First time grow, enough light?

D

d1zl3

Active Member
Hey im making my first grow, in a pc. its all made, but i heard that my cfl's arent enough. Im getting some new ones, and im thinking of these: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/Green/EnergyConservation/CompactFluorescent/PRD~0525127P/GE%2BSoft%2BWhite%2BBulb%2B2-pack%252C%2B26W%2BMini.jsp
My space is 18.5x18.5x7.5

So basically im asking if i were to grow two plants, how much of these lights would i need? thanks alot. And also, can these be used for veg and flower?

edit: i noticed 1 bulb is 1700lumens
 
socomplicated

socomplicated

Well-Known Member
d1zl3 said:
Hey im making my first grow, in a pc. its all made, but i heard that my cfl's arent enough. Im getting some new ones, and im thinking of these: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/Green/EnergyConservation/CompactFluorescent/PRD~0525127P/GE%2BSoft%2BWhite%2BBulb%2B2-pack%252C%2B26W%2BMini.jsp
My space is 18.5x18.5x7.5

So basically im asking if i were to grow two plants, how much of these lights would i need? thanks alot. And also, can these be used for veg and flower?

edit: i noticed 1 bulb is 1700lumens
Click to expand...
Tutorial to Growing with CFL’s by Doctor Chronic

What is a CFL?



A Compact Fluorescent Light is a type of fluorescent that was originally designed to replace the standard E26 Edison Incandescent Lamp. The reason being, CFL’s will put out the same amount of visible light using much less power and a significantly longer rated life span. Even though the price of the CFL’s is higher than Incandescent bulb’s, they are generally rated to run anywhere from 8,000 to 15,000 hours. There many advantages of using CFL’s. Maybe you are growing personal smoke, or you can’t afford an HID system, or an HID system just isn’t practical. For some, HID lights aren’t available in their area. However, CFL’s are sold almost anywhere (Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc…). CFL’s are in general a much cheaper growing solution, and their just plain simple to use –self-ballastedand it screw’s into a regular light socket. I’m NOT saying CFL’s are better for growing than HID‘s, but in some cases it’s the only thing that will work.


CFL Wattage

Now sometimes there can be a lot of confusion when it comes to power of the light due to poor labeling but we will do our best toclear all of that up. Normally light manufacturers that make CFL’s generally will put two numbers on the box your CFL comes in. One is Actual Wattage and one is the Incandescent Equal. As you can see here on this CFL the Actual Wattage is 23 Watts, and it’s Incandescent Equal is 100 Watt’s. You need to totally ignore the Incandescent Equal and pay attention only to the Actual Wattage of the Bulb.



Color Temperature

You might see a lot of different labels when shopping at the store for CFL’s. Label’s including Soft White, Warm White, Cool White, Bright White, Halogen White, Daylight White, Full Spectrum. And also label’s like 2700K, 3000K, 3500K, 4000K, 5000K, 6400K, and 6500K. These are all the color temperature of the light you are using. This is a measure of how warm or cool the light given off by a lamp appears, with warmer colors having a yellowish tinge and cooler colors being tinged with blue. What confuses some people is that the warmer a color is, the colder its color temperature is. (ex. Warm White = 2700K). Bulbs ranging in the 2700K-3000K spectrum are usually labeled Warm White or Soft White, bulbs ranging in the 3500K – 4000K spectrum are bright white or cool white, 5000K is labeled Full Spectrum, and finally 6400K – 6500K is labeled Daylight. You can grow an entire crop with CFL’s if you chose the right spectrum of bulb’s. For Vegetation you will want to use 6500K or 5000K, and when you flower you will want to switch to 2700K or 3000K . The reason being, throughout the year the plant’s outside receive more 6500K light because the day’s in summer are long and hot and as Autumn/Winter get’s closer the day get’s shorter, and gradually receives less 6500K light and more 2700K light as the plant flower’s. Do what you can to avoid bulbs within that 3500K – 4000K because they emit very little light that Is useful to your plant. Notice here the difference between the CT of these lamp’s



How to use CFL’s?

