cfl question! - New Growers - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

Texasheat · 03-13-2010, 07:58 PM

Ok so i recently purchased some 42 watt daylight cfl's from home depot, after my seedlings sprouted i noticed thier stretching and the leaves are standing straight instead of laying down. i checked the spectrum rating and i noticed its 5000k is this bad or do i neeed a diff rating?

Hydro-Soil · 03-13-2010, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texasheat

Ok so i recently purchased some 42 watt daylight cfl's from home depot, after my seedlings sprouted i noticed thier stretching and the leaves are standing straight instead of laying down. i checked the spectrum rating and i noticed its 5000k is this bad or do i neeed a diff rating?

You're fine.

5000K has more blue in it. You'll have a shorter bushier plant than if you used 2700K (like you would during flower). Great veg lamp.

You should have that CFL within about 6" or so of your seedlings.

Happy plants stretch for the sky with their leaves.... plants with too little light, stretch for the light with their stems(before falling over, usually).

Stay Safe!

03-13-2010, 08:41 PM

I am very close to embarking on my own first trial...but from my

research you should be fine with that K rating. I am going to be

running 8 T5's on my sprouts/seedlings at a rating of 6500K. For

veg I have two lamps, a Hortilux Blue at 5000K and AgroMax Gold

at 2300K if I remember correctly. How far are your cfl's from the

plants? I know I have read stretching can be caused by having

the light to far away. Good luck in you endeavors.

Internode · 03-13-2010, 08:59 PM

Get yourself a HID lamp if you're serious about growing.
But . . .growing in Texas? I live next door where it's legal. It feels like I am living next door to a rabid attack dog since TX is just across the border. You'll need to grow sativas unless you spend a fortune air conditioning the grow room.

weeeduh · 03-14-2010, 02:18 AM

I was over at 1000bulbs checking out some options for florescent lighting. Interestingly enough, I came up with the same wattage bulb 42w as my preferred fluorescent.

I was also doing a comparison of the t5 bulbs and ballasts over at home harvest, here -> https://homeharvest.com/highoutputflu...tssunblaze.htm

So what I am comparing is lumens and price. First thing I noticed is that the 2ft t5 bulbs are rated at 2000 lumens, where as the 42w cfl is rated at 2800 lumens.

The next t5 bulb up is the 4 ft bulb at 5000 lumens.

So I have to wonder, how efficient is that 5000 lumens going to be because clearly parts of the bulb are going to be at least 24 inches away from the center of your plant. It just seems like it would be easier to focus a cfl than a t5. And for the price of the ballast I was looking at the 2ft 8 bulb, $229 bucks! I could get a 20 pack of 42 watt cfls and focus light all over the place.

So the T5's are definitely energy efficient. 2000 lumens for 24 watts. Its like 83 lumens/watt. But then at 2800 lumens for 42 watts we get 67 lumens/watt with the cfl. That is 25% less efficient as far as power usage and the life spans are about the same for comparable bulbs https://www.promolux.com/english/bulbspecs.html about 10,000 hours.

The other reason I will start up with the cfl bulbs rather than t5's is space efficiency. I don't mind sacrificing 25% of watts used to be able to place my lights where I need them.

I was really close to going with the t5s despite that, but the other thing I noticed is that cfl's come closer to hps light spectrum than the t5's. The t5's do a better job at filling in for MH or cool temps for vegging, but I think the cfl does a better job at flowering temps.

Of course I am a total n00b to indoor growing, so I could have completely missed something, I'd much rather go with a 400-600 HID aircooled system, but really the difference in price is just amazing to me. So I ordered my 12 cfl 42 watters. for 150 bucks shipped. I got 50/50 warm 2700k and full spectrum daylight 6500k

Next stop homeboy de pot for wood.

ithinkiam · 03-14-2010, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weeeduh

Of course I am a total n00b to indoor growing, so I could have completely missed something, I'd much rather go with a 400-600 HID aircooled system, but really the difference in price is just amazing to me. So I ordered my 12 cfl 42 watters. for 150 bucks shipped. I got 50/50 warm 2700k and full spectrum daylight 6500k

Next stop homeboy de pot for wood.

I've been using CFL's for my grow and it's been working just fine. Growing the herb doesn't have to cost you a fortune, especially if it's just a small personal grow indoors.

Fresh Start · 03-16-2010, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Internode

Get yourself a HID lamp if you're serious about growing.

You can still produce some serious bud with CFL's. And even if you flower with hid, CFL's are great for veg.

Strykaar · 03-16-2010, 09:58 AM

I'm curious, has anyone actually run a grow from start to finish with CFL's? And if so, how was the harvest? I'm vegging a plant right now under 6 23W CFL's, and I was pondering getting a nice little 150W HID. Is it -absolutely- necessary, or can I run the CFL's to the end?

