250 Watt Dual Spectrum CFL.. What are your thoughts?

Hi Everyone ,

I have searched high and low on this matter and really haven't found much information at all. I am 2 weeks into my second grow and have decided to use a single 250 Watt Dual spectrum CFL, The grow is 2 weeks in and the plants (2 plants) are looking great!... Very short but getting very bushy.

Both seeds were germinated in wet cotton wool and then planted into small cups until about 2-3 inches in height and then placed under my light, I then repotted these into bigger pots that i intend on using throughout the rest of the grow. These plants are now in a miracle grow 6 month feed, with no nutes and just watering when needed.. Im hoping this grow to be simple but effective

Here is a picture showing the plant's with example of seedling potting to my final pot.
(bother main plants are 16 days, Smaller plant has been a dwarf from sprout)



My only questions are..

-Will this light see my plants go from start to finish..?
-How long do you think it will take to harvest (estimate)

Anything else people would like to add, state or suggest will be much appreciated

Thanks all Hope to hear back!!

I have used a very similar if not identical 250w dual spectrum cfl on 2 plants to great effect. I would consider adding a few lesser (15-25w) cfl for side lights for bits that would otherwise be in the shade of the plants. Remember to keep them
as close as possible with out burning them.

As for how long it will take, that depends on many factors, my average time from the 12/12 flip is about 13 weeks, but you go by the plant not a rigid schedule.
Patience is rewarded.

Good luck.

Hey Horo Cheers for the response,

The plants are kept 2iches away from the light at all times and haven't suffered any burn yet so all good so far. Another thing i was also wondering was if it was possible to now switch the plants to 12/12 after only 2 weeks vegging as my time contraints and area are forcing me to have this done as soon as possible.

My plan is to now ween them down from 18/6 to 17/7 -- 16/8 -- 15/9 -- 14/10 -- 13/11 -- 12/12 making daily time changes (asif natural sun was changing season)

Do you think this would be a problem or do you think it will be fine?

Thanks again man

It's not uncommon for them to double in size when flowering, so be prepared for some rapid growth. I recommend light stress training to make to most of the space and light you have, plenty has been written on that so I won't re-invent the wheel.
As long as the plants are well established it's more or less just up to you when to switch. I don't think there's a problem with an abrupt change to 12/12 and it should save you a bit of time. There may be benefits to doing it gradually but I don't know what they are,
it certainly won't cause any problems.

Best of luck.

You want that light close to the plants to reduce stretch and in flower to give more yield. If you have it in a good reflector you can double the light to the plant. 2 inches sounds about right, if it gets too hot at canopy level a small fan will fix it, aimed at the canopy. When they are in flower you can circle the plants around the vertical cfl for most efficient use of light. Light coming out of the sides of the cfl hitting the tightly circled plants in other words.

I would flower the plant at 8 or 10 inches so it stays short. You can always bend it over if it gets too high. About a foot and a half tall at harvest would seem right.

You have a better spectrum with that light than most hps. Something to remember when the hid guys say you are growing with crap.

Hey guys thanks for the response

I have now decided to veg for another 2 weeks or untill the veg state reaches around 1ft tall... main reasons being i want more bud ha

I have now also introduced its first feed using OldTimer organic 5-3-3 pretty excited to see the progress.. I originally planned not to use nutes until flower but the plants shew a few signs of lack of nutrients (slightly yellowing leaves)

Yesum- cheers for that info, alot of it was new to me i am currently debating with a friend weather to stick with the cfl for flower or go to a 250 or 400 watt hps what do you think?

Thanks alot guys means alot

Nothing puts out lumens like hps so yield will increase, the 400 watt would really double your yield I would think.

If you want a few ounces and money is an issue, keep your light. If you need a few more ounces, then the 400 watt would really give more, provided you have enough plants or plant 'parts' to use the light. I do not see the 250 hps being worth it, yea it will provide some more lumens and some more bud, but not worth it imo.