In order to efficiently use CFL’s to grow your MJ you will need to position the lights around 2 – 4 inches from the foliage of the plant. If you place the light too close, then your plant will have nothing to vertically stretch to and it will remain short and stocky. (Ex. My First Grow and FarmingToronto’s) Some people combat this by addingCFL’s to the side of foliage instead of on top of it. On the other hand if the light is too far away from the plant, the stem will suffer elongation (stretching), which will result in loose and fluffy bud’s.It is very important to note that when using CFL’s it’s a daily “battle” to have lights in the right spot. Many of us are in our grow areas at least once a day anyway, so to move your bulbs a bit really isn’t that big a deal. Also many people wonder is it better to have many low watt CFL’s or just a few high watt CFL’s. Both way’s are capable of provided you a good harvest but I suggest you chose the configuration that is easiest for you and your grow area.

Where can I get these CFL’s?

Many low wattage (23-42) CFL’s can be bought at locate retail giants , such as Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot, and just about any hardware store you can find. If you are looking to purchase higher wattage (42 – 200) CFL’s I would recommend ordering them online. http://www.1000bulbs.com/2-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent-Screw-In-Light-Bulbs/ has very good prices on CFL’s ranging from 2 – 200 Watt’s. http://www.buylighting.com/Non-Dimmable-Compact-Fluorescent-s/75.htm has a good selection ranging from 5 – 200 Watt’s in a wide range of spectrum’s. I have used both of these sites several times and I would recommend them to anyone that plan’s to grow with CFL’s.
 
D

d1zl3

Active Member
thanks for copying another thread, but im asking if its enough, im not asking what a cfl is, what K's are, or where to get them. It also doesnt mention a smaller space which might make a difference..
 
N

ndcrusher

Member
Noob myself. But from what i have read (I have read a lot) it sounds like you will need at the bare minimum 6. If you can fit more in your PC then put a few more, just make sure you have good ventilation other wise heat will be a problem. Hope that helped. Try not to be stingy on lights your grow will not be that good if you do.
 
smellmyfinger

smellmyfinger

Active Member
Good results can be had with 6. If you are using 26 watters you might want more than 6.

If you can only get one color bulb then buy the 2600K. It can be used for both veg and grow.
 
D

d1zl3

Active Member
wow thanks alot for the help. I actually have 6 plugs already built in so i just need to get high watts, +repp
 
Twiz420

Twiz420

Active Member
How many bulbs do you have? what are the actual wattages of your current bulbs? and what color temp is each bulb?, you said one was 1700k, did u mean lumens? I have never done a pc grow but I am currently growing 1 plant in a closet using CFL's and 4 foot fluoros. The CFL's I am using are 2 GE 23watt soft white bulbs 1700 lumens each, and I will add a GE 42watt soft white CFL 2700 lumens, when I start to flower, these all put out 2700k. For my veg stage I am relying on my fluoros I have 4, 4 foot full spectrum GE daylight bulbs at 40watts each and putting out 6500k and 3050 lumens each. During flowering I will swap 2 of my fluoros for sylvania soft white 40w bulbs at 2700 lumens and 3000k each.

So make sure you have some "day light" CFL's for your veg stage they also seem to run cooler then soft white CFL's so heat may be easier to control during veg. Then make sure you have more soft white than daylight bulbs during flowering and be sure to control your heat then, my GE soft whites get pretty hot to touch.

Ok that being said, I have 160watts, 12200 lumens of 6500k and 43watts, 2400 lumens of 2700k for my veg stage. And I have 80watts 6100 lumens of 6500k, 85watts 5100 lumens of 2700k and 80watts 5400 lumens of 3000k, for my flowering stage. IMO what I have is a bit OD for 1 plant this was all going to be for 2 plants, and I still think it would be OD lol.

