einsteinus
Active Member
This was for a friend who asked.....
Using CLF'S .. You can finish the growth for sure
..however you won't get the solid packed with resin glands type buds that A LOT of HID (HPS..etc..) type of lights can produce.
10,000 Lumen's/FT2 is the appox power of the sun on a summers day when the sun is directly overhead more of less of course..I would venture to say that even on a cloudy day you get a good 7500/FT2 or more. I have a cfl that is a 300W EQ runs @ 65W and puts out 4200 Lumen's ..now that thing is almost I would say 4 or 5 inches diameter and if you were to hang 2 of them as close to a plant as possible your talking maybe 8000 usable lumen's in that area..here's the problem...CFL's scatter that crap out of their light so that 8000 or so lumen's is kind of going everywhere up down and sideways so of course you try and make up for that with reflectors but in the end those plants that finish under CFL's will be more spread out and fluffy more inter node spacing etc...of course genetics can make up for that somewhat....but the reason folks like HPS and Halides is the sheer power they throw..even the lower wattage..for the same amount of watts lets say 400 where with CFL's I have them all scattered about to get light everywhere with that HPS you have a SINGLE SOURCE ELEMENT which blasts out I believe 50,000 or more for 400W! (they usually consume around 330 watts)Lumen's from a 10 Inch footprint. Of course the disadvantage(or Advantage as you will) here is that instead of scattered you have a sharp defined light cone that depending on the EFFECTIVE DISTANCE ( that which if you know the inverse square law tells you intensity falls off at exponential rate the farther you get away) you can cover a pretty good square footage with light approximating that of the real sun ( at least theoretically) Most folks that don't get real good results that use HID lighting usually let to much vegative growth get in the way of the new budding growth and are afraid to trim too much thing and growing like that is just another way to grow some varieties do well however others take it to the extreme with screens of green
where you literally bend and shape a plant to fit a trellus vine style to maximize surface area in relation to the light. A technique I never hear talked about much on this board is one I employ learned from my old greenhouse days and works with all types of lighting systems that technique is called rotation...you don't need hundred dollar light moving systems to achieve max yield from what light you have... just rotating your plants how ever much you can each day every other day can maximize yields and is similar to much more expensive methods.....the best lightning IMO is pretty much what everyone has said on this board...as much as possible. Skylights are great if you get away with them, mix it up. CFL's do good for vertical applications and as a cheap way to keep your plants that are "vegging" "on - Ice" until you have room in your mama room...also dont forget to "Listen to your plants" -- hope this helps! 
Using CLF'S .. You can finish the growth for sure
..however you won't get the solid packed with resin glands type buds that A LOT of HID (HPS..etc..) type of lights can produce. 10,000 Lumen's/FT2 is the appox power of the sun on a summers day when the sun is directly overhead more of less of course..I would venture to say that even on a cloudy day you get a good 7500/FT2 or more. I have a cfl that is a 300W EQ runs @ 65W and puts out 4200 Lumen's ..now that thing is almost I would say 4 or 5 inches diameter and if you were to hang 2 of them as close to a plant as possible your talking maybe 8000 usable lumen's in that area..here's the problem...CFL's scatter that crap out of their light so that 8000 or so lumen's is kind of going everywhere up down and sideways so of course you try and make up for that with reflectors but in the end those plants that finish under CFL's will be more spread out and fluffy more inter node spacing etc...of course genetics can make up for that somewhat....but the reason folks like HPS and Halides is the sheer power they throw..even the lower wattage..for the same amount of watts lets say 400 where with CFL's I have them all scattered about to get light everywhere with that HPS you have a SINGLE SOURCE ELEMENT which blasts out I believe 50,000 or more for 400W! (they usually consume around 330 watts)Lumen's from a 10 Inch footprint. Of course the disadvantage(or Advantage as you will) here is that instead of scattered you have a sharp defined light cone that depending on the EFFECTIVE DISTANCE ( that which if you know the inverse square law tells you intensity falls off at exponential rate the farther you get away) you can cover a pretty good square footage with light approximating that of the real sun ( at least theoretically) Most folks that don't get real good results that use HID lighting usually let to much vegative growth get in the way of the new budding growth and are afraid to trim too much thing and growing like that is just another way to grow some varieties do well however others take it to the extreme with screens of green where you literally bend and shape a plant to fit a trellus vine style to maximize surface area in relation to the light. A technique I never hear talked about much on this board is one I employ learned from my old greenhouse days and works with all types of lighting systems that technique is called rotation...you don't need hundred dollar light moving systems to achieve max yield from what light you have... just rotating your plants how ever much you can each day every other day can maximize yields and is similar to much more expensive methods.....the best lightning IMO is pretty much what everyone has said on this board...as much as possible. Skylights are great if you get away with them, mix it up. CFL's do good for vertical applications and as a cheap way to keep your plants that are "vegging" "on - Ice" until you have room in your mama room...also dont forget to "Listen to your plants" -- hope this helps!