CFLs vs. Fluorescent setup?

First off, forget the equivalent to number. For our purposes it is meaningless.

As for color, you didn't say if it was warm or cool white or a Kelvin color. Cool or higher Kelvin better for veg, warm or lower Kelvin better for flower but either way the job will still get done.

What is the size of your box?

You will want to maximize how much wattage is used per socket, as a cost-efficiency thing. There are some 23 W in 4 and 6-packs that are inexpensive, around $2 to $3 per CFL. The plastic fixtures and mounting boxes are about the same price. I use Y adapters to fit two per socket. Combined total is around 250W. Four 13's would work for vegging but it will be slow. They make great nursery lights from what I've read, though. They also heat up the box, so if I go over 250W at this point, I'll need better ventilation to keep the temps down, which are already around 80; baseline temp without lights are 60-65 right now. So, they do get pretty warm. I'm concerned I won't have enough wattage for decent flowering but I'm going to find out in the next 2-3 months. Size of the box and "cubic-feet per minute" rating of your ventilation will be important when trying to stabilize a temperature.. You want the box to completely vent under 5 minutes. If the lighting is really hot then it'll have to vent much faster. The 23W's are 1600 lumens, and the 40W's I'm using are 2600 lumens.. Combined total is 16800 lumens, and probably a third of that is facing the plants while the rest is indirect from the hood and walls which are only ~90% reflective.

Personally I really like the CFLs because they're so inexpensive, for about $10 (and sometimes on sale too) you can get 4, and use an old gutted computer case and a power bar mounted to the upper inside, with socket adapters to connect the CFLs to the power bar. You can also use an old power supply for the internal fan, and mount additional fans in the case, using the power supply to power them.. You just need to find the 22-pin (or 24pin) motherboard connector and connect the green wire with one of the black wires (twist them together, and tape or marrett them) so the supply will turn on when it gets power. You can even bridge the AC-input from the power supply to connect the power bar internally, and you'll only have one power cord for the box itself. This low-power solution works well with power backup units (Uninterruptable Power Supply).

4100K is no good...the plants can't use it. Take them back and get 6500K. You'll need to change to 2700K when you flower them.

gretta1 said:

4100K is no good...the plants can't use it. Take them back and get 6500K. You'll need to change to 2700K when you flower them.

Click to expand...

That doesn't seem right, but maybe that temperature of light isn't as useful. Its still a type of white. The higher, the bluer.. The lower, the "warmer." 2700K is kinda orange, the 6500K is white and bluish, aka "Daylight" type lights. Mine are mixed, so I'm using both. This way I only have to replace 4 out of 8 with warmer lights when I go 12/12. You definitely need the "warm white" for flower.

I also noticed that the 23W bulbs are very cheap, and the 40W bulbs are around 10x the price of the 23W. You could get lots of those 23W if they can fit, but you should try to get the most light you can in there.

Well I found some 100w (23w) 2700k bulbs, they ouptut 1600 lumens. And i found some 100w (26W) 6500k bulbs which also output 1600 lumens. I bought 4 of each. I just put my plants into 12/12 lighting, so should i use 2 of the 2700k and 4 of the 6500 k?.. or no 2700k at all?.. or what?..

100W is meaningless. You have 23 Watt and 26 Watt bulbs that both output 1600 lumens. Its recommended to use bluer light for veg and redder light for flower. I'm using both for veg and then switching the bluer ones for redder ones when my plants are ready for flowering.

Make your life ten times easier with a bit of the research below I compiled you will have your lighting epiphany! lol

First and foremost,

This comes from my grow guide and notes I have been collecting. To be good at this for each and every grow I look over my notes for each phase my plants fall into or when I need a refresher on a particular area. I recommend putting to together a Grow Log, organize a calendar (I use my blog email calendar on gmail), and having your own grow guide for reference.

For lighting:

[FONT=&quot]How much light is needed?[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot](*note, the sun produces about 10,000 lumens/sqft, on a sunny summer day).[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[FONT=&quot]Determining lumens for your grow area:[/FONT]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Determine the square footage of your area (example in a 4 foot by 4 foot area, there is 16 square feet)[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]If you have a 1000 watt High Pressure Sodium, that produces (approx.) 107,000 lumens.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Divide this by 16 (your square footage) 107,000 / 16 = 6687 lumens per square foot.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]So just divide the total amount of Lumens, by the total amount of Sq ft, and thats your lumens per square foot.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]


Ok, the bulbs I have had success with for VEG Phase and some tips:

[FONT=&quot]6500K - 130Watt CFL (2000 Lumens each) - $5.07ea.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]http://www.1000bulbs.com/category/130-watt-equal-compact-fluorescents-6500K/[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]the plant will need a lot of blue-spectrum light turned on for most of the day. These lights are typically sold as daylight light bulbs. The color quality of lights is often measured on the package as color temperature, expressed in Kelvin.[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]The color temperature you want for this stage of growth will be higher, in the range of 6,500K. [/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]For good vegetative growth, you will need at least 2,000 to 3,000 lumens per square foot.[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Vegetative phase, you want to have longer day periods, usually 18 hours on, 6 hours off. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It should also be noted that this in many regards will be based on your feasibility and note that the pre-made grow boxes are just as great and fairly priced majority of the time if you choose that route, but to really understand the elements this plant requires the make-shirt build for your first 5 grows will help.

[/FONT]Ok, the bulbs I have had success with for FLOWER Phase and some tips:


[FONT=&quot]2700K - 40Watt CFL (2650 Lumens each) - $10.95ea[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]http://www.buylighting.com/40-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent-2700K-Warm-White-p/fe-iis-40w-27k.htm[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]The color temperature you want for this stage of growth will be in the range of 2700K.[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]If your plants receive 12 hours of light per day they will probably mature in 2 to 2.5 months.[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]It’s a good idea to put your lights on a timer to ensure that the amount of light received each day remains constant.[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]If they get 16 hours of light per day they will probably be blooming in 3.5 to 4 months. With 18 hours of light per day, they will flower in 4.5 to 5 months.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]That is, for the vegetative phase, use three times as much blue spectrum light as red spectrum light and for the flowering phase use three times as much red spectrum light.[/FONT]


A video that will also blow your mind: (Lighting is at 1:00 minute mark)

[video=youtube;dECnYjf5ABQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dECnYjf5ABQ&list=PL449E9D337AD0EFBB&index= 1&feature=plpp_video[/video]



Let me know if you need anything else specifically through PM or in this thread!

Awesome! very comprehensive and helpful! Thanks!