CFL's & Flowering

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MrBobMarleyJr

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Hey everyone, just about ready to switch to 12/12 as you can see in my thread MIXING FERTZ i have got good veg growth just wondering if i should keep doing what i have bin doing with my lights or should i keep them higher during flower???
thanks everyone
 
You might need more light depending on how many lumens a sqr foot you are at now. While 3000 lumens a sqr foot works in veg you will need 5000 lumens a sqr foot or better for flower.
You will also need to adjust your nutes to a flower type. Less N is wanted in flower. Don't move your lights further away though....especially if you are using cfl's which don't penetrate well to begin with. ( I am sure some will paint me a CFL Hater but I am not...just speaking the truth).

Jmo
 
He's just saying that cause he hates CFL's.

just kidding,

I would suggest an HPS, but if you wanna go with the cfl's definetly do not raise them, keep em close.
 
dman1234 said:
He's just saying that cause he hates CFL's.

just kidding,

I would suggest an HPS, but if you wanna go with the cfl's definetly do not raise them, keep em close.


^^^
dman suggested the HPS...........not me.....:holysheep: :p
 
I used CFL's in veg and got great results.. Now I am flowering and in my 7th week of 12/12. You can flower with CFL's but use high watts true watts not the equivalent. Keep them close. get 2700k spectrum On my next grow I am def going to be using HPS for flowering.. They just put out much more lumans and reach further down along the side branchs.. If u can. I would go with a HPS asap but if not possible. get lots of CFLS and reflectors help.. I use a few 4 foot galvanized dryer duct 6 inch round but opened as reflectors with the bulbs up underneath. Good luck.. Hero
 
Lol Not really interested in HPS right now
Right now i have one bulb that is 4200 lumens alone, then 3 with 2600 each i think, 3 more with something like 1250 and 4 regular spread around each like 900 all within 2 to 6 inchs lots of light..... im thinkin it should be good for flower just need to pay attention make sure i keep lowering her
 
The lights you used in veg are most likely a different spectrum than you need for flowering. Tell us (exactly) how many bulbs you are using, the space you are using them in and the spectrum of the bulbs. You are most likely going to need a different spectrum and will have to buy all new bulbs.

Why are you not interested in a HPS? The CFLs will cost you about twice as much in electricity every single month, create more heat, and produce less bud.
 
:yeahthat:

And if you're gonna have to replace them anyway, might be a good time to upgrade and reward yourself...and your gals! :)
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
Why are you not interested in a HPS? The CFLs will cost you about twice as much in electricity every single month, create more heat, and produce less bud.

I hear the angry Mob a coming....lol

I agree THG....not hating just facts.
 
Hamster Lewis said:
I hear the angry Mob a coming....lol

I agree THG....not hating just facts.

LOL--I have finally accepted that I am considered "the CFL hater" (oh and recently the auto hater), but in reality, I also am not hating, just stating the facts...
 
the reason for it is............um........... im not legal by no means, now im not worried about this there not very tuff on puffers where im from so.......also thought in my mind cfls would be the cheapest on my power bill...... and cant really afford and hps setup i dont think......
i have 1-4200 lumens bulb
3-2600 lumens bulbs
3-1250 lumens bulbs
& 4- Reg House Hold Cfls about 900 lumens
i have an intake fan for fresh air an outlet fan to remove old air and a fan inside for circulation.
my space is a 2' foot deep x 2'.5'' Wide x 5' Height totally inclosed with presentation white foam board for walls "Wish i had grow tent!!!"
my lights are around all side of my plant and on top, i would post an image but its not pretty it just works lol so im not gonna
 
Misconception....CFL's will cost more to operate that HPS, the HPS is better on electricity! I believe you could come up with a fairly cheap set-up if you look around, and all your efforts will be rewarded much more! Remember, you're trying to grow big $ smoke, cutting corners will end up costing you the same (or more) in the final run (elec wise), so why not get something from your hard work?

