Affordable Fluorescent Lightning Questions

[Dru]

I live in Oregon and we are allowed 4 plants a household here. I have a home made lighting box with three full size fluorescent light ballasts (6 tube bulbs total) installed to a switch I aquired, I've done some research however I want too hear from other people and their experience with fluorescents.

Now I know I will also need too use side lighting (cfl's probably) since fluorescent lighting only goes a few feet down. What I want too know is can I yield a decent amount (hopefully over an oz per plant, 3 would be ideal) using fluorescent all the way through each cycle too budding? I've read different things saying too yield big bud you have to/ or should switch to another form of lighting and than other articles that say if you use the right lumens/watts and lots of lights fluorescents still work well while helping save on the light bill savings, which I will use enough to leave no shadows on the plants. Which would be the proper lumen's and watts too use for the fluorescent tube lighting for each cycle? Also would the cfl's need to be the same lumen's and or watts as the tubes? Also read somewhere more small cfl's all around is better than the bigger style cfls is their much truth too that? I'm assuming as long as the light hits all parts of the plants I should be fine right?

Sorry for such the long explanation, I guess in a nut shell, are specific lumen's and or watts important and which for which cycle? Side lighting bulb size matter? Can I receive a high yield using these lighting methods only or switch methods or better just too move outdoors(which spider mites are hell on outdoor here, hence why I want to use a stirle indoor environment)? Thanks guys, one love!

View attachment 1125

 

[shemp99]

http://grow-marijuana.com/lights

 

[jimbojones]

Get yourself an 8 bulb 4ft T-5 HO setup, the cheapest one you can find cause they all put out the same light.  Grow light HO T-5s, not the home depot ones.  Even this is only going to be good for the first month or so of plant life (longer if using seeds).  You are wasting your time with those big ol' tubes, they don't make shit for lumens and they don't penetrate even enough to grow clones past a few inches tall.  Trust me I grew for a living for a long time.  Lighting is not where you want to cut corners.  And wasting your money on CFLs for side light is just that, a waste.  Best case scenario they grow into the light and burn the leaves, causing your plants to grow all crazy looking for the sun.  They are also squiggly bulbs, resulting in most of the light shining on another part of the bulb.  CFLs are WORTHLESS!!!  Despite popular belief flouros make heat as well.  Your setup is going to yeild spindly garbage plants with wispy unsmokable buds.  You are just wasting time, energy and plants with that setup.  To run a proper grow I use always say $1,000 a kilowatt for a basic no frills grow.  Start with 2 600s so you don't have amperage problems and go from there.  Junk that box, its worthless.  Stuffing 3 plants in a poorly vented box is going to choke them and then they will mildew in the humidity.  No way in hell are you getting an oz per plant.  A tuned in grow using 1kilowatt lights and CO2 enrichment with all the bells and whistles is going to yield 1-1.3 grams per watt.  Those are the cold hard facts, sorry to burst your bubble.  Go on CL and buy  some used gear and put up something proper.  You need fans, ventilation, more space (your plants will triple in size when you flower them) and just a whole new approach to this grow.

 

[jimbojones]

Also if you want to decimate some spidermites and systemically protect your plant get some Forbid by Bayer Crop Science.  It is not approved for any kind of human use but it is natural fermentation from a type of bacteria that grows in old sugarmills.  It is a recent discovery that is why it is very expensive (You don't need much though, a bottle lasts forever) and has no FDA approval for agricultural use.  But the stuff has an LD-50 of somewhere in the quarts, and its 1ml/Gallon and it is effective for like month.  It kills all of them, not just the babies or daddies, or ones on the plants.  It is like spidermite nerve agent that kills any spidermite who takes a sip and due to its mechanism of action they cannot build tolerance.  I used it up until a month prior to harvesting, neem oil is not very effective and tastes like shit.  I can use a fogger and do 80 large plants with 1ml of Forbid, that is going to have no health risks after 30 days and it keeps your buds safe.  Eagle-20 is another one that is great for systemically destroying powdery mildew (which once plants have they have forever unless you eagle 20 em')  So I use Eagle-20 on all my clones and then just keep conditions good so PM doesn't rear its ugly head.  This includes heavy defoliation to prevent microclimates deep within the leaf cannopy.  I know people will disagree with me but I had heathier plants, bigger buds and higher yields using methods of heavy (and I mean HEAVY) defoliation at least 2 times in the mature plants life prior to flowering, and I do it once during flowering to get rid of the spindly garbage buds that are a waste of energy.

Go outdoors, get Eagle-20 and Forbid  Total around $500 and you should be good, provided your soil is decent and you know how to use nutrients.