cant afford hps bulbs any good altenative

didnt realize the bulbs and ballasts would cost as much as they do so what would be a good altenative to use when budding until i can afford them

lmao! thats the 1st thing novice growers find out to slow them down. can afford the H.I.D.'s? then go fluorescent. CFL's to more exact. with enough of them in one space you can veg and bloom a cannabis plant with very decent yields. there are certain small indoor growers who use nothing but. (im included)

cfl...floros

sunlight is free
cfls are given away free by many power companies
fluorescent tubes are relatively inexpensive

i find it hard to believe that you live indoors and can't afford HID lighting
if you mean that you can't afford 8 1kwers, i understand, but...

you can prolly get yourself a 250 or 400 watt hps pretty cheap
for veg a few cfls - like 3 per plant will do fine - slow maybe but fine

go get the cfls now
plant seeds
that gives you MINIMUM 3 weeks before you need flowering lights

save money
mow yards
beg

or wait till spring

Natural sun in an undisclosed location in the hills. Otherwise, you can order (if you can get your hands on a 200W or bigger computer power supply) a pair of Xenon bulbs with ballasts for around $50 from Ebay. There are now real 3000K 55W 12v HID systems out there. Just get a kit and 1 to 3 more sets of lights (around $10 each). 2 pairs of 3000K and 2 pairs (mix and match) 4300K -6000K+, or just 1 and 1. I learned the hard way the having spares is beneficial when I accidentally cracked a bulb and was working with only 1 light.

If this works for you then look for H1 lights.

well the ballasts that hold the 400 watt hps bulbs cost $130

I worked my way up to a 1000k. I started with CFL's then my brother-in-law saw what I was doing and how well it was going so he gave me an old crappy 400w ballast, used bulb and and air cooled hood w/blower fan. The ballast crapped out so I bought a nice 400w and with that and the old bulb I grew a harvest that paid for my 1000k set-up. You will need to think about your grow space and how you will keep it cool, secret, etc. You may find that you will have to spend at a minimum of $1000 to set up a decent sized 1000w grow. You can get good deals here and there but it is still very expensive to start out. Good luck.

i got my first grow light 400 watt hps light system for 144.00 with free shipping. came with timer, an extra bulb that is HID and yoyos with a hood and the ballast that runs extremly quiet and doesnt get to hot. wasnt an air cooled hood or anything.. just the metal frame. and works just fine till an upgrade.. just keep it feets away.. and 144 is very affordable.. its by unlti lumnex.. they're not that bad.. but there are better out there. you can probably most likely find it on amazon.com and just put in ulti-lumenx at the search box.

htgsupply.com is where you wanna go 250w ballast reflector and bulb for 117 or a 400w same set up for 120 ive baught all my stuff from the local HTG store great place

but a t5 shop light that costs 10$ at walmart and the bulbs that cost 4$ for a pak of 2 lights to fit.. great for veg growth till saved up for actual light