question about cfl

Forget the Equivalent rating on the bulb. Thats there so consumers do not get confused and know what incandesent its equal to. Just stick to actual wattage.

As time goes on youll probably need more CFLs. CFLs grow is localized to about 2-4 inches from the bulb.

 

dude just make sure the leaves get light... WTF is another CFL gonna do if you have to move the one you have out of the way to get it in the mix?? think a little!

keep that one cfl in a desk lamp like less than an inch away from the seedling until the leaves stretch to 5 inches or so across (like some green leaf is beginning to creep outside of the area that the lamp can light from an inch away) and then add the second and then when its like 5 inches tall you can start positioning them anywhere that seems right... just try to get as much light on as many leaves as possible from the shortest distance...

But yes, to clarify, you will want at least 4x 25W CFL's to get a plant to completion. Probably more like 6 or 8 if you want a few ounces and have the space.

 

The thing about CFL is that the light doesn't penetrate worth a shit. The bulb has to be ridiculously close to the plant (especially for a 25w; good enough for a seedling but not for a proper plant). Light should be brought closer to the plant as it ages to prevent burning the baby, (seedlings are much more delicate than older plants) distance will depend on wattage and air circulation. I wouldn't bother trying to grow with anything smaller than an 80w CFL. You can get a bunch of 105w CFLs off amazon for like $25 each; but the suckers get hot so you need decent air movement. You wont be getting ounces unless you have a ton of giant CFLs and the amount of money you spend on CFLs you may as well have bought an HPS/MH ballast (probubly save you electricity to).

I started growing with 4 CFLs 3x 105w and 1x 85w you can get fantastic results but you need to adjust the bulb distance almost daily the 'sweet spot' (best distance for par/heat comprise) is always changing as the plant grows. HPS is a lot less effort; I don't have to check on my plants for a week or two once they are established and flowering (even then it's only to give them water).

I would advise germinating the seeds in damp/wet paper towels and plant them once they crack a root out; just take care not to touch the root, grab it by the seed bit. Keep the soil moist till it gets its first pointy leaf then hold water till the surface of the soil drys out but not so dry that it cracks (should take 1-2 days depending on temp). Cannabis is the easiest plant to grow ime and absolutely hates wet feet.

 

All of this is pretty right on lol, except you absolutely DO NOT need that kind of power to achieve great results with CFL... i like one 105W cfl and then 2 or 4 24W cfls for side lighting with one plant of natural (untrained) growth pattern depending on the size of your plant. you can get away with less too.

I also disagree that the 24W are useless. you can get them right up on shit lol they work great for dropping down the sides of your grow case to develop lower buds. I generally just get one big bulb over the cola, but 4 small ones work exactly as well... theoretically better, in fact, because more surface of the floro tubes are directed at the plant.

In conclusion:
HID is def easier and less of a hassle, but no more effective than fluoro if you do it right.

200W per plant is more than enough light (and im talking 3.5 foot plant or so).

400W for one plant is wasting power lol... it just is. you could use the same 400 W on one heavily trained plant or 4 smaller plants and do so much better.

Keep them bulbs super close.

 

I always used 25w CFLs for small plants because they are cooler and easier to use in a tiny clone box. I found that the plants got too leggy with low watt CFLs. I also preferred a few large CFLs to a ton of small CFLs because I'm short on outlets and sockets.

They have very long high watt CFLs that you can hang and surround the bulb with plants hang more on the outside of the plants and get some aluminum sheeting and diy yourself a reflector. I also used clips (the type people use for reptile lighting), this allowed me greater flexibility in moving the light around; the only downside is they have some trouble holding larger heavier bulbs.

Although I have no research on hand that shows that larger bulbs are more efficient than an equal wattage of little bubls; I feel that 1 large bulb is more efficient than an equal wattage of smaller bulbs (less electrical resistance). This is evident in biology where a larger animal can go a longer time without food/water vs a smaller animal. A rat's weight in mice will consume more food than the rat (disregard fat stores), just as a 200lb man will burn less ATP in a day vs 2 100lb men (and most likely eat less).

 

There most likely is some difference in par with that thing on, your eyes just aren't sensitive enough to notice a small change. I would try and polish it or tape some aluminum foil to it.

 

I have three baby plants from seeds under 3 23 watt 6500k cfls about 3in away my closet is wrapped with a mylar emergency blanket is this enough light and how far should my cfl be

 

Only with major wrinkles. If is smooth there is no need to worry and your wattage isn't high enough; its only a major problem with HID.

 

am i gonna keep them 1-2" from plant the whole veg or jus while there babies and raise them?

 

am i gonna keep them 1-2" from plant the whole veg or jus while there babies and raise em?

 

do i gonna keep them 1-2" from plant the whole veg or jus while there babies and raise them?

 

Look at my thread for info about small amount of light. Pm me ill answer any questions u got.