Hello. I’m brand new to growing and I’m overwhelmed. I will be starting my first auto grow in a closet in my office. White Walls, about 3’ deep and 2’ wide. There’s an outlet in the closet and I’ll be venting I to my attic with a carbon filter. I’ve chosen autos for my first grow and am leaning towards Coco with perlite. I can’t decide on nutes or on a budget minded LED light. I’ve read about Mars, Phlizon, and Vipar lights. I can’t afford more than $100 or so on lights…should I do two 300 or one 600? Looking for tips and suggestions…thank you for your time and help.b
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The Amazon lights are very misleading. A 600w light from these companies is really more like a 100w light. They over advertise the crap out of them. They also produce alot of heat. To be completely honest, a 100 dollar light will probably get you through the veg stage. Where these lights fall short is when it comes time to flower. Marijuana plants need pretty intense light whenever they begin to produce buds.
The cheapest light(that works) is probably gonna be around 200 to 250. So if you can, maybe you could start saving up for it, and in the meantime read through some of the journals here and learn more so you will be more confident whenever the time comes. 
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You maybe able to fine an HLG-100 or 120 around that price range. Check horticulture lighting group dot com. Itll grow one plant to completion easily
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Thank you. I think I’ve got space for two plants…do I need two lights?
Either 2 lights or one light big enough to grow 2 plants
@Olaf
My grows have been in coco & perlite. I recommend advanced nutrients ph perfect for coco line. It’s a great way to get your feet wet . You don’t have to worry about your ph since it self adjust.
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@Olaf, I have a rescue Durban poison in a 10 gallon pot that I didn’t know what to do with after I switched my two main tents to hydro and it wouldn’t fit so I moved it to my veg, drying tent 2x4x5 and flipped her with an HLG 100 and she’s kicking butt. I had an extra red 90 watt that I threw in Just for fun.
I run hlg 260’s in my auto tent and they are the truth.
Thanks everyone for all the advice. I am getting ready to order my seeds…again, so many options. I have chronic migraines and have tried a multitude of medicines. I started “THE” medicine a few months ago. Bingo. Helps tremendously. I just bought some Sour Diesel and it’s good. Any advice on strains to get?
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Olaf,
First I want to welcome you to ILGM and to our awesome community,
Here is i little info on light hope it helps you out
The flowers or buds of the Cannabis plant are comprised of the stalk, the leaf, and
the calyx. If a plant receives light in abundance, then the plant will focus more on
producing calyces than making flowers. The reverse holds true. If a plant isn’t getting
enough light, then more energy will be devoted to the production of leaves, and you will
end up with a worse harvest. This is because the plant is trying to compensate for the
low amount of light by making extra leaves to pull in sunlight.
The spectrum of light your plants are receiving affect growth a great deal. The sun has
a very full spectrum, but you can control the types of light you are using in your grow
room to achieve some excellent effects. Photosynthesis and a number of chlorophyll related
reactions are stimulated by the orange, red and blue sections of the spectrum. Phototropism
is controlled by colors ranging from blue to ultraviolet. This is the phenomenon by which
a plant grows itself into the best possible position for capturing light.
The most important general rule to remember about light and Cannabis cultivation is that
red spectrum colors induce flowering, while blue spectrum colors promote growth.
The cycles or periods of time during which your plant receives light is also important.
While your plant is growing, it should be receiving about 18 hours of light for every 6 hours
of darkness. When it’s time to flower, you’ll want to switch to 12 hours of light and 12
hours of darkness (hint: there are only 24 hours in a day). One of the really nice things
about indoor growing is that you have full control over the light. You choose how the
passage of night and day will occur, and so you should be mindful of providing it in ideal
proportions so that your plant thrives.
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Thank you for that information. I’m excited to jump in the pool and grow my own. It’s a bit overwhelming with so many items available now…which pots, lights, nutes, etc. I’m trying to start for less than $500…grow for my own crop then we’ll see what’s next.
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It is an addicting hobby. If you can train the plant to a 2x2 area, a viparspectra 300 will grow plants. And it is very budget friendly. I grew this under a viparspectra 300
The last 3 or 4 weeks were under a quantum board. But I have 2 others going on 1 vipar 300 each and they’re doing their thing.
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Thank you for the pics. I’m jealous but I won’t say anything. Yeah, the room…uh,…closet is about 4’ deep and maybe 30" wide. I’m going to try 300-450 watt to start…gotta a budget unfortunately. Looking at all autoflower. Good sales at Bergmans and they seem legit. Y’all are alot of help…thank you.
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@garrigan62 Always very informative post!
Always takes me an hour to read but very informative none the less lol.
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Northern Lights and Gold Leaf seem to be the strongest… medicinal ILGM grows around here. A few with chronic pains swear by the stuff. Im a Blueberry and Diesel lover. So you have nice taste. Just look around. And dont worry… you can ALWAYS order more seeds 
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I’m liking the free seed promos and started reading his grow Bible. I’ll add those flavors to my list. I tried some local guys medicine and it was harsh to smoke…I’m guessing cheap stuff. I really like the diesel aroma…and I’m excited to try many different ones.
Yup. That 
like funk does something to me. And harsh smoke isn’t necessarily inferior product. Could have pushed nutrients too close to harvest. Or dry and cured horribly. The dry and cure is almost a make or break phase to the FLAVOR and terps of ur bud. Can bring out smells u didnt know she had or nuke out the ones you dreamd she’d ooze
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Just ordered my pots and ph meter…cleaned out the closet space and added a cross bar. The space is white already. I’m debating on putting mylar in there or just white paint. it’s a tile floor but brown… probably need a reflective floor of some kind.
Hey every little bit helps. I use white walls but im cheap and they were already white 
Sounds like ur tuning on up. Which ph meter u get? And have u gotten a tds meter? The 11-12 buck one works.
I’m on a pretty tight budget…per the bride. The short term goal is to eliminate the $140 a month in prescription costs plus my $120 a month “medicine” budget. I’ll recoup my costs easily in one grow…ok, maybe two.
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