What is the best combo of CFLs I can set up for a small 1-2 plant closet grow. Yes I know HPS is better and am considering but wondering about cheapness of CFLs. What should I be looking at for watt and spectrums?
If you want to grow quality then you should re-consider HID. CFLs are only about half as efficient as HIDs at converting watts to lumens -- or put another way, you will need twice as many watts with CFLs as with HID to get the same lumens. And that's actual watts, not "replacement" watts (meaningless for growers). With CFLs you will need a bare minimum of 8 of the 23w actual (100 replacement watts) CFLs for 2 plants, but more like 12 of them if you really want good results. Plus all the sockets and wiring to make that happen. By the time you pay for all that I don't know that you are saving much over HID, which still will give better results. And with that many CFLs in a small space you will be creating a good amount of heat as well, so you still will need good temp control and air ventilation.
I'm with toastybiz. It might seem cheaper initially, but when you add the cost of all the bulbs and the wiring with the extra money you will be spending on electricity, you will see that HPS really is the way to go. Here's a guide to lighting The Green Pages - Lighting
Got to put in my 2 cents. I have a set up that is 8 - 42 watt, for about 330 watts. 400 watt HPS would run a sh!t ton hotter. I can get my ventilation (I don't need as much) from cheap (or even free axial fans) I grow 2 plants every 8 to 10 weeks, just for me, with a freebie to my friends. Some times it's cost versus need. If I went to a HPS I would have to go to a good centrifugal fan, $100 plus easy, and I don't have to tell you beyond that the added costs. If I can grow 3 to 5 quality oz. every 2 mo. why do I need to spend more. I understand that some of you grow for other reasons and need the higher output. But some of us are just small growers because we want to be. Don't hate us "Little Growers" Three Light Cluster - Keyless -
Congrats on making the plunge to grow! A good cfl setup can get you right where you need to be just in time for flower.. The rule of thumb for cfl's is 100 actual (23-27) not equivalent (100) watts for the first and 50 for every other plant.. A cheap bundle you can get at any home improvement store consists of a medium clamp light (9.99), 3 socket splitters (2.99 a piece), and your bulbs.. Screw together the splitters and after removing the reflector off the clamp light just screw in.. Enough to support one girl for about a month and a half.. After that if you want to stick with cfl for flower double your amount of light and switch to 12/12.. Just remember you'll have about an extra 3-4 weeks to flower the females out.. The best spectrum is a mix of both worlds at a 3-1 ratio.. For vegg 3 6500k (daylight) and 1 2700k (soft).. Reverse that for flower at 3 2700k and 1 6500k.. The great thing about the cfls if you get some room you can use them as your vegg and the hps as your flower and have a perpetual in no time.. Goodluck and have fun..
You are growing 2 plants under 330w of power while I can grow 4-6 plants under 400w. HIDs are much more efficient than CFLs. The temps might go higher, but with my 25w fan I have no problems. For a smaller grow a 150w or 250w would be much more efficient than the equivalent amount of CFLs.
Mightymids do not let these people make get nothing you don't want to get, if its cfl you want do I'm a cfl grower also,, and man what I did was get a vanity light fixture with 5 sockets and put y splitters in them and at 30watts a bulb thats 300 actual watts I use for my two plants, also have a adjustable lamp with a 68watt cfl underneath the canopy for under growth making it a total of 368 watts, with no need for a expensive cooling system I'm fine I pull about 6oz every grow from 2 plants which if enough for me. P.s. For veg get 6500k temp bulbs, and for flower get 2700k temp bulbs, also small watt bulbs get better lumens per watt thats why I love 30 watt cfl's.
All I'm saying is if you're looking for efficiency then CFLs are not the way to go. A HPS and adequate ventilation will give you more lumens per watt so will cost less in the long run. I started off with CFLs and then quickly upgraded to HPS. Unfortunately I wasted a lot of money and time setting up a CFL grow, which I then replaced with HPS. My HPS set up and fan cost me less than 180 euro. For my first grow I spent 100 euro on CFL lighting. I had a 400w CFL grow and now I have a 400w HPS grow. The HPS gives off much more light for the same wattage and also better results.
[quote name='"fluffykush"'] Are you really getting 3 ounces per plant with cfls?[/quote] Yup I could actually get more per plant if I grew one at a time.
[quote name='"Prettylights10"']How many plants can you veg with a 125 watt 6500k cfl? I was going to use a 400watt hps for flower.[/quote] 2 maybe 3.
I have 105w cfl bulbs, most at 5000k and two at 2700k and plants love them, they don't get super hot, and fit into normal sockets. Made a custom light with six bulbs and it is bright as hell.
How quickly this became a CFL vs HID thread. If your gonna ventilate and are able to get a handle of your temps then go HID. If you cannot ventilate, then CFL's and LED are the way to go. Very simple logic here. Everyone's situation is different.
I know allot of people who use the long T8's fluorescent bulbs. They can grow and the plant can mature. However your not looking at a very big YIELD. Are you growing for practice and some marijuana or looking to get a lot of marijuana?
Check out my simple setup. I have 205 true watts with 6500k lumens per bulb with a total of 7 bulbs. Very cheap and made the hood myself.
I will switch to 2300k bulbs for flower and may add a 150watt HPS for more dense nugs since cfls alone will create a loose less compact nug.
I'm assuming they're not really 105w, are they? is that not an equivalence? I can veg 5 small plants under 150-200 watts of CFL. It's not great, they don't grow very fast, but it's all I need until I switch to a 400w HPS.