What types of CFL's to use...?

this may have been asked before, but can I use regular CFL's like from the Home Depot? For a 4 plant grow, about how many would I need?

thanks,

Ziffy

You might find some 5000k (assuming you are vegging) cheaper at Wally World, but Home Depot or Lowe's will have a better selection.
I don't think you will find 6500k's at Wally.
5000k's are fine for veg, I mixed with 2700k and my veg came out nice.
How large of space is also info needed along with how many plants, vegging, flowering, how you plan to set up, etc.
I vegged 1 plant under 98w in a 2x2 space, so I imagine if you were to have a 3x3 for 4 plants to veg 3 or 4 weeks, you might want 150 actual watts if not more.
Remember, CFL light doesn't travel far, so you want to keep your lights as close as possible and surround the plants.
You can't really overdo it with CFL's.
Here is how I'm flowering 1 plant, and I could still use more light.

For a four plant grow I would use about 700 or so actual watts using a mixture of 2700k and 6500k,for both vegging and flowering. I use to grow with cfls' and that's what I did and my crops produced kick ass bud.

Okay, but maybe another dumb question... 2700K/6500k what? Lumens? Where do you find that info? I've never seen it on packaging

Look at the back of the box. Or maybe the side.

100bulbs.com all you CFL Needs

Veg blub
105 watt [h=2]400 W Equal - 6500K Full Spectrum Daylight [/h]http://1000bulbs.com/product/62837/FC105-FEIIIB10565.html
[h=2]Bud Bulb
105 Watt 420 W Equal - 2700K Warm White[/h]http://1000bulbs.com/product/8255/FC105-S27OD.html

Ziffy said:

Okay, but maybe another dumb question... 2700K/6500k what? Lumens? Where do you find that info? I've never seen it on packaging

Click to expand...

5000K and up is blue color good for Veg Stage of plants
2700 is a orange color good for Budding your plants

lumens you want as much as possible
105 watts CFL can produce about 7100 lumens
200 watt CFL can get to about 12000 lumens
a 400 watt HPS produces about 56000 lumens
while a MH produces a insane 100000+ lumens

use a daylight spectrum t8 or t5 tubes for vegging,, 1 t8 fixture is enough to veg 3 maybe 4 plants for the entire vegetative stage. as you switch to flowering throw in a few(im using 6) 55w soft/cool white cfl's, or whatever maximum power cfl lights you can find. I found that homoe depot has a crappy selection check out lowe's or ace.