Using CFLs for Seedlings?

notlaura

Active Member
My two seeds are currently germing, but I'm planning on planting them in a soil-less medium under 2 6500k, 1600 lumen CFLs w/ 5.5 inch reflectors. Will one per seedling be enough or should I be adding some more into the mix? Will they even sprout with only 2? I bought 6 bulbs just in case. :D
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
Plants sprouting has nothing to do with your lighting, some people keep them in the dark till they sprout in fact because of that. I like to have the plants getting light the second they pop up so i keep mine on personally. How long will they be under the cfls? do you have another setup for veg and flower? how large do you want them?
 

cranker

Legal Moderator, Esq.
It'll be plenty. I wouldn't use reflectors though I'd use mylar (I line my grow boxes with emergency blankets which are made of cheap mylar and can be gotten off ebay for a dollar or 2 or walmart for about the same and cover a wide area. The biggest problem with cfl's is they need to be fairly close to the plant the whole time so you'll be constantly moving them up and away, but a 26W is good for vegging per plant, more never hurts. It all depends on your grow area.
 

notlaura

Active Member
I'm planning on switching to 400w MH for vegging and 400w HPS for flower. But I won't be getting those till the end of the month so I thought I would use CFLs in the meantime to help things along. Thanks for all the advice, guys! :)

Oh, and I'd like as much yield as possible, obviously... But I'm not expecting too much from my first grow ever. I've just been trying to learn as much as possible so I don't mess up things TOO bad lol.

The seeds are Nirvana's Papaya & Blue Mystic btw.
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
I'd go with 2 a plant hung over them in y splitters. that will be suffecient till your setup arrives. 1 would technically do the job, but they wont grow as fast/well. if possible get 2 red spectrum cfls and then use 1 blue spectrum and 1 red spectrum over each plant. cannabis has 2 types of chloroplasts, one interacts with the red wavelength side of the spectrum and one with the blue wavelength side. Using only 1 spectrum wastes alot of your plants potential.
 

PeacefulKid1992

Well-Known Member
yeah u need 100watt atleast per plant
keep em but not where it can burn ur seedlings,this stage they are sensitive since they baby's
 
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