Lighting cfls or 600w hps cooltube

[hazydayzdc]

hello guys

im a newbie and i will be setting up a 1m x 1m x 1.8m growtent now for lighting im really interested in a 600w hps cooltube double spectrum but im just wondering after reading lots on cfls and t5s could i get a setup thats better or just as good with cfls if so what would you recommend and how many and what wattage would be best for bulbs i dont really want to be changing the light bulbs at different stages either but if i must i must im only ever going to be growing autos and i have very little knowledge especially when it comes to growing with cfls any help would be appreciated obviously if i need that many and it will use as much electricity as hps then id rather just get the cooltube but like i say i know nothing please if you can give me any suggestions that would be fantastic and for info i dont want led maybe if it comes down in price :drool: someday
thanks

 

[dude]

Best bang for your money as a generalisation would be the hps all day long.

Good for your tent size also

 

[Muddy]

A good general rule of thumb is 50 watts per square foot in veg and 60 in flower. You have about 10 square feet, so you would need 500 watts in veg and 600 in flower. If you use standard, off the shelf 23 watt CFLs you'll need at least 22 of them to cover that area. Or you could use two 300 watt CFLs of this type: http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/sun-system-white-wing-cfl-reflector.html. CFLs still generate a good bit of heat, but not as much as HPS. I'd be more inclined to use T5s. They would be my second pick, behind LEDs, followed by CFLs, then HPS being the least desirable due to their high heat.

 

[hazydayzdc]

thanks muddy


im looking at some t5s but i can only seem to find ones with 4 neons 55w per tube that would fit in my tent other ones with 8 neons are slighty too long for my tent and the ones with 8 neons would be using nearly as much electricity as the 600w hps i have found an 8 neon tube one that would fit my tent but the bulbs are only 24w thanks for your help and advice

 

[Darth Vapour]

Sunblaster makes single bulb 3' T5 and you can link together, they have a bracket that holds 7 in series

Also the 2' are 24W so that'd be total 240 I think muddy, unless they make a 54 watt 2'

Have you thought about LED? They are a bit pricey, I'm in Canada and would love to try a grow Northern fixture but they are very pricey plus the shipping

 

[Muddy]

You're absolutely right on the wattage of the 2' bulbs. My bad. Deleting my previous post.

 

[hazydayzdc]

cheers buddy

looks like i dont quite have the tent space just thought it was worth asking you never know what combinations are possible when youre new to things and if my tent was bigger i would have chosen t5s i might have to relook tent size lol and just 1 last question concerning t5s would it be better to have a combination of of 6500k/2700k from start to finish or just 2700k from start to finsh or would i need 2 sets of neon s for autos thanks for the info very useful

 

[Darth Vapour]

My first grow I used 6500 until they stopped stretching than added 2700 for 50/50 mix

Second grow I used the 50/50 mix throughout, didn't see much stretching in my second grow but that could also be due to my aggressive LST and the different strain

I've seen some killer grows on this site with 6500 start to finish

 

[hazydayzdc]

hey gilly

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hey gilly

 

[AndyBotwin]

I run T5s with a mixed spectrum and that usually gives me best results. I have done grows with 6500 from start to finish and was pretty happy with the results. Tried going all 2700 during flower and did not see the growth I would have liked. At least with CFLs and T5s, autos seem to like some blue light even in full flower. If you can swing a 2'x4' tent, you can get a 6 bulb 324w T5 fixture in there and it will give you good results for around 4 plants. I have had no problems pulling an ounce or more per plant with this setup. You can also add some CFLs or single T5s for side lighting to get you up to 400w if you can handle the heat.