Do I have the right CFL's?

I have 3 24w daylight CFL's for vegging and I have 6 24w full spectrum CFL's set aside when they start flowering. Are these the right types of lights at these stages of growth?

You have the right lights for vegging, but you would get better results if you flower with 2700k soft white instead of the mid spectrum bulbs.

To answer your question though, yeah it WOULD work.

I still have the full spectrum CFL's in their packages so should I exchange them for the soft whites?

N.Lights x nightshade said:

I still have the full spectrum CFL's in their packages so should I exchange them for the soft whites?

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Well if they are in the packaging still, I would say yes definitely.

You will get better results using the 2300k soft whites instead of the mid 3500k bright whites.

Marijuana likes the reds (2300k) and blues (5600k) more than the mids 3500k

Sorry but I'm a little confused.....can you crearify one thing.
When I was at lowes I saw a bunch of CFL's. Are the full spectrums that I have considered bright whites? I ask only because I've seen the soft whites, bright whites, and full spectrum( the full spectrums didn't say bright or soft on them, just full spectrum) Sorry for all the questions but I'm a total n00b with CFL's.

Also the day light CFL's that I'm currently using for vegging are 24w 6500k 1600 lumens(using three for one plant), are those ok or do I need something different? My plant is coming along fine so should I mess with the current day light CFL setup?

I think sometimes the soft white, cool white, full spectrum, and what not can depend on who made the bulb, I could be wrong though. Pretty sure the soft white is generally the 2700k.

And yes, the type of bulb you have for veg is the right type.

LemonHerb said:

I think sometimes the soft white, cool white, full spectrum, and what not can depend on who made the bulb, I could be wrong though. Pretty sure the soft white is generally the 2700k.

And yes, the type of bulb you have for veg is the right type.

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I'm using the sylvania(probably miss spelled it) bulbs

Also the full spectrums I have are 5000k 1600 lumens......so whats the deal with these lights?

I am going to keep prefacing with the fact that I am new to this as well, but from what I have read you want 6500k for veg, 2700k for flower. 5000k would work, for either I guess, just not as well. As far as I can tell though, most of the time daylight means 6500k and softwhite means 2700k. This is from the FAQ on the Sylvania page.


6. What is color temperature, and how does it indicate to the color of the light output from a lamp?

Color temperature (or correlated color temperature, CCT) is a number indicating the degree of yellowness or blueness of a white light source. Measured in kelvins, CCT represents the temperature an incandescent object (like a filament) must reach to mimic the color of the lamp. Yellowish-white (warm) sources, like incandescent lamps, have lower color temperatures in the 2700K-3000K range; white and bluish-white (cool) sources, such as cool white (4100K) and natural daylight (6000K), have higher color temperatures. The higher the color temperature the whiter, or bluer, the light will be.

if they say soft white they are usually the 2300-2700k which are for flowering.

if they say bright white they are usually mid spectrum which are like 3500-4500k

if they say daylight they are usually 5700-6500k which are for vegging.

dont get confused by the packaging colors, they don't mean a thing to do with the light spectrum they are using.

look on the back of your package or on the bulb and find the color temperature (K) of the specific bulb. Then, use 2300-2700k bulbs for flowering and 5600-6500k bulbs for vegging.

think of it on a line ....

pot likes to veg here ---------------------------------pot likes to flower here
Blue spectrum ------------- Mid Spectrum -------------- Red Spectrum
(6500k) --------------------(3500-4500k) -------------- (2300k-2700k)

are cool whites the same as soft whites?

richkid said:

are cool whites the same as soft whites?

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dont listen to the names , they could call it whatever. it sounds like it is though

try to look on the bulb or package for the light temperature (K)

it will be there.

eyewtkas said:

if they say soft white they are usually the 2300-2700k which are for flowering.

if they say bright white they are usually mid spectrum which are like 3500-4500k

if they say daylight they are usually 5700-6500k which are for vegging.

dont get confused by the packaging colors, they don't mean a thing to do with the light spectrum they are using.

look on the back of your package or on the bulb and find the color temperature (K) of the specific bulb. Then, use 2300-2700k bulbs for flowering and 5600-6500k bulbs for vegging.

think of it on a line ....

pot likes to veg here ---------------------------------pot likes to flower here
Blue spectrum ------------- Mid Spectrum -------------- Red Spectrum
(6500k) --------------------(3500-4500k) -------------- (2300k-2700k)

Click to expand...

Thanks bro that helped clear up a lot of things for me! Now I'm on the right path.

that's what this guy learned here also
while it flowers it seems to like the red's more
veggin' takes the blue's man yeah
cool

richkid said:

are cool whites the same as soft whites?

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No, I believe cool white is a 6500K bulb, or close to it. Soft white is a 2700K bulb. cool white = vegging soft white = flowering

Scheiße!;724796 said:

No, I believe cool white is a 6500K bulb, or close to it. Soft white is a 2700K bulb. cool white = vegging soft white = flowering

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again, names really don't have anything to do with it. i have seen a "cool white" bulb that was 2300k ...

really, just look at the K on the bulb , not the name

Scheiße!;724796 said:

No, I believe cool white is a 6500K bulb, or close to it. Soft white is a 2700K bulb. cool white = vegging soft white = flowering

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If your not sure dont try ... 6500 are daylight unless your using flouro... there are alot of good threads on it if you check the top level of the cfl forums

how much bulbs would you need per plant???

I have two 48w CFL globes (purchased here in Oz) which says it puts out 5000k, I also have a couple of 24Watters (2700k, 1550 Lumens).
Question is should I use these different lights for the different stages i.e Vegetative growth and flowering stage; or is it ok to use both lights at the same time?
My goal is to produce squatt plants no taller than 3' and I will top them for additional colas (big-ups to 'Uncle Ben').

eyewtkas said:

if they say soft white they are usually the 2300-2700k which are for flowering.

if they say bright white they are usually mid spectrum which are like 3500-4500k

if they say daylight they are usually 5700-6500k which are for vegging.

dont get confused by the packaging colors, they don't mean a thing to do with the light spectrum they are using.

look on the back of your package or on the bulb and find the color temperature (K) of the specific bulb. Then, use 2300-2700k bulbs for flowering and 5600-6500k bulbs for vegging.

think of it on a line ....

pot likes to veg here ---------------------------------pot likes to flower here
Blue spectrum ------------- Mid Spectrum -------------- Red Spectrum
(6500k) --------------------(3500-4500k) -------------- (2300k-2700k)

Click to expand...