Indoor Ideal Setup?

[Stumpjumper]

Experienced growers opinions needed..

I have a 12 plant max limit and I'm looking to get to as close as a perpetual grow as I can. I'd like to be harvesting 4 plants a month and having the other 8 in 2 groups of varied growth..

Now if this sounds feasible..

What would be the best lighting option for me. I don't want to run a 1000K and I think it would be overkill anyways. I'm going for the best results with the cheapest amount of electricity used. I'm open to using CFL's even, but If I have 400 or 600 watts of cfl's I might as well use HID?

My room is 10' x 12' x 6' high so I don't think heat issues will be a major concern.

 

[The Medicine Man]

You might look into a few 400w CMH lights. For perpetual grows those would give a nice balance of spectrum from what I've been told. I use 600w HPS for the bulk of my stuff, personally.

 

[Stumpjumper]

Well I should add I'm on a pretty tight budget. A "few" 400w lamps and ballasts is probably a little out of reach at the moment, with all the other crap I need too.

I'm trying to go the cheapest I can to get the maximum results.. I suppose it might be too much to try to get 12 plants under one light.. I'm thinking 2.5 gallon pots..

This is why I'm asking for opinions

 

[The Medicine Man]

Well, depends how big you need the plants to get, too. You could just focus the plants in a much smaller spot in that large room and put one lamp over them all and do fine. I personally have about 21 plants under a 600w in a 4x7 area. Now it's all in aero rails so I don't have pots for soil, so that helps with the space, but if you can have the plants be smaller and focus them in a tighter spot, then sure you could do that. You could also just grow under some flourescensts. I have one grow under the big fatty t12 tubes right now.

 

[Stumpjumper]

Well I'm planning on either starting with BH or BHD.. They don't get too big.

 

[Muddy]

If you're going to stay with your 12 plant limit, then you probably don't need that whole space. Even cutting it in half would still be more space than needed for 12 plants. I have a 4' x 4' area where I can fit 9 plants in 3 gallon pots. If you went with 6' x 10' you would have plenty of room for all your plants. Using HPS you would need a minimum of about 50 watts per square foot. If you concentrate the pots in one end of that space, say 6' x 4' that's still 24 sq. ft. so I would think you need a minimum of 1000 watts. Two 600 watters would probably be better. If you use a 1,000 watter, I'd suggest putting it on a light mover. Check this link: http://www.cannaversity.com/calculators/lighting.php

 

[NewHope]

Hy!
I'm absolutly beginner, but I face the problem too. Not an old topick it just born in the last few day's. We talk about a question like that (lighting).
Check it if you want: http://www.autoflower.org/f5/first-time-home-box-grow-need-some-advice-2155.html
short conclusion: The advanced guys told me I can use CFL T5 HO Fluoriescent lamps from the beggining to the end. (with veg. bulbs (coolwhite)).
The bulbs are cheap, and they consume is mutch lower than a HPS. Dont make mutch warm, and they are have a bigger lifetime than HPS.
I want to show you a grown calculator. Its told you how many light and vent you need. (sorry, its Hungarian, but not difficult to use)
https://www.kenderforum.org/res/calc/index.html
Szélesség means: width
Hosszúság means: length
Magasság means: height

 

[Stumpjumper]

If you're going to stay with your 12 plant limit, then you probably don't need that whole space. Even cutting it in half would still be more space than needed for 12 plants. I have a 4' x 4' area where I can fit 9 plants in 3 gallon pots. If you went with 6' x 10' you would have plenty of room for all your plants. Using HPS you would need a minimum of about 50 watts per square foot. If you concentrate the pots in one end of that space, say 6' x 4' that's still 24 sq. ft. so I would think you need a minimum of 1000 watts. Two 600 watters would probably be better. If you use a 1,000 watter, I'd suggest putting it on a light mover. Check this link: http://www.cannaversity.com/calculators/lighting.php

Yeah that helps. I didn't plan on utilizing the whole room, I mean I do, just not full of plants.. Thanks