Sooooo, given your grow space I think you should get 3 42watt (150 equivalent)Day light bulbs and 1 42watt soft white bulb for your veg stage. Then do just the opposite for your flowering stage 3 soft whites and 1 daylight. This is all IMO, so I think this should do just fine for you. Anyway hope this helps, good luck and happy growing
 
D

d1zl3

Active Member
Twiz420 said:
How many bulbs do you have? what are the actual wattages of your current bulbs? and what color temp is each bulb?, you said one was 1700k, did u mean lumens? I have never done a pc grow but I am currently growing 1 plant in a closet using CFL's and 4 foot fluoros. The CFL's I am using are 2 GE 23watt soft white bulbs 1700 lumens each, and I will add a GE 42watt soft white CFL 2700 lumens, when I start to flower, these all put out 2700k. For my veg stage I am relying on my fluoros I have 4, 4 foot full spectrum GE daylight bulbs at 40watts each and putting out 6500k and 3050 lumens each. During flowering I will swap 2 of my fluoros for sylvania soft white 40w bulbs at 2700 lumens and 3000k each.

So make sure you have some "day light" CFL's for your veg stage they also seem to run cooler then soft white CFL's so heat may be easier to control during veg. Then make sure you have more soft white than daylight bulbs during flowering and be sure to control your heat then, my GE soft whites get pretty hot to touch.

Ok that being said, I have 160watts, 12200 lumens of 6500k and 43watts, 2400 lumens of 2700k for my veg stage. And I have 80watts 6100 lumens of 6500k, 85watts 5100 lumens of 2700k and 80watts 5400 lumens of 3000k, for my flowering stage. IMO what I have is a bit OD for 1 plant this was all going to be for 2 plants, and I still think it would be OD lol.

Sooooo, given your grow space I think you should get 3 42watt (150 equivalent)Day light bulbs and 1 42watt soft white bulb for your veg stage. Then do just the opposite for your flowering stage 3 soft whites and 1 daylight. This is all IMO, so I think this should do just fine for you. Anyway hope this helps, good luck and happy growing
Click to expand...
well i got 6 possible spots for my bulbs, so maybe something like 4 and 2 of a bit weaker? and then vice versa for flowering?
 

Attachments

Twiz420

Twiz420

Active Member
d1zl3 said:
well i got 6 possible spots for my bulbs, so maybe something like 4 and 2 of a bit weaker? and then vice versa for flowering?
Click to expand...
Yea I'd go 4 and 2 but I would still go with the 42watters if you can fit them all, you would rather have more light, and the 42s have more lumens per bulb. It seems my 23watt soft whites get hotter than my 42 watt bulb for some reason, so it may also be better for heat control. If you can only get the 23s then I still think you will be fine just keep an eye on your heat either way.
 
D

d1zl3

Active Member
Twiz420 said:
Yea I'd go 4 and 2 but I would still go with the 42watters if you can fit them all, you would rather have more light, and the 42s have more lumens per bulb. It seems my 23watt soft whites get hotter than my 42 watt bulb for some reason, so it may also be better for heat control. If you can only get the 23s then I still think you will be fine just keep an eye on your heat either way.
Click to expand...
yeah ill probly just get all 42 watts, just so that i dont have to buy another 6 after these:P
 
d r0cK

d r0cK

Well-Known Member
ive read many times 50-100 true watts per plant. set up looks good!

looks like its in a pc tower, couple things i might try and do... if you can get the intake and exhaust opposite sides, intake low exhaust high, youll have better air flow. if you position your top lighting horizontal, and hang your side lighting so the bulbs points down youll get better light and a little more space.

i think you'll be fine with your 26w bulbs. i used 9 23w bulbs to veg 6 plants to about 10" and bushy. Now i have 13 23w ( 3.75 total sq ft, 79.7w/sq ft, 5898 lumens/sq ft. ) bulbs on 3 and they are doing great! 2 100 cfm fans for intake and exhaust, temps no higher than 84, usually around 80.

good luck with your grow!
 
josh b

josh b

Well-Known Member
i used 2 14w compact floursescents until my 2 plants were like 3" tall then took away 1 14w and added a 40w then gonna just have my 150w on it when there ready to flower. i keep my temps 20-30 without a fan so its pretty gd
also i belive there like 900 lumens per bulb s ill be suing like 2-3k lumens and all bulbs are 2700k
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top