I'm confused about my light situation

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Dutch[520]

Member
This is my 1st time growing indoors and i want to make something atleast mediocre. I am using a single 15W fluorecent BUT on the package it came in it says it has a 60W output. Now if i end up needing more lights can i get 3 more of this specific type of light i'm already useing once i get to the flowing stage? I just wanna make sure my little girl get enough light!
 
JACKMAYOFFER

JACKMAYOFFER

Well-Known Member
Dutch[520];2657770 said:
This is my 1st time growing indoors and i want to make something atleast mediocre. I am using a single 15W fluorecent BUT on the package it came in it says it has a 60W output. Now if i end up needing more lights can i get 3 more of this specific type of light i'm already useing once i get to the flowing stage? I just wanna make sure my little girl get enough light!
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15 W Will yield nothing you need at least a 400 w lamp for decent results sure you could grow with less but the more watts the better I am currently growing with 6000 w in flower room and 2 x 400w in veg room..:peace: :joint:
 
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NJMB

Member
Hey dutch I am no expert but I can tell you 15w is the amount of power your CFL draws and the 60w rating on the package tells you it will produce about as much light as a regular 60w incandescent light bulb. You can use this for the very early seedling stage but as soon as you really want good vegetative growth you need more light. You could stick with CFL but you would need a bigger bulb. A CFL that draws 100-150 watts will produce enough light to grow a plant but when you want it to flower you need to pay attention to the light spectrum (temperature) of the bulb. You want full specturm bulbs in the 6500k range for veg and something around 3000k (more in the red spectrum) for flowering.
 
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Dutch[520]

Member
But i've heard people useing CFL's the entire way through the plants life until harvest. I've just wondering because right now its just 1 bulb. What if i added more fixtures and more bulbs and packed them close together so it acts as 1 big CFL. So right now i have the 15W light with the 60W light output. What if i made it so i had 4X the CFL's in a small area? Would it work?
 
Stoney McFried

Stoney McFried

Well-Known Member
If you need cfl's because of space or heat issues, or because you think they are more economical,you've got to realize you'll need a lot of them surrounding the plant.So you will have to set up fixtures to screw them all into.And...if they are cheap cfl's, they may put out a bit of heat anyway.If you get a bigger cfl,you may have to buy a special adapter for it to make it fit your socket.And all told, everything you need will probably cost you over 50 bucks.I personally think cfl's are a hassle.(They were for me.)And the results don't compare to a HID light.If you're just going to grow one or two plants, just get a small hid light and supplement it, if needed, with some tube flourescents or cfls along the sides of the plants as they grow.IMO, it's the cheaper option.I'm currently growing one plant under one 150 watt hps.I have one tube flourescent on the side for the lower buds, and I am using a uv bulb as well.It runs much cooler than my first grow with a ton of cfls' ever did.And the plant is much better than my first grow ever was.The buds are dense,there are more trichs,the plant is big and healthy.Not bad for 150 watts.http://www.htgsupply.com/growlights.asp?categoryID=1&subcategoryID=155&typeID=84 If you have a bigger budget,and can install proper ventilation,get a 400 watter or 600...you can grow several nice plants under those.But if you are looking to keep it small,consider the 150 watt light instead of a ton of cfl's.:peace:
 
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Dutch[520]

Member
Thanks thats what i'm looking for. Kinda on a tight budget but if i skip on the quality of light i know i'll skip on the quality of the final product.
 
StoneInLove

StoneInLove

Well-Known Member
Dutch[520];2657868 said:
But i've heard people useing CFL's the entire way through the plants life until harvest. I've just wondering because right now its just 1 bulb. What if i added more fixtures and more bulbs and packed them close together so it acts as 1 big CFL. So right now i have the 15W light with the 60W light output. What if i made it so i had 4X the CFL's in a small area? Would it work?
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They're not using 15's. Once you start getting around 150 watts of cfl's, you should just get an hps.
S.
 
