Help! figuring out what lights I need!

[Lusi]

Hi,

I've started my grow outside, but now it's time to come indoor for the next grow.

Here's what I have:

-No stealth needed, in a bedroom or part of a closet, two rooms to choose from.
-This is A rental house I plan to leave in a few months, so no changes to the actual house.
-The absolute lowest amount of MJ I need per month is 1/2 ounce. 1 Ounce per month would be better, or somewhere in between.
-I have 2 4' T-5s for vegging. The summer heat made even this much difficult to keep cool!
-I have a home made reflector for 8 CFLS, 250Watts of them, four 2700 and four 6500. The Two extra 5000Ls are on each side
-I also have a 150W HPS, but have not opened it because I'm not sure it is strong enough.

I need to set up my indoor flowering room with a goal of 6-12 ounces a year.
1) are my 250W of CFLs and 150W HPS enough to grow this amount?
2) If not, how many Watts HPS do I need? With or Without the CFLs?
3) How many HPS watts is equal to the 250W CFLs?
4)How many plants to I need to have in flower at once to reach my 6-12oz a year goal?
5) How many flowering plants can I fit per square foot?
6) Because this a rental house, I have no way to control heat and air exchange beyond fans and opening a window or door for part of the day. The rooms I would use are about 15'x10'. The closets are not walk in. My veggy T5s are in an open closet corner with fans on them and a fan on a timer blowing fresh air in the window.

My MY book is pretty useless and too much overwhelming info to help me. If the 150W HPS and 250W of CFLs are not enough to meet my goal, will I need a 400W or 600W HPS?
Are the CFLs still useful with the higher HPS? I can't find a thing about comparing the HPSwatts to the CFLs. :-(
Would these CFLs alone be useful in a thrid room as a vegging area, leaving the T-5s for seedlings?
How do the CFLS and T-5s (blue) compare?
I can't find any info on how many flowering plants, ready to harvest, I need to my goal. Nothing either on rotating plants so that 1/2oz to 1 oz amount is ready each month.
Dang lights are confusing!

So the #1 question is if what I have now (250CFL and 150W HPS) is enough. If not, how many HPSwatts do need to buy. I'd sell the 150W HP Sin this case. Heck, I'm too tired to think. I hope this post makes sense!

Thanks for the help... I sure need it!!

 

[Hogdady]

It sounds like you want to have a harvest a month as opposed to 1-2 harvests a year. Is that correct?

If that's the case, 1-2 plants per harvest should bring you an oz a harvest.

You will need a place to grow clones and a place to veg and a place to flower.

You will have 6 plants in flower at all times, and 2-3 in veg at all times.

You can take your clones just prior to the plants in veg going into flower.

The 150w might be enough for 2 plants in flower, but a 400w would be better.

Sounds like fun!

 

[Lusi]

Hi, thanks for the info. This helps a lot!

So, 2 plants give an ounce average? I'd need to grow 24 plants a year for 6-12 ounces?

Actually, I don't have to grow plants every month. I figured the minimum of a 1/2g a day, 1g (need to eat this for replacing narcotics) there's where I guessed 6 -12 oz.

I still am not sure how long they take to grow inside. Is it 3 months? I'm not sure. How many months do you recommend? I plant to use mostly seeds since my practice clone was a disaster. I have about 50 seeds to use from different strains.

6 grows of 4 plants. (max).. actually for every 2 months, if that is not too little time.

or ?

4 grows of 6 plants (max) for every 3 months

or, maybe a rotation by planting the seeds every 2 week. or a month. It seems something like this might make better use of the lights, 2 harvesting every 2 weeks or month. I'm not sure if this would work... just another option I thought of.

Which is better to do, or how long do the plants need before harvest? Would I need a 400W or a 600W for this. There is no way I could cool a 1000W bulb. I can barely keep my T5s and CFLs to 85 degrees and the house to 80all this summer. ( 20 yr old AC unit) I also have the 250W CFLs for extra, or an extra vegging/ early flower room. (thinking out loud here)

Thanks for your help, the info you already gave me is something I needed badly.

 

[Hogdady]

Hi, thanks for the info. This helps a lot!

