1st attempt at this i have a small space i set up for one plant i got 2 cfls for it 1 100w daylight bulb 5500k and the other one is 120w bright white 3500k. I ended up getting the bright white over the soft white is because i remember reading that bright white cfls are better than soft white ones. Anywayz i was think of going back and buy a 100w soft white one that puts out 2700k and use that and the bright white for the veg then when flowering comes ill switch out the 3500k with the daylight bulb and maybe get one more daylight bulb for better yield. Anyone out there school me i know im in the right direction just need a little fine tuning
I'm a newb too, but before everyone else yells at you, I believe you need to read the actual watts used. And use daylight for veg.
Check out this thread if you haven't already: http://forum.grasscity.com/general-indoor-growing/122824-kamels-cfl-guide-2.html You are going to want to use this 5500k bulbs for veg. But really, you should go out and buy 6500k. They are better. For flowering, switch to 2700k.
never cam across it good info thanx. What if i put two 5500k daylights on it i know people go for three but will two do just fine?
You cant grow a plant with a 25w cfl, Thats only 1400 lumens I believe. you should put atleast 2000 lumens on a plant until its 12 inches and then it needs atleast 4000 in my experience with cfls. During flowering, you should use twice as many Cfl's as you used during vegitation. You need 166 lumins per square inch.
cool because both of the lights are 2000 lumes. will i have better results with two day light spectrums of 5500k or the one 5500k and the 3500k???
I'd stay with 2 5500k.....Although..... This is the product of only having 2 cfls. http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/data/500/medium/Janet_and_artemisia_02.JPG Those were both my plants. I accidently sprayed my 3rd CFL and it exploded. It took me quite some time to replace it due to personal circumstance but you see what happened. Both of them stretched dramatically. Those are 4 week old sativa's with 4 nodes. If you look at my grow journal you'll see my new plants all of them already having 4 nodes atleast and being fairly squat.
yea so what were the wattage and the spectrum that your 3 cfls put out. Your saying if i use 3 of the 5500k daylight spectrum than i am good to go???
your setup is perfect for, your beginning veg. stage,,,, ill post more on your thread later, i just had a crowd come into my house,,,, be cool!!!!!!!!
3500k isn't a very productive spectrum. Daylight will do you well in veg. Once you decide to flower, depending on how big you let your plant get, you're gonna want to switch to soft white 2700k, and like Sage said, more watts. I'd get upwards of 100 actual watts during flowering. I usually run around 160w for a healthy yield.
I have a very simial set up bro, I have one plant that was growing under just 1- GE 26watt daylight 6500k bulb until about week 2 and it was tiny, so I layed 2 more on a single to double outlet adapter on the top of my pot so it would get more light on the under side of the plant and the thing has taken off over the last 2 days, I usually water about every 3 days, im not feeding any nutes yet. specs. 3- Ge 26watt daylight 6500k cfls using no nutes yet watering about every 3-5 days Using jiffy mix soil.... its the stuff you buy for seed starting and I just continued to use it, In a 7" pot I believe. It was transplanted from a 3" pot though. Any other questoins i'd be glad to help. Oh i used a digital thermo. to keep track of temp and usually ranges from 70F at night to a max of 94F during day. I would like to get it a little cooler but havent been able too its not in a grow box anymore just growing on a stand haha, and the walls are white so that relects the light pretty good. I am also using a very small pc fan from the cpu area of a computer.
cool thanx but all i can get a hold of is 5500k that priduce 2000 lumes would they work or am i missing the higher spectrum and the plants wont be grown to full ptoential
Yeah you will be missing the correct spectrum - 6400K(Blue) for Vegging and 2700K(Red) for flowering. Can you order anything from the internet? there are loads of sites with cheap high power CFL lighting.
Use all the cfls u have......all the way through....dont buy more and swap them out.....use all of the bulbs u have!.......regardless of the spectrum. Here is what that will do for you....got over an ounce of this stuff off of a 15" plant with no training.....using all the cfls I had.
regodus.... You forgot to mention how many CFLs you had, what wattage and kelvin. bipp, from what I have understood, you could get by with 150w of each (R/B) and come out with some good bud, since that equals 300w total. As long as you're using 2700 and 6400, you'll be happy with the outcome. Some people have grown decent bud with only four 27-42w bulbs. Just compensate where you're lacking in other areas... Like growth fert, LST, etc. It won't make up for what you're lacking, but it will be better than not doing them, for sure.