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Dutch[520]

Member
StoneInLove said:
They're not using 15's. Once you start getting around 150 watts of cfl's, you should just get an hps.
S.
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Yea i'm about to order an HPS online. Could i use my 15W light for the 1st month and then switch to a HPS? O and any tips on how to promote more females then males? Is there even a way?
 
smallclosetgrowr

smallclosetgrowr

Well-Known Member
dude your cfl is god for about 7 days if that get at least 3 of them , that will last your about a month , then get more its what ive done lol , u got 3 cfl tubes at 14 watt each and they work fine for now , im only 9 days in atm , u can allways add , but like the person said above its cheap but a hassle
 
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somebuddy

Active Member
As stated before the 15 watt single CFL your using is good for about the first 3-5 maybe seven days. If you had a ton of them, in theory it would work, but it is really a bad idea. Cant you find, 23 or 35 watt CFLs at least?? I have a small cfl flood light that worked great for about 2 weeks, but its 65 watts. You would need 3 of your bulbs to make one of those. i dont think you could get the 15 watters close enough. stick it in you bathroom, and get at least a couple 23's
 
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Dutch[520]

Member
smallclosetgrowr said:
dude your cfl is god for about 7 days if that get at least 3 of them , that will last your about a month , then get more its what ive done lol , u got 3 cfl tubes at 14 watt each and they work fine for now , im only 9 days in atm , u can allways add , but like the person said above its cheap but a hassle
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Yea i plan on upping the CFL's gradually for the first month then i'm gonna switch to a 150W HPS. I'm not looking to grow something amazing. I've got some pretty good short rider seeds though. But my first few plants are more of an experience and learning process rather then trying to grow some banging shit. I just wanna atleast give the plants what they deserve!
 
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Dutch[520]

Member
O YEA! Lets just say if i wanted to up my CFL's i could pay about 10 bucks and triple the amount of watts in my grow room. I have a special source for lights. But i mean hey for the 1st month if i paid 10 more bucks and tripled the amount of CFL wattage in the grow room, wouldnt it be worth it?!? Then just buy a HPS light for the second month or so? I just gotta wait for my check in 2 weeks to buy the HPS light. Will this work?!?
 
MR M3RKLEZz

MR M3RKLEZz

Active Member
or at least try getting a 300 watt cfl blue then u will be alright i used two 300 watt cfl blues now that i put them to flower 2 days ago at 5 weeks old i use a 600 watt hps that i brought of ebay for 70 english pounds but 300watt cfls i bought for 58 pounds each and have the red bulbs for them to so u can do it 4 cheap and its worth it
 
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somebuddy

Active Member
The sooner you add the light, the faster the plants will grow. Period. The plants will process as much light as you can feed them provided the conditions are right. your wasting a month if you just use one or two of these shitty little bulbs
 
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Dutch[520]

Member
somebuddy said:
The sooner you add the light, the faster the plants will grow. Period. The plants will process as much light as you can feed them provided the conditions are right. your wasting a month if you just use one or two of these shitty little bulbs
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Yea I went on Amazon.com and found an HPS light. Just ordered it. My plant should be fine in a couple weeks. I've been doing research everyday non-stop so i'm finding different lights to use. Just educating myself. But thanks for everything and all the info! This is my first grow so its simply a learning experience. Doing good so far!
 
loverofthem

loverofthem

Member
Dutch[520];2657868 said:
But i've heard people useing CFL's the entire way through the plants life until harvest. I've just wondering because right now its just 1 bulb. What if i added more fixtures and more bulbs and packed them close together so it acts as 1 big CFL. So right now i have the 15W light with the 60W light output. What if i made it so i had 4X the CFL's in a small area? Would it work?
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Im currently doing my first grow and have made decenct progress with cfl's. I am however using 4 42w=150w equivelent GE bulbs. Havent flowered yet though.
 
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