches from the tops of the plants? right?
Will a t-5 work for budding? or must I use hps? I would really like to stick to flouros if they are capable of budding a plant.

This is correct.. to make it simple the yoyo's or pulley's as their called are sold in pairs for like $20(hydrofarm).. they are retractable(perfect for precise positioning)... easier than chains and hooks.. but make sure you dont exceed the weight limit.. my set have a 30lb limit which is more than enough!

Technically YES they will work.. but end product/quality is up in the air.. I think if we could all get great resuallts indoors using nothing but flouro. type lighting we would all ditch our HPS/MH systems lol.. but it deff. IS possible... just hell of a lot more worth it to go with a 400watt HPS if on budget for flowering.. up to 600watt if you want to get serious.. anything BEYOND 600watts in that small of space is overkill.... and will only offer heat problems w/o much added benefit.

 

[LUDACRIS]

Been growing outdoor for years but its time for a change. I know the basics but I would like to know what kind of light to use for a small indoor grow in a 4 x 3/ 1/2 closet in which I plan on growing 3-5 small plants that will be about 2 feet tall. I plan to crop them to keep them short then bud them all very well. I would like to use fluorescents because they are not as hot and burn less energy, can someone please tell me how many watts I will needs or if perhaps I Should go with an HPS light in stead in which case I would like to know how to avoid burning my house down. Any other random indoor tips would be appreciated- DD-

A well cooled 400W HPS.

 

[DirtDevil]

Wow this thread has been very helpful I have a very good idea of what I am going to do now. I will start off with the t-5, then if I can afford an 400 watt HPS I will buy one, from what I see the t-5 in its self is around 189 dollars and the HPS runs near 300. I am not rich by any means. Any good web sites you can order stuff like this off of with a debit card? (t-5 and 400 watt hps?)

 

[DirtDevil]

How does this look for my t-5 should I trust this website?

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics...t4-lamp-t5-fluorescent-grow-light-p-1935.html

 

[DirtDevil]

how about this one
I think I'm going with this one along with the sun lift on that page, will that be all I need to get me through at least the vegetative stage?

http://www.specialty-lights.com/960203.html

 

[someotherguy]

How does this look for my t-5 should I trust this website?

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics...t4-lamp-t5-fluorescent-grow-light-p-1935.html

high man, like i said above, i already have one of these
96watt lights and if i had it to do over again, i'd have
used PL-L's, it would have been less money and more
power! ...i could have been running 220watts in the same
space as that 96watt fixture.

here, check this link out, in it you will find an excellent
how-to by Hydro-Soil with links to ballast suppliers
and bulbs and sockets, ...it'll mean a little more work on
your part but believe me, you won't regret it.

Remote CFL Ballasts....aka PL-L's

here's a couple pics of my little clone box and the light's
i'm talking about, way better than T5's.



btw, that's 220watts in that little clone box.

also, you should really check out that CMH thread i
linked in my first post as i believe it to be superior
to HPS, ...here is a pic of the spectral graph so you
can decide for yourself.



anyway, 4x 55watt PL-L bulbs, a Workhorse 8 ballast
and 4 sockets should cost about $100.00 to $120.00
and that includes shipping.

peace, SOG

 

[shaggy_skunk]

cfl halide and hps

 

[woodie1369]

dirtdevil check out htg supply.com 400watter with hood bulb ballst and cords just plug in and pplay and way under 300 dollars more like 119.99 or something along these lines Iwould go this route and you most likely could get everything from them for around 400 bucks for it all.They have many other things you could use for the cheap.htgsupply.com is the sitealso this site is a1 on shipping plain brown boxes to your door .
I bought their 250watt hps complete hood bulb ballast eveything for 117.90on a monday i sent them a money order i had my light sup and running on friday night.That was about as fast as using a credit card to pay with .
Just looked they have a 2foot 4 bulb h o t 5 for like 115.00 or something like that.
grow stuff can end up costing a shit load if you dont shop around.

 

[someotherguy]

dirtdevil check out htg supply.com 400watter with hood bulb ballst and cords just plug in and pplay and way under 300 dollars more like 119.99 or something along these lines Iwould go this route and you most likely could get everything from them for around 400 bucks for it all.They have many other things you could use for the cheap.htgsupply.com is the sitealso this site is a1 on shipping plain brown boxes to your door .
I bought their 250watt hps complete hood bulb ballast eveything for 117.90on a monday i sent them a money order i had my light sup and running on friday night.That was about as fast as using a credit card to pay with .
Just looked they have a 2foot 4 bulb h o t 5 for like 115.00 or something like that.
grow stuff can end up costing a shit load if you dont shop around.

2 foot PL-L's blow 2 foot T5's away, less money,
more power, no comparison.

and i mean more than double the power, 96watts
compared to 220watts, you do the math.

SOG

 

[Phedrosbenny]

Yeah 300 is way too much for a 400 watt HPS.And I used mine in the same type of space you are talking about using with no real heat issues with just a fan sitting above the light.They have alot of lights for sale on E-bay and you can allways check Craigslist.

Good luck.