Bit of newbie help with my choice of lighting setup and few other little things

[mysticjim]

Hi Everyone,

Wondering if I could get a bit of advice on how my growing area should take shape, in particular reference to lights.

So, I'm in quite a fortunate situation in that I've got a large walk-in cupboard, it's approx 2 and1/2 feet wide, and about 2 feet deep and once inside there is around 7 feet in height. It's advantageous because it's in the heart of a ground floor flat, situated between the bathroom and kitchen, so plenty of things to disguise the whiff of budding ganja! However, it's size is something of a disadvantage as I simply don't have the budget or resources to utilise such a tall space to it's fullest potential, nor do I have the resources to go to the lengths of ventilation, etc, that would be required for such an operation.

Recessed within the cupboard are slats for adding shelves, of which there are about 4 shelves in place. I'm thinking at this point of utilising a growing and lighting space of about 5 feet between two strategically placed shelves.

There is one electrical point within the cupboard which I've just had a qualified electrician make live, it's a uk standard socket, total load of 15amps max.

So, first off, a few things to check - the walls - they are a fairly recently painted slightly off-white matt colour. Will this be okay, should I consider repainting in brilliant white matt, or should I be looking to reflectivity to the walls with something shiny? I've heard matt white (or thereabouts) is okay, but most of the pics I've seen there is a lot of reflective stuff going on - and it's not aluminium foil, so any pointers there. My budget, which is frankly tiny, won't stretch to any specialist reflective materials, I'm looking at DIY efforts, really.

Although I don't believe the room suffers with damp, it hasn't been used functionally for a while and is a bit musty, I'm assuming giving the walls and surfaces a good clean is a must, and a bit of a wipe over with a light water and bleach mix is a good idea?

And the big one - lights! I've been toying with various configurations, budget permitting. I've found a hydrophonics store not a million miles away from where I live as I'm not really in a position to have much delivered - I work full time and can't get stuff delivered to work anymore, and anyway, this ain't the kind f supplies I realy want going to my place work!

So, I pretty much know I'm looking at fluorescents, here's what I've found, would appreciate a steer on this;

1) Single 125w CFL bulb kit, with holder, reflector and blue and red bulbs

(I would include a link but apparently I need to have submitted 10 posts!)

Listed price: £52.16 (no idea if this is VAT inclusive, I'm hoping it is!)

And seemed quite good, but then I read about T5 lights and found this;

2) 2x 24w T5 60cm housing - with 2 blue lights included

(again, link not possible at present)

Cost of housing with included blue bulbs - £44.46
Cost of additional red bulbs, £4.73 each, so assuming I buy two of those it brings it to a total of £53.92

So, I know option one is the more powerful option, but I've heard great things about T5 lights - like how you can get them a bit closer to the plant, and the quality of the light they throw down.

At this stage the £50-£60 mark is all the lighting budget I have, I'm ideally looking at running two small autoflowering plants placed next to eachother on a single shelf with light from above. I will be tying down the stems fairly early on to try and get the smaller size, and I've selected a small, autoflowering indica for my first crop. I'm realistic about the kind of yield I'll get, I'll work on increasing that as I invest in more equipment over time.

I know the single CFL bulb is workable, for those of us on a low budget, I've seen it recommended on this forum, but the T5 is a great fit for the space and comes in a very convenient holder, and the bulbs are dirt cheap. I hear great things about them for veg growing, but I'm not hearing great things when it comes to flowering, even with the change of bulb. Is it simply a matter of the sheer grunt you get out of the single CFL bulb?

What do you guys think?

And with these two possible configurations I'm planning on running a timer on the single socket out to a surge protected power strip, and running the light and at least one low power fan for circulation of that. Is that feasible, and more importantly, safe? We're not talking about stupid loads on the socket there, are we? Yes, I'm a bit vague with electricals, please feel free to berate me if I'm being daft!

Advice massively appreciated.

Jim

[M_C]

A 125w CFL isn't really going to cut it with 2 plants (I know, I've tried...!)

You can get a 250w HPS from fleabay for £55.99 which would be a much better option...

Have you thought about filtration & extraction?

[mysticjim]

'ello!

Thanks for replying, so - 125W CFL not any good to adequately grow two small plants? The same supplier does provide a 250w version which is naturally more expensive right across the board, bulbs are pricier too. As I said, alas at this precise moment I can't rely on mail order for anything that won't fit through my letterbox, which is very little!

I'm assuming you reckon the T5 unit is a complete non-starter, then?

Have you thought about filtration & extraction?

Sort of - extraction I'm relying on using at least a single simple fan in the room to move air around, maybe strategically position a second fan to blow air generally out toward the little bit of ventilation I have. Beyond that, I'm looking at small plants, am planning on user de-odourisor blocks just outside the grow area, I'm hoping that will be enough to conceal everything - I'm hoping it won't be too much of an issue.

[M_C]

It's not the growing of the plants that would be the proble, you could veg 2 plants easily with the above but they wont flower them very successfully... a 250w CFL would be a much better option...

[dickiefickle]

Thats not much room for two plants . Buy an LED light . Don't forget they will smell .

[mysticjim]

Hi M_C

Yes, I'm sure that a 250w CFL would be massively advantageous - the supplier I'm looking at sell the 250w version red and blue bulbs for a total of £90.86 - just a out of my price range I'm afraid. I can get it with just a blue bulb for £56.66 - but it's deabatable whether I'd have enough funds later to purchase a red bulb when my autoflowering seeds start to flower.

So, I guess I got these options in my price range;

1) 125w CFL with red and blue bulb - accepting that it'll struggle with two plants maybe I'll start doing a single plant at a time.

2) 250w cfl with just a blue bulb - will obviously give be a good advantage for flowering and by your advice, will sort out two plants, but I would have to do at least my first crop purely on blue as I don't think I'll be able to purchase a red bulb til after Christmas.

No-one is talking about the T5, I guess for such a modest setup it's not an option???

And dickiefickle, I'd love to get an LED light, I will one day, but it's along way down the road. And yes, I'm aware of the smell!

[ThcJake]

600watt bulb & reflector i bought for £54 delivered (y)

[Ye Old Pioneer]

you could get as above a 600w hps and use a cooltube even a 400w if it was me personally id buy a 250w in a space like that and tbh the smell aint too bad though harvest all i can say is pheeewwww it pongs lol if you only have one plug socket in there id make sure it was covered in some reflective sheeting or waterproof box, even one of them trip switch things you use for lawnmowers etc incase u run over the cable as if its humid in there whilst vegging last thing you want is to burn the house down theres alot of gud gear out there bud gumtree (and ebay) has a few lights etc on for sale even though its second hand just buy a new bulb and away you go hope this helps a little? cant really give 110% great advice as im a noob myself mate just on drying my first ever grow

whatever you decide just make sure theres plenty of air circulation and extraction atvb and good luck

[Delboythc]

Anything below 600watt is a waste of time in my opinion. I want full results from all 4 of my plants.

The wattage you said your planning to use mate is something I would use for a mother plant.

[M_C]

Ya need a different grow shop mate... the one you are talking about is too expensive!

If you can only get the one bulb, get a dual spectrum one