WTF do i need?

im really confuzzed on how much light u need to grow with im not trying to break the bank right now my limit is like 120 dollars right now for lights...what can i get with this? i was at home depot n they had these T8 fluorescent lights 32 watts then they hav the light fixtures that can fit 6 of the 4ft T8 fluorescent lights so all together its around 100 dollars for the complete setup and wen add up the wattage its only like 192 watts. with the 192 watts how many plants could i grow. ANY ADVICE IS NEEDED OR IF YOU KNOW WHER I COULD GET AN BETTER DEAL ON LIGHTS WOULD BE AWESOME

It depends on the square footage that the lights will cover. But you're using CFLs so you're really limited in terms of yield. Basically you just want to have your lights 2-3" above your plants at all times, how ever many plants you can fit under the light is how many you can grow.

Don't forget about the costs of nutrients grow medium, water, electricity, some where to house your plants, proper humidity levels, a timer for your lights, ect, ect.

Also, you won't be able to get any HIDs with ballast and bulb for under $120 so yes, you're stuck with CFLs.

You should look into high output T5s. They're low wattage, low cost, but put out more lumens than any number of T8s in a standard socket will.

Use the regular CFL bulbs, they are only a few dollars each.

use all cfls with 100 you will get lots of them

i just bought a 400 watt hps light with a reflector, ballast, hangers, and a timer off ebay for 165$, free shipping. i would save up and purchase this. it will def. be worth the wait.

You can always get a 150W HPS complete system for around $70+ shipping. Not the brightest, but better than CFL IMHO. You CAN use an HPS all the way through, since money is an issue. I think there's a 150 Watt club thread around here somewhere so you can read about others with the 150W and their yields.

http://www.htgsupply.com/
has a 400 watt hps at $119

here is product link
it's their low end line but I believe has a warranty and HTG is always taking care of their peeps.

http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-watt-High-Pressure-Sodium-Grow-Light.asp

I would spend that money on the biggest bag of weed you can find, get really high, and think of a way to make more money.

under best deals sticky theres 1000 watter for 187 a little more but will be more then enough for the average grow

flamdrags420 said:

http://www.htgsupply.com/
has a 400 watt hps at $119

here is product link
it's their low end line but I believe has a warranty and HTG is always taking care of their peeps.

http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-watt-High-Pressure-Sodium-Grow-Light.asp

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This is the best idea here! I would definitely take this advice

Unless you can scrounge more money....

I got great deals from Craigs list for used lights. I got a used 400 and a 600 watt hps setup $150 for both.

just wait till you can get some good lights they are the best investment i ever made i tried to do that home depot crap t8's and even with good spectrum bulbs didnt get shit off my plants made me want to stop growing all together but then i INVESTED over a grand in some great hps's and t5 floros i took a while but WOW they have already payed for themselves twice from 3 harvests 50watts per square foot of grow space is ideal but more is way better. save your money till you can afford good lighting and you will be one of the many on here saying WOW shit i had no idea lol.

I totally agree. If you can get into HID for that price then go for it. A 400w system for $120 is cheap as shit... but whatever...

At Home De Pot the best lighting you'll find is 27w n:Vision cfl bulbs placed in the medium sized clamp light reflectors. The reflectors are like $5 a pop, and the bulbs are usually like $1.50 each when bought as a pair. I prefer to add in a couple of the wye sockets and run 2 bulbs per reflector sometimes. Figure $120 can probably get you 15 bulbs set up, and if you're clever you could be quite successful at utilizing the bulbs in a "vertical" configuration between plants. You're still running 400w+, but you get less photosynthetically active radiation (probably...) than you would with an HPS system. So, bang for the buck is definitely in HPS. But you can still do good things with an ass load of CFL bulbs... just not as good.

Steer clear of the strip lighting, T12 and T8 are totally janky. T5 is great for clones and mother plants but nuh uh for flowering.

Look on ebay they have a few different 400 watt combo deals everything in one package in your price range.

drgreentm said:

just wait till you can get some good lights they are the best investment i ever made i tried to do that home depot crap t8's and even with good spectrum bulbs didnt get shit off my plants made me want to stop growing all together but then i INVESTED over a grand in some great hps's and t5 floros i took a while but WOW they have already payed for themselves twice from 3 harvests 50watts per square foot of grow space is ideal but more is way better. save your money till you can afford good lighting and you will be one of the many on here saying WOW shit i had no idea lol.

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agreed ,i have a few thou in my set up over time, not all at once.its expensive to get started growing,you hav to start with at least one good light.dont rush,wait till u can afford one light then go from there, my set has paid for itself five times over,

try this place,plantlightinghydroponics,dont know the exactkeywords but google will get u to it.evrything i have came from this store, i always check craigs and ebay first and have never found anybody cheaper than them.store is awesome and they have everything except hortilux 1000w bulbs , hortilux tried to make em charge more fo them, they refused and dicontinued them

bassman999 said:

I got great deals from Craigs list for used lights. I got a used 400 and a 600 watt hps setup $150 for both.

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Ya I've seen a few listings on CL myself. My only thing about buying second hand is that usually the hydro stores will have a waranty and are great about swapping out damaged goods. But to get started buying 2nd hand I think is also a good idea. I saw about 5 listings for lights in my area on CL today just checking.

flamdrags420 said:

Ya I've seen a few listings on CL myself. My only thing about buying second hand is that usually the hydro stores will have a waranty and are great about swapping out damaged goods. But to get started buying 2nd hand I think is also a good idea. I saw about 5 listings for lights in my area on CL today just checking.

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I might be lucky, but I bought hella stuff from CL and all works right. 3 HID lights and Dehumidifier Tray etc....

legallyflying said:

I would spend that money on the biggest bag of weed you can find, get really high, and think of a way to make more money.

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or get the biggest bag of weed you can find, chop it up, sell it (to other licensed medical patients of course...) and have more money to buy lights...

WoW u guys really helped alot on this and i think my best bet is to save up alittle more money and do this grow RIGHT.