whats up everyone, check it out. im right now im using a 400 watt hps for vegging in one spot, and a double 4 foot cfl plant/aquarium bulb for another veg spot. to my surprise the cfl seems to be working much better. here is my question to all you cfl'ers.. what the heck are you guys using bulb wise? i know the plants like the blues in veg and they seem to offer it. what every post i see them in it appears that they are the spiral type cfls. what wattage and output am i looking for? the highest i could find at lowes were 150 watt cfl @ 2700 k. it says the bulbs use the same power as a 40 watt cfl. any advice, pros or cons would be greatly appreciated. ill need to use them on 10 to 15 girls at a time. im looking to increase...everything and anything i guess to be honest. i just have been thinking about using the 400 watt hps for a second flowering area. i dont want some long stretchy weak girls in return though... i have always been a HID light user and i guess im just bit afraid to fix what isnt broken. ...with that being said it might be nice to not hear the ol' lady bitching about electric bills...o she loves harvest time though...im sidetracked like a mofo...you know why. and , ill pass rep to anyone who helps a fellow culti out im
23 Watt Compact Fluorescent 5000 Kelvin These are 23 watt 5000k cfls for pretty cheap. These would work great for veg. For 10 to 15 plants at a time you'll probably need a lot of these though.
would i be better off just using the 4 foot plant cfls i been using? im just trying to get the most bang for my buck...and thats prob with the HPS... yea?
cfl- pros- -you can spread them out to disperse light evenly throughout the plants -they generally produce low heat and use low electricity -the bulbs themselve are fairly cheap -i like the full spectrum bulbs, even tho you dont need light from every spectrum doesnt it seem like it would be beneficial, also u dont hav to switch lights at flowering time. cons- -youll need a crap load of them for 15 plants, and that means you need probable 60 sockets... def something to think about, thats alot of wires as well -i think thats the only downside to cfls i like cfls but then again i only have 2 plants. if you do decide to go with cfls (prob for a smaller amount of plants) you can go to lowes they have a bulb made by ott-lite, ott-lite only makes full spectrum bulbs. the ones at lowes are 100w equivalents. if you go to theyre website you can order ott-lite bulbs that are designed for plant growth, i think the only diff is they produce less heat. and you can buy a 20 pack and save some money Indoor Plant Lights | Lights for Plant Growth | Plant Growth Bulbs & Lamps good luck
for 10-15 ladies I would switch to t5 lighting, cfl's will get pretty pricey considering the amount you'll need to cover that space. Or lower the amount of girls.
HID's in vegg will produce shorter more stout plants in ...whereass CFL's will give you taller less compact plants. To be honest...in larger numbers CFL's will produce more heat than a single HID..introduce a vented hood and your heat becomes even less. If its more bang for your buck that you are looking for...go with the HID's.
Here is a link to my CFL grow. I have two 105w @ 2700k one 105w @ 5000k two 85w @ 6500k two 85w @ 2700k Also I have a four foot, 8 lamp T5 fixture that I am getting ready to load up w/ 2700k & use 4 of the big CFL's I have now. It will be bad ass! http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/517528-first-grow-diy-bubbleponics-bagseed.html
thank you everyone. i appreciate the time taken to help a brotha out. much appreciated. i sent rep to all of ya.