Is my growing conditions right?

From everything I've read, the 5000k lights really aren't very effective. They don't really produce enough light in the spectrum that the plant needs to thrive. It seems like 5500k can be ok, but you really wanna shoot for either 2700k or the 6500k.

The power of the lights should be good for now, but the general rule is about 100w per plant plus about 50w for each additional plant.

 

^^ this
 
All looks okay, but the reality is that you are right at the bottom end of the minimum requirements.  You could just about do a whole grow, 2 plants, with 6x 23watt bulbs in a closet (my experience, I wouldn't go less).
 
Might help if the light was coming from above though.
 
Good luck!

 

What is the wattage on the 8 5000k lights you are using?

I'm sure if you use enough of them you can make it work. But for money, heat, and power used it doesn't seem as practical.

 

The exact spectrum emitted by different brands of light will vary, but generally speaking the range of colours emitted by 5000k bulbs includes less of the ones used by plants than the 2700k or 6500k bulbs.  It's not that they are bad, they are just a few percent less good per watt for growing.  Obviously if you have a million bulbs all emitting some useful light, you've still got lots of useful light, plenty for growing, but less than if you had a million similar but different bulbs.
 
The important distinction is between "wrong" and "less good" and "no good".  A brand new 5000k cfl bulb is slightly less good than a brand new 2700k cfl bulb for growing, however a brand new 5000k bulb might be slightly better than a 2700k bulb that has already been used for 1500 hours.
 
When you add more bulbs, if you have the choice do not choose the 5000k ones again, choose the 2700k "warm white" or the 6500k "cool white" ones instead.
 
The man is right, more light = more bud.

 

Ya if your going to use CFLs at least use the spectrum that gives the most benifits, 6500k for veg...2700k for flower. Anything will work but CFLs have enough drawbacks why add to it, why not maximize your time and effort.

 

Not sure where you got that info from but they work fine. My whole veg room is 5000k and they're doing great

 

Basically every article, forum post and video I've read has said the same thing. 6500k and 2700k. I've seen a few posts that show the spectrum break down of the light and shows where the plants like them to be.

Like was posted earlier 5000k is not wrong, nor is it bad. You can grow plants with it and grow some great bud. However, it's not as efficient and isn't AS good for the plant as the 6500k and 2700k. Cfls have a few issues with them already, no need to compound those by buying lights that aren't as the ones sitting right next to them on the shelves

 

Here is a link to a stickied thread here on gc. It can answer pretty much any questions anyone has on cfls

http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/122824-kamels-cfl-guide.html

 

You're just going off what other growers have written, actually grow some then offer your opinion maybe.

 

Isn't "going off what other growers have written" the entire purpose behind forums? There have been tons of people using all kinds of lights and types and setups. They've all shared their knowledge and I for one would rather use their information then making the same mistakes while I come to the same conclusion.

 

Sounds like you'll have all kinds of fun growing and getting hooked

Everyone's setup will be different and work for them.

 

 
Jesus the worst part about CFLs is trying to find the ones you want, with the correct fitting for your sockets, the wattage you want, sometimes the shape of them matters to your setup for some reason, and then after all that getting them in the right colour.... We don't have those straight-to-socket adapters available in the UK but I dream of them, would have made my life so much easier than all the splitters and converters I had to get.
 
Uh, well fair enough if it's all you could get what can you do.
 
Actually when it comes to flowering time, it's worth keeping some of your 5000s as well as the 2700s.  The more red spectrum does increase bud growth, but the more blue spectrum has an impact on plant health and possibly potency so since you have both anyway, may as well use them both (if that wasn't your plan already).

 

Just in case you are serious enough to do this, bear in mind that 1000w of cfls will use the same electricity as 1000w hps, be about as hot, take up loads of space and sockets and produce considerably less light for the same electricity.  Plus the fact that every couple of thousand hours you would have to buy 50 new CFLs at a cost of $100? when a new 1000w hps bulb would only cost $40 max.  In fact for buying two sets of bulbs to run a 1000w cfl grow using home depot bulbs, you could buy a whole 600w tent kit with filter and a spare bulb and do at least as well if not better!
 
But I do admire your spirit