Yeah that's right. So one of them is livin the easy life under my lights 12 hours a day for and the rest are under 12 hours of direct sunlight until being moved inside next to their homie, in the dark room. In the morning I put the four back outside. I'm tracking their progress over the next two weeks, since it seems like the summer sun will give far better results for this time of year. If the CFL's pull of some crazy and manage to make the single plant grow more, I will be shifting all inside. It's really just an outdoor grow with portable pots. The lights are likely to be Plan B if things become complicated or the weather turns to shit.
I have a similar set-up. I formerly used only CFL's (mixed spectrum, of course) and after adding the 150 HPS I noticed that the plants definitely grow better. I'm not saying that the HID is anywhere NEAR as efficient as its larger cousins, but honestly I do personally feel that the plants prefer a combination of the two. If you research the spectrums given off for example, an hps has about 2700K the same as a soft white or warm white CFL, however (and forgive me if i word this wrong) the wavelength of the HID light is tighter, hence more penetration, but this also means that it is more readily available and usable to plants. Same goes for a MH lamp. Though a CFL may produce the same spectrum as the MH, the MH has a tighter wavelength. Granted this all goes back to penetration, but it also has to do with penetrating and affecting the chlorophyll and chloroplasts in ANY plant. Think of it in terms of a laser and a flashlight, both producing the same color of light. The laser will go farther, obviously....but consider the effect of a flashlight that has the same intensity as a laser...maglite versus pen-laser. Maglite would be rather bothersome and irritant to have shined in your eyes, however a laser pointer of the same intensity can actually damage your retina. Dont get me wrong, we are not plants and the same rules dont apply, but I personally do see a difference, and paying for 50-100 extra watts per light every month is ok by me...i cant exactly afford a 400HPS and even if i could i would still use a few added CFL's. Love the setup you have man, same thing Ive got, roughly speaking. Will be starting a new (late again) journal soon.
Just got a 150 w sunsystem hps , used to use CFls but I prefer this quite alot more , it's able to cover a pretty good chunk of area and definatley penetrates alot further than cfl . More heat forsure but definatley worth it .
My first grow I used a 150w HPS and 2x 125w CFLs. It worked out very nicely, but I am considering upgrading to a 250w HPS. Will the 250w HPS outperform the 150w HPS + 250w CFLs? I could try to use those CFLs with the 250w HPS as well, depending on room. This will be for a SoG grow with a very small footprint (1.5' x 2') If it IS worth it to get a 250w HPS, does anyone have any recommendations? I was looking at the Digital Greenhouse 250w Grow Light with AgroMax bulb from HTG. If not, I will just stick with my original 150w HPS + 250w CFL setup, and perhaps add a couple 26w CFLs in there. Thoughts on if the upgrade is worth it or not? Maybe even a 400w HPS with a dimmer option? Looking at HTG, the 400w is about the same price as the 250w... plus I will be able to use it for a larger grow down the road. Only concern is heat, but I can upgrade my exhaust fan to be pretty diesel if I have to!
I have read a shit ton of articles that state while you may have a decent yield with cfl's your buds will be fluffy and not quite as dense (compared to hid's where bud production is somewhat higher and buds much denser. I understand the efficiency aspect, but what is the most important element to the grower, efficiency or yield? I am a noob so there is much to learn, and to be honest it can be daunting; their is information over load concerning this subject and I personally am going the way of trial and error. I will pull a few nugs from a few sites here and their and apply what I think is best for my setup. I only have 2 lady's that are 6 weeks old( since germ) in a 28'x30'x61' improvised storage locker; one in dwc and the other in coco. They are currently vegging under a 125w 6500k lamp. In a couple of weeks I hope to switch to 12/12 and change to my 150w hps. If my results are not satisfactory I will go back to the drawing board. My point being that when choosing the best lights for you wattages are important. but so is light spectrum for the various phases of the plants life cycle. Many variable to consider when purchasing lights. Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
made it all the way through and bumping it again to say.. read this entire thread....this is an amazing amount of solid, well presented material why have you left us, weasal?...i want to talk to you.... why does no one ever discuss lighting in a CFL+LED spectrum combo....it would be an excellent addition to this body of research...subbing in case some superbrain comes along and and shed some light on that aspect of lighting for the small grow, pun iintended
After reading all that.. I STILL am thinking, "but the 150watt HID is only $58." How much did all you cfl bulbs & adapters cost? The 150 seems far easier to swap out... and you can always buy a better bulb if you dont like what it comes with. Juuust sayin...
It's a useless argument. The lumens figure given by the bulb is the amount of light that bulb can put out at that wattage. If your ballast only supplies 95% of that figure from loss in the ballast then that's it. Anyone who really knows HPS bulbs and fixtures knows that the 150 watt version is the least efficient out of all of them. HPS bulbs like high power for them to make the best light. They have a sweet spot in efficiency. It's 600 watts. A 600 watt hps is capable of 160 lumens per watt. All that talk about T5s and anything else that is under 100 lumens becomes mute at that point. A 400 watt hps is around 140 lumens per watt. The poor 150 is around 100 lumens per watt. So it's easy to pick on. CFL's never flower well. LED's have made them useless even as micro grow lights really. They're only good for small veg operations or keeping mothers alive. Even then the same job can be done so much more efficient now days CFL's aren't worth even considering.
You know I hate to say..I agree...however..I was getting about an ounce per foot at my peek on a 3 foot plant on a 3 gal bucket..not bad if u ask me..I was however using 400 actual watts of cfl...but 3 plants at a time in a 2'5"x2'5" ..I will be switching to viparspectra 450w led....can't wait...