Fluorescent vs. sodium?

Fluorescent lights seems to be able to grow without the heat, and can acheive high enough lumens for flowering.

What are the pro's and con's of different lighting systems?

I am most interested in learning about small grow-box conditions, which is why I am considering Fluorescent lights.

This is what stands out to me most about these fluorescents:

"(CFL) Compact Florescent Light bulbs can give you light at the fraction of the Power consumption of a conventional incandescent bulbs and cut way back on the amount of HEAT produced especially in a enclosed or small space."

Any thoughts?

Fluorescents SUCK for flowering....they are fine for seedlings and vegging.....

Just so you know, T5s do generate heat. I built my vegging/Clone room into a closet at 78 dg ambient temp with the circ fan off the temps reach into the high 80s. So just be aware that you will need some sort of ventilation in your box. But nothing compared to a HPS that needs a dedicated system to evacuate heat far away.

Also, you can use a HPS in a very enclosed space, the bloomboxes and all those really expensive portable grow cabinets use HPS lights along with an efficent ventilation system to keep temps at acceptable levels.

With the right amount of planning you can make anything work, again it depends on a lot of factors. Really the biggest diff between T5s and HPS for me (seriously) is the noise, the t5 is absolutely dead silent and can be in my bedroom if I wanted, the HPS ballast gives off quite a bit of noise, not unlike a refrigerator compressor.

So what about LED's?

At CannabisCulture forums I see a lot of people talking about LED's, and I've found some really nice ones for sale on the net.

Can I expect a good quality harvest, with stoney buds if I use a good set of LED's?

Also, what is the science behind the red lights and the blue lights? Is there a particular formula to use?

Thanks!

No LEDS will not make buds. PERIOD. you will so fucking pissed if you get suckered into buying leds.

if heat is your concern the T5's are not much different than 400watt HPS.

GET THE 400 watt HPS light you will never regret it.

i use gro-lux for veg and heat lamp for flowering.

jlang309 said:

i use gro-lux for veg and heat lamp for flowering.

Click to expand...

Did you just say you use a HEAT LAMP for flowering????

in short..

floros are good for small, stealth, low budget grows. they are good if you are new or have limited space or ventilation. they will produce good buds if you use them right, you MUST keep them close and you must have enough lights..

hps are better for grows always if you have a large grow, and money to jump right in with a decent investment. they WILL out perform cfls or t5's hands down. they require more ventilation. and more space. and more money to get started.

in my oppinon thats how it breaks down. this question should deff be in the 101 already asked questions thing, cuz i see it so much..

Ery

Check the cfls forum, and see the final results with cfls for flowering ..

Ok, thanks for the warning on the LEDs. I've saw a lot of talk about them, I just wasn't sure.

CFLS seems like the way to go for my situation. Thanks again! Peezzout!