So true! Think it through. Test and learn from the results. And then 'tweak'.
Help and advice is extremely appreciated!
Let me ask you this before we really go that direction...are you planning to let your plants grow naturally or are you intending to do some height training/restriction ala LST? I'm guessing you'd like to utilize the nine feet you have but I'll explain my take on both situations. If you're going to let them grow natural I'd lean towards HID on both veg and flower IF you're going to let them veg for a couple of months since HID's have much better penetrating power than CFL. If you're only going to veg for a month then you can get away with CFL's for sure and then switch to HID for flowering.I used to be like that...until my employer laid most of us off. Keep spending that money! We're not going to get out of this recession if nobody spends!
I dont mind the rambling, actually glad to have your insight lil neutrino
So after doing the math i have a 4 by 4 area i plan on using to grow. It could be 8 by 4 but I plan on building a wall of some sort. Any how thats 16 sq feet. Recommended 7k-10K per sq foot needed in this tutorial. So if im shooting for 8k lumens per sq ft I need 128K lumens total correct? I am leaning towards CFL lights esp for vegging not sure about what i want to use for flowering. Anyone got any suggestions on the lights i should use? Seems that 42W bulbs will be insufficient for the expect lumens i am shooting for. If you could reference where i can get these lights from, I have looked at homedepot and stealthhydroponics but I think im better off asking you pros before making a decision. Also does the height of the grow space play a role in the plants process of receiving light? 4 by 4 by about 9 feet high would be final specs for grow area. Basically i want to use about half my closet for this project and if all goes well I shall convert half into ve, other half for flowering
Thanks
Your math appears correct from what I recall...I don't have that rule-of-thumb memorize yet lol. Don't let that lumen guideline screw you up too much, it's a guideline and thus not absolutely required. Put in lighting that fits YOUR budget and desire/ability to perform DIY projects. This grow and my last one the plant (yes, only one lol...not by choice) was under about 17,000 lumens of light and are doing just dandy. That is per square foot, roughly, because that's about all the area the plants have used. My current chandelier is about 17"X19" so it's actually a little bit under 17,000 but no big deal.
CFL's are not really going to be much cheaper than a lower wattage HID lamp (250W or less) by the time you buy about ten of the 26W (most efficient, the larger the wattage the more efficiency goes down) and buy the materials to make your own chandelier. Not to mention 10 26W CFL's will draw just as much electricity as a 250W HID so you're not going to really be saving any on your electricity bill...if that is a concern. I have not used any of the CFL's from Home Depot because I don't really care for the brands they offer for the 23-26W bulbs. I got mine at Target for the most part, even stumbled on a sale they were having where the 2-packs were about $3.50 each! There is an online bulb distributor that carries just about anything you could want that other members have used but I forget the name and I'm not sure if they're a sponsor either.
If you're going to use HID for flowering you could stick with HID for veg also and just swap the bulb(s) out and use CFL's for supplemental lighting during veg (optional). Then you'd only have to mess with one chandelier. How many plants are you wanting to do and what wattage HID's were you considering?
The grow height minus the height of the pots (or hydro equipment, whatever equipment you might use) minus the height requirements of the physical lighting is the amount of space you have to grow your plants. With that in mind the height does not really play a role in the plants receiving light IF you properly position the lights. CFL's can be put within inches of the top of the plants (they can make the grow area quite warm but a 4'X4'X9' has plenty of room up top for the hot air to go) but HID's need a foot or more depending on wattage. If you have 9' to work with there is no point in setting it up so the lights are 7' up and the plants are 2' up, put the light as close to the plants as possible. The fact you have that much height is good because hot air rises...put your fresh air intakes low towards the ground and the exhausts near the top for maximum "efficiency".
Man, I am rambling and babbling so much I forget where I was really going with all that...lol. Your idea to do half first is a good one...you'll be adding the other half, don't worry
The main thing to remember is that CFL's are most often used when grow space/heat is a concern, as supplemental lighting for HID's, and for clones. With a space as tall as yours I'd try and go HID if you can afford it.
. Depends what you call an average sized plant...average indica or sativa height?
On the other hand if you're planning on LST'ing (doubt it) CFL for sure during veg. As I mentioned I had 260W of CFL power (17k lumens) on my plant for my first grow and did ok. With a 2 week veg period and a 20/4 light cycle and then in to 12/12 after that I had a plant that was 13" tall (no LST, just let it grow) and yielded a little over an ounce dry of some rock hard buds. If you check towards the end of my first journal you'll see I did get a bit creative with the lights as I basically surrounded the little plant (cone shape) with CFL's. Six on top, two to the left of the plant down low, and two more on the right hand side down low. But since I doubt you're going this route I'll stop...TMI, don't want to confuse you.
but before any suggestions on where i should get the lights and seeds from? And what would be a good/easy strain to grow that has a decent yield? I am thinking of ordering from attitdue for my seeds.
