I've been reading quite a bit about fluorescent lighting as this is what I'm using and I'm beginning to wonder if I have the wrong bulbs in currently? I am currently running (3) 48" fluorescent lights (T12) with a 40w Cool White and 40w Kitchen and Bath bulb in each for my vegetative growth stage. Well I have some in vegetative stage and some still as seedlings. Is this current bulb setup okay or is this going to cause problems for my plants?
Howdy Iam atm running 4 4ft T12 40w 6500k bulbs for vegg and one 75w flood light for keeping heat in my germ tray My flowering setup is 4 4ft T12 40w 2700k bulbs. With 4 CFL 23w 6500k bulbs in the back of the budding chamber. So all in all what your really looking for is the color temps to be 6500k for Veg 2700k for flowering. The T12s will work well, just make sure you get the right Color temp bulbs
Okay well I'm on my way to purchase the 6500k bulbs and will be swapping out my bulbs today. Do you think the change will hurt the plants I have that are 8-10" tall or my sprouts?
It won't hurt a thing, should make they stay a little shorter and bush out better. Get the ones labeled "Daylight".
I now have 6 daylight 40w bulbs in my 3 fluorescent lights. I had a little trouble at 1st, I bought the bulbs and one of them was bad but it made it seem like my fluorescent light was messed up so I ended up buying a new light fixture and it turned out to be the bulb so yet another trip to the hardware store and finally I acquired my good bulbs. Now I have an extra fixture if I ever want to have 4 of them setup. Instantly I could noticed better results with the lights though because I left my front light with the single bulb while going to the store and when I returned my sprouts had already started leaning toward the one bulb. So we will see what kind of results I have with these.
This is my first grow, and my budding chamber has just welcomed 2 female plants out of the 4 plants that went in there 9 days ago.So at this point Im just getting my plants sexed but when I do harvest I will make a report of it. I have no clue what Ill be pulling of these. Also OP you will see changes asap. The plants in 3 days will be bushyer and the leaf sets will grow right on top of each other. I saw amazing growth in the first week of a bulb change. I went from cool white to 6500k. Also keep in mind 3-4 inchs from the bulbs is a must. They put off little to no heat so even if a plant starts touching the bulb there will be no worries. You much remember with these fixtures BOTH bulbs must work, if even one bulb is broke it won't operate the other bulb to 100%.So its best to check many bulbs before defining if the fixture is the problem. Also a small tip I use. When it gets cold in my shed I move the plants closer to the Ballast inside the fixture it is covered by metal plating but the metal gets a bit hot and puts off a cozy warmth to my girls. Best of luck EDIT:Also my plants were under the 6500k for about 27 days before I put them under the 2700k lights,at 27 days all 4 plants were 8in-1ft in height.4 days after I put them under 12/12 the males showed them selfs and The females showed 3-5 days after.
I'm just using the fluorescent lights during my vegetative state as they are cheaper to run and in cost than a Metal Halide if I'm correct. For the flowering I'll be using a High Pressure Sodium(400watt). What do you think is the maximum number of plants I can flower under a 400w HPS?
Edit:Man what the fuck was I talking about. I went off on a totally different subject hah. But as for how many under a HPS, Im not sure. But Im sure someone more experienced with HPS can tell you.
Well it is the next day of me using those 6500k bulbs and already I can see my plants looking healthier. Thank you for the help!