R.C.C Offical CFL FAQ

B166ER420 said:

You'll get fat enough and dense enough buds its tough with cfl's,too many variables.What are your temps? Depends on strain.How many plants you got?You say 2 weeks flower,is that from 12/12 switch or have you seen pistils?Have you accounted for stretch?

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Stoned Drifter said:

after adding my exhaust fan today temps stay around 78 and 80. i got 4 plants in there right now, all at the same level. its been 1 week since i first seen pistils. strech has happened plus i got ton of space to raise the lights. also i suppercropped some of the strechy ones.

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FarmingToronto said:

R.C.C OFFICIAL CFL FAQ
Hey everyone I know the good Dr. Chronic has gone ahead and typed up a really informative document for you guys to all read. This is just a basic follow up with direct questions and answers. Again most of this is covered in his document.

Q. Can I grow start to finish with CFL lighting?
A. Absolutely, one can grow nice personal stash from start to finish with just simple CFL bulbs.

Q. Will CFL’s make my plants “Super Stretchy”
A. Stretch is more a function of WHERE the light source is as opposed to the type of light source. What I mean by that is if your bulbs are too far from the plant, then yes there can be a significant amount of stretch. So the key to using CFL’s is to get your bulbs as close as you can without burning or hurting your plant. The approximate distance would be 1 – 2 inches.


*Tip* Put your hand between the bulb and top of your plant. If its too hot for you hand, its too hot for your plant.


Q. Will CFL’s give me “fluffy buds” and “popcorn buds”
A. Again, it depends on the amount of light and distance.

Q. I see 2 different wattage on my CFL package, which is the right one ?
A. Well technically they are both good info, however the more important one to us is the first number. The first number is the true wattage of the CFL bulb, where as the second is the incandescent equivalent value.

Q. Which bulbs do I buy ??
A. Ok so this is a pretty loaded question for a FAQ. I will start off by saying; check out Dr.Chronics document, as it very much explains this in detail.

Q. Which bulbs are for Vegetative Growth?
A. 6500K (Daylight)
Q. Which bulbs are for Flowering Growth?
A. 2700K (Soft white)

Q. Can I mix spectrum's during both or either phase?
A. Really depends on who you ask..Some will say use both through-out as its a more natural range. Where as some would say (myself included) its ok to use a mix however make sure there are at least 2 – 1 of the “proper” colour for the phase of growth. Others just stick with ONLY the #’s I listed above.

Q. What does the K stand for? And how do I know what K my bulbs are?
A. The K stands for Kelvin, which is a unit of measurement. To find the K can be easy sometimes and frustrating other times. First place to check is ALL OVER THE BOX/PACKAGE. Next up check the actual bulb itself, often times they’ll print the info directly on the bulbs. Finally and only confirmed at Home Depot is if you look at the stickers on the shelf they will generally say 26W 6500K 1 PK or whatever, you get the idea.

Q. Is total darkness required?
A. For veg, no not really.. Some people run 24 hr light cycles, however if you plan to have some dark time. Then I’d highly suggest making your box/area as light proof as possible both in and out. Now during flowering its ABSOLUTLY required that you keep your box PITCH BLACK during the dark time. I’m talking so black I can’t even see my own hand in my area during dark time.

Q. Is this information a direct step-by-step how to of growing with CFL’S?
A. No, this FAQ isn’t supposed to be more about using CFL’s than growing marijuana. If you want a help with Growing problems, RollItUp has an AWESOME GROWFAQ located right on sight. Please refer to that if you have any questions regarding general growing.

Q. Can I use CFL's in a large room?
A. Yes, but not that practical. CFL's ideally do extremely well in a small enclosed space with well reflective surfaces.

Q. Should I use one large CFL, or a few smaller ones?
A. Depends on your situations. Larger CFL's have higher lumens focused on a smaller "light foot print". An array of smaller CFL’s will have less lumens, but equally spread out in a larger "light foot print"

Q. How long to CFL's last?
A. Depends on make and model, however, you should replace your CFL's after each grow, or every 3 months, since they lose luminosity over time. (Note. Replace your house bulbs, with your used CFL's)

Q. I have a 400w MH/HPS closet grow, can CFL's still help me?
A. Yes.. you can use CFL’s as supplement lighting on the sides and even under your plants, with out extra ballasts or a spice in your power bill.

Thanks, goes out to Dr.Chronic for his amazing reference Document. I’d also like to thank Wolfman_Zen very much as well for his awesome contributions to this FAQ and finally I’d like to send a shout-out to BigD921 and other who’ve helped me without you guys I’d not have half as much CFL knowledge as I had when I started. Thanks guys.
To the readers, I hope this helps you guys out in conjunction with Dr.Chornics info and feel free to PM or msg me in my threads anytime.

Take Care,
-Tdot

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420Hazza said:

What is the best wattage range to stick with to get decent yield ? (2 separate plants)

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