CFL vs HPS

green gurilla

green gurilla

Member
Well
was wondering has anyone out the try both CFL and Hps and was there much of a difference in the yield. ive currently 3 autos under a 125watt CFL blue spec in veg im going to use a 125watt red spec for flowering :bigjoint:
 
Panteraboy1988

Panteraboy1988

Active Member
125w CFL 14250-15537 lumens
125w HPS 10625-18750 lumens

Not too much difference at 125watts. You can't find a 600w or 1000w CFL tho...
 
Ian Singerdale

Ian Singerdale

Well-Known Member
the main difference being you will never get as big, juicy, tightly packed, dense chronic nuggets with a CFL as you would from HPS. However any HPS under 400W is basically a waste of time in my opinion, so if you need a smaller grow go with CFL. HPS has exponentially more lumens as you go up in wattage vs. CFL

If you want good weed, go with HPS. If you want a small grow and a few small fluffy buds go with CFL
 
Gastanker

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
I've had amazing sucess with CFLs. Very tight compact buds and with UV supplementation MUCH more resinous than hps. For smaller grows go CFL over HPS. Larger grows they work just as well but are a TON of upkeep - CONSTANTLY moving the bulbs...

125w CFL 14250-15537 lumens
125w HPS 10625-18750 lumens

Keep in mind spectrum and the diminishing lumens per foot. If kept within a couple inches of the plant CFLs can offer much more usable lumens in the propper spectrum than HPS (you just cant get the HPS as close due to heat). In small enclosures heat is a huge issue and CFLs are a bit easier to manage in that regard.

If going big throw the two together ;) Check out my x-ray grow i'm starting.
 
sso

sso

Well-Known Member
id pick even 70w hps over equal wattage cfls, if i were in flowering and if making the most of the space in yield, were in question..

its the spectrum, not the intensity, much of cfl light is wasted in the green spectrum.

plus its far easier to remoteballast the hps, making it the cooler choice of the two, plus bulbs last at least twice as long before needing upgrade.

the cfl harvest would probably be more potent though smaller. its not a bad idea to have a few smaller wattage cfls as sidelighting.
 
sso

sso

Well-Known Member
and its not how much crystals there on the plant, its how much thc is in them.

you can find strains that have almost no visible crystals and yet they will knock you on your ass.

and yes that picture could very well be off a cfl grown plant as well. ive grown with cfls, t5, mh and hps, currently im growing with a 600w hps, i like to supplement it with 400w mh (when heat allows) and yes i see a difference.

but, you can also use blueenriched hps, that makes a difference, though either mh or cfl still make for a more potent harvest.

usually the people that tout using only hps, sell weed. so hey.
 
K

KevinLee124

Member
I'm a fist time grower. And I think I have an alright set up going. I have a 400w HPS lamp. And I got my clones from a guy who was growing them under a normal house hold light bulb. And I think this might have stunt the groth of the two plants. They are almost 8 weeks old and they are only about 6 inches tall and the stim isant that thick but they have a good amount of leaves on them. I was just wondering if I should just start over with new plant or if I should just keep growing them.
Oh ya and I'm using power plants nutes
 
carl.burnette

carl.burnette

Well-Known Member
I've grown with t-8's & got what I thought was great buds until.. 1. I dried & cured it.. Light & whispy. Good smoke but no density at all. 2. UNtil I used 300 watts of HPS goodness on the next batch.

There is NO comparison at all. The HPS kicked the t-8;s ass totally even with extra CFL's in the mix.

The first 4 are HPS & the others are T-8's Check the dates on the photos. Look at the growth under the 2-150 watt HPS in a month. AWESOME!!!

HPS all the way baby.. unless heat or stealth is an issue. Then CFLS but you will nto get as good a bud. Everyone I hear says the same think.. Look how great they are. Come back when its cured & see how they look.
 

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333maxwell

333maxwell

Active Member
I'm CFL.. in an 18 inch by 2 foot space, I would STILL need side lighting from CFLS if I used an HID that was of a size so as not to cause too much concentrated heat..

It all depends on your space, and your needs.

I grow EXACTLY what I need.. month after month.. My needs are roughly a single ounce a month.. using CFL's in my 18 inch by 2 foot space I find I am doing things to SLOW growth so I don't end up with too much surplus.

The buds are every bit as tight and potent as HID.. it is all in how you grow, where you grow and what you know.

For the most part anyway.
 
Gastanker

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
More resinous than HPS - I do both. And I am not talking about trich count but actual resin (thickened sugary sap within the plants zylem). The process of creating canabinoids within the basal disk of the trichrome is expedidted by UV radiation as well - more UV = more secondary cannabinoids like CBD... The trichome has two purposes - to deter pests and to shelter the seeds from UV radiation. You can get high output UV CFLs for use in the reptile trade whereas HPS offers no UV.

CFLs spectrum is much more ideal than HPS. HPS is ~60-70% in the orange spectrum which is ideal for flowering and the rest is a waste. CFLs come in a wide range of spectrums 2700k, 3000k, 3400k, 5000k, 5500k, 6000k, 6200k, 7200k. CLFs emitt almost all >90% of thier lumens in the spectrums stated. This allows alot of manuerability. You can veg with 6200k and then slowly switch over to 2700k by adding and subtracting bulbs. I personally have had best results with a mixed spectrum of both 2700s, 6200s, and a couple 5500 UV

CFL bud

 
BOOGS

BOOGS

Active Member
Ive grown both 1 under cfls and now under 400Whps and you CAN tell a difference in quality and hps seems to grow them quicker also
 
333maxwell

333maxwell

Active Member
Ya, I picked this for breakfast the other day.. it is scary to think what a 'real' green thumb who actually knew what they were doing might pull off if they were so inclined..




For me.. in my situation and my space.. CFL all the way~!
 
333maxwell

333maxwell

Active Member
Ya.. nice bit of side lighting there.. looks very 'hip' actually..

Excellent job.. what are you running up top?
 
carl.burnette

carl.burnette

Well-Known Member
damn. we renovated our offices here & I could have had say 20 -30 4' flouro lights each holding 4 tubes. Could have made a box similar to what you have there. Never thought of it though.

Opportunity missed damn it!
 
skiweeds

skiweeds

Active Member
CFLs are more for smaller setups especially where too much heat is an issue. they're also good if money is tight. HPS are more for a bigger areas with adequate ventilation. IMO HPS is the way to go for flower. and for even better results use MH for veg. CFLs do work but you need several of them to get as much yield as a HPS. seems like HPS also produce more dense and harder nugs because they have such strong light penetration.
 
V

Vapor Nation

Well-Known Member
green gurilla said:
Well
was wondering has anyone out the try both CFL and Hps and was there much of a difference in the yield. ive currently 3 autos under a 125watt CFL blue spec in veg im going to use a 125watt red spec for flowering :bigjoint:
Click to expand...

CFL's are great for vegging because they don't cost much, provide and "adequate" light source, and most of all, they don't get hot. However, once you begin flowering, I would recommend a HPS light. That's if you want a decent yield. Basically, CFL's won't produce enough lumens to flower huge buds. The only drawbacks with HPS lights are the cost and heat. The heat produced by HPS lights are brutal. It pretty much requires that you have a good ventilation system in place.
 
Gastanker

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Great illustration of spectrum differences as well as how much light you lose per foot - notice the color change on the back wall? HPS and Flouros are just very different in so many respects (lumens/watt, spectrum, heat, throw distance (hps throw much further), distance from plant...)
 
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