Day17 what to expect?

Go go n chill

Well-Known Member
First grow ever, I'm using 6500k cfl lights. I now have 13 of them. Light schedule is18\6. I have Afghan regs and black cream,purple kush auto in a 3x2 space. I know I've already made mistakes but should I be expecting a crazy growth spurt thisvweek? The autos are about 4 " stall and the Afghan are 5.5" tall. I didn't realize that the light schedule was such a big deal. .... I was going to move the bigger Afghan strain outside but not now the light is off by 3hrs. So I'm going to leave all of them inside and ride it out.. Comments please.
 

ThickSm0ke

New Member
Or put them on seperate lights cycles so you don't over crowed at one time.

This will only work for 12/12 of light.
 

BlueDieselDog

Well-Known Member
alright chaps....
i'm curious with cfls.....how many watts altogether have you got & what brand are you using? also....are they all 6500k? how many lumens total? i found some tri-color spirals which i'm thinking will be excellent. 65w = (325w) 4000lm......
anyone used jmf lighting before?
 

Attachments

justugh

Well-Known Member
alright chaps....
i'm curious with cfls.....how many watts altogether have you got & what brand are you using? also....are they all 6500k? how many lumens total? i found some tri-color spirals which i'm thinking will be excellent. 65w = (325w) 4000lm......
anyone used jmf lighting before?
stop right there

CFLs are a trap
CFL has about 18 inches of usable light but u need to take 4 away due to the heat of the bulb itself (assuming using a reflector to focus the light) it just open bulb 12 to 14 inches with the 4 inches not taken out for heat factor (those bulbs get up to 165 -180f)

now becuase of this as the plant gets bigger u increase the number of bulbs .....but doing this increases the over all heat made in the area making need for fast venting and cooler air intake (so bigger fan and possible AC unit) this ia assuming u are not in a area that the temps stay under 80f all year

so by the time u buy the bulbs the reflectors rig up a system so the light is where u want u have to factor in the energy cost for controling it all .........it is a sheer money trap the quality and the amount made from it does not justify the cost of it

invest in a LED light .......really for growing ......cfls are OK for seedlings and clones but a T5 gives u more lumens and better area of coverage when doing production
 

BlueDieselDog

Well-Known Member
ok thanks for the advice.......i dont buy reflectors as i have mylar covered boards that i move around......n i think cfls are good for dropping between so you get more use/value from the light.......
just bought a 100 watt led flood light also...........
 

Go go n chill

Well-Known Member
Throw it outside.
stop right there

CFLs are a trap
CFL has about 18 inches of usable light but u need to take 4 away due to the heat of the bulb itself (assuming using a reflector to focus the light) it just open bulb 12 to 14 inches with the 4 inches not taken out for heat factor (those bulbs get up to 165 -180f)

now becuase of this as the plant gets bigger u increase the number of bulbs .....but doing this increases the over all heat made in the area making need for fast venting and cooler air intake (so bigger fan and possible AC unit) this ia assuming u are not in a area that the temps stay under 80f all year

so by the time u buy the bulbs the reflectors rig up a system so the light is where u want u have to factor in the energy cost for controling it all .........it is a sheer money trap the quality and the amount made from it does not justify the cost of it

invest in a LED light .......really for growing ......cfls are OK for seedlings and clones but a T5 gives u more lumens and better area of coverage when doing production
they create little heat! But yes, for the money I've spent trying to do a DIY light I could have purchased a nice 600w with probably much better yields
 

justugh

Well-Known Member
they create little heat! But yes, for the money I've spent trying to do a DIY light I could have purchased a nice 600w with probably much better yields
no they do not .........hit the bulb with a heat temp gun and u will see
165-180f .......i know this from personal exp .....i started with CFLs
as u add in more light bulbs to cover the plant the heat they make builds up much faster in a enclosed area ....CFls are good for starting a plant but by the time they have they first true leaf u should move them under a LED or HID or outside for best results

the plant can get with in 2 and half inches of the bulbs before heat damage happends to the leaves but i leave 4 inches for grow and swaying from wind movement from the fans
(i am that guy that has tried it all becuase to many ppl gave me conflicting info .......the info i pass on i will back it with my rep and money ....it is personal experiments i have run over the last 6 years now ).....my goal is to make weed the best it can be to force out/ teach the crappy growers so the over all market improves (better buds better money for the buds)
 

