Im Starting a Grow Box

[Perksy]

I just baught a small closet to start a grow box. But im on a tight budget so i have to cut back on most of my materials.

my closet is about 3ftL/5ftH/2ftD. I cant afford to get a good grow light, i can only afford to use fluros at the moment.

I was wandering whether fluros can produce enough light to produce decent BUD. Or whether i am better off just waiting a while till i can afford better Lighting.

[ConvexConepiece]

Wait till you can afford an (if not new), 2nd hand 400w hps or similar, unless you already have the fluro's because they will end up costing near as much and will never give you bud size or density like a hps.

[Frazz]

yep leave the fluros in da kitchen where they belong an save for a 400w

 

[jimbojones5678]

Yeah get yourself a HPS, they are so cheap second hand that it's a crime not to have one...

 

Jimbo

[BaronS]

but I'd be wondering about the efficiency of used HPS (or MH for that matter). TTBOMK there is a limited _useful_ life for such.

 

What sort of fluoros? If they are standard ('kitchen') fluoros I wouldn't bother. I've elsewhere, in this forum, asked about the T5 fluoros and almost been persuaded to go CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) instead. I'm not sure however whether the respondent suggesting CFL was aware that T5 HO (high output) are also 'purpose designed' for growing.

 

Such 'growing' fluoros have advantages such as lesser heat and reduced power consumption for _similar_ useful frequency output.

 

I expect a 'kitchen' fluoro to give you long skinny plants, great for making rope out of.

[jaikai]

You can grow a reasonable crop under T5... But I`d use `em for maybe a Veg/Clone

setup. Starting out with SFA is a vicious cycle... you go hard for a few months under

flouro for maybe enuff bud to cover your outlay, but you aint getting 3 good months

of smoke... unless you only toke on the odd ocasion.

 

Bigger lamps mean bigger harvests, it`s worth the expense up front. 2nd hand is good

enuff for the 1st couple of runs and at that a 400W globe only costs ~$45, ballasts can

last for years... Even with T5, you`re gonna have to deal with ventilation, etc...

 

Bite the bullet and look up evilbay for a cheapie, it`s worth it...

 

JAIKAI

[BaronS]

OK, there's another branch to the idea.

 

Rather than the single HPS 'grow room' I'm more looking to 2 small 'growth spaces', 18/6 and 12/12.

Rather than the occassional 'large enough till I need more' harvest one cuts and veg's on a continuous basis and swaps them into the flowering area similarly.

 

The lower wattage, heat, cost, etc... does it possibly cause a difference in choice of lighting system?

 

(I think that joint worked)

[smokinjoe]

Depending on how long it will take you to save for a second hand 400w you might think about starting the seedlings out in the cupboard under flouros and just change to 400w when you can. It would take a couple of months before you were really needed to use a HPS