SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Agree with Riddle. 2 inches is about right.
The great thing about CFLs is the low heat emission from the bulbs. Even the big beasts (125W envirolites) that I use are cool to within 1 inch of the tubes. The only thing you have to worry about with these bulbs is ambient temperature, but again you won't need as much cooling as a box with an HPS + ballast in it. The rule of thumb is to place the top or your hand (more sensitive than the palm of your hand) near a bulb. Move your hand as close to the bulb as you can until you feel your skin heating up to the point of discomfort. That's about the same distance you can keep your bulbs from any part of your plant.
Because you're using several low power bulbs, you should try to position the bulbs all around the plant (to within a couple inches of the leaves) rather positioning all the bulbs on the top shining straight down. You'll want as much light getting to the lower nodes as possible, and small CFLs (from what I've read on these forums) have pretty poor canopy penetration. But with good management I've seen some impressive yields with CFLs.
Let's hope both of us will be posting pics of our awesome CFL-grown bud in a couple months.
The great thing about CFLs is the low heat emission from the bulbs. Even the big beasts (125W envirolites) that I use are cool to within 1 inch of the tubes. The only thing you have to worry about with these bulbs is ambient temperature, but again you won't need as much cooling as a box with an HPS + ballast in it. The rule of thumb is to place the top or your hand (more sensitive than the palm of your hand) near a bulb. Move your hand as close to the bulb as you can until you feel your skin heating up to the point of discomfort. That's about the same distance you can keep your bulbs from any part of your plant.
Because you're using several low power bulbs, you should try to position the bulbs all around the plant (to within a couple inches of the leaves) rather positioning all the bulbs on the top shining straight down. You'll want as much light getting to the lower nodes as possible, and small CFLs (from what I've read on these forums) have pretty poor canopy penetration. But with good management I've seen some impressive yields with CFLs.
Let's hope both of us will be posting pics of our awesome CFL-grown bud in a couple months.
and yeah looks like bell is gone. Anyway.. I wouldnt use nutes for the rest of veg, you dont really need it. From looking at journals here, Ive seen so many peeps burn plants with nutes. Dixie has made a good recovery, I would give her nutes when she is in flower, which should be pretty soon depending on how tall you want the plant.