Hey guys, i have a closet grow going on and i use cfl for lights and have been for a couple grows now and i was wondering if i had 3 plants growing, would i be better off buying like 4 42 watt cfl's or just use a big 85 watt cfl. If i use the big cfl, the light will be mostly on the middle of the grow, but if i had a bunch of 42 or 55 watt cfl's i would get better light on parts of the plants Does this sound right or would you guys just get one big cfl.
get an HPS, you'll need the wattage. :b and a power saver outlet thing that cuts your energy costs by 40%.
thank you but its really out of the question for me ive been growing for a pretty good bit now with cfl's and i have had 4 or 5 successful grows I would have bought an hps a long time ago, i know that hps is a better choice but my space would promote a lot of heat that i wouldnt be able to control. So for now until i get a better place to grow i have to use cfl's. Thanks for the reply
a couple 42 wont cut it for 3 plants wont cut it when they start flowering. will be good for veg. if you get a Y adapter from home depot you can split one light outlet into 2. there like 3 bucks
np, im growing in a closet also, but the way i have it set up allows me to have an HPS/MHD in there, just leave the closet door open, with a fan in the back facing the door opening, the circulation of the air will keep it cool and also allow perfect air circulation for the plants, and it's actually pretty cool in there, but not freezing, then again, i have a sliding closet door so i guess the space taken up by the door being open doesnt apply to my situation.
With CFL's, a good rule of thumb is use as many as you can as long as it doesn't become a heat problem. I myself would use several 42 watts just because I can get the light right where I want/need it.
im still kind of wondering what any of you think is better, having one big cfl that wont cover the whole plant, or having like 4 , 42 watt cfl's running so the whole plant gets some light
like i kinda said i would have gotten an hps awhile ago but im sticking with cfl's i know a lot about how much yield difference you can get and the growth rate but i just dont have the money I know i can get a cheap one but i have these cfl lights so im gonna keep on using them, i thank you very much for your input though
You need more than one CFL. I would recomend at least 2 85watt CFL's and then supplement that with side lighting using multiple 42 watt CFL's. To do 3 plants justice you owould need at least 2 85watt and 6 42 watt cfl's. Preferbly 4 85watt CFL's and 6 42watt for the sides. With CFL's the problem is penetration. You loose all penetration of light at just a few inches away, which is why CFL's are used mostly for veg only. You must keep the CFL's at least an inch or 2 away from ALL parts of the plant you expect to get bud from. This is the golden rule when using CFL's for flowering. Any farther away and the lumens or lack of will cause you to get very airy fluffy flowers instead of nice thick dense flowers which is what you want. You can control the heat of a HPS easily with proper ventilation and enviroment control which is a MUST anyhow for good plant growth. Try to get as close to 50watts per sq foot as possible. Work on saving up for a decent vortex fan and maybe a 250watt or 400watt HPS/MH with a decent reflector. Then use your CFL's for side lighting. The lighting and ventilation is the BACKBONE of a good grow system. The 2 single most important factors for healthy producing plants. I see so many growers spend thier cash on all the nutrients and other parts of the grow instead of good ventilation and the most wattage per sq foot possible. Good luck!
thanks for the replys guys, but can any of you just tell me what you would do have a big 85 watt cfl, or 3 or 4 42 watt cfl's, its kind of a simple question haha i dont want hps and i wont have hps until i have a bigger grow room, i also dont have money for it and i know a lot about ventilation and a lot about cfl's i know you need to keep them an inch or two away, i have been growing with cfl's for a long time now. im just gonna have to take my own advice i guess
I would definitely go with the smaller cfls and not the one 85.. You can get light to more buds.. I would also go down to just two plants and lst them if I were you.. I use 16 cfls for my 3 plants and I wish I had more.. I don't think your idea of 3 or 4 cfls is going to work for 3 plants.. I mean it may for vegg, but for actual flowering you are going to get popcorn.. A easy way to put 4 cfls into one outlet is to get a medium clamp light at lowes (9.99) and then get 3 splitters (2.99). Take off the reflector and put on a splitter, then put a splitter into each of the sockets. Add 4 cfls and your done.. Gets around 100 actual watts out and each one is good for one plant.. I have 4 of these made and they work rather well.. Hope that helps a bit..