super newb light question

Im new here. Quick background.....i live in a fucked up state that doesnt allow mmj and my brother suffers from rumitoid arthritis and ive been battling PTSD since 1995. Long story short ive decided to ditch all meds and help myself and my brother. Ive read massive amounts of info on CFLs on this site and others but there is no clear answer for me. I plan on using CFLs in my roughly 8 sq ft area (3x3 approx). Ive only got about 55" of height to work with. Heat is an issue. I plan on growing 4 or 5 plants in an aeroponic set up im building. I purchased 10-65watt 6500 cfls for $70. They claim to be 2800 lumens a piece so thats 28,000 total lumens. So thats 3500 per sq ft. Is this going to cut the mustard? Im building a reflector now from stainless steel with a chrome vanity strip with 5 outlets. Going to use y's to put all 10 bulbs in it. Everything else i have pretty much figured out. I do HVAC for a living so ventilation and power is under control. Any advice is appreciated.

heat is a issue, and your doing aero... water for hydro needs to be really cold. i think like 69 degrees. not sure though.

do a google search for Boss's Poor Mans Grow, its about using cfls, great thread.

wish you & your brother all the best

take a look at some air cooled reflectors for hps lights and fab your hood to function in the same manner. you prolly wont need anything as large as a 6" inline fan couple pc fans would be enough but you cant over cool your lights.

If I were you I would use the cfls to veg but for flower get a hps. If your serious about growing meds get a 400 or 600 watter. Can get a deal for 150 for that wattage almost everywhere.

Growingforpeace said:

If I were you I would use the cfls to veg but for flower get a hps. If your serious about growing meds get a 400 or 600 watter. Can get a deal for 150 for that wattage almost everywhere.

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150 for a cheap setup...

if you get a HID lamp for flowering, i would suggest a quality ballast like hydrofarm phantom or soils tek...

Thanks for all your responses. i started building the reflector today. I actually have 40watt cfls instead of 65s but they are still 2800 lumens. Do you think 28,000 lumens will do the trick for 4 or 5 plants? So dont mess with the 2700k cfls for flowering? Also I plan on building a small cloning chamber....would a 18" 15watt T-8 be enough to get them started? I have a fan capable of pulling 150cfm which through a 4" duct will provide plenty of ventilation for my little 45 cu ft space. Its also in a basement so keeping the water cool isnt a problem as long as the lights dont boil it.

selfmedicator462 said:

Thanks for all your responses. i started building the reflector today. I actually have 40watt cfls instead of 65s but they are still 2800 lumens. Do you think 28,000 lumens will do the trick for 4 or 5 plants? So dont mess with the 2700k cfls for flowering? Also I plan on building a small cloning chamber....would a 18" 15watt T-8 be enough to get them started? I have a fan capable of pulling 150cfm which through a 4" duct will provide plenty of ventilation for my little 45 cu ft space. Its also in a basement so keeping the water cool isnt a problem as long as the lights dont boil it.

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Im doing 95k lumens on 5 plants... Yield will be drastically reduced... Yes you want 2700k to flower.

i know to use 2700k.....somebody had mentioned dont use cfls for flowering. I finished my reflector and plugged it in....WOW!!!! those clfs even put out some heat when you have 10 of them going. and bright too!!! lol. Ill post some pics.......whats the best/safest way to post pics? Finished my grow system as well. Just waiting on a pump.

here is my system. I can drain using the pump. 4 spray heads and ill be adding an airstone as well. Still not 100% sure about the lights. this is 400w of 6500 cfl producing 28,000 lumens. According to my watt meter this is gonna cost me about $40 a month to run alone! If the 2700 cfls dont flower well and I have to use a HPS for that stage i might as well just bite the bullet now and use a cool tube set up and get a 6in inline fan. Was planning on using a 4" 165 cfm blower since im only dealing with 45cu ft but i see most cool tubes are 6". damn decisions anyhow.

after seeing this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160683199645&var=460039205287&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en im tempted to ditch my cfls before I even start. $168 with both HPS and MH bulbs. Hell I have damn near $80 in bulbs and they are still 10,000 lumens short of a MH. Wish I would have done some more research before building that light. Guess i didnt realize you could get them that cheap. Are the iPower ballast decent? Which would consume more energy in the veg stage? Mind you id be running a fan for ventilation anyhow so i might as well run it through the reflector.

selfmedicator462 said:

after seeing this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160683199645&var=460039205287&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en im tempted to ditch my cfls before I even start. $168 with both HPS and MH bulbs. Hell I have damn near $80 in bulbs and they are still 10,000 lumens short of a MH. Wish I would have done some more research before building that light. Guess i didnt realize you could get them that cheap. Are the iPower ballast decent? Which would consume more energy in the veg stage? Mind you id be running a fan for ventilation anyhow so i might as well run it through the reflector.

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400w hid is fine.. Though if you live in residential area with neighbors I would get a quality ballast due to RF interference. A quality ballast like hydrofarm, phantom or even a soils tek

hey 462, as you have the cfl`s, go with it, you`ll be surprised. 4 or 5 plants may be a bit ambitious but if any turn out to be males then you will still have 3 or 4 females if on the other hand they are feminised, I would go with 2 or 3 plants, you will still need to train them and also take this, your 1st grow, as a learning experience. once you have mastered it then maybe move away from cfl`s. what you have done so far looks great and I will be pulling up a chair. good luck and happy growing