CFL Grow Help.

[thejokersmoker]

Ok so my babies are a week old(from breaking soil) and they seem to be doing fine. I have three under 2 23watt 2700K CFL'S in a 2.5x2x5 space. is this enough for vegging? if not how many more do i need. i dont want to use HID lights either(to harsh on the electric bill+will have ventilation issues.) also what kind and how many CFL's will i need to Flower?

 

[Cpl. CornB33F]

I'm not a cfl grower, but I'm geussing a lot. how many are you growing

 

[cushmancrazed]

i ran 9 23w 6500k cfls for my veg it's my understanding you need 6500k for veg and 2700k for flowering due to the spectrums
i'm about to switch to flowering and went to 17 total cfls i'm in a 2'x3'x6' space so pretty similar in size. but its my first attempt so take any of my thoughts with a grain of sand

i also have them mounted on a board that i can keep just above the tops

 

[jawbrodt]

First off, you want to switch to 6,500K bulbs for vegging, 'cause they work alot better than the 2,700K bulbs. Secondly, do you have reflectors for those lights? I see so many guys that don't use them, and if they realized how much difference they made, they'd try like hell to get some. I'd be willing to bet that around 50% of their output is wasted, if used without a reflector. How big do you plan to veg them to? If you use 2 of those bulbs per plant, they'll be 'okay' for plants that are 12" or so. If you want some good advice, upgrade to at least 42 watt bulbs, with one over each plant, and with a reflector on each. Then use the 23 watters for side lighting(if that's an option), and you'll end up with some really nice plants.

For flowering, you really have to have alot of CFLs if you want nice buds. Use 2,700K bulbs, run as many as you can, as close to the plant as you can, if you want any real results. Otherwise, you're just wasting alot of time and effort.

 

[TheGreenBiologist]

As stated above. You want bulbs which emit a stronger blue wavelength for vegging, these are the "cool-white" colored bulbs (5k and up). And you want the bulbs which emit a stronger red wavelength for flowering, these are the "warm-white" colored bulbs (~2,700K).

 

[thejokersmoker]

i ran 9 23w 6500k cfls for my veg it's my understanding you need 6500k for veg and 2700k for flowering due to the spectrums
i'm about to switch to flowering and went to 17 total cfls i'm in a 2'x3'x6' space so pretty similar in size. but its my first attempt so take any of my thoughts with a grain of sand

i also have them mounted on a board that i can keep just above the tops

Thanx for the info i'll keep that in mind. Oh and im growing three at the moment.

 

[thejokersmoker]

First off, you want to switch to 6,500K bulbs for vegging, 'cause they work alot better than the 2,700K bulbs. Secondly, do you have reflectors for those lights? I see so many guys that don't use them, and if they realized how much difference they made, they'd try like hell to get some. I'd be willing to bet that around 50% of their output is wasted, if used without a reflector. How big do you plan to veg them to? If you use 2 of those bulbs per plant, they'll be 'okay' for plants that are 12" or so. If you want some good advice, upgrade to at least 42 watt bulbs, with one over each plant, and with a reflector on each. Then use the 23 watters for side lighting(if that's an option), and you'll end up with some really nice plants.

For flowering, you really have to have alot of CFLs if you want nice buds. Use 2,700K bulbs, run as many as you can, as close to the plant as you can, if you want any real results. Otherwise, you're just wasting alot of time and effort.

Thank you for responding to my post it very much appreciated. im going to switch to the 42 watt CFL's like you said. and yes i do have reflectors on my lights.

 

[thejokersmoker]

As stated above. You want bulbs which emit a stronger blue wavelength for vegging, these are the "cool-white" colored bulbs (5k and up). And you want the bulbs which emit a stronger red wavelength for flowering, these are the "warm-white" colored bulbs (~2,700K).

ok and how much do you think the price tag is on those bulbs? sorry i have a limited money supply to work with.

 

[TalonToker]

For 42 watt bulbs you can expect to pay around $8 to $9 each. Whether you buy 2700k or 6500k bulbs should not make a difference in the cost.

 

[goldfish914]

their all about the same price. sometimes lowes has packs of like 5 for under 20 bucks. a good rule of thumb for numbers is about 5000 lumens per plant. that means like 2 of those lights but since you are putting them right close to the plant you can probably fit more. also remember that a foot of distance reduces the lumen count by half. and that means that 2 feet reduces it to 1/4.

peace and happy growing.