Would a 125w CFL bulb be enough light?

[ATPSYG]

Hello everyone!!

Would a 125w CFL bulb be enough light for only 1 plant? The tent I'll be buying is a Secret Jardin 60cmx60cmx150cm.

I've also read that the smaller the bulb and wattage, the better the lumen output. So I was wondering if I should have only one 125w bulb or a few smaller bulbs (how many and which wattage??). I really wanna spend as less as possible in electricity without compromising the plant, and the reason is that the electricity bill goes directly to my landlord, and I don't want him to be surprised with it and eventually call to the electricity company with questions!

I'm really new to this, I've never grown anything before, so this is going to be a nice adventure. If you guys could help, that would be great. By the way, I'll be planting a Diesel automatic from Royal Queen Seeds (http://www.royalqueenseeds.com/180-diesel-automatic.html) has anybody tried it??

Thanks in advance.

 

[NoSocSlic]

I am only using 78w of cfl using 3 bulbs and have a great plant going. I would assume that especially getting use of the cfls side light you'll have good growth. If you mean 125w equivalent you may get disappointed. That's what I started with and I didn't get much final product. It CAN be done though, and training really helps. I wisened up this time and I'm getting much better results.

 

[NoSocSlic]

You may also want to read up on LST (low stress training), topping, and supercropping to see a few ways of making your available space work for you. On this plant I topped it creating those two new tops you see. then started with low stress training which are the ties you see on the sides. Doing this and with my lights, I am probably going to get around a half ounce, maybe more or less but I know I wish I knew this stuff with my first plant. It was only on little top and I got just under 2 grams off her. Major disappointment! You will have fun no matter how good or bad it goes though... Good Luck!

 

[Jnugg]

You would be better off with two of them,but why not just get a 250w HID or some T5's?

 

[ridgelind]

@NoSocSlic

Where did you get the pieces where you screwed in your bulb on one end, and plugged it into the surge protector on the other? Ive been looking EVERYWHERE for those.

 

[NoSocSlic]

I got them at Wal-Mart in the home improvements section. They were 97 cents. You can find them at any hardware store also. They are a little hard to find but they are in the electrical section usually in a bin of some sort with lots of other adapters. I had to ask for help to find em =P

 

[ridgelind]

I got them at Wal-Mart in the home improvements section. They were 97 cents. You can find them at any hardware store also. They are a little hard to find but they are in the electrical section usually in a bin of some sort with lots of other adapters. I had to ask for help to find em =P

Hey do you maybe have a link to the item in walmart? I don't live in the States, and ive been to a few of the local hardware supermarkets and they looked at me like i'm crazy when i tried explaining to them what i need.

Or Whats the exact name of it from the reciept?

 

[NoSocSlic]

It is a GE polarized lamp socket adaptor. I went to a hardware store who was out of them then checked at lowes, another hardware store, they had them for $3, so I waited. I was at walmart and looking at there electrical section and found a box of these for 97 cents and grabbed the 6 that were left.

Here is a cheap one on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cooper-Ivory-Plug-In-Light-Socket-Outlet-Adapter-Lamp-Holder-Plug-738V-Bulk-/390763488084?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5afb51a354

 

[ATPSYG]

I am only using 78w of cfl using 3 bulbs and have a great plant going. I would assume that especially getting use of the cfls side light you'll have good growth. If you mean 125w equivalent you may get disappointed. That's what I started with and I didn't get much final product. It CAN be done though, and training really helps. I wisened up this time and I'm getting much better results.
[

Thanks for your help. Great plant you have there and using only 78w of cfl. Amazing. Hopefully I'll get a nice crop

 

[ATPSYG]

I am only using 78w of cfl using 3 bulbs and have a great plant going. I would assume that especially getting use of the cfls side light you'll have good growth. If you mean 125w equivalent you may get disappointed. That's what I started with and I didn't get much final product. It CAN be done though, and training really helps. I wisened up this time and I'm getting much better results.

View Image
View Image

Thanks for your help. Great plant you have got there, and only using 78w cfl! Amazing. Hopefully you'll get a great crop.

 

[ATPSYG]

You may also want to read up on LST (low stress training), topping, and supercropping to see a few ways of making your available space work for you. On this plant I topped it creating those two new tops you see. then started with low stress training which are the ties you see on the sides. Doing this and with my lights, I am probably going to get around a half ounce, maybe more or less but I know I wish I knew this stuff with my first plant. It was only on little top and I got just under 2 grams off her. Major disappointment! You will have fun no matter how good or bad it goes though... Good Luck!

Thanks for your suggestion. I'll definitely be looking into the low stress training , topping and supercropping. From the little I've red so far, it seems to make a big difference.

 

[NoSocSlic]

Thanks! I'll be happy with whatever I get. I wish you well too. It is so much fun learning about these babies. I am so excited I'm jumping out of my skin and I still have about 5 weeks until chop time. I am just learning as I go and trying new stuff each time. I like this method, it is working very well for me. I would love to see pics of yours once it's all set up. We can learn together lol

 

[ATPSYG]

You would be better off with two of them,but why not just get a 250w HID or some T5's?

The main reason is simply the electricity bill, which is included in my rent, and therefore, I must make sure that my landlord won't come around with questions. And knowing him as I do, I'm sure he will go crazy just by paying some £15 or £20 pounds more... I also read somewhere that the HID bulbs are a bit dangerous, apparently they can start a fire..not sure if it is true, but it worries me because I don't spend much time at home, which means that if something happens it's very likely that there won't be anybody around...

 

[DeepestCover]

Well, u can definetly grow with a 125w cfl, but the tent is way oversized and can easily house a 250w hps. If you do decide to go with the tent and the 125w I recommend from personal experience that you hang the light vertically in the middle and train the plant to grow its tops around it. Like a sircle of buds. You can easily lift the light up when the streatch kicks in and you will get the most power out of that cfl. The lamp can hang in the bush very close to the buds as long as u take care of airflow. I have done this with a 105w and 250w cfl and compared to having the cfl above the plant, the results have been way better.

But i do recommend u get mote W into a tent of that size.

 

[ATPSYG]

Well, u can definetly grow with a 125w cfl, but the tent is way oversized and can easily house a 250w hps. If you do decide to go with the tent and the 125w I recommend from personal experience that you hang the light vertically in the middle and train the plant to grow its tops around it. Like a sircle of buds. You can easily lift the light up when the streatch kicks in and you will get the most power out of that cfl. The lamp can hang in the bush very close to the buds as long as u take care of airflow. I have done this with a 105w and 250w cfl and compared to having the cfl above the plant, the results have been way better.

But i do recommend u get mote W into a tent of that size.

I was thinking of using a 100w HID lamp instead of a cfl, as with a 100w cfl you get +/- 5500 lumens and with a 100w HID lamp you get +/- 10000. Quite a difference...I was looking into two:
- 1 for veg : http://www.cp-lighting.co.uk/Osram-PB100TT-100W-E40-3000K
- another for flowering: http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tubes/SON-T-100W-Ext-Ignitor/SON-T-XO-100W-GES-Ext-GE

What do u think about these lamps?? Are they good or should I look for different ones??

 

[Bulldog420]

40w per sq ft is the rule. You should be good