I need some critiquing for my closet grow.

Hi all, this is my first time on the forums. I am a medical cannabis patient, who was tired of having to travel to the club all the time to get my medicine, or having to talk to sketch people to get my meds as well. I suffer from depression, and I've found that this works better than anything Big-Pharma can provide, without the severe-and I mean severe side-effects.

Now back to the topic at hand, I got some clones from the club eight days ago. I currently am using a 24/0 cycle. I couldn't find the proper soil to transplant (Foxfarm, I'm looking at you.) So I did the noob thing and used miracle grow and topped off with topsoil. The strains are XXX-Chem(x2), Blueberry Cheese(x1), Querkle(x1), all Oaksterdam clones. The seedlings are all some tex-mex shwag That I want to turn into BHO. The closet as you see it utilizes about less than half the space in my closet.

I am using around 250 watts worth of CFL's because I live on a fixed income and can't obtain the proper lights right now. I want to seperate the closet into two chambers for veg/prop and one for flower. They are in my closet, and I know my setup leaves way more to be desired, but Here are some pictures, and any critiques, and constructive criticism would be welcome.
Thanks a bunch in advance guys.

looks fine.. you prob should box off the area around the cfls to contain the light.. other than that... get a HID

Is that 250 watt equivalent or actual 250 watts? Your cfls look kinda small like 50 watt equivalents. Might be why you are getting some stretch. I'd get another small fan also for the floor so you can blow some fresh air in and onto the plants. It will help strengthen the stems as well as provide more air exchange. Looks like you got a good start though.

PS: I don't think your current lighting is gonna support all those plants. Might wanna look into a cheap HID system. 250 or 400 watt.

Yeah, they are 50 watt equivalents, I don't know how all that lighting math works with conversion from incandescent to CFL. This light is until I can buy a proper one in a couple weeks. How much on average does HID cost to run? Could I use CFL Floods like these? http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Light-Bulbs-Compact-Tube-Fluorescents-Compact-Fluorescents/EcoSmart/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5ZbmatZ4b8/R-100687002/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Build my own light fixture boxes with several of these, or would that be a no-no and I should just breakdown and get the MH, or HPS lights. My expectations of yield are somewhat realistic, about 1/2oz a plant or a little less.

make the switch to hps, it's worth the price and you'll get your money back in the long run. i'm on a fixed budget too, but my 250w hps were worth every penny
cfls produce tall skinny plants with whispy buds

NoviceGrower1986 said:

Yeah, they are 50 watt equivalents, I don't know how all that lighting math works with conversion from incandescent to CFL. This light is until I can buy a proper one in a couple weeks. How much on average does HID cost to run? Could I use CFL Floods like these? http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Light-Bulbs-Compact-Tube-Fluorescents-Compact-Fluorescents/EcoSmart/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5ZbmatZ4b8/R-100687002/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Build my own light fixture boxes with several of these, or would that be a no-no and I should just breakdown and get the MH, or HPS lights. My expectations of yield are somewhat realistic, about 1/2oz a plant.

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Replace the bulbs you are currently using with something like this:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/42-Watt-Compact-Fluorescents/1086/

You need to go by the actual wattage not the equivalent.

HPS is not expensive to run. A 1000 watt hps uses 1 kilowatt hour per hour. A kilowatt is 1000 watts. This is the unit at which your electric company charges. Look on your bill and it will tell you how much you pay for 1 kilowatt. Multiply that times the number of hours the light will be on and that is your cost per day to run a 1000 watt lamp.

EX:
Lets say your cost is .25c per kw hour.
400 watt bulb running 12 hours a day = 4.8 kilowatt hours per day. 400*12=4800watts
4.8kw * .25 = $1.20 per day.
$1.20 per day * 30 days = $36.00 dollars a month to run a 400watt HPS.

Thanks a bunch for the invaluable advice, I will definitely take it into consideration. I'll keep you guys posted as I improve my setup, HPS sounds good, if it means a bigger return. For those that use soil, what kind of soil(less) mix/nutes do you use? I have the Cannabis Growers Bible, but it's frankly not a very detailed book for the grow process, just the basic outline of a grow. Thanks again guys. You are all truly helpful, and right now, I need all the help I can get! If there is anything more you guys want to add go right on ahead, brothers and sisters.


PS: Majek, I didn't know the soldier smoked weed. Haha.

Whats ur ventilation like other then the one fan? If you are going to make a switch to hps, you need lots of ventilation (they get super hot!). I'd say stick with cfl's for now, way cooler

NoviceGrower1986 said:

Thanks a bunch for the invaluable advice, I will definitely take it into consideration. I'll keep you guys posted as I improve my setup, HPS sounds good, if it means a bigger return. For those that use soil, what kind of soil(less) mix/nutes do you use? I have the Cannabis Growers Bible, but it's frankly not a very detailed book for the grow process, just the basic outline of a grow. Thanks again guys. You are all truly helpful, and right now, I need all the help I can get! If there is anything more you guys want to add go right on ahead, brothers and sisters.


PS: Majek, I didn't know the soldier smoked weed. Haha.

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Im using Fox Farms Ocean Forest for soil.. Im using just FFOF but I know people mix it with other stuff as well.. And also FF Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom are nice nutes.. Get the trio if you plan on vegging for awhile

Go get some 42 watt CFLs, dont buy the 65 watt CFLs, ur better off just doubling up on the 42s and getting a bigger fan..

grapesnowcone said:

Go get some 42 watt CFLs, dont buy the 65 watt CFLs, ur better off just doubling up on the 42s and getting a bigger fan..

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That sounds like a pretty good solution for what I'm trying to do. I don't want to tear up my apartment and clutter it up more that it already is with ducting and possibly causing a fire with the hot lights. What did you use to build your light box Snow Cone?

try putting something under ur plants thats some stretch...also get a fan on them...

canadian said:

Whats ur ventilation like other then the one fan? If you are going to make a switch to hps, you need lots of ventilation (they get super hot!). I'd say stick with cfl's for now, way cooler

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+1, you will cook them under that lamp.