CFL Light Tutorial

Thank you Roseman!! I can't believe that the information was located on the front page of the Tutorial. I'm going to have to read throught it again. And I too have been very pleased with SH Nutes.

The speed in which questions get answered here is beautiful! Thank you both for your dedication to one and all!
+reps to Roseman and Fry Fly!!
 
Roseman said:
I just PMed the formula to Proverbs.

I really like the SH nutes, especially for beginners and CFL growers. They are CHEAP, simple, easy to use, need no measuring, and I did 7 grows, 100% with SH nutes. On the 8th grow, I tried ADVANCED NUTRIENTS for Flowering and they were great, but what made them great was they had additional Nitrogen in them, which I like and beleive in, for Flowering..
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I'm still using the SH grow nutes, did great just like the first time! Though I have switched to the Advanced for flowering.
 
MostlyCrazy said:
Tweak,Tweak,Tweak! That what makes a good grower into a great grower!
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So true! Think it through. Test and learn from the results. And then 'tweak'.

It's no different than tuning an old style carburetor.
If you de-stroke an engine, you have to change the cam!! And so forth.
Tweak. Tweak. Tweak.
ph (up / down), nutes (which up and which down), light;(lumens + watt + color - Up? and down?) + light timing cycle, temp and humidity.

And then you have the most important tweak of all; Grow area set up. This sets the stage for everything to come!
Roseman, MC, Fly, and others are right about this. I would say "you are only as good as your grow set-up and design". If you're short sighted here, you could stunt or kill your grow.
Think it through. Think everything through. And remember, one of my motos "You are only as good as the questions you ask in life."
Justin
 
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 :) Help and advice is extremely appreciated!

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.
 
Great thanks for the reply. I am going to try the bucket method (stratlogic) as i would like to save as much money and become more experienced before becoming a Deep Water Culture. I figured it out from another forum on here seems like I am going to need 48000 lumens min and 96000 lumens max (way to much IMO); average is 72000 lumens; after doing the math I would need 800-1200W of CFL lighting power to get about an average size plant correct? I was actually leaning towards CFL for vegging specifically and the red spectrum for flowering since ppl say it seems to be best. If not for some reason i like the MH lamps, believe it was because of a forum i read on here last night. Honestly Money is not much of an issue I work so i like to spend. As far as electricity how much do you think the lighting would raise it alone? Dont really expect an ans to that one but why not ask lol. I planned on using the 5 gallon buckets which are not that tall prob about a foot and a half, not sure yet as i have not bought anything yet. Just trying to imagine how its all going to be put together before doing anything. After figuring out lighting I wanted to look into how to build a wall, thinking a few sheets of sheet rock and some plywood will be efficient enough to divide the closet. I dont mind the rambling, actually glad to have your insight lil neutrino :bong:
 
Myzz617 said:
Great thanks for the reply. I am going to try the bucket method (stratlogic) as i would like to save as much money and become more experienced before becoming a Deep Water Culture.
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Good idea! Get a foothold for your brain to start digesting all this info you've read by applying it to real-world experience and THEN kick it in to high gear...plus you'll have an idea of what you like/don't like so you're not spending money on stuff you won't use.

I figured it out from another forum on here seems like I am going to need 48000 lumens min and 96000 lumens max (way to much IMO); average is 72000 lumens; after doing the math I would need 800-1200W of CFL lighting power to get about an average size plant correct?
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Depends what you call an average sized plant...average indica or sativa height? ;) 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.

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.

I was actually leaning towards CFL for vegging specifically and the red spectrum for flowering since ppl say it seems to be best. If not for some reason i like the MH lamps, believe it was because of a forum i read on here last night.
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Yeah, the red spectrum is more suited to flowering as the sunlight in the fall is more towards that end of the spectrum.

Honestly Money is not much of an issue I work so i like to spend.
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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!

As far as electricity how much do you think the lighting would raise it alone? Dont really expect an ans to that one but why not ask lol.
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That's actually an easy question to answer but I can't be specific without knowing how much you pay per kwh. Figuring roughly 10 cents per kwh let's make an educated wild ass guess assuming 400W of lighting (doesn't matter what kind, 400W is 400W) and a 20/4 schedule (20 is a nice round number to do math with) for veg.

