New grower has questions :)

[Sir MaXx]

I am currently in the process of planning out my 2 part grow room after alot of research and a few tutorials and a movie I have a few questions that I haven't been able to find answers to through google or the forums, anything I could find just turned into a flame war about which is the definite best gear and not what can work if you are on a budget.

My first question is about temperature, everywhere I have looked the issue is keeping the temperature down, not to let it exceed a certain point, but nobody really mentioned if there is a bad lower temperature to stay above. I plan to grow in my attic this house has no heat and the entire house is freezing cold all winter, is that bad for the crops? they will be sectioned off into smaller grow rooms with lights but I feel there is only so much they could do to keep it warm.

My other big question is lighting, I plan to have a 400w HPS light as recommended in the flowering room but a seperate room with flourescent lights just for the 2 vegetative mothers and their respective clones. With how much the HPS system is costing 105 euro approx I am trying to keep the cost of the florescent as low as possible and wanted to find out if having the expensive external ballast was necessary for just 2 4ft tubes (1 cool white and 1 warm white) because another 50+ euro for a ballast is going to be tough to come by. If there isnt a way to do flourescent lights without a ballast is CFT a cost effective option for cheaper grow lights or am I really going to have to splash out for another ballast?


sorry if the questions are a bit long I didnt entirely know how to word it without sounding completely stupid

 

[miwa]

cannabis is a hardy weed..what cool temps do is slow their growth...i would guess 40d proubly would be the lowest....a small heater should keep them ok...as far as the lights...i'm using cfls...they don't heat up they are easy on your elect bill...they have built in ballast..u should check em out...good luck on your grow

 

[JB42]

Like Miwa said Cfl's have their own ballast. You can get the 250w cfls of ebay for like 30euro for a Blue or Red spec bulb, you can also buy 300w clf duel red/blue spec which are good. They fit in the same size reflectors as the hps as well so you can swap to suit.

So no you don't need 2 ballast. And heat not really going to be a problem if your using Hps lamps they give off enough heat, its ventilation you'l need or just an fan, blowing air in and being able to come out again.

 

[Sir MaXx]

hey thanks for your input I am really considering a cfl setup now as it seems cheaper, it says that the blue 250w cfls are good for the vegetetive state and propegation room so that fits what I need perfectly but will one blue cfl be enough to grow? It will only be providing light to two mothers and a handfull of clones from each.
Would one bulb provide enough light for my babies or would it require a few? and should I get a hood reflector for it or would just a basic lead be sufficient to get me started and I could add a hood over time as I got more cash?

 

[JB42]

You can use a hood they obviously best, an yeah one light is enough for 2. If the mothers get too tall an their not much light penetrating the top canopy with the reflector light, then just gety another even a 125w Blue cfl on a cable dropped down the side works great. But i'd defo get the hood for the one.

 

[Sir MaXx]

ah thanks for the advice definitely going to be checking out the 250w blue cft with a hood