looking for a good light, ideas

[vrooota]

Hey guys I haven't been on in a while, to the point that this the first time I've seen this new(?) grassroots section lol
Ive spent some time playing with fungi but never have done an indoor cannabis grow due to several factors. Ne ways having my own herb would save me a lot of money
I have a pretty decent size space part of which I'll have to enclose in some way and I need a good recommendation on an affordable light for maybe 4-6 plants any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanx

[mycpooper]

well how big of an area are you thinking of using? how tall do you plan on growing them?

[quillo]

Originally Posted by vrooota

I need a good recommendation on an affordable light for maybe 4-6 plants any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanx

A 250 or 400 watt HPS light might be your best value. If you are handy with tools and competent with electricity, you can set up a HPS or MH light with bulb, (not including reflector), for about $50.00 using new and some scrounged materials.

[Hippie3]

CFLs are becoming quite popular, can pack alot of them in, their cheap, common, energy efficient and don't give off alot of heat.

[Happycaps]

Yep as hip says. Look under aquarium lighting in Ebay. Nice set ups for inexspensive.

[vrooota]

okay cfls are the fluorescents that are in a circular or otherwise shape not your regular long fluorescent tubes right? I actually have a good(high output, for aquatic plants) small aquarium light but the I think I killed the bulb when I moved a while back. only like 40 watts though, just seedling light maybe if I get it fixed. What Im really interested in though is getting a HPS or mh bulb and putting it together as quillo mentioned. Is there any links or whatnot on the subject that you know of? Sounds like a much better price tag than the 400+ for a light, ballast, and reflector at the local hydro store. I'll go check out ebay too I didn't really look at any CFLs yet. what kind of bulbs are peeps getting good results with? just any cfl for your ceiling that screws into a light bulb socket, or are u talkin about something different? I gotta do some research

[python]

if you only want to buy one light --- get a hps, perhaps a 400 or 600 watt

i prefer a hortilux bulb, eye type

i mentioned the 400 vs 600 becuase often times the lumens found in the 600 is more efficient on a per watt ratio

either way, you can easily find the light you'll need by using the standard 50 watt per sq ft. method......


and use a couple floros for your germination stage, then switch to the hps........( in a perfect world you go from floros - MH - HPS)

gl

[tobynutz]

if you just want to do 1-2 plants you can get yourself a hps security light from home depot and rewire it into a remote ballast. i did it myself and it wasnt very hard. they run like 70$ i think. my first time did like 2 O's from 2 plants on it

[vrooota]

do you have to buy a different ballast toby? or just wire the same one further away from the light? Im not really that knowlegeable about electrical stuff. Also if I just get cfls what range of the spectrum should they be in? I can get 32 watt bulbs from like 2700 to 6500 K and they're only about 20 bucks a piece with the reflector. Or should I go for the 400 w 2100K High pressure sodium lamp for like 12 bux and buy the ballast for 60 ebay is a little cheaper even it looks like
thanx for all the input

[tobynutz]

everything is in there man. the only thing you may wanna do is mount the ballast in your own case and use a longer cord to the light. there is a link here in the archives.... one sec....i couldnt find the link but its posted here. the title was something like how to easily convert a security light to remote ballast.