400W X 20 hours = 8000 watt-hours = 8kwh

8kwh * 31 days in a month = 248kwh

248kwh X 0.10 (10 cents) = $24.80/month

Now with an 18/6 schedule:

400 X 18 = 7.2kwh * 31 = 223 X 0.10 = $22.30

You should be able to recalculate this for whatever light schedule you want, whatever wattage, and whatever your utility company charges you fo electricity...have fun! :)

I planned on using the 5 gallon buckets which are not that tall prob about a foot and a half, not sure yet as i have not bought anything yet. Just trying to imagine how its all going to be put together before doing anything. After figuring out lighting I wanted to look into how to build a wall, thinking a few sheets of sheet rock and some plywood will be efficient enough to divide the closet.
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Yeah, I LOVE the planning stage. As for the wall just get some 9' 2X4 studs (dirt cheap) and use them to frame it up and layer the sheetrock over it with insulation in between if you want/need. You'll have a couple of 2X4's to mount the sheetrock on but what do you fix the 2X4's to? I'm not a carpenter but going by memory of what I have seen in houses as they are built is they will lay a 2X4 (or whatever thickness the walls are to be) flat on the ground and attach the studs to it. The key here is to check your lumber and make sure it is straight and flat before you buy it...warped studs are mostly useless. How to attach that to the ground? Not sure, probably blast some little holes in to the foundation with those .26 caliber (or whatever) charges and put some masonry/concrete bolts through the 2X4 in to the concrete.

I dont mind the rambling, actually glad to have your insight lil neutrino :bong:
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You're welcome!
 
Hey Mizz, you are getting a ton of great inf from lil N. But as far as your wall goes I would suggest some thing more temporary in case you need to take it down or want to expand. You could use 1" Styrofoam and put mylar or panda film or whatever you want on it. Another lighting option,at least for veg would be a T5 panel. An 8 bulb panel is about $250 and gives you around 40,000 lumens at 454watts. I would guess it would work best with CFL side lighting. If heat could be a factor that is a good way to go. Thats the beauty of planning ahead,you can get all the info and decide based on your personal needs. :peace:
 
Myzz617, As you can see there are all kinds of ways to use lights. 4x4 space says a 400 MH/HPS is the size that matches your needs. 600 MH/HPS is usually a better deal per lumen produced but you have to first figure out the venting. Proper venting allows you to get those big lights close so you have penentration below the canopy.

Personally I use cfl's for veg. Plants don't need as much when they are vegging but come flower time you want to give it all you got to get the biggest hardest buds. I use a 400hps in one area and a 250 hps in the other smaller area when it's flower time. Since I have cfls also I position those as side light under the HPS to maximise the yield.

Roseman uses all cfl's and with proper management and moving of the lights you can get a great yield as he has proved. I think you are right in going small as you learn. Consider this a test grow and learn what works for you in your particular grow space. Beleive me you will be upgrading and trying a lot of different combos until you get it tuned in.
 
Myzz617 said:
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 :) Help and advice is extremely appreciated!

Thanks
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I think 8000 lumens per sq ft would be way more than enough. 3000 is rock bottom bare minimum, and 10,000 is ultimate max equal to the sun on a clear sun shiney day.

At bare minimum of 3000 lumens per sq ft, (less than half what the sun gives) you need at least 48,000 lumens total. AT LEAST, BARE MINIMUM.
48,000 lumens divided by 60 = 800 watts = twelve 65 watt bulbs.

I normall split the difference, or use the average or medium of 6,000 lumens per sq ft, and at 6,000 you need 96,000 lumens for that 16 sq ft. All Floursecents will give between 60 to 70 lumens per watt. 96,000 divided by 70 = 1340 watts. If you used 65 watt CFLs, you'd need 20 bulbs.

So I would say, to get between at least 12 and no more than 20 65 watt bulbs.
I grew 9 females in a 2 X 8 closet, had 1100 watts of CFLs and got 18 ounces of dried manicured buds. About $6000 worth of pot. But it was my
8th grow and I only bought aobut 2 or 3 new bulbs.


42 watt bulbs are actully the best to use, if you read what Ed Rosenthal said on the first page of this thread.

You can buy 65 watt bulbs at Lowes and Home depot for about $16 each,a dn 42 watt bulbs are about $9 each.

And 16 sq ft of pot is alot to try on your first grow. It almost worked this old man to having a stroke! LOL.

In this thread 4 or 5 pages back are the calculations for smaller grow rooms.

If you got the $ and can handle the venting of the heat, get a 600 MH-HPS Light System.
 
Lil Neutrino said:
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.
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That is great advice!
 
Damn such great responses!!! First off thanks for all the responses and feedback/suggestions. This has to be the best forum site on the net easy. Ok back on topic though. So for electrical I have a 2 socket outlet but it is not in my closet. I know someone who is an electrician, what do you guys think about getting that socket installed on the inside of my closet rather than how it is now which is on the outer wall of my closet? I rent an apt and do not plan on mentioning anything to my landlord about it because if i go thru with it then i will reverse it back to normal b4 leaving ;).

Lil Neutrino said:
Depends what you call an average sized plant...average indica or sativa height? ;) 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.