So, 2 plants give an ounce average? I'd need to grow 24 plants a year for 6-12 ounces?

Actually, I don't have to grow plants every month. I figured the minimum of a 1/2g a day, 1g (need to eat this for replacing narcotics) there's where I guessed 6 -12 oz.

I still am not sure how long they take to grow inside. Is it 3 months? I'm not sure. How many months do you recommend? I plant to use mostly seeds since my practice clone was a disaster. I have about 50 seeds to use from different strains.

6 grows of 4 plants. (max).. actually for every 2 months, if that is not too little time.

or ?

4 grows of 6 plants (max) for every 3 months

or, maybe a rotation by planting the seeds every 2 week. or a month. It seems something like this might make better use of the lights, 2 harvesting every 2 weeks or month. I'm not sure if this would work... just another option I thought of.

Which is better to do, or how long do the plants need before harvest? Would I need a 400W or a 600W for this. There is no way I could cool a 1000W bulb. I can barely keep my T5s and CFLs to 85 degrees and the house to 80all this summer. ( 20 yr old AC unit) I also have the 250W CFLs for extra, or an extra vegging/ early flower room. (thinking out loud here)

Thanks for your help, the info you already gave me is something I needed badly.

I can help more come Monday, but in the meantime, please give this a good read...How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know

 

[Lusi]

HI,

Thanks for the link! I'm half way through all of that. Phew! There's a few things that just aren't clear to me.

1) yield it seems like 1/2 a gram to 5 ounces a plant?! Which is true? Is it easier to think of how many ounces per square foot since there are so many training methods?

2) lights... Most info says 20-50W per square foot. Then another post says none of that is accurate. I don't think my 150W light could cover 3 square feet... or grow 3 plants. Not sure if the added CFLs make a difference! Another spot says 400W is good for a small grow and yet another 600 is the minimum. Yet another says a 70W HPS per plant. I am so very confused! Since it's in the 100s here in the summer, I need to keep things cool. This is why all my plants are outside right now, and doing poorly with all their pistils dead less than 1 month into flowering. No one has answered my posts about that yet on other sites, so I put one on this site too: . Flowering, pistils all dying or dead: Help!

3) one part says not to open windows because bugs come in. ? It's either blow a fan through the window or cook the plants!

I'm LST most of my plants outside, but inside I couldn't find anything yet on how many plants per square foot. I thought a normal plant took up a square foot, but read a SCROG take up a square foot. ?! Is a FIM or SCROG good for indoors, or is the LST OK? If you train the plants like this inside, will you get more yield per plant? It seems so... However is it better yield to have one FIM/SCROG/LST plant or 2 normal growing plants in the same space? I don't see anything about the yield from a SCROG plant vs a normal plant. I'm back to that question again because I need to buy the correct light! (400 or 600)

Back to light size and cooling it. I hope to move out of here soon, but growing outside in the summer might still be possible. Meanwhile, the room I think of for the light and grow is about 17x12 or 12x15 (a normal guest bedroom size) Size of the area will depend on how many plants I need and how much space they take.

400W and 600W are similar in price. Can I use a 400W bulb in a 600W set up?

I'm too tired to think or read more. Thanks again for the help!

 

[Hogdady]

HI,

Thanks for the link! I'm half way through all of that. Phew! There's a few things that just aren't clear to me.

1) yield it seems like 1/2 a gram to 5 ounces a plant?! Which is true? Is it easier to think of how many ounces per square foot since there are so many training methods?

There are many variables Lusi, but most people would agree that a beginning grower can expect somewhere around 1/2 gram yield per watt of light.

2) lights... Most info says 20-50W per square foot. Then another post says none of that is accurate. I don't think my 150W light could cover 3 square feet... or grow 3 plants. Not sure if the added CFLs make a difference! Another spot says 400W is good for a small grow and yet another 600 is the minimum. Yet another says a 70W HPS per plant. I am so very confused!

My personal experiance has proven to me that you need to be in the 50 wpsf range to achieve maximum bud density.

