found a usefull website on lighting

[Jimbo E]

Choosing A Grow Light
All You Need To Know When Choosing A Light To Grow
High intensity discharge grow lights (HID)
HID lighting systems have made the dream of year round gardening a reality for tens of thousands of indoor gardeners and commercial greenhouse growers worldwide. Thanks to their incredible efficiency (up to 10x more lumens per watt than incandescent bulbs) and a color spectrum that plants love, indoor growers are able to achieve incredible results year round.



Metal Halide (MH) lamps emit primarily blue light making them ideal for the vegetative growth stage.


HID lighting is used worldwide by commercial growers
HID grow lights provide many benefits that are otherwise unattainable with conventional fluorescent and incandescent lamps. Supplemental HID lighting enables commercial growers to increase crop yields, deliver crops to market on schedule and produce crops entirely out of season which can be very financially rewarding. HID lighting is so efficient and powerful that many indoor growers profit from its use year round. HID lights are powered by standard 110-120VAC wall current and use a regular three prong plugs to connect and all of our grow lights come complete with a ballast, bulb and reflector.

A primer on photosynthesis
Plants have the unique ability to manufacture their own food. In the process known as photosynthesis, chlorophyll uses light energy to convert carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into food sugar. When these elements abound in a perfect environment, the production of food is limited only by factors that effect photosynthesis, being the intensity, color and duration of the daily light the plant receives.

This chart shows the relationship between chlorophyll activity and color of light. Common electric light sources are indicated on the chart. You will notice that Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS) produce light in the most photosynthetically active spectrums.

High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps emit primarily red light which causes exaggerated flowering and fruiting during the plant reproductive stage.



As the chart indicates, cool (blue) and warm (orange) colors in the spectrum enhance chlorophyll activity and food production. Cool light is most pronounced during the summer months when the sun is highest in the sky. It is responsible for keeping plants growth compact and shapely. Warm light, such as when the sun is lower in the sky during the fall harvest months, is responsible for triggering reproduction in plants in the form of flowers and fruits.

Thus, if you plan to grow mostly leafy crops such as lettuce and vegetative herbs, your best bet is an MH lighting system. If you want to grow flowering plants, the HPS lamp is your best bet. As a matter of fact, there are conversion bulbs which allow you to buy one type of system and use both types of lamps. Conversion bulbs cost more but give you the added benefit of being able to start your plants with the MH bulb, ensuring tight, compact growth, and then switching over to the HPS lamp when the plants are ready to fruit and flower for higher yield. The latest breakthrough is in switchable ballasts which can use standard MH and HPS bulbs. Look for them by Sunlight Supply.

The primary benefit to employing a High Intensity Discharge (HID) horticultural lighting system is the control it gives you over your plant's growing environment. In many areas, once fall arrives the growing season is over, and if you're a hard-core gardener like us, you'll miss it dearly! Horticultural lighting systems allow us all to extend the growing season by providing our favorite plants with an indoor equivalent to sunlight. This is a great advantage for those of us who appreciate having a year-round supply of fresh flowers, veggies and herbs! HID lighting is also great way to jump-start spring by starting your seedlings months ahead of last frost. The images at left show the relative color rendition of both MH and HPS lamps on a colorful magazine cover.

Sizes of grow lights
MH and HPS grow lights come in the following Watt sizes; 50W, 100W, 150W, 175W, 250W, 400W, 600W,1000W and 1500W.A general rule of thumb for selecting the correct wattage grow light is to determine the size and shape of your garden area. Since grow lights emit a relatively square pattern of light, it is best to consider each light as covering a square of garden. Here is a list of the coverage each size grow light will provide.

50W = 1.5' x 1.5'
100W = 2' x 2'
250W = 3' x 3'
400W = 4' x 4'
600W = 5' x 5'
1000W = 6' x 6'
1500W = 8' x 8'
Another great advantage of indoor horticultural lighting is your ability to control the length of daylight thus empowering you with the ability to force flower your favorite strain even when completely out of season. Remember, to grow perfect plants, the secret to the right light is Color, Intensity and Duration!

http://www.futuregarden.com/lighting/ch ... ights.html ck out this site...it has more

[Psyclone]

duh we already have a light guide lol

[Jimbo E]

but this one is a little better on square footage VS. HID wattage to use...but,I'll erase this thread if it's not worth looking at. I just thought a little different perspective on the same subject may just help someone figure out a better lighting solution for their grow room, thats all...I wasent trying to ruffle any feathers...LOL ...not only that but this is a web-page that you can actually buy very good lights from also. I like those dual spectuum's & those 600W HPS Hortilux Super Bulb's also...these look like killer grow lights if you can afford them ..I'm also interested in these
54W High Output T5 Fluorescent 6500k
4ft. replacement bulbs...are these for flowering or what These 4 ft. high output replacement bulbs emit 92 lumens per watt and are available in either 3000k (warm) or 6500k (cool) spectrums to promote either flowering or vegetative growth (respectively). what's up with these

[Grrrl]

Keep it, so what if there's summat similar, the more wise words on this forum the more chance people will actually read summat of worth
There might already be a lighting post but it doesn't stop cunts from asking blatant proper obvious questions bout it anyway. spread as much weed knowldege as possible, one day someone might find it really useful if they choose not to listen more fool them.
peace

[SpRi7e]

Next time that we get a dumb question from someone that has been asked thousands of times....I say we completely lie about it and tell them the wrong thing for being lazy

[Jimbo E]

people should do some home work if they want to grow pot the right way...maby my post will help point somone in the right direction & maby they will grow the SHIZNIZZEL! & offer to smoke some with me LOL

[Jay212]

Next time that we get a dumb question from someone that has been asked thousands of times....I say we completely lie about it and tell them the wrong thing for being lazy

And cripple a perfectly innocent plant? There has to be something we can do to discipline the grower while saving the plant from a horrible death!

[Jimbo E]

Keep it, so what if there's summat similar, the more wise words on this forum the more chance people will actually read summat of worth
There might already be a lighting post but it doesn't stop cunts from asking blatant proper obvious questions bout it anyway. spread as much weed knowldege as possible, one day someone might find it really useful if they choose not to listen more fool them.
peace

...thx for having my back on this. I'm a noob indoor grower & I'm trying to weigh all my options & do it right. I've seen alot of threads with alot of Q's on lighting & I just want to help the WG cause. So THX again & keep smokin'