its blue to the plants, white to your eyes. but spectrums are weird, you cant really tell by looking at the light.
i'm planning on starting a grow and i figure i will have 3-4 plants 4-5 feet high the only problem i have is the lighting i want at least 3, 4-6 foot tubes what should i get, one six-foot three-tube fixture or three one-tube six-foot fixtures also price is an issue under $100. also i was thinking of using a different kind for each tube one cool white one warm white and one "grow" light will this work? PLEASE HELP!
Interesting that you consider different colour temperatures for veg and flower. I am an outdoor grower, and my plants do fine under just the one light, called the sun.
I have a question about your listing of the best lights. You put CFL's as the least wanted and HID as the most wanted, my question is are CFL's really bad if you have them in 125W or 200W in comparison to fluro and hid?
Not quite sure what you mean there. The sun has a colour temperature of 5600K, and so emits the spectrum associated with that temperature.
Ok, thanks for the answer and thanks a bunch for this Light Thread! I am sure a lot of newbs, including myself, will find it to be highly informative.
CFLs work in a regular household fixture and have a built-on ballast. They are made to be energy-saving replacements for standard household bulbs. So no, don't screw a CFL into that HPS mogul fixture, which it won't fit in anyway.
The sun is the true full-spectrum light. That 5600k is the average or the peak of the spectrum it delivers, not the one and only color temp. Imagine a line graph that is very low on the left and the right but somewhere along the middle it spikes like crazy. That's not the sun's color spectrum distribution. Now imagine a line graph with the line well up above zero across the whole distribution, with an ultimate gradual peak at 5600k. That's what the sun's color spectrum distribution looks like.
hey ppl i just wanted to know whats a good ammount of cfls to put on the newly germinated sprouts after breaking dirt i mean, also how many inches away, any help is much appreciated thanks
Stank, a couple of clarifications: first off CFLs are fluoros. Just think of the long tube all folded up on itsef. CFLs and tubular fluoros usually are considered inferior because their lumen output is less than with HID. But...lumens is not the be-all end-all measurement, it is a standardized measurement that gets at what you really want to know, light output. Lumens is the amount of light output at a set distance. Since light intensity, as with all energy, is proportionate to the square of the distance, being able to get a light closer increases the light output dramatically. Fluoros, whether tubes or CFLs, run cooler than HID and can be kept closer to the plants. So, if you know how to use fluoros you can get great results, in veg at least, comparable or even superior to HID, and you save money and headaches by using fewer actual watts and having less heat issues to deal with. Those high-output CFLs will do really well for you. The problem is that many novice growers hear that you can use CFLs and go out and buy one 20w bulb and think they can grow something. Get a 200w CFL and keep it as close as possible to the plant and you will veg it out very nicely.
If somebody would actually define what CFL stands for, rather than assume everyone knows, it might help. I don´t use lights and I have no idea what CFL means. Maybe one of you indoor growers would enlighten me. Probably like most things, obvious when someone tells you.
Thank you toastybiz for a very informative and a very helpful answer and clarification! So vegging under CFLs and can be very productive under the right circumstances. That sounds good, but flowering is still unmatched when it comes to HID, huh? Just a thought, how many 125 or 200W CFLs would it take to come close, or maybe even match the intensity of a, let say, 250W HPS? I have read that the light from the blue spectrum 125 or 200W CFL is more intense and that they are better in comparison to the red spectrum version, when used during the whole grow, is there any truth to that or is it just misleading and a way for the manufacturers (Envirolite) to push their merchandise? If you would have two 125W CFLs, one blue and one red. Would that be better or worse than having two blue 125's or two red? Also I thought it was spelled CFL's, but after reading your post I have seen the light and the light is good! It is, to my understanding, that CFL stands for Compact Fluorescent Lamp/Light. Hope that helps you.
Thank you Sir, Compact fluorescent light so totally OBVIOUS when someone is kind enought to explain it to you. !!!
this thread needs to go to use still see a ton of light threads. Also can i edit posts i don't rember/ see how to. Want to fix the original. **edit** guess its to old to edit?
This is the true meaning of CFL's when dealing with Hydroponics! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...tToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget
im thinking of gettin two 125's off of that company "envirolite" one blue an one red, just wondering if theyre actually reliable an value for money??
hi every one im new to this and just got a 400w hps grow light what will this mainly be used for vegging or flowering or can i use it through the whole process info needed thanks <table style="width: 524px; height: 95px;" id="Won" class="itemTable" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="" width="1%"> </td> <td class="c_Title" colspan="10"> </td></tr></tbody></table>