Need help with cfl bulbs

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by 14norte209, Aug 10, 2011.

  1. ok so my question is what kind of cfl bulbs do i use ??? Im only growing one plant im planning on planting the germinated seed today so how many whats do i need for now and what kind of cfl bulbs (2700k,6500k,red,blue,etc...)

     
  2. Daylight 5000k to 6500k. And try and mix the spectrum abit with a 2700k. For 1 plant try to get 100watts total. 5 daylight and 1 soft white ahould do fine for 1 plant
     
  3. For veg stage you want all 6500k CFL's. For flower you use 2700K. I use a combo of both during flower. 100w is the minimum. Add as many as you can afford. Wal mart sells on the shelf 55w 2700k's and cheap 26w 6500k's. Those and some clamp lights and your golden.
     
  4. This is false. You can veg perfectly well using 2700K CFLS. I explained this in detail and even put up spectral graphs in another thread. 6500K have a lot more green and a tiny bit more blue. There is no real advantage.
     
  5. Don't use 2700k for veg unless you want stretched out plants. Use a combo.

    I am speaking from experiance.
     
  6. Here is plant grown under a single 23w 2700K CFL. Do you consider a plant that is 7" tall and 14" wide to be stretchy? The amount of misinformation on this forum is staggering.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. One bulb will work that close for a while. But what are you going to do when it gets 3 foot tall.

    I have a CFL journal, where's yours?
     
  8. And the reason of the spectrum diff is because of trying to match the sun in natural conditions. The 27k is red, which is winter sun, the 65k is blue, summer sun. If you give a plant 27k for veg it thinks it's near the end of the season and will stretch.
     

  9. so i dnt need 100 watts to grow a single plant? Can i just use a 23 watt like u did?
     
  10. Only if you want a puny plant buddy. 100w is the minimum with CFL's.
     
  11. Well im not really looking for a big plant this is my first time so im mostly just trying it out and just the feel of the experience so next time ill know and ill be prepared more
     
  12. More idiocy. The sun's spectrum is pretty much the same year round.
     
  13. First you say 2700K causes stretch then when I show you real world results disproving your statement you go off on a strawman tangent. :rolleyes:
     
  14. 23 watts is not enough to complete the grow by any means, but I see log after CFL log with 80 to 160 watts over a tray of 2 day old seedlings. Ridiculous waste and a gross lack of understanding of photosynthesis and plant needs.
     
  15. #15 Erbalist, Aug 12, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 12, 2011
    Lots of debate over a light bulb. But I was doing alittle research and swami is saying has premise. I went to the manufaturers website and pulled up the spectrum chart and there is alot of unnecissary green. 2700k seems to have less green light in them but they are in the more in the red spectrum. I also read that color temperature really means little when buying a bulb. The CRI is what u should be looking for as well as PAR. Now I know these specs arent wide spread and most bulbs dont put it on the box. Just keep in mind that more lumens or watts or whatever doesnt neccisarily mean better. If the light isnt in the right spectrum and CRI it wont work (odds are any light will work but we want alittle more then the minimum here. Dont we?). I know im gonna get hammered for this but who cares. Do your homework and everything will come out fine. Peace
     
  16. True that the sun doesn't change spectrum, but the sun's light striking the earth certainly does. In Summer when the sun is overhead, the light is coming more or less straight down through the atmosphere. As Fall and then Winter approaches, the earth tilts on its axis away from the sun, causing the sun's light to filter through the atmosphere at an angle, traveling through more of the atmosphere and causing its color to shift more red. This doesn't just happen with the seasonal changes, it happens every day -- this is the same reason that the sun is more reddish at sunrise and sunset and more bluish at noon on the same day.

    I would not say that 6500k offers no advantage at all, that's a bit strong, but you can veg with 2700k and you might or might not experience some stretching.
     
  17. Will 84 watts be enough for 1 seedling until how long?
     
  18. 1 84 watt will take you until flowering but with that little light you WILL stretch if you don't use full spectrum (65k) I just vegged a 4 foot plant with a lot more CFLs and they were all 2700k. Stem is small but very strong. Still can't hold all the buds up for it leans, but nothing a little hemp string can't fix. I agree so much misinformation on CFLs on this and other sites it's a good thing I went with common sense, because too many people here lack.
     
  19. And thus why growers use HPS in the morning MH at noon and HPS in the late afternoon.

    And in the fall when the light levels are lower, growers decrease the amount of light during flowering.

    Right?
     
  20. Of course not, that isn't necessary.
     

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