Hello Everyone! I am here with a question about cfls. Ive been doing some solid research and find that everyone has different results with these. Some say that the actual wattage is what matters and the equivalent doesn't matter. I understand that it does not have the light intensity that HPS and SH have but I think they can do the job. I used a jump start light (2' 6500k) for the entire growth of a random seed and somehow ended up with 2.5 ounces of decent bud, but that's a T5 HO. Ive never used these cfls, I've done much running around and have gotten 6 100watt Equivalent, 1750 lumen, 6500k bulbs with 6 8.5 inch light reflectors ( like the ones you use on a work sight) and I still have my jump start light. (I know they have the 100,200 watt lights that are equivalent to 400+ watts but they are mad expensive and need a special socket). The lights put out an enormous amount of light. Also from what I have read the best optimal choice for dense sticky nugs is to use MH and HPS throughout the whole life cycle. This would mean that you would have both high 6500k and low 2700k spectrum's, would this mean I should use a mixture of both? I figure I could throw 2 lows in there for the grow and when come time to flower have all lows and one high. I just dont want to confuse the plant and f*** it all up.They say you want a MINIMUM of 5000 lumens per square foot. My main question is will this be enough to make a damn fine plant? I could possibly grow two but I'd rather have one mean bitch than two ok plants. Serious input only please. Thanks, MH19
its ok to use mixed spectrum..in fact its preferred.. just make sure the dominant color temp is respective to the phase (more 6500k than 2700k during veg, vice versa for flower) however they dont really mean have your mh and hps running at the same time on the same plants. Honestly if the spectrum range can be made up by pure lumens alone then I dont think a mixed spectrum matters much..however for lower lumen amounts like cfl and flouro, mixed would probably be a bit better. I always heard it was 5000 lumens per plant.. not square foot.. but then again its been a while since i've had to worry about lighting problems like that. and those 125W CFl's , with a reflector and everything are available for about 50 dollars (lil more with shipping ofc) at the cheapest I've ever seen Hydrofarm FluoroWing Grow Light w/ 125 Watt Daylight Bulb
I would buy that but I feel the amount of light is sufficient......or is it? You can never have to much light especially with flouros. Thanks for the link that's a damn good price! I would love to run a HPS to get some dense product but living in an apartment kinda kills that. Although I don't have to pay for heat electricity or water I just don't want him to see a large spike in usage and be like WTF and come investigate. So if I can get away with running all these CFL'S at a cost of almost nothing it works for me. I'm fairly new to growing too so I don't wanna go blowing a ton of money on a small grow like allot of people seem to do. Im about $50 in just for the lighting and good soil is fairly cheap so its good. Cant beat that amount of light for that price.
I use cfls solely and I love them...from watt usage to heat signature I have yet to find a down side to the,... They might not be able to be as far from the plants as hids but if you keep the plants close to them you'll be fine.... Also you don't have to worry about burning tips unless the plants are actually touching
Cfls are a beautiful thing if only they could put out just a little more light they would be perfect. But unfortunately you cant have something for nothing so we sacrifice power for efficiency. That is of course if you have the money to buy the higher output bulbs. But then are you really saving? I mean you could just buy the HPS and the price would be about the same even after running it. You figure a 200watt/600watt equivalent cost $80 alone then the cost of the ballast. Everyone has different opinions but it is proven that HPS will produce denser product in flowering stage. Dont get me wrong you can still get a good amount out of flouros but still not the same. But for my purpose I will probably stick with flouros for a long time.
I got 8 45 watt cfls for 50 bucks I. Thrilled.... For that price I feel that there is no reason not to.... But they are still not totally equal to hids but that's just the nature of the beast yano.. But it's to each his own, people need to make their own decisions and do what will fit their needs... I grow for personal use so only getting like 2 ounces off each plant is fantastic for me any more and idk what I'd do with it all haha, I'd be at the point where I would think about not growing until I ran out and I love the grow so it would be an issue
Yeah I hear you, never know what your gonna get out there ( skimp, tainted product, etc) The thing that sucks (kinda) is I like to let my product age in a jar for about a year. Ages like a fine wine, if you know what I mean. So I wait it out patiently and get the good stuff when its ready.
Haha bro I wish I could do that, you truly are lucky if your able to do that.... I'm young, so I don't have my own place yet... But I'm starting my own company so hopefully soon.... But my ultimate goal is to get my own house and be able to have my own man cave area to do what I want yano.... Obviously in there would be a grow room lol, but I want to have a bar with jars upon jars of herb curing for mad long but that's a ways away