I'm LST most of my plants outside, but inside I couldn't find anything yet on how many plants per square foot. I thought a normal plant took up a square foot, but read a SCROG take up a square foot. ?! Is a FIM or SCROG good for indoors, or is the LST OK? If you train the plants like this inside, will you get more yield per plant? It seems so... However is it better yield to have one FIM/SCROG/LST plant or 2 normal growing plants in the same space? I don't see anything about the yield from a SCROG plant vs a normal plant. I'm back to that question again because I need to buy the correct light! (400 or 600)

Back to light size and cooling it. I hope to move out of here soon, but growing outside in the summer might still be possible. Meanwhile, the room I think of for the light and grow is about 17x12 or 12x15 (a normal guest bedroom size) Size of the area will depend on how many plants I need and how much space they take.

I beleive that you could easily accomodate 4 plants under a 600w HID.

400W and 600W are similar in price. Can I use a 400W bulb in a 600W set up?

No you can't. The bulb and ballast have to be the same wattage.

 

[Lusi]

OK, I think I get it. So a 600W light would give me 300 grams, 10 ounces... or 1/2 oz per plant, 3 ounces. Which is more accurate?

Lets say I need 8 ounces a year. That's 16 plants, max. I have searched all over for the life cycle of mariunana and can't find a darn thing as to how many months it takes from seed to harvest in a grow room. I don't know what to call this and someone walked off with my MJ book.

I need to know how many months it takes for a grow in order to decide what kind of light to use. If the 600W gives me 10 ouces from 6 plants, or 3 ounces for 6 plants, this is a big difference!

If it takes 3 months per plant seed to harvest and that plant will yield 1/2 ounce (I'd LST, FIM, or SCROG it) that's 4 grows a year. 1 plant each grow would give 2 ounces. Then 4 plants every 3 months would give me 8 ounces minimum. Is this correct, or is it 1/2 oz per plant?

If this is correct, how many watts of light do I need to grow 4 plants every 3 months?

If you said 600W is 1 gram per watt, that would equal 10 ouces per grow with 6 plants!? This is a huge difference than 1/2 ounce per plant giving me 3 grams for 6 plants.

Which is more accurate? 1/2oz per plants or 1 gram per watt?
I don't under stand!

How many months does each grow need from seed to harverst? This will effect the choice of light!!

I think i'm more confused now.

1) How about the answer to how many months it takes from seed to harvest.

2) Yield is either 1gram per watt or 1/2 oz per plant. This info is very important!

thanks for the help!

 

[AK GreenLover]

I think i'm more confused now.

1) How about the answer to how many months it takes from seed to harvest.

2) Yield is either 1gram per watt or 1/2 oz per plant. This info is very important!

A1 - It depends on how long you want to veg her before you trigger the flower process. You can veg for years if you want. I used to veg for about 30 days before switching to 12 / 12. Then on average once you start flowering it takes 8 - 9 weeks. That will also depend on which strain you are growing. Some will take 12 weeks to completly finish out. On average though count on a few months of flower and 30 days of veg from germination.

A2 - 1 gram per watt is basically accurate if your using the correct spectrum of light. The 1/2 oz per plant isn't exactly accurate. If you veg longer you will yield more. If you veg for a very short period then count on less meds as a final result.

Basically veg for 30 days flower for 9 weeks. Depending on the strain you can count on at least 3/4 - 1 oz per plant. If you veg for an extra week your talking over 1 oz per plant easily.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hogdady]

1) How about the answer to how many months it takes from seed to harvest.

2) Yield is either 1gram per watt or 1/2 oz per plant. This info is very important!

thanks for the help!

Roughly 3 months seed to harvest.

You can expect to be in the 1/2 gram per watt area.

 

[Lusi]

Thanks! I think I can better choose a light now... I think LOL

So if I do 3 to 4 grows a year under a 400W light, I'll be in the ball park of my 6-12 ounces a year? I'm leaning towards a 400W light, if I can control the temp.

1/2gram to a gram per watt of light sounds like a lot! Can that little 150W I have really give me 3-5 ounces a grow?!

