Enough Light?

dankidank · Nov 4, 2010

2 x 4 space
All white paint
15150 Lumens
1000watt Equiv (240w) assorted fluorescents

2x 300watt equiv TCP Soft White 2700K Ea. 4200 Lumens Ea.
3x 100watt equiv EcoSmart Daylight 1750 Lumens Ea.
1x 100watt equiv EcoSmart Bright White 1500 Lumens Ea.

Will this suffice for 3 plants?

trawepale · Nov 4, 2010

yeay.

mattlloyd · Nov 17, 2010

each sq ft you want 50 to 60 watts

you have 8 sq feet

you want 400 - 500 watt cfl

get two 100 watt cfl bulbs ( not the equivalent wattage)

StonyAce · Nov 18, 2010

Looks like I am posting this like 100 times today. I should make this into a post and try to get it as a stickey....

I always go by lumans of light instead of wattage. Some lights give off more lumans then others at the same watt.

You want 3000-5000 lumans of light per square foot. So for a 3 sq foot room you want somewhere between 9000-15000 lumans of light. For 2 square feet you want 6000-10000 lumans of light. Remember you want your plants to thrive not just stay alive. 2000 lumans per square foot will only keep your plants alive. Your running 1x27w and 1x42w which is a total of about 4450 lumans. Thats good for 1 square foot (12 inches x 12 inches).

Most 23w cfl bulbs give about 1600 lumans
Most 27w cfl bulbs give about 1850 lumans
Most 42w cfl bulbs give about 2600 lumans

That being said if it was me and cfl was the olny option this is what I would do to make the best out of the watts/lumans. The smaller cfl bulbs actually produce more lumans/watt then most of the bigger bulbs.

The 23w cfl's run around 2-5.00 for a single bulb and produce 1600-1750 lumans. 1600 lumans/23w is about 69.5 lumans per watt.

The 42w cfl's run around 8-12.00 for a single bulb and produce 2600 lumans. 2600 lumans/42w is 61.9 lumans per watt. So you can see its better to use the 2x23w then it is to use 1x42w. You get 3200 lumans for 46w or 2600 for 42w.

So for 2 plants you want anywhere from 4-7 23w cfl's for 2 square feet of growing space at a min......or for a better yield you would go with 7-10 23w cfl's. This will give you the desired amount of lumans per square feet. Now if you look at the numbers and do the math you would use less watts and get a better yield using a 150w HPS.

150w HPS will use around 180-200w with the ballast running and will produce 15000 lumans. 15000 lumans/200w is 75 lumans per watt. Ebay has them for under $80.00 Shipped and the reflector can be air cooled. You are gonna spend close to this getting all the cfl's your gonna need to do the grow right. 3.00 per bulb x 10 bulbs is 30.00 alone in bulbs. Then you need the fixtures to screw them into and the wires to attach them. Just do it right......

http://cgi.ebay.com/150-WATT-HPS-HIG...item255e289b18

4x23w (92w total) producing 6400 lumans is 69.5 lumans per watt

7x23w (161w total) producing 11200 lumans is 69.5 lumans per watt

10x23w (230w total) producing 16000 lumans is 69.5 <-- Closest to HPS using more watts

I am running a 250w HPS for my 2 plants.... Trust me dude just do it right and either get a 150w HPS or a 250w HPS. You will get more out of your plants with the right light. I used to be a cfl grower... Not anymore =-D

Always remember..... Intencity equals Density!
Click to expand...

Merciless · Nov 25, 2010

StonyAce said:

Looks like I am posting this like 100 times today. I should make this into a post and try to get it as a stickey....

I always go by lumans of light instead of wattage. Some lights give off more lumans then others at the same watt.
Click to expand...

LOL "lumans"

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