Kamel's CFL Guide

[gspedc33]

Originally Posted by Oriented

Hey I have no problem finding the cfl bulbs but where can you find cheap light sockets or mounts to hook it up to? I'm not trying to buy a lamp for every bulb i want to hook up. I need something that is cheap and adjustable.

Come on dude, that was a stupid ass question. Since I'm not hating, I give you the answer though....

Major home improvement stores such as lowes will have make your own lamp kits that work perfect, or work lamps and adjustable clamp lamps that work. Then ask about v-splitters that screw into sockets and make two sockets out of one. You can use the spliters however u like, and make it so up to 650 watts of light are hooked into one lamp socket. I use them on every socket to decrease the amount of sockets i have to buy and hang. On one socket, I have 6 lights coming out using 7 v-splitters.

Hope this helps you, and a whole lot of other people...

[guyverman]

Originally Posted by gspedc33

Come on dude, that was a stupid ass question. Since I'm not hating, I give you the answer though....

Major home improvement stores such as lowes will have make your own lamp kits that work perfect, or work lamps and adjustable clamp lamps that work. Then ask about v-splitters that screw into sockets and make two sockets out of one. You can use the spliters however u like, and make it so up to 650 watts of light are hooked into one lamp socket. I use them on every socket to decrease the amount of sockets i have to buy and hang. On one socket, I have 6 lights coming out using 7 v-splitters.

Hope this helps you, and a whole lot of other people...

Heres a slightly cheaper alternative:

Leviton Phenolic Pony Cleat Lamp Holder Light Socket E26 Medium Base 660W 250V 9063

From what I have heard, I haven't tried it, is they throw like one 2700k while vegging and then the opposite while flowering just to give it a nice balance, but all one and then a switch I haven't heard any problems either. I think it is personal choice.

[guyverman]

Originally Posted by kavika68

I have read that you should do a mix of 6500 and 2700 throughout. What is the proper mix? 50/50?

I don't think it makes much difference. A metal halide is usually around 5500k, a 50/50 mix of 5500k and 6500k is prolly the best for veg. For flower you want more red, normal HPS is 2100k so you would want alot of wattage of 2700k to get close to the HPS results.

HIDS are way better, I think both bulbs emit UVB, so use 1 26w desert UVB bulb per 4 - 6 plants for higher potency and make sure its on during middle 6 hours of the day while in flower.

[Show]

If your doing a 12/12 photoperiod from start, could you use the soft white 2700k CFL's?

[KillaKush]

Great thread man! I'm growing a 2 plants under cfl's right now and they are doing great. Check it out!

[halitzor]

I'm about to start my first grow. I'm interested in CFL's for veg / mothers only. I will be flowering under a 600w HPS.

What I am wondering is exactly how much CFL lighting I need for 4 mother plants and a tray of clones from those plants. This will only be for veg so I only need the daylight spectrum I gather.

Would 4 27w cfl's be sufficient?

earlier in the thread it says that at minimum to have 30wt of light per plant, past the initial 100wt. I personally have 8 27wt CFLs going right now, and can tell a difference from when I had just 6. So hope that clears something up for you .

[halitzor]

I meant mothers/clones. I have a 600w hps and mh, but after my first grow I'll want to have clones chilling under veg until I can harvest my flowering crop. I got 4 27w daylight CFL's and 3 blue spectrum LED bulbs for supplimental.

[KillaKush]

Originally Posted by halitzor

I meant mothers/clones. I have a 600w hps and mh, but after my first grow I'll want to have clones chilling under veg until I can harvest my flowering crop. I got 4 27w daylight CFL's and 3 blue spectrum LED bulbs for supplimental.

Your gonna want atleast 3 27w cfl's on just one of the mothers. Your def gonna need some more bulbs. Use Y socket adapters if your running short on light sockets.

[halitzor]

About those light socket adapters... where the hell do you get those....

Walmart doesn't have them, Meijer doesn't have them.



Will I really need that much light for my moms?

If thats the case I'm going to take the CFL's back and get a 150w MH or something.



I'm only doing 4 plants at a time, so I would need enough light to keep 4 small mothers going.

[HydroGanic]

Originally Posted by halitzor

Will I really need that much light for my moms?

If thats the case I'm going to take the CFL's back and get a 150w MH or something.

It depends on what you need. Do you need a lot of cuts every week? If you don't then 2 23w cfls will be plenty for 3-4 mums.... as long as they're Bonsai Mums and youu keep them in a small space with reflective walls. (Do a search for bonsai mums... you'll love it)

Remember to adjust the amount of nutrients according to how intense the light is. You can keep a couple mums in low-light with light nutes for a long time without issues. Just make sure you keep trimming it every week, the way the bonsai mum method shows, so that you always have new growth. They get big.... Faast, so keep on top of them.

[KillaKush]

Originally Posted by halitzor

About those light socket adapters... where the hell do you get those....

Walmart doesn't have them, Meijer doesn't have them.

Lowe's and Home Depot have the Y adapters.

[passthagrass]

wow thanks bro!!that is very =excellent guide!

[dbBrooklyn]

Excellent guide indeed!

Will a 125W Cfl be enough for a 3x3 closet?
(I will use this for Vegging, already using a 150W HPS for flowering)