Go go n chill

Well-Known Member
no they do not .........hit the bulb with a heat temp gun and u will see
165-180f .......i know this from personal exp .....i started with CFLs
as u add in more light bulbs to cover the plant the heat they make builds up much faster in a enclosed area ....CFls are good for starting a plant but by the time they have they first true leaf u should move them under a LED or HID or outside for best results

the plant can get with in 2 and half inches of the bulbs before heat damage happends to the leaves but i leave 4 inches for grow and swaying from wind movement from the fans
(i am that guy that has tried it all becuase to many ppl gave me conflicting info .......the info i pass on i will back it with my rep and money ....it is personal experiments i have run over the last 6 years now ).....my goal is to make weed the best it can be to force out/ teach the crappy growers so the over all market improves (better buds better money for the buds)
So you did start with CFL's? But I'm guessing the yield was not stellar and you advanced to better things? I'll eventually step up I'm sure. This is miry first grow and only for personal use, I could go on and on why I smoke. What's your take on LED? I haven't read the forum yet but intend too.
 

justugh

Well-Known Member
So you did start with CFL's? But I'm guessing the yield was not stellar and you advanced to better things? I'll eventually step up I'm sure. This is miry first grow and only for personal use, I could go on and on why I smoke. What's your take on LED? I haven't read the forum yet but intend too.
CFLs starting i avg a oz per plant in 5 gallon planters .....standard box feed plan ( way off only the tops were tight the rest was fluffy joint/bho material '

LED rock my tight to fluffy has jumped to 90% tight 10% fluffy .....my yields were under that HIDs did for me but the better quality buds more then made up for less yield (then u factor in the life of the unit and the energy cost and the cooling/venting cost) i was doing 8 to 10 oz out of 7 gallons on auto plants

HIDs i was doing 10 to 14 oz out of 7 gallons ....the tight to fluffy was about 70%tight 30%fluffy (except with hydro that ended up being like 7% but i have not repeated that experiment so it could of just been a fluke)

the only limiting factor to LED is the over all area of coverage .....u can get more but u will end up given up some of the depth u gain with LED .....it is all matter of the lens angles
120 for wide print (widest possible u get a few more inches in depth compared to HIDs)
90 for small print but greater depth .......best deal over all area coverage with extended depth (2 3 grows in add a 2nd light u will get your large foot print)
60 for depth (u can grow grass under the plant assuming it not 6 feet tall)

the best was HID combined with LED side lights ......i want to try a dual arc bulb and a all spec led
 

Go go n chill

Well-Known Member
CFLs starting i avg a oz per plant in 5 gallon planters .....standard box feed plan ( way off only the tops were tight the rest was fluffy joint/bho material '

LED rock my tight to fluffy has jumped to 90% tight 10% fluffy .....my yields were under that HIDs did for me but the better quality buds more then made up for less yield (then u factor in the life of the unit and the energy cost and the cooling/venting cost) i was doing 8 to 10 oz out of 7 gallons on auto plants

HIDs i was doing 10 to 14 oz out of 7 gallons ....the tight to fluffy was about 70%tight 30%fluffy (except with hydro that ended up being like 7% but i have not repeated that experiment so it could of just been a fluke)

the only limiting factor to LED is the over all area of coverage .....u can get more but u will end up given up some of the depth u gain with LED .....it is all matter of the lens angles
120 for wide print (widest possible u get a few more inches in depth compared to HIDs)
90 for small print but greater depth .......best deal over all area coverage with extended depth (2 3 grows in add a 2nd light u will get your large foot print)
60 for depth (u can grow grass under the plant assuming it not 6 feet tall)

the best was HID combined with LED side lights ......i want to try a dual arc bulb and a all spec led
what LED would you recommend? One that could do it all with "reasonable" yield.
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
I also sort of started with cfl, not counting the 1000w hps grows decades before. They were fun because I could say I was growing my own. But despite not feeling hot they do give off a lot of heat for the light they produce. They don't have much penetration/ usable light.
For the above wattage in Quantum boards you are getting a hell of a lot of light. Especially when compared to CFL or cheap LED like Mars, or even the equivalent HPS.
Or you can build your own Cob array with something cheap but efficient like a citizen 1212 chip, 4 or 5 of them would light up a 2x3 real good and blow those CFLs out of the water when it comes to yield.
 
Top