I'm thinking of adding some CFLs and I have seen a lot of pictures of people with a few sockets on a board or similar type thing, and I was wondering if there was anything like this without the pain of wiring. I looked into some track lighting but for any descent sized track I'm looking at at least 100$ which really defeats the purpose of using CFLs. Suggestions?
CFL Question
- Thread starter anon12
- Start date
Roseman
Elite Rolling Society
One advantage of CFLs is the mobility, you can put them anywhere, and concentrate the light on the big buds IF you have the Reflectors.
You can get nice ten inch Reflectors at Lowes and Home Depot, for $9.95 each. They have the socket and a clamp too, and are easy to aim or direct the light whre you need it most.
Good Luck,
You can get nice ten inch Reflectors at Lowes and Home Depot, for $9.95 each. They have the socket and a clamp too, and are easy to aim or direct the light whre you need it most.
Good Luck,
Dirty Snoob
Active Member
in rule of thumb how many lumens do I need for 6 plants start to finish?
t0k3s
Well-Known Member
he didnt say six plants and it would be about 1000 lumens per plant at lowest
Dirty Snoob
Active Member
Didn't know he said anything? just asking a question. thank you for the answer though, I was wondering that.
t0k3s
Well-Known Member
my bad and np for the answer
Roseman
Elite Rolling Society
Things to know about lighting
Color rating- Measured in Kelvin (K). The higher the number, the more bluish the light. 4000K-7000K is mostly on the blue side of the spectrum, while 3000K and under goes from a white spectrum, to a redder spectrum.
How much light is needed?
The minimum amount of light required by marijuana plants is around 3000 lumens per square foot. However, it's not 100% accurate, since although you may have a 10,000 lumen light, the amount of light that reaches the plant varies with the distance between the light and plants, and reflectivity of the grow box. The ideal amount is somewhere around 7000-10,000 lumens/sqft, and as long as the plants do not burn, as much light can be used as you want.
(*note, the sun produces about 10,000 lumens/sqft, on a sunny summer day).
Determining lumens for your grow area:
Determine the square footage of your area (example in a 4 foot by 4 foot area, there is 16 square feet)
If you have a 1000 watt High Pressure Sodium, that produces (approx.) 107,000 lumens.
Divide this by 16 (your square footage) 107,000 / 16 = 6687 lumens per square foot.
So just divide the total amount of Lumens, by the total amount of Sq ft, and thats your lumens per square foot.
How far away from my plants do the lights go?
The lights in your grow room should be as close as possible to the plants without burning them. There is no such thing as too much, unless there is sufficient heat to dry out and burn the leaves. A good rule is to put your hand under the light, if its too hot for your hand, chances are that the plants will be too, so move the light up until your hand feels more comfortable. For seedlings and clones, I keep them a little further away from the light, because they are very susceptible to burning and drying out, at these stages.
Efficiency is very important when choosing a type of light. The wattage is not the most important thing, as you can see below, different types of light produce different amounts of lumens per watt. A 300 watt incandescent will produce about 5100 lumens. While a 300 watt Metal Halide (just an example, they do not come in 300 watts), will produce 27,000 lumens. Obviously far more efficient for growing, while still using the same amount of electricity.
Approximate light production:
Incandescents: 17 lumens/watt
Mercury vapor: 45-50 lumens/watt
Fluorescents: 60-70 lumens/watt
Metal halide: 90 lumens/watt
High pressure sodium: 107 lumens/watt
Color rating- Measured in Kelvin (K). The higher the number, the more bluish the light. 4000K-7000K is mostly on the blue side of the spectrum, while 3000K and under goes from a white spectrum, to a redder spectrum.
How much light is needed?
The minimum amount of light required by marijuana plants is around 3000 lumens per square foot. However, it's not 100% accurate, since although you may have a 10,000 lumen light, the amount of light that reaches the plant varies with the distance between the light and plants, and reflectivity of the grow box. The ideal amount is somewhere around 7000-10,000 lumens/sqft, and as long as the plants do not burn, as much light can be used as you want.
(*note, the sun produces about 10,000 lumens/sqft, on a sunny summer day).
Determining lumens for your grow area:
Determine the square footage of your area (example in a 4 foot by 4 foot area, there is 16 square feet)
If you have a 1000 watt High Pressure Sodium, that produces (approx.) 107,000 lumens.
Divide this by 16 (your square footage) 107,000 / 16 = 6687 lumens per square foot.
So just divide the total amount of Lumens, by the total amount of Sq ft, and thats your lumens per square foot.
How far away from my plants do the lights go?
The lights in your grow room should be as close as possible to the plants without burning them. There is no such thing as too much, unless there is sufficient heat to dry out and burn the leaves. A good rule is to put your hand under the light, if its too hot for your hand, chances are that the plants will be too, so move the light up until your hand feels more comfortable. For seedlings and clones, I keep them a little further away from the light, because they are very susceptible to burning and drying out, at these stages.
Efficiency is very important when choosing a type of light. The wattage is not the most important thing, as you can see below, different types of light produce different amounts of lumens per watt. A 300 watt incandescent will produce about 5100 lumens. While a 300 watt Metal Halide (just an example, they do not come in 300 watts), will produce 27,000 lumens. Obviously far more efficient for growing, while still using the same amount of electricity.
Approximate light production:
Incandescents: 17 lumens/watt
Mercury vapor: 45-50 lumens/watt
Fluorescents: 60-70 lumens/watt
Metal halide: 90 lumens/watt
High pressure sodium: 107 lumens/watt
Johnnysiqq
Well-Known Member
your most likely going to have to make it yourself and have some wiring to do.
if you have the space i would use some T5's they are floro and are pretty good for growing multiple plants under 20 inches tall. works very well for SOG grows but you need space
if you have the space i would use some T5's they are floro and are pretty good for growing multiple plants under 20 inches tall. works very well for SOG grows but you need space
Roseman
Elite Rolling Society
go to Lowes or Home depot and get the ten inch refectors with clamps and sockets for $9.95 each, or the 8 inch for $8.00.
Get the most powerful high wattage bulbs taht you can afford, at least 42 watts.