How many blooming plants can I fir under these light options:

150W plus 250W CFLs 2700, 5000, and 6500 spectrum, mixed (I have these already, unopened)

400W (with or without CFLs)

600W (with or without)

This is a hard choice for me no matter what. Heat is an issue where I am in CA. The best I can do is an open guess bedroom with open windows and fans. I hope the smell is manageble with an air filter. So far my girls outside don't have any smell.

TY for narrowing this down. It's hard to spend so much on things I don't know much about. phew!

 

[Hogdady]

1/2gram to a gram per watt of light sounds like a lot! Can that little 150W I have really give me 3-5 ounces a grow?!

A beginning grower who does everything right can expect roughly 1/2 gpw....you will be doing well to achieve that.

You can get 2-4 plants under a 400w. Seems like the best choice for your needs.

 

[Lusi]

TY for your help on this. The 400W does sound like the best option. Next problem, where to get it and what kind. Are all the companies similar in price and quality? Is there a few to avoid? I've heard there are dimable HPS 250 to 400W. Are these any good? I haven't found one for sale yet. It's a shame i can't buy a huge 1000W light and put smaller bulbs in it, as you do with incandescent lights

 

[gorilla5]

If everything stays the same more light will give you more out. But so many factors play a roll though. After 10 months of root rot and 36 dead ladies RIP in hydro i changed to soil 4 plant veged to 24-30 inches under 1000hps i can get 3-4oz per plant depending on strain. 600s are the most effecient on the market. I like to spend good money on good ballasts and hoods set up is alot of the factor IMO. Hoods it boils down to reflectivity the more the better ballast budget go magnetic good solid and always work bulbs tons of debate there. Can get them all over online ebay craigslist 420mag sponsors and your local hydro stores. Should be able to get a full 600 setup for around 260 new.

 

[Lusi]

G5
So far, I don't need to grow this much... Everything I read says 600W is the most efficient, however the heat here in CA is bad from may to September. I can't keep the house very cool with no lights! My 250W CFLs and 2 4' T-5s had my veggy corner in a very large room in the 80s, up to 88 in the day. This was with the house AC (moving out of this place ASAP!!!) a ceiling fan, large rotating fan and a 8" direct fan on the plants. My own bedroom was never below 80 with the AC on 24/7. With only the T-5s my electric bill was over $300 a month! A new place ought to have better AC... I hope.

This is likely why the place in Oakland sold me the 150HPS. I am unsure whether to try the 150 and CFLs out to see what happens, therefore buying me some time to find a better place... or to go with a 400W or other with a dimmer down to 250. My 3 sprouted seeds look bad and have over a month to go before even a possibility to flower them. This gives me more time too. I wonder if A passes that law in a week if the prices will go up or down for supplies. ?? I'm disabled and can't do stairs. No attics ore basements for me. :-( I doubt that I could use a 600W, no matter where I live, for half the year. What would you do here? Use the 150W with CFLs, wait until the seedling are ready to start flowering, wait until I can move to see if a 600W is possible, or buy a 400W?

I was looking at a complete system rather than separate ballast and light. These seem to be more affordable, but I'm not sure of that. What is the advantage of the separate ballast? Is it really worth the price difference?

Thanks for the hydro warning. I had a hell of a time keeping an aquarium algae free and clean. Hydro looks like a bad idea, unless something small like the "Emily's Garden." I have a little floating 6 cubed seed starter. It turns green along with all other containers and soil under my T-5s. Yuck. It doesn't keep the cubes from becoming too wet like it claims. If I go on vacation, it seems simple enough to set an aquarium pump in a bucket to let out some water on the plants a few minutes each day.

It's really hard to figure out the best options as I'm new to this hotter than hell state and am renting instead of owning my place. The outdoor plants (first grow) suffered a lot of heat and bug probs. Ack! Do all new growers go as insane over this as I am?

 

[Hogdady]

G5
So far, I don't need to grow this much... Everything I read says 600W is the most efficient, however the heat here in CA is bad from may to September. I can't keep the house very cool with no lights! My 250W CFLs and 2 4' T-5s had my veggy corner in a very large room in the 80s, up to 88 in the day. This was with the house AC (moving out of this place ASAP!!!) a ceiling fan, large rotating fan and a 8" direct fan on the plants. My own bedroom was never below 80 with the AC on 24/7. With only the T-5s my electric bill was over $300 a month! A new place ought to have better AC... I hope.

