Which light ?

I have been scanning the internet forums on growing and have learnt alot about what i need to grow the best blaze. -Lots of research on lights
This is a closet grow measuring 3.6-1.5-5.8 feet canvas closet lined with mylar
I have decided that it will be a 4 plant DWC (1 -20 gallon tub) growing using the Scrog method. The plant is either big bang or white widow from greenhouse seeds.
My big problem is what lights to use ?
option 1 -8 6500k 30w cfls about 2500 lumens each give or take and then switch to 2700k 30w cfls for flowering? (apartently they dont have a long life )?
option 2 -250w hps throughout (similar wattage to the combined cfls but more lumens)
option 3 - 400w hps throughout (power grow but scared about energy costs )
option 4 - 6500k cfls 30watt for veg then get a 250/400w hps for flowering
Ps i love the idea of cfls but is it productive ? i would really appreciate any wizdom on the matter as im stuck and want to get growing asap -Happy blazing to all

Hello i think HPS is best way in winter time buy 400w hps.And for summer time out door,or cfl lights....my word.Or hps and gooooooood ventilation.

400w HPS would give you the best results.

As for energy... On veg your HPS will be run 12 hours per day. I pay 6 cents per kilowatt hour. That is 24 cents an hour... over 30 days it add up to be $7... Plus the tiny bit that the cooling and exhaust fans cost... Ive replaced all lights in my house with 13-23 watt CFLs, and even with the AC set to 75 in the 90 degree florida heat, my electric bill is $100 per month.

If im adding my kilowatt hours wrong, sorry, Im... not really sober at the moment. But either way, my electric bill is $100 per month.

The buds from the HPS will be better than the CFLs most of the time. Also, CFLs are actually less efficient in lumens per watt... And they give off as much heat as the equivilent wattage of a HPS or MH, but its over a much wider area, so people tend to ignore it. I love CFLs for veg, I veg all my plants with CFLs. and get some fine stanky hanky.

Let us know what you decide.

This white widow is 1 month from seed. Vegged under ONE 65 watt 5000k cfl. I havent seen the stalk of it since it was a seedling. Vegged at 20/4 for 20 days and on 12/12 for 12 days under a CFL. Switching it to 400 watt hps tomorrow.

It is 18 inches across and 16 inches tall.

You need to keep the CFL right on the plant. I keep mine within an inch, and move it up once in the AM and once at night. I also keep a fan on it to blow off the heat from the CFL to the top doesnt burn. building a CFL fixture that surrounded the plant with multiple small CFLs would be better (or so everyone says) and thats what I usually do, but I wanted to see if it would really make a difference, and the answer is no, for me 1 big cfl right on top gives me the same results as 6x30 watters spread around the plant.

Hope it helps!

Cheers Ender will prob go with the cfl -veg and hps flower- do you think that i will have enough cfls 2 per plant at 2500 lumens. I think our cfl's in the uk are slightly more powerfull becuse we use 240v but im not to sure?
Your widow looks good enough to marry. if my girl looks half as good as that i will be chuffed. ANC

No prob bro, hit me up with any questions you have, ill help as much as I can.

Yeah, 2 bulbs on the plant at 2500 lumens each? That would work well, those are about 30+ watts i would guess?

I had a blueberry under a single 2000 lumen 6400k light and it grew really well, I Flowered it when it was at 1 ft, and it turned out to be male. Not as crazy as my widows and such, but excellent anyway. The difference ive found has been keeping the light very very close to the plant so it stays shorter and fatter.

I cant find my camera, or ide take some pics of the stealth cabinet veg chamber I just set up.

My suggestion would be to get those two CFLs and put them on a Y splitter (let me know if you arent sure what that is and ill get you a picture) and that will for sure take care of it.Just keep the lights... within... 3cm of your plant (had to do the conversion, lol).

If you want some extra power later on, just get 1 or 2 little 15 watt lights and put them on a Y splitter and stick them on the side of the plant and rotate it half a turn daily to evenly distribute the light.

This seems to be a lot of trouble, sorry about that, this is one of my favorite hobbies so I put way more effort into it than is necessary, but I enjoy it.

I use Miracle grow moisture control soil a lot, and 'Roots organics.'
To water I just use purified water that has a PH of 6. Dirt is dirt though... so whatever you guys have over there that is cheap will work fine.

I have the whole line of advanced nutes as well, but had no (well, a TINY)difference in yeild between that and plain water, Garden Knowm grows really well with plain water as well, so you can experiment with the nutes and whatnot if you have the money, or just stick to water.

I dont know about the difference between the 110 and euro power... interesting question.

feel free to private message me whenever and Ill help if i can.

later bro

Oh, just a heads-up. the pro cfl growers such as Garden Knowm veg their plants after about 20 days when they are still small. (12-18 inches) I like to start veg at 12 inches cause the plants end up huge, and I have a limited space.

You will get great yeild this way... However, if youre planning on growing BIG plants, youll need a lot more CFLs, as they arent really effective for large plants because they dont penetrate well. In that case you may just want to get a MH conversion bulb.

The more popular method of growing now is to do a lot of small plants instead of a few big ones... faster and more overall yeild per light this way. but its a matter of preference.

Your plants will double-quadruple in size during flower though, so dont think by not vegging forever that youll have scrawny plants or wont get any yeild. =)

Cheers Buddy -

I think im gonna give DWC Hydro a go because i like making stuff and love the concept? Another question about cfls -
I was on t'internet the other day and found some intresting cfls they were called enviro lights and were rated at 125w each -would 2 be a good replacement for thoses 8 cfls as will cost the same $80 the lumen output i think is slightlty better and i dont have to fluff around fitting 8 cfls . ?
keep blazin .anc

door no. 3