Lighting/newbie

[trying2growmyown]

OK, so kharma has blessed and cursed me, the shower in my apartment broke (dont worry i can still shower downstairs), but i now have an indoor space to work with. its about 3.5' x 3.5' x 9'. so plans have changed.
i originaly germinated 5 bagseeds and transfered to a 5 gl potters pot with organic soil, it was orginally going to be an outdoor grow but now, lighting has become an issue. i have electricity readily available but....ha ha the puzzle is lighting. i've heard of c.f.l.'s and h.p.s. and l.e.d.'s and all sorts of stuff. basicallly i need to know (keep in mind i am going to walk into a hardware store to get this "light/bulb") for 4-5 soll plans, what kind of bulb should look for? my plan is to rig a device to hold the bulbs but i just dont know what to get, and if you could please put it in laymens terms haha i'm a chef, far from from an electrician/botanist.
thankyou-----!
**one**

 

[mambokabui]

Growing in an apartment...is that safe?

I think any hps lights at a hardware store will take at least some wiring knowledge. remember hps will need a ballast.
I dont like cfl for flowering but enough of them and you should be ok.
they will be the easy way to go.

Take a look at the hps yard lights at the hardware store. check to see if it plugs in or does it need to be hardwired. open box and look at the wires and directions if you feel like you can wire it up go for that.

 

[sTOKEd]

looks like stealth is probably needed in your situation so I'd prob lean towards CFLs - these generate bugger-all heat, which means you don't need big, noisy fans to deal with heat issues.

If you use CFLs you can get away with using a silent 120mm PC fan for ventilation.

If you do go down the CFL path you'll want to reduce your grow space to something like 2'L x 2'W x 4"H because you'd need tonnes of them for all that space.

If heat/noise/stealth aren't issues then throw a 400w HPS in there.

 

[trying2growmyown]

ok this may sound really amature but how do i ask the hardware store people about these lights without giving away that i'm growing something special? what other uses are these lights for that i could use as an excuse??

 

[mambokabui]

Any cfl light will be used in any house light to save money on electric bill so no questions will come up from that. You will need a socket with a plug on it for these. The socket can be used for a shop light no questions should come up from that purchase.

The hps will be used in the yard so ask help for a yard light to stop the kids from cutting through your yard at night

 

[sTOKEd]

Make sure you pay cash for all these items too - don't go sticking them on your card!

 

[SilverRabbit]

Thats the worst place to buy H.I.D. lights.. they get super hot and waste electricity. Your better off finding a couple of T8 fluorescent light fixtures.. 4 foot ones that can fit two lamps. The lamps are the bulbs and you can buy them at the hardware store. Or you can order special grow bulbs online but they are usually $10 bucks a lamp. Remember you get what you paid for.. so don't buy crappy ghetto rigged lights because thats what you'll get ghetto crappy bud.

 

[SilverRabbit]

Make sure you pay cash for all these items too - don't go sticking them on your card!

It doesn't matter.. gardening isn't a crime. Thousands of people actually buy this stuff for other reasons than just growing weed. I've seen a 2400w hydro system used for growing organic fruits.

 

[Twistyman]

Thats the worst place to buy H.I.D. lights.. they get super hot and waste electricity. Your better off finding a couple of T8 fluorescent light fixtures.. 4 foot ones that can fit two lamps. The lamps are the bulbs and you can buy them at the hardware store. Or you can order special grow bulbs online but they are usually $10 bucks a lamp. Remember you get what you paid for.. so don't buy crappy ghetto rigged lights because thats what you'll get ghetto crappy bud.

As said above...I've seen t5's at 2ft. long each. cost about $45. each blue spectrum. and $20. for red for flowering....small, low heat, pretty cheap....I was amazed how unobtrusive they are..Perfect for an apt....You can't justify a doubling in your power bill in an apt.........

 

[cheetah2007]

Growing in an apartment...is that safe?

I think any hps lights at a hardware store will take at least some wiring knowledge. remember hps will need a ballast.
I dont like cfl for flowering but enough of them and you should be ok.
they will be the easy way to go.

Take a look at the hps yard lights at the hardware store. check to see if it plugs in or does it need to be hardwired. open box and look at the wires and directions if you feel like you can wire it up go for that.

haha why not. also you'll need a ignitor to light the hps. Cheers!!!

 

[sTOKEd]

It doesn't matter.. gardening isn't a crime. Thousands of people actually buy this stuff for other reasons than just growing weed. I've seen a 2400w hydro system used for growing organic fruits.

do those same people post on Marijuana growing-oriented forums asking which lights they should use for growing?

alls I'm sayin is, it can't hurt to be sensible - let's face it, you're average joe walking into his local hydro store and walking out with 100' of panda film and a couple of 1000w HPS lights probably isn't looking to harvest tomatoes.

 

[MrsMcGreggor]

do those same people post on Marijuana growing-oriented forums asking which lights they should use for growing?

Excuse Me!!!!!
but grow lights are NOT just for cannabis anymore...lol
some of us folks were FORCED into this life of social depervation
cuz the people at the garden sights were just useless....
ok ok so I snuck a cannabis in.....
You just made me giggle....
cuz thats a 1000 watter
sorry

 

[sTOKEd]

haha oops - how did they get in there!?

it was that Wascally Wabbit!

 

[twosaws]

i bought a flowering chamber from homegrown hydroponics dont if good or bad but to late.i have a seedling that i transplanted from dirt it is still alive and green but not getting any bigger whats wrong.i'am a newbie

 

[Erysichthon]

someone earlier suggested t8's, thats what i started with great for starting seedlings and small plants. then i upgraded mine since they WILL grow bigger.

i took a basic t8 shop light and cut 3 holes in the metal housing between the 2 tubes. i wired in 1 normal socket and 2 T-shaped sockets in. this accomidated 6 more cfls. then 2 Y splitters on the middle socket and thats up to 7. i wouldnt reccomend a rig like this for anything over 4 small plants or maybe 3 big ones. i had 3 plants and had to kill 2 to cuz the went to over the EVIL MALE SEX. and now my single girl is thriving on all that light.
i think i have about 75$ tied up in this setup now, with lights and the housing. but i got the stuff over time. and for the record if i woulda had the Buds for Less book from the start i woulda went with that setup and still may make me one of those for my next grow, but for now this rig is rolling strong. and if you decide to do something like mine avoid the T sockets just get the normal ones and put Y's on them the T's end up too close to the tubes to put y adapters on, or on mine they did. and i woulda did 4 normal sockets or maybe even more.

heres a pic of the rig minus one of the Y adapters i picked up later, if you wanna see how mine works check my grow journal.

hope it helps,

Ery

 

[twosaws]

thank you but my cabinet was built at homegrown hydroponics and shiped all put to gether so i dont think i can do what you did.should i get different floras mine are 20w hgs by phillups

 

[trying2growmyown]

so do you think 300w cfl will be enough for 5 plants in a 2.5' x 2.5' x 9"? just until i can tell the sex and remove the males.??

 

[Erysichthon]

for a space that small it shouldnt be a problem. more wouldnt hurt though later about the fourth week they will be getting a little large. id recommend flowering no later than 4 weeks with cfls. they just dont get enough light penetration for bigger plants. and flowering early will also help if your limited with space/lights.

Ery