This is likely why the place in Oakland sold me the 150HPS. I am unsure whether to try the 150 and CFLs out to see what happens, therefore buying me some time to find a better place... or to go with a 400W or other with a dimmer down to 250. My 3 sprouted seeds look bad and have over a month to go before even a possibility to flower them. This gives me more time too. I wonder if A passes that law in a week if the prices will go up or down for supplies. ?? I'm disabled and can't do stairs. No attics ore basements for me. :-( I doubt that I could use a 600W, no matter where I live, for half the year. What would you do here? Use the 150W with CFLs, wait until the seedling are ready to start flowering, wait until I can move to see if a 600W is possible, or buy a 400W?

I was looking at a complete system rather than separate ballast and light. These seem to be more affordable, but I'm not sure of that. What is the advantage of the separate ballast? Is it really worth the price difference?

Thanks for the hydro warning. I had a hell of a time keeping an aquarium algae free and clean. Hydro looks like a bad idea, unless something small like the "Emily's Garden." I have a little floating 6 cubed seed starter. It turns green along with all other containers and soil under my T-5s. Yuck. It doesn't keep the cubes from becoming too wet like it claims. If I go on vacation, it seems simple enough to set an aquarium pump in a bucket to let out some water on the plants a few minutes each day.

It's really hard to figure out the best options as I'm new to this hotter than hell state and am renting instead of owning my place. The outdoor plants (first grow) suffered a lot of heat and bug probs. Ack! Do all new growers go as insane over this as I am?

It's almost starting to sound like you should grow with fluorescents. They do have a somewhat lower yield, but the amount of heat that you have to deal with is significantly lower than an HID. They are modular (ballast integral) and cheaper to operate than HID. They do require more attention as you have to maintain a close lite to plant distance, so you will be moving them alot. It's kinda your preference now.

 

[Lusi]

Hi HD,
I've thought a lot about just using T5s or CFLs or about using them together with the 150W HPS I have. I have yet to find anyone only using florescents. One of the local hydro stores only carried low W, florescents, and LEDs in the summer. Even the store doesn't have an HPS running and on display.?? The LEDs look like a waste of money and I'm not sure how compare to florecents.

It's cold here now and i had to bring in my youngest plant not in bloom... bugs or no bugs. There's annoying black gnats so far. I had to bend the poor plant in half to put it in the veggy chamber tonight.The other option is to only grow inside for the winter. I put 5 plants out in May and they still have 4 weeks left to flower! The heat even in the shade was bad for them. This state is frustrating to live in at all!

Would the 150HPS light make a difference if used with 250W CFLs? What are of space would these all cover? It's use this set up for now or get a 400W. I'd just try the darn thing if it wasn't still in a sealed box. i wish I could find other growers in this baking climate. i just can't find enough CFL and T5 info to chose these for flowering. Info on the 150W is also hard to come by. It's hard to to make a decision with so little info out there. ;-(

LMK if you have any suggestions. It's easier to buy a darn car than find real info on growing without HID lights.

 

[Hogdady]

There's plenty of members here that grow with fluoros. You can read the thread below and I'm sure that he will be able to answer any questions about fluoros that you have.

Matanuska Valley's Picture Thread

I also found this....

CFL Light Tutorial

At the very least, you can veg your plants with the setup you have while you decide what you want to do.

 

[Lusi]

Thanks, I'll check these out!

I just found th4 frost date for my area. I only have 1 1/2 weeks left. I hope my 4 flowering plants are done in time! I have them in grow bags to keep the roots together from growing into the surrounding soil. This is to dig them up easily and move them. I hope they all don't need to come in! I've brought the two smallest in already. ;-(

After I have my first outdoor harvest, I think it will be easier to calculate how much i can get from an outdoor grow each year, and what is left I need to grow inside. That is if my buds don't taste like fertilizer and bug spray! I can't flush them since they are in the ground. :-(

I might as well use my 150W HPS with floros and see how far I get

TY!

 

[Lusi]

Wow, that's one awesome CFL thread!!! TY!

 

[Hogdady]