Fresh Start · 03-16-2010, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strykaar

I'm curious, has anyone actually run a grow from start to finish with CFL's? And if so, how was the harvest? I'm vegging a plant right now under 6 23W CFL's, and I was pondering getting a nice little 150W HID. Is it -absolutely- necessary, or can I run the CFL's to the end?

You're gonna want to get some 42 watt red light CFL's if you want to flower them( I think 6500 k??) But to answer your question, of coarse CFL's will get you through your grow!Check out the micro grow section, people do CFL grows all day over there.

An HID light is not completely necessary. And you'd be surprised what can be accomplished with florescents. Its really about preference and situation/set-up. Here is my grand daddy purple flowering under three 42watt and two 23watts CFL's @ day 21.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?a...ctureid=319205

Strykaar · 03-16-2010, 10:43 AM

Beautiful picture Fresh. Gives me a happier feeling. :P I think I'm still going to splurge and get the HID, just because. But if I ever decide to do a micro grow, I'll look into some higher wattage CFL's. Thanks for the reply and advice.

Stay green.

03-13-2010, 07:58 PM	#1
Texasheat New Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 13	cfl question! Ok so i recently purchased some 42 watt daylight cfl's from home depot, after my seedlings sprouted i noticed thier stretching and the leaves are standing straight instead of laying down. i checked the spectrum rating and i noticed its 5000k is this bad or do i neeed a diff rating?
	Quote

03-13-2010, 08:41 PM	#3
Sirus Guest Posts: n/a	I am very close to embarking on my own first trial...but from my research you should be fine with that K rating. I am going to be running 8 T5's on my sprouts/seedlings at a rating of 6500K. For veg I have two lamps, a Hortilux Blue at 5000K and AgroMax Gold at 2300K if I remember correctly. How far are your cfl's from the plants? I know I have read stretching can be caused by having the light to far away. Good luck in you endeavors.
	Quote

03-13-2010, 08:59 PM	#4
Internode Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 34	Get yourself a HID lamp if you're serious about growing. But . . .growing in Texas? I live next door where it's legal. It feels like I am living next door to a rabid attack dog since TX is just across the border. You'll need to grow sativas unless you spend a fortune air conditioning the grow room.
	Quote

03-14-2010, 02:18 AM	#5
weeeduh New Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 14	I was over at 1000bulbs checking out some options for florescent lighting. Interestingly enough, I came up with the same wattage bulb 42w as my preferred fluorescent. I was also doing a comparison of the t5 bulbs and ballasts over at home harvest, here -> https://homeharvest.com/highoutputflu...tssunblaze.htm So what I am comparing is lumens and price. First thing I noticed is that the 2ft t5 bulbs are rated at 2000 lumens, where as the 42w cfl is rated at 2800 lumens. The next t5 bulb up is the 4 ft bulb at 5000 lumens. So I have to wonder, how efficient is that 5000 lumens going to be because clearly parts of the bulb are going to be at least 24 inches away from the center of your plant. It just seems like it would be easier to focus a cfl than a t5. And for the price of the ballast I was looking at the 2ft 8 bulb, $229 bucks! I could get a 20 pack of 42 watt cfls and focus light all over the place. So the T5's are definitely energy efficient. 2000 lumens for 24 watts. Its like 83 lumens/watt. But then at 2800 lumens for 42 watts we get 67 lumens/watt with the cfl. That is 25% less efficient as far as power usage and the life spans are about the same for comparable bulbs https://www.promolux.com/english/bulbspecs.html about 10,000 hours. The other reason I will start up with the cfl bulbs rather than t5's is space efficiency. I don't mind sacrificing 25% of watts used to be able to place my lights where I need them. I was really close to going with the t5s despite that, but the other thing I noticed is that cfl's come closer to hps light spectrum than the t5's. The t5's do a better job at filling in for MH or cool temps for vegging, but I think the cfl does a better job at flowering temps. Of course I am a total n00b to indoor growing, so I could have completely missed something, I'd much rather go with a 400-600 HID aircooled system, but really the difference in price is just amazing to me. So I ordered my 12 cfl 42 watters. for 150 bucks shipped. I got 50/50 warm 2700k and full spectrum daylight 6500k Next stop homeboy de pot for wood.
	Quote

03-16-2010, 09:58 AM	#8
Strykaar Staying lean, growing green Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 70	I'm curious, has anyone actually run a grow from start to finish with CFL's? And if so, how was the harvest? I'm vegging a plant right now under 6 23W CFL's, and I was pondering getting a nice little 150W HID. Is it -absolutely- necessary, or can I run the CFL's to the end?
	Quote

03-16-2010, 10:43 AM	#10
Strykaar Staying lean, growing green Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 70	Beautiful picture Fresh. Gives me a happier feeling. :P I think I'm still going to splurge and get the HID, just because. But if I ever decide to do a micro grow, I'll look into some higher wattage CFL's. Thanks for the reply and advice. Stay green.
	Quote