lights

[msge]

hps vs cfl

If i use a combo of cfl and or fl plant light will i get a good crop
or should i break down and buy hps

First time growing indoors and trying to decide how to set up my grow box and veg room

 

[HMAN]

hps vs cfl

If i use a combo of cfl and or fl plant light will i get a good crop
or should i break down and buy hps

You'll get a crop, but if you want to get a better crop, invest in an HPS. Or a conversion system... M/H n HPS. M/H for veg, and HPS for flower.... jmo.

 

[lyfr]

the hps will pay for itself in the first crop. if you can swing it with the heat and all i would def go for it. i hear wonderful things about cfl's and t-5 flo's for veg though i use a MH.

 

[Grower_Dude]

I use high intensity compact fluorescent lighting for vegetative growth and a HPS for flowering.

My logic is as follows: when dealing with smaller plants, you are less likely to mess things up terribly under fluorescent lights. However, they need to be very powerful or you will get stretching and may lose plants. For an 3'x3' area I have 4 compact bulbs that have 2900 lumen output each. Plants grow from seedlings to 12"-14' in short order.

Once they reach the desired growth, I move them to my second room 10' x 4' (under the stairs in the basement) where I have a 1000w HPS rig (the hood, by Sun Systems, is designed to accommodate a variety of bulbs; the ballast is external). The intensity of that much light in a small space gives great penetration; I get flowing from the base to the tip of the plants.

If money were no object, I would like to have a the same system in my nursery room as well, but can't afford it. My Sun Systems setup retails for around $600. The four compact fluorescents with sockets totaled about $40.

 

[BuddyLuv]

Buy a digital set-up so you can switch mh bulbs or hps during your cycles.

 

[lyfr]

(under the stairs in the basement)

thanks, but where do you keep your keys?:hubba:

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

i used 12 T12's to vegg with outstanding results... the MH light is also excellent BUT, heat may be an issue...a problem you seldom see with floros....if you have no heat problems then go for the switchable ballast setup and be done with it. hydrowholesale has them less than $300

 

[msge]

hey grower dude are you talking about plain ole cfl you would use in your house
for lights

 

[Grower_Dude]

Yes I am. I went to home depot and purchased 4 inexpensive regular sockets with mounting clamps. They ran about $6 each. Next, I purchased 4 compact florescent bulbs that claim to have the equivalent of 200 watt output each. More to the point, each was rated at 2900 lumen. With 4 bulbs covering my 3'x3' nursery, there is plenty of light--no stretching. The advantage for me was not having to buy a second expensive light fixture while being able to have two different rooms--one for vegetative growth with a 21-hour light cycle, the other with a 11 on / 13 off cycle for flowering.

I like that little heat is produced, the limited expense, the lack of sound from a ballast and etc.

Having said that, I am skeptical of what my results would be if I used the florescents for flowering. I would have to purchase many more lights, and I doubt that they would work as well.

My friend purchased two of the Sun Systems setup that I have, and he uses a MH for vegetative growth and a HPS for flowering. I don't see a big difference in the our results (we are working with the same clones) except that he can have many more in the room at a time and that his upstairs is hot enough to roast turkeys in....

 

[msge]

Thanks for the info Grower Dude

I am intrested in the cfl and fl for veg state only

I have plans on using the small fridge for clones and think that a hps would be to hot for a enclosed area.
I have seen , and i am thinking on using a led light for the clones

And Then use a hps on the other plants after veg stage is over

 

[TheEnhancementSmoker]

I purchased 4 compact florescent bulbs that claim to have the equivalent of 200 watt output each. More to the point, each was rated at 2900 lumen. With 4 bulbs covering my 3'x3' nursery, there is plenty of light--no stretching.

Typically you want 5,000+ lumens/foot.

2900x4= 11,600

11,600 / 9 square feet = 1288

Sounds like you are way underpowered to me.

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

i used 36,000 lumens in a 24sqft room.......and grew monsters in 6 weeks(veg)

 

[Grower_Dude]

I am not sure that one needs 5000 lumen per square foot for seedlings or starting plants. The plants tend to be close to the lights (they run on the cool side) and since intensity is proportional to the distance squared, placement is very much a factor. So, 11,600 at close range is just as powerful (let's say 1' above the plants) as 50K lumen at around 4'.

In the flowering room, I am happy to have as many lumen as possible for penetration

 

[slowmo77]

cfls and floros work fine for veg. you can use cfls to flower and get good results but it cost more to buy enough cfls than it would to buy a decent hps system. jmo

 

[msge]

hey guys i went to hydrowholesale On Puff Monkeys Advise and found a 400 watt switchable for less than 160

That one on my wish list [maybe santa will get it for me ]

Thanks

 

[Grower_Dude]

I made a typo in my post above:

"since intensity is proportional to the distance squared"

should be:

since intensity is indirectly proportional to the distance squared


In short, if you use high output compact florescent bulbs at close distance, you get plenty of light at close distances. That is why one generally has to continually adjust the height of the lamps as the plants grow. If you start with the lights too high, then the intensity would be insufficient and you will get stretching, or at the very least slower / stunted growth.

In the room with my HPS, I don't allow the plants to get too close to the lamp as they will burn. My hood has an option for an exhaust fan to keep the bulb cool, but I haven't purchased that as yet. If you plan on using an MH or HPS for vegetative growth, I strongly encourage the use of a cooling fan; otherwise, your bulb may sustain damage.

One other thought--the higher you hang your hood, the better light coverage you achieve, but at the cost of intensity. Given that's the case, I recommend purchasing the highest powered lamp that you can afford. Doing so will allow you wide coverage with good penetration.

Best,

GD