I have a 1000 watt MH / HPS Switchable that obviously Im going to use for Flowering. I will be using it for my first indoor Veg of the winter, but from then on it will be for Flowering I want to get some Fluro's for Mothers / Clones. Im trying to figure out if I should go with 4- 4' tubes or a multi-bulb CFL set-up like Ive been seeing on GC. I'll proly have 4-5 mother plants going, and looking to go into spring with 99 cloned females ready to make Daddy Proud! Anyone have any input on this matter Thanks in Advance.
it's totally up to you and the constraints of your grow room. Obviously, the more wattage the better and you're going to want 6500-6700k temps on those lights. When designing your growroom remember, CFLS give off more light from the side rather from the tip of the bulb so always use a reflector and always angle them to your plants.
i have used both, and i would have to say i prefer individual cfls. if you can find some sort of lamp setup or design your own, you can really get better coverage and better growth i think. the problem i have had with the 4 footers is that all your plants have to be sorta the same height to get even coverage. i saw a lot of stretching because some plants didnt grow at the same rate or the same shape as others. im 3 grows deep with CFL and flouro experience with soil, and a little outdoor also.
Ok Thanks Guys. What Im thinking is this. For the Mother plants Ill Use one Duel socket /2 bulbs per plant. approx. 40watt CFL 5500k-6700k. So 8-10 bulbs total. And Since the Clones will be relativley the same size, Just larger over time. Ill get Four 2' Tubes to help with possible height differences. I saw at the hardware store that they have GE "Daylight" Tubes that will work. They also have Plant/Aquarrium tubes with no light temp on it. Im assuming they would be closer to the 2700k needed for flowering. That should get me through.
ive gone to a few stores for bulbs, and id have to say home depot is the place. they have guides that show wattage, lumens, degrees K, etc. you can gather info, compare prices, and then make the best purchase based on what you need and how much money you can spare. i like that idea with the 2 footers, probably a lot easier to manuever and would work nicely i think.