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.
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Plant wise i would like a sativa strain. Any suggestions? From last night i was feeling the Northern lights skunk; G13 labs skunk; g13 labs diesel or g13 black diesel. I am not sure what i want to grow but as far as height wise I would like a 2-4 footer at least. Vegging i planned on doing for no more than six weeks, should I do a combo of the MH-hps with a few dual spectrum blue cfls for vegging? Then when flowering change those blue out for red with the MH-HPS or an HID? My budget for this first grow is about 600, I want to get a Deep Water Culture setup going to use in this grow area but it seems getting experience first is my best bet. I also thought about trying to use two buckets-5gal each but not sure. No Lst for me as i am a N00b. Supe cropping or FIM seems like a better option to start off if i dont wish to go natural in which for my first 1-3 grows i want to keep things simple. Random question will all this lighting be enough for a helicopter to notice using infrared or heat sensing? I am kind of nervous bout setting it up esp cuz i live on the top floor of my house lol

Lil Neutrino said:
Yeah, I LOVE the planning stage. As for the wall just get some 9' 2X4 studs (dirt cheap) and use them to frame it up and layer the sheetrock over it with insulation in between if you want/need. You'll have a couple of 2X4's to mount the sheetrock on but what do you fix the 2X4's to? I'm not a carpenter but going by memory of what I have seen in houses as they are built is they will lay a 2X4 (or whatever thickness the walls are to be) flat on the ground and attach the studs to it. The key here is to check your lumber and make sure it is straight and flat before you buy it...warped studs are mostly useless. How to attach that to the ground? Not sure, probably blast some little holes in to the foundation with those .26 caliber (or whatever) charges and put some masonry/concrete bolts through the 2X4 in to the concrete.
You're welcome!
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Haha im far from a carpenter as well. I was think some 2 by 4's though on both walls and try to create like a sliding verticle type thing but I am honestly lost for what to do. If i dont figure something out dimensions change to 8 by 4 grow closet. But i think this is going to be my last step in setting up the grow space.

MostlyCrazy said:
Myzz617, As you can see there are all kinds of ways to use lights. 4x4 space says a 400 MH/HPS is the size that matches your needs. 600 MH/HPS is usually a better deal per lumen produced but you have to first figure out the venting. Proper venting allows you to get those big lights close so you have penentration below the canopy.

Personally I use cfl's for veg. Plants don't need as much when they are vegging but come flower time you want to give it all you got to get the biggest hardest buds. I use a 400hps in one area and a 250 hps in the other smaller area when it's flower time. Since I have cfls also I position those as side light under the HPS to maximise the yield.

Roseman uses all cfl's and with proper management and moving of the lights you can get a great yield as he has proved. I think you are right in going small as you learn. Consider this a test grow and learn what works for you in your particular grow space. Beleive me you will be upgrading and trying a lot of different combos until you get it tuned in.
Click to expand...

So it seems MH-HPS or HID would be the way to go and a few cfls 2-3 each dual spectrum blue and red? Venting wise I had an idea of making a carbon air scrubber then having the air that is suck in by it pushed through duct tubing (cant think of the name right now) and blow it out of my closet into my room. But if i have a built in wall I could have the same thing but the venting out of the top with a dual fan also sucking air out and one on the bottom blowing air in. this seems like the venting will be the most comlpicated, but it seems that the smell is mainly generated during flowering correct?

That above is confusing but think of it as thing, you have a door with the two squares at the top. So i would cut a retangle out, one side would be for venting out the other side of venting in. What about using some type of slide door like the asains have in movies lol? Ok this is too much typing and brainstorming I needa RoorRip 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.
 
So it seems MH-HPS or HID would be the way to go and a few cfls 2-3 each dual spectrum blue and red? Venting wise I had an idea of making a carbon air scrubber then having the air that is suck in by it pushed through duct tubing (cant think of the name right now) and blow it out of my closet into my room. But if i have a built in wall I could have the same thing but the venting out of the top with a dual fan also sucking air out and one on the bottom blowing air in. this seems like the venting will be the most comlpicated, but it seems that the smell is mainly generated during flowering correct?

That above is confusing but think of it as thing, you have a door with the two squares at the top. So i would cut a retangle out, one side would be for venting out the other side of venting in. What about using some type of slide door like the asains

MH/HPS is HID. If I was going to set my grow room up with flexibility I think a either a 400 or a 600 watt MH/HPS switchable ballast would give you all the light you would need for a 4x4' area and the you can augment with 26watt cfls in flower. I'd get a mix of 2700 and 6500 bulbs and get teh 2700's as clost to the underbud as you can and stick a few 6500k's toward the top of the plants to get a little light balance to the HPS you will have shining on them during flower.

Now that's just one way to do it so keep checking around and see what makes the most sense to you. It's better if you ask a lot of questions because that's how you'll start to understand lighting.