Being illegal shouldn't be a reason not to buy lights, the light won't make a difference in the crime you are accused of if caught! :)
 
If you are not legal, I can understand your reluctance to look at HPS. Since HPS is considered specialised equipment, if you get busted, its siezed and you loose it. If it is cfl's, you will loose out on yield but gain with piece of mind!
I am doing some planning on how many cfl's would be needed for a small SCROG such as costs, running costs etc and HPS is far cheaper, better results etc however, with HPS it is difficult to convince anyone it is a "small hobby personal grow"
If I had the capital, space, nerve it would be HPS and T5's but some factors cannot be accounted for by numbers.
JMO W
 
The amount of plants would be a big telling sign of a "small hobby" or serious money-making operation, but I hear you Woody! Truly, if you get busted, the plant count will be the main concern for the police, numbers matter to them. So, imho, if I am already going to risk it, I might as well get the most reward in the end, should I make it that far!
 
yea, .."specialized equipment"... "commercial operation"... "industrial lighting"..:rofl: and if you have a cool-tube or carbon filter, probably .."high tech'" and/or "state of the art"...:p
 
MrBobMarleyJr said:
the reason for it is............um........... im not legal by no means, now im not worried about this there not very tuff on puffers where im from so.......also thought in my mind cfls would be the cheapest on my power bill...... and cant really afford and hps setup i dont think......
i have 1-4200 lumens bulb
3-2600 lumens bulbs
3-1250 lumens bulbs
& 4- Reg House Hold Cfls about 900 lumens
i have an intake fan for fresh air an outlet fan to remove old air and a fan inside for circulation.
my space is a 2' foot deep x 2'.5'' Wide x 5' Height totally inclosed with presentation white foam board for walls "Wish i had grow tent!!!"
my lights are around all side of my plant and on top, i would post an image but its not pretty it just works lol so im not gonna

It is a common misconception that CFLs are cheaper, they are not. In fact, they are the most expensive to run of all the different types of lights people use to grow.

What spectrum are these? That is important. Like I mentioned earlier, you are probably going to need different bulbs for flowering and more lumens.

But to put numbers to this. You have 5 sq ft. You are going to need 25,000 lumens of red spectrum light for flowering. You are running 317 watts and getting 18,100 lumens, so you are short almost 7000 lumens. Two 150W HPS lights would give you 30,000 lumens and use 300W, less heat, and more bud.

I do not think that HPS lights will get you in more trouble if you are busted than CFLs. You are going to have all your grow equipment seized regardless. Someone posted up a link recently for a 150W HPS for about $30. You might want to add up the cost of buying all new red spectrum CFLs against the cost of a couple of 150W HPS.
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
The lights you used in veg are most likely a different spectrum than you need for flowering. Tell us (exactly) how many bulbs you are using, the space you are using them in and the spectrum of the bulbs. You are most likely going to need a different spectrum and will have to buy all new bulbs.

Why are you not interested in a HPS? The CFLs will cost you about twice as much in electricity every single month, create more heat, and produce less bud.

hemp ladie clf are engery saveing thats wot i use ,,,,400watt clf only cost bout £1.50 while 400watt hps cost £10.00 a week ....iv seen this with my lil cus set up and his power meter is run on £5 cards you can see wot you use each week,,,,my lil cus runs hps cause you are gona get biger return in bud but it will defo cost more and give off more heat than cfls...peace [j]
 
Not true Jesus, if you are way underlit than maybe, but if you have the right amount of lumens for your space and using CFL's will cost you way than HPS.

this explains it all.

The Hemp Goddess said:
But to put numbers to this. You have 5 sq ft. You are going to need 25,000 lumens of red spectrum light for flowering. You are running 317 watts and getting 18,100 lumens, so you are short almost 7000 lumens. Two 150W HPS lights would give you 30,000 lumens and use 300W, less heat, and more bud.
 
003.JPG

004.JPGthis is cfls i use they are cheap to run dont let off much heat///im with you on hps will produce more bud wattage wise but heat cost no danger stranger!!....peace [j]
 
jesuse said:
hemp ladie clf are engery saveing thats wot i use ,,,,400watt clf only cost bout £1.50 while 400watt hps cost £10.00 a week ....iv seen this with my lil cus set up and his power meter is run on £5 cards you can see wot you use each week,,,,my lil cus runs hps cause you are gona get biger return in bud but it will defo cost more and give off more heat than cfls...peace [j]

Sorry, but I know that I am correct. I am guessing that you are talking equivalent wattage on the CFLs, which is immaterial for growing. CFLs put out less light (lumens) per watt than a HPS. And 400w (actual watts) of CFL and 400W of HPS will cost the same to run--400 watts is 400 watts, regardless of what is consuming the power. However, the 400W of HPS will put out almost twice as much light as the CFLs and the HPS will run cooler. This is fact and is really not disputable.
 

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