quick light question

Ok I want to grow only two to three plants at a time and im looking to make as small of a setup as i can i was thinking a big box with tin foil in it or something reflective with two pots (two plants) in it and two lamps in it i have lamps that should be a good size i just don't know what bulbs i should get ive been told flourescent lights so i looked at walmart website and found this:
GE CFL Indoor Floodlight: 26 Watt (90W Equiv), 1-Pk - Wal-Mart

this says: Each bulb uses 26 watts and produces as much light as a conventional 90 watt bulb. This will reduce energy use by more than 71%.

Does this mean this bulb is equivalent to 26 or 90 watts? because if it is 90 watts it is only 10 dollars i will buy 2 or 3 of them based on the chart i saw taht will be close to 5,000 lumens per bulb so two should be enough for two plants right? also I've seen somewhere to use dif. light types for dif. stages of growth is that true? if so what lights are used for which stages? As you can tell im not looking to spend very much money (prefferably less than 40 dollars total) but i think that should be more than enough to grow two decent plants at a time right?

get a TL florecent setup you can even get differnt colors too, blue and red

Spring for 2 more of those lights, you'll be much happier. Ideally you probably want 6-8 for that amount space, but you're on a budget so that's cool. Still though, spring for the extra 2 bulbs.

A 26watt CFL puts out as much light as a 90watt conventional bulb. Therefore, watts does not equal light output. That's why CFL's save you money, because less watts for the same amount of light is better for your energy bill.

People will tell you that foil is no good becuase it will create hot spots, but this won't apply to you if you're using CFL bulbs (people generally don't think about this in their tendancy to regurgitate growing advice). Flat white paint works about as well and smooth walls will reflect light more evenly than wrinkled foil, so keep that in mind.

As far as light spectrums and CFL bulbs, you really don't have much choice if you're on the cheap, so don't worry about it. That's my opinion anyhow...

And regarding bulbs in your price range, CFL's are definitely the way to go.

Get yourself 2-4 more, you'll get a bunch more weed and it will be more fun watching the plant grow.

Good luck.

Either paint the inside of your box flat white or tack a milar survival blanket on the walls of the box. These things reflect light back better than most other methods and cost $2 at Wally-World.

ok thanks for your advice guys..that's actually not the first time i've heard tin foil won't work very good so i'll paint it white instead as for the light's i'll take your advice and get three or four since im not really needing to buy much else..don't you wan't like red light for flowering though that seems important..maybe i should get 3 of those lights and one or two for that? any other advice is appreciated.

If you had the money to get 4 of each color spectrum, assuming you could find them at that wattage, that might be worth it, but since you can't afford to have 8 total bulbs I say just get whatever you can find.

I'd rather see you find a great deal on bulbs and get 5-6 instead of worrying about color spectrums.

how about this i found on ebay i heard that metal halide bulbs are good for growing and i searched and found this:

EYE HORTILUX 1000 watt Metal Halide Grow Light MH Bulb - (eBay item 200181450030 end time Dec-12-07 12:09:10 PST)

it says its 1000 watts and is only 60 dollars..maybe i will buy this instead then only buy one or two more cheap bulbs for the sides? what do you think..it says hydroponics though..does that mean it shouldnt be used for something in soil?

i also found this HPS bulb for only 20 that says 400 watts:
400W 400 Watt Hps Grow Light Bulb Hydroponics Sodium - (eBay item 200181321641 end time Dec-12-07 03:53:00 PST)
maybe i could get one of those then 2 decent bulbs for the sides...let me know people

and as for the color spectrums, i probably won't get involved in that yet, but just out of curiousity how much of a difference does it make and which colors/spectrums are supposed to be used for which stages? thanks

umm for those two bulbs you put links up for you need a ballast and they dont come cheap 400 watt around $100 so if you looking to spend about $50 to $60 yo are gonna want to do either cfl's or floro tubes definitly if you want look at my grow journal i'm gonna have information on a basic cfl setup that you could modify to grow 2 or three plants and it wold cost at most $80 depending on what kind of bulbs you use and what you have laying around, my journal is still in the works as i put it up for someone else that sounds as though they are in the same boat as you when it comes to number of plants and money situation, in the mean time just chill out with some

ok I'm probably gonna sound like an idiot but w/e...what is a ballast and what is it for?

light ballast - an electrical device for starting and regulating fluorescent and high intesnsity discharge lights.

High intensity Discharge lights like High Pressure Sodium or Metal Halide require a ballast, special (larger) socket, and bulb. The links you posted were just the bulbs. Here is a link to a complete HPS light.

400 watt HPS GROW LIGHT SYSTEM w 400w SUN LAMP +BALLAST - (eBay item 180186431528 end time Dec-15-07 19:15:00 PST)

This includes the reflector also.

the color blue is good for the vegging stage and red for flowering, metal halide is known to have a good amount of blue , and high pressure sodium for more red spectrum but if your going flouresant, get TLs best output for your money check them out there real thin compared to the regular floresants for a good price

If you go with flouresents you could also use cfls like alot of people do. Use daylight or "cool white" for vegging and "warm" for flowering. They are cheap, like $5 ea., and you can add more as you go to spread the cost, and they go in a regular household (bulb) socket. I have, in the past, even started plants with a single cfl myself. (But the more the better!)

it matters what you think will be best for your ladies