You can't have a 400 or 600 in a 4x4' area with proper ventilation. What you want to do is draw the coolest air you can into your grow room. This is best done in your case with installing a vent or door grill down low as that will be the coolest air in the room (hot air rises). The get the hot air out you would want to get an air cooled reflector and an inline or blower type fan and use ducting to connect the two. Do you have a place inside the grow room where you can cut a hole. Renting makes it harder to 'customize" but in general you want fresh air in low and warmed air exhausted high. You'll also need a small fan to provide movement aimed in the general direction of the tops of the plants. It helps to have them move around. When that happens the stem/branches get bigger just like a muscle gets bigger when you or I exercise and a bigger branch can support a bigger bud.
 
Let me share a magazine article with you about Lighting.

From Ed Rosenthal:

In the new Skunk Magazine there was a question in the "Ask Ed" section that just made my night last night when reading it...



The Question Was:

I intend to grow a single cannabis plant in a space 1' x 2'. What light would you recommend? I was think of using four 30-watt compact fluorescent lamps. Will this be enough? Cost isn't an issue but I am deterred from getting a high pressure sodium [light] because of the amount of heat the bulb produces.

The Answer Is:

As you mentioned, you have several lighting systems to choose from, including compact fluorescents and high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps. Among HPS lamps you have a choice between a single 100-watt lamp which uses a total of about 120-watts and emits about 8,800 lumens(73 lumens per watt) or a 150-watt lamp, which uses about 180 watts and emits almost double that-15,800 lumens (87 lumens per watt).

A 42-watt compact fluorescent (CFL) emits about 2700 lumens(64 lumens per watt). Four 42 watt CFLs use 168 watts and emit 10,800 lumens. Other size CFLs have a similar efficiency.

However, that is only part of the story. Plants use mostly red and blue light. Yellow and green light is of little use to them, so light that is emitted in these spectrums is wasted energy. Most of the light emitted by HPS lamps is in the yellow spectrum. Only a small amount of the emitted light is in the orange or red spectrums, which plants use efficiently. Warm white fluorescents (2700 Kelvin) emit a greater portion in the red and orange sectors.
Although fluorescents produce only about 75% of the light per watt that the HPS does, the amount of light usable by the plant is equal or probably higher with the fluorescents. You may wish to experiment to see if adding a single cool white CFL to replace one warm white results in shorter, stouter stems and more vigorous growth. The reasoning is that warm whites don't emit much blue light, which the plants use for photosynthesis and to regulate their growth. The cool white bulb supplies the blue light.

My call for your unit would be to use several (three to five) CFLs with a total input of between 120-160 watts. Although the 150 watt HPS is a bit more efficient that the CFLs in total output, watt for watt the fluorescents provide as much useful light as the HPS lamp. Heat is another consideration. The HPS runs much hotter and emits more heat than the flourescents.

Make sure to use reflective material around the garden so that any light escaping the garden is reflected back to the plants. Any light that doesn't get to the plant leaves is wasted.
 
Look at a lumen/watt ration of various CFL's. The higher the wattage of CFLs, the lower the lumen/watt ratio. This chart was submitted by Jerry Garcia, a grow buddy from another grow site, and edited for typos.

For example...

the 200w listed at 9250 lumens for a lumens/watt ratio of 9250/200=46.25

the 150w is listed at 7500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 7500/150=50

the 125w is listed at 6500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 6500/125=52

the 42w are listed for 2700 lumens, l/w ratio of 2700/42=64.28

I have some 26w that give off 1700 lumens for a l/w ratio of 1700/26=65.38

GE lists some 13w that give off 825 lumens for a l/w ratio of 825/13=63.46

So, according to these numbers the most efficient bulbs for growing are the 26w that emit 1700 lumens. If you used 8 26w bulbs (208 watts total) you'd be getting 13,600 lumens...4,350 more lumens than a single 200 watt CFL. AND the eight 26 watt bulbs would cost less than the one 200 watt bulb.

I suppose you need to purchase more sockets and cords and things to support 8 bulbs, but in the long run more lower watt CFLs seem like the way to go.
 
Seems like i should go with the 42W since 20 plus something 26's is a bit too much for me. If i go with 42W with my min 48000 lumens i could get away with about 20 CFL 42W bulbs right? I made a post last night but i didnt go through. My closet has a 8 foot plank 5 feet high for my rack inside of it. I was thinking put about a 6 foot long plank 7 feet high. The current plank is about 3 1/3 inches wide 1 1/2 inches thick. Putting similar planks at 7 feet and topping that off with some plywood and create a ventilation system from thar, anyone think that would work? Also any suggestions on strain? I like Sativa. Also other than these DIY stores is there a specific place i can get the 42W dual spectrum CFL's? I think i might use HID or MH-HPS for flowering :)
 
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