read read read read read. i know haha. ive been looking around and ive been reading that cfls become useless past 6-8in? is this true? ive seen plenty of people on youtube with their lights on the top of their grow boxes well past 8in and still they get good looking yields. so really my question stands, do cfls HAVE to be at least 6-8 inches from the plant to give them enough light or is it enough to just put lights on top of the cab to get a normal yield?
depends on wattage. anything under 50 wattas needs to be a matter of 1-2 inches. above that, i dont know
well its not that my plants are too far away its that ive burned one of my plants now and i just want to get the lights away. im wondering if it really matters how close they are, to a point. can i just have my lights screwed into the top of the box with flat white walls to reflect the light, maybe 10in away? look on youtube. theres a ton of people with their cfls at the top of their boxes and getting big yields
Light from cfl bulbs becomes useless at that point. These bulbs are not designed for growing remember. Closer the better. Mine gotta be like 1/2 " at its closest and 2" at its furthest. Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I hear what your saying about people and their grows on youtube, but, you really dont know how they had stuff set up throughout their grow. Were lights at top from seedling and pots set on blocks?? Is plant at full flower and is bigger and now close to lights?? I keep mine about 2-4 inchs away at all times. Yes my lights are near the top of my box, but my pot sits on blocks of varying heights. Easier for light adjustments. Further than 6 inches does diminish lumens and increases stretch too much. Keeping them closer gives them enough stretch mixed in with bushy growth. BUT keep in mind that CFLs WILL burn your leaves if allowed to touch for extended periods of time. Good luck with your grow :lol: Take a peak http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1221460-Cfl-Box-Grow,-Round-#2#entry18148508
Cfl need to be within 1-4 inches from the plant. If you can't move your lights move your plants. Goodluck growing
I use (3) 75 watt CFL's in a 5x5 sealed off sun room. The lights hang 12 inches above the ladies and I had good results
see thats what i mean. everyone says no then theres one guy who says he did it. i guess ill have to play around with it for now
You have to remember, in these forums you are going to get a ton of mixed/conflicting information. Alot of times from people who havent even grown or are halfway through their first grow. Play around with it and figure out what works for you. Thats the best advice I can give. BD Green ------------------------------------- First DWC grow. 400 watt Blueberry Buddha from Beanboyz Genetics. http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1231874-400-w---DWC.--Blueberry-Buddha-from-Bean-Boyz-Genetics
If you keep your lights cool with circulation you can get them closer. Closer is better, it doesn't make sense to me to try and keep them as far away as possible.... But it's your grow so it doesn't mean anything to me.
Mine are 3 inches and are doing fanatic with 3 weeks left. Not as good as 600hps but did it's job for my big girl Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
CFL's work great if you know what you're doing. I keep them around 3 inches away from any leaves and pulled off a ounce and 5 grams, from one plant, with about 200 watts last harvest.
Yeah you need to keep the bulb at least 1/2 and inch away from your plant, but no further than 4 inches. The further away the plant is from the bulb, the less your plant gets from the bulb so it will stretch more.
OK now that everyone has said basically less than 4", I keep mine within heat range. Let me explain. I have 10- 26 watt 6500k cfls on a piece of dry erase board. I keep my lights as close as possible without burning. It DOES put off heat. So I put my hand between the plant and the lights and adjust til its not hot to my hand. There is a lot of difference in a small cfl and a grow hood cfl. One has more than double the lumen output. So keeping the hood mounted 16" bulbs a foot away. Sure fine. A small screw type; Use your best judgement.