"let there be light!" (preferably cheap)

[digweed]

hey folks, new to the indoor game and im tryin to research/cost/locate the necessary lighting equiptment.

 

im workin in an enclosed space (shower recess) bout 9 sq feet, about 4-6 plants bout 3-4" high. im tryin to figure out if its worth investing in a HID HPS lamp or just buggerin around with flouros.

 

also, ive got some really well established soil, is it easier to just pot in that or is hydro really all its cracked up to be?

 

bear in mind that i am but a poor uni student, so costs and labour gotta be as low as possible.

 

any advice would be great, cheers guys.

[Mr Nice Guy]

If you have some good soil and have growen with soil before invest in a 600w HPS and some fans and ducting bit of mylar get some nice 20L buckets get a nice 10L watering can and just grow with soil make sure you give it all the nutrient it needs should work out cheaper then hydro...

 

Just don't go cheap on your ventilation cause a 600w will get hot but be well worth it specially if you get a better grow space sometime.

[Ozzy420]

Hey Taz i just tryed to post some info and it said it had to go through a mod 1st did i say something wrong this what i tryed to post

 

Hey digweed you will get a lot better growth with a hid than u will with flours, u can pick up a new 400w hsp from a hydro store for around $200-250 or u can get a second hand 1 from a pawn shop if u look around u will find 1 (i got my 400w hsp for $90 from a pawn shop) and u can grow in soil (i did for my 1st grow and found it to be fearly hassel free) but useing 100% hydro u will get better a better yeald in the end but it can be a little more fiddley than soil, do heaps of reading here and ask anything u want to know

 

p.s.some of the other growers who have been around longer than i have will be able to give u a bit more info as i am only fearly new to indoors

[pipeman]

hey ozmade, nah mate its nothing you said

 

this thread was started in the faq forums where all posts need to be approved before showing up. Now that I've moved it here its posting as normal. I'll look at your first post waiting approval and if it doesn't say anything different I'll just delete it.

[Tom]

It was started in Dr. Livingstone, ozmade was most likely in the process of posting when I moved it, apologies to ozmade.

[Ozzy420]

Thanks fellas

[pipeman]

It was started in Dr. Livingstone, ozmade was most likely in the process of posting when I moved it,   apologies to ozmade. 

 

ah OK, that explains it

Edited October 5, 2003 by pipeman

[Chev]

Hey Digweed,

A lot of people start out with flouros, but eventually move on to HID lighting. Some people stick with it, might suit their purposes. I started with flouros, but still use CF's for my clones and mums, changed up to a 400w and then a 600w :: Never have to much light! (almost).

I started growing outdoors, and still do, although my attention is focused mainly on my inside plants My honest opinion, go hydro. It's easy, mess-free and your plants will react a lot quicker to change in a hydro system than in soil. Which is good, I think it's a bit easier to correct a problem than if you've got to muck about with soil. It reacts to kindness just as quick as it reacts to mistakes, or so I've found anyway. There are really easy single part nutes on the market (dutchmaster), makes it a bit easier

Start off small and work your way up, although if you were to invest in flouros for that space, you'd probably be just as well off to buy a secondhand lamp from cashies (my first 400w was a cashies job), and you'd end up with a bigger yeild as ozmade pointed out. And get more out of your money Just make sure you check your globe out when you're buying it, especially secondhand. Have fun (I'm sure you will) and just ask around if you get stuck. There's more than enough people here that'd be happy to help out a fellow grower

Edited October 6, 2003 by chev81

[Guest weekprik]

I brought a complete setup out of the trading post and borrowed a car to pick it up from my mum, (non-mj smoker),

 

it cost me $200-00 but included EVERYTHING I needed, 400watt hps, flood and drain, hydrton, nutes, ph testers etc.

 

Or do a grow under a fluro, and sell a Oz to a mate, then use the $ to buy all ya hydro gear.

 

second hand lights are fine, BUT I personally remove the cover of the ballast and take a look at the wiring, and make sure there nothing like leaf or whatever in it, al they can hold spider mites etc.

 

if you do go for a second hand unit make sure you at least buy a new bulb, even if they say it only done 1 grow. as every 3rd grow you need a new bulb.

[digweed]

cheers heaps guys, very glad i found you all i can already see this is gonna be easier than i expected, thanks largely to such helpful advice.