Hello all, I have been spending the last 4 or 5 days looking around the forums reading various things to gain as much knowledge as I can before asking my own set of questions. This will be my first grow(micro grow) so I want to make sure I do as many things right as I can My question is: Would a single 180W UFO light be better than 6 or so 100W CFL's to light a single AK48 plant - http://www.nirvanashop.com/en/feminized-marijuana-seeds/820-ak48-feminized-5-seeds.html? The UFO I am looking at is this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111158167548 And the CFLs are Phillips 100W(6 6500k for veg and 6 2700k for flower) I was thinking the CFL's would be better because you have more freedom as to where the light is directed and 6x100W is more than 180W(From what I have read LED lights never run at their full wattage, so maybe more like 130W?). However on the other hand the LED UFO will emit little to no heat compared to the CFL's which will generate a bit. I am going to have a fan/fans blowing on the plant no matter what, but the thing is with the LED I don't have to worry about the plant touching it and burning. Anyone have any suggestions/input on this? EDIT: I was also thinking, what about doing a mix? Use the LED UFO over the top, then a few CFLs here and there on the sides?
Don't know much about the led's honesly, but for one plant id say use the cfl's. That way you can position them where you need them rather than just 1 led. Someone else wil chime in I'm sure. Kinda late atm so be patient for more feedback
Are you talking about actual 100W cfls, or 100w equivalent? If you mean 100 real watts cfl, 6 is way more than enough for one plant, if you mean 100w equivalent, those are usually 23watts a piece so 6 would be 138 watts total. If that is the case, I would go for LED overhead and a couple of the 23w cfl for side lighting and lower canopy. As for LED power, I have heard them quoted as pulling less watts than they say, but I've also heard that a 180watt of LED is about the same as 600W of HID. Could be bullshit, hard to tell because most LED lights don't list the lumens so it makes it harder to judge.
Yes sorry about that! I meant 100W equivalent(23W). I am thinking I am going to do them mixed as you mentioned. LED on the top, with a few CFL's on the sides to get the lower leaves more light. If I ever need to leave the plant for an extended period of time I could just turn off the CFL's while gone and leave the LED still on EDIT(Again lol): I have found this LED grow light which claims to actually use around 180-200W of power. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-New-300W-LED-Grow-Light-9Band-IR-Flowering-Hydroponic-LED-Grow-Lamp-Panel-/390567591853?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item5aefa47fad Pretty cheap for a light that size and that much power!
Also remember that the fire-hazard stuff about CFLs is a total myth, they are NOT a fire hazard at ALL, they literally NEVER catch fire, it just doesn't happen. Myth myth myth, you can even check out the snopes article about it.
I have used 400hps 500w led and 600whps and love'd my 500w led. led's are awesome but its important to understand what your buying. Make sure you buy NOTHING less than a 3 watt diode and make sure the spectrums are correct wavelengths. But i'd go back to my 500w led over my 600w anyday.