Okay so I'm setting up a grow tent and I'm trying to determine the most cost effective and efficient way to optimize my conditions. The tent will be 2.5'x2.5'x5' and I plan on having two plants that I will mainline in this tent. They're NL so they shouldn't get any taller than 3-4 feet. I've been trying to figure out which lighting to use as my original ideas for my setup seemed lackluster and it was suggested by other members of the community on my other post to look into something better. My original plan was to use an led grow light as I've read they are most efficient. But I'm finding the better of the led lights are as expensive as the rest of my setup and I really cant afford a 300 dollar grow light right now. So I started looking into alternative methods and came across cfl lighting. Now all my prior research was into led lights and I've noticed a lot of this doesn't translate. So I have a few questions for you guys. Let me start of by saying that according to this thread on rollitup Max PPF/PPFD with and without Co2 you can increase photosynethis and other biological processes by increasing c02 and heat which will allow your plants to more effectively utilize an increase in the light available. My question is would I be able to achieve about 1200 ppfd equivalent with cfls in a grow tent? I'd like to supplement c02 and supercharge photosynethesis if I can cause, well, why the fuck not? So I need to know if ppfd and lumens are both measures of intensity, can they translate, and if so how would I properly make that conversion? Then I could properly determine how many lumens I would need to equal 1200 ppfd and I could maximize my growth rates. Is there a way to determine a PAR height chart for a CFL bulb? I really dont want to buy a par meter. A c02 meter is gonna run 100 as it is. Also does the reflectivity of the mylar tent make height irrelevant, at least a little? I know that standard CFL's are really only useful about 8" from the plant. But there are some beastly CFLs out there. 200w CFLs seem to be closer to the effectiveness of LEDs of HID. Ive read that 5000 lumens per square ft. is optimal. So if one of the 200w puts out upwards of 6k in a reflective tent would I be alright with say 2 of those without any supplementation that isn't spectral? Some other questions I have involve utilization of uvb to maximize trichome production. How should I go about this addition exactly? Two or three reptile bulbs hung about? Should I have these during certain stages or throughout the grow? I'm assuming I should have it during flowering as uvb can harm young plants correct? I know this is a lot of questions. I'm basically just regurgitating everything I've learned in the past 3 hours and trying to make it make sense. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks everyone.
if you hoping to us CO2 in the tent using CFLs ,well they give off some heat but not to much so as long as you have ventilation in the tent you wont need CO2 ,mac.
Are you saying that the only use for c02 is to buffer heat? I was under the impression that if you increase the heat and lighting intensity that you would need a higher concentration of c02 to fuel the desired higher rates of biological processes.
Co2 is for advanced growers looking to improve on an already tight environment mate. Gotta learn to walk before you can run. I wouldn't bother worrying about such things just yet. I also wouldn't recomend trying to grow with cfl, it can be done but it's not easy. If your on a tight budget go get a 600w hps. £65 , can cover a square metre and pull a pound pretty easily. Sent from my SM-G850F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I promise I mean no disrespect but why not answer any of my many questions rather than tell me not to worry about them? I mean even if its theoretical wouldn't it be better to discuss the knowledge than stifle it? I could have no idea what I'm talking about and I'd be fine with that. Teach me. Or maybe point me in the direction of what I'm looking for. I really want to learn. I got a month before my seeds are in my hands so I have time and if I can maximize this grow I'd like to.
hi Spanish,,,yep i argee with you mate ...CO2 works better in high temps ,,,i dont think with CFL he'll get high temps ...like you said 'walk before you can run ,,,,i was going to say that myself lol...mac,,
if i were you i read a few grow journals here at Grass city ,find out more about lighting,nutes ,temps etc ,,,even get a grow book and read up ,,all this will help you learn more ,,honest its not to hard to start growing weed ..but please just do a bit more research and dont get to technical ,,growing is great you learn as you go along ..happy growing and welcome to GC ,,mac,,
I did answer your question lol. Told you you don't need to worry about it. Honestly, only a very small percentage of growers use co2 and of those that do, it's generally just the big guns that do It right. It's not a simple case of just chucking co2 at your grow and improving it. You have to run a closed circuit, so no venting out or venting in. Otherwise your just getting rid of the co2 and it's pointless. Then because of the closed circuit your gonna have temperatures to deal with that you can't just go turn the extractor on to deal with, you also can't use the extractor to deal with humidity so you'll need to go buy a de/humidifier and find some magical way to control the temps that I have no idea about. You'll also need to get yourself some serious lighting. For leds/hps/cmh your talking something like 70w per square foot im sure to make it worthwhile and with a giant fuck off fan blowing under the lights to stop them burning the plant. So yeah, in short, don't worry about co2 unless your planning to sink a few grand into your first grow lol. All you need is lights Extraction Couple fans Pots/res Media Basic nutes Ph and ppm meters And seeds. It's just a plant, it doesn't take much to grow. Start your first grow simple and build from that as your knowledge grows. You can do all the reading in the world but it doesn't count for much until you've actually tried it so best to just keep shit simple and pick it up as you go along. Sent from my SM-G850F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
But yeah, re lighting. A 2.5x2.5 is 6.25 square feet so you need around 300w of blurple/hps or cmh for a decent run of around 8-10oz if you fill it corner to corner. I've been doing this online stuff 3 years now and only ever come across 2( non micro grow) CFL growers that were producing anything brag worthy. On a budget a 600w dimmable hps ballast with a spare cmh bulb is your best option. Cmh for veg, hps for bloom. Then if you want to go bigger next time you don't need a new light I also seen you mention about 4ft tall plants. Best way to get yield is to keep them short and grow them horizontal by using LST or a scrog net. My profile pics was 26 inches from stem to tip and dropped 600g. Wouldve been lucky to get half of that if I'd just let her go for it. Sent from my SM-G850F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
A sodium would be the best for for budget lighting; but trying CFLs or deglobed led bulbs would be just fine for a first grow.
Like everyone else said, don't worry about it. After spending the coin on CO2, regulator, tank, meter and then reptile lights you'd have bought a LED light twice over. Get an HID light and be done with it. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk