Here's the link... Aussieponics! Australias Own Hydroponic Supply - Happy Financial Year End Sale! - GROWLUSH 130W FLUORO 25000K LAMP + FLAT PIN LAMP HOLDER (Powered by CubeCart) ..Now, I haven't decided whether I want to do indoor or outdoor, here or somewhere else, I haven't even picked a seedbank yet - with so many conflicting opinions of so many banks, but I was pricing a 400W HPS bulb&ballast, when I stumbled on that. Reading a thread here saying that you can use standard, household 'daylight' CFLs, I compared lumens, .. the standard daylight house bulbs output around 1600 lumens, whilst that CFL oozes 10,000. So, given that a HPS gives-off mmm 65,000 lumens, .. that is a lot of lumens.. Anyway, the thing is, with a 400W HID, you only get ONE point of light emission, but with 3-4 of those 8,000 lumen CFL bulbs, you could position them around the plant(s), between them.. would that not be better? The wattage is 120 or 130 per bulb, so it's not cheaper to run. But would you get better results?
Oztoner: if it's not cheaper to run then what's the point? I grow my own meds and only for my own consumption with T-5's because I don't want an electric bill or a complicated set up with ballasts and HPS or hot HID fixtures like my friends. They bad mouth my buds because they're not as tight and as photogenic as theirs but they agree mine smoke as well as theirs. Look at what you want to do, what you can afford and what looks good to you. My tubes cost $8 each. Hank
The point is to find out whether one could saturate the area with light more effectively, with several 8K lumen CFLs, than with HPS which would only eminate light from the one point. It wouldn't have to cost that much more to run. 3x130w CFL's would generate 24,000 lumens for the top AND sides of the plants, whereas the single 400w HPS would only feed the top halves of the plant, and they would cost the same (a tiche less for the flouros) to run. Add a fourth flouro, and you got 520 watts (another 120) but four points each emitting 8,000 lumens. An extra 130W isn't gunna crash the global financial system; it's not THAT much more, and yeah.. FOUR points of light.. as opposed to one. ANyhoo, bedtime Nighto
I always say with cfl's anything over 250-300 watts is a waste...you might as well spend the electricity on a 250 or 400w hps. While cfl bud is really good quality, you'll get much better yields from the equal wattage of hps. look at lumens per watt and the difference in penetration between hps and cfl... again, I think cfl's are awesome...but mostly for growers that are under 300w or so.
Well running 3-4 HPS/MH would make for a scary power bill I figured the fact that you can side-position the extra lights would mean metter penetration.. It's not just a standard CFL, it's an 8000 lumen grow-CFL. the standard home flouro's only emit 1300 lumens, massive difference. Edit: metter = better. Speed typing in the dark, cos it's bedtime here. Night .. again
Hey guys: Try aimed Mylar covered reflectors to take advantage of the light you already paid for. It'll recycle it right back up. Hank
10,000 / 130 = 76.92 lumens per watt. <-- your cfl 50,000 / 400 = 125 lumens per watt. <-- a 400w hps your 130w cfls will penetrate about 1/2 as far as the 400w. 4 x 130w cfls doesn't equal the penetration of a 520w cfl, nor a 520w hps.....not even close. In order to grow buds with cfls that will match the density and yields of an hps, you need to literally surround the buds in cfl...which becomes very inefficient. It's much better to use a hps and surround the light with buds instead. Surround the light with buds rather then surrounding the buds with light. -my 2 cents.
You would also need some type of reflectors for those cfls. Why not get a 250HPS lamp for the top, and a few 32w supplemental cfls for the sides of the plant.
Bong Sauce: your two cents is worth a lot. They featured that a few months ago in "HIGH TIMES," but it didn't look like a mom and pop operation. Hank
True true. I used to have a Ballast and 400W MH for veg witha 400W HPS for flowering, and I loved that light Just figure, being summer here. NO wait!.. The calculation should read: 8,000 / 130 (* 4) = ~246 lumens per watt.. since there'd be four of em, 50,000 / 400 = 125 lumens per watt It'll be a while anyhow, till I purchase any lighting, but I'm starting the research now, so I don't have to chase my tail day-and-night when the time does come Edit: Since the lights would be positioned top & sides, they wouldn't need the same penetration as the HPS surely? And yes yes, I would prefer to run a HPS top and flouros on the sides, but that could easily add-up to.. *thinks* ~920W.. 4 flouros alone, only 520W. Big difference come quarterly power-bill time, and summers get majorly hot here (40+oC (95-105+oF?)) so the heat from just one HID fixture inside a house would need venting, which would cost more again.
Hey Guys: time out. You're both right. If conditions were different, such as: the legality of what we're growing and the size of my bankroll I'd be using HID and maybe HPS too. I've seen what HID can produce with all else being equal. I started out with T-8's in a shop light fixture from The Home Depot over dirt and that worked. Next I went to the Aerogarden; the table top, self contained active hydroponic unit. It's very limited but I had a fun with it. I liked what it did and they promised more with an upgrade of a taller hood with three flat high intensity CFL's, and true to their word, it did work better. Then I got goaded into trying something different. I chose to go with a DIY bubble tub DWC and I had to light it. I looked at my options and decided on T-5's. I've never looked back since. With a flowering bulb change it does everything I need. But then I only have to grow for me. This is why I preach: see what's out there that's affordable. A friend has $2,000 invested in LED's and I'm not sold on them either. If yours is a commercial enterprise and you have deep pockets then you obviously have many more options than I do. For you it's a cost of doing business. For me, my T-5's keep my 'sugar bowl' full and me out of the dispensary and the pharmacy. I hope this helps. Merry Christmas, Hank
totally agree man, you lights and setup should be based on your goals and stuff. If it's strictly for personal, 200watts worth would keep a person well supplied if everything is running smoothly. That's not counting all the stuff you can do with the trim as well.