Can I use florescent lighting?

Emperor2008 · #1 04-13-2008, 04:49 AM

Is it possible to use florescent lighting instead of HID? If so what kind of bulbs are needed? Thanks for any info on lighting. It is just for 12 plants and then some clones in a 6 x 6 room...

DMGIX · #2 04-13-2008, 05:02 AM

Check out the CFL growing sub-section in 'Indoor Growing'

refeermadness · #3 04-13-2008, 08:03 AM

i'm having good luck with 4 warmwhite 48'' floro tubes and 2 daylight 100watt equivelent bulbs

Ian32688 · #4 04-13-2008, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emperor2008

Is it possible to use florescent lighting instead of HID? If so what kind of bulbs are needed? Thanks for any info on lighting. It is just for 12 plants and then some clones in a 6 x 6 room...

ive got 12 plants as well in a small area with 4x 42 watt cfls which is great for now because the leaves are huge and its only been 8 days but they are gonna grow fast and "just" 12 plants wont be "just" 12 plants. to cover that many plants id say you're def going to need a lot of lighting or one of the more expensive lighting MH or hps when the plants start getting bigger

primeralives · #5 04-13-2008, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emperor2008

Is it possible to use florescent lighting instead of HID? If so what kind of bulbs are needed? Thanks for any info on lighting. It is just for 12 plants and then some clones in a 6 x 6 room...

not recomended... for that much space you would need about 200 cfls

primeralives · #6 04-13-2008, 08:19 AM

they are comparatively inefficient. 10 forty watt fluorescent bulbs use the same amount of energy as a 400 watt HID, but produce far less light. Since they use the same amount of energy but produce less light, the remaining must be given off as heat. Contrary to how it may first appear, fluoros actually run hotter than the equivalent wattage of HID-- they just disperse the heat over a wider area.

40acres · #7 04-13-2008, 08:26 AM

I would go HID, or a bunch of t-5's. I was using 600w of cfl's in a 5x3 arean and it wasnt sufficient.

cannaboy · #8 04-13-2008, 08:35 AM

you will need a good amount of cfls but 200??....dont you think thats a little over the meter primerlives?.....ive seen amazing grows with cfls,you will need about thirty 42 watt cfls and about 16 y-splitters,and thier about 89 cents apiece

.....and you could get cool white and soft white bulbs so you dont have to get a mh AND a hps....check out my grow just to get an idea of what two 42 watt soft white one 23 watt soft white and two 27 watt full spectrum floros can do,im using cfls on a micro-grow

primeralives · #9 04-13-2008, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cannaboy

you will need a good amount of cfls but 200??....dont you think thats a little over the meter primerlives?.....ive seen amazing grows with cfls,you will need about thirty 42 watt cfls and about 16 y-splitters,and thier about 89 cents apiece

.....and you could get cool white and soft white bulbs so you dont have to get a mh AND a hps....check out my grow just to get an idea of what two 42 watt soft white one 23 watt soft white and two 27 watt full spectrum floros can do,im using cfls on a micro-grow

thats 1260 wats.... why wouldnt you get a 1000 watt hps with a switchable ballast??? and the 42watt bulbs are 10 bucks apeice thats 300 dollars for just bulbs, thats not counting all the splitters sockets and all the work to make make put it all together... 1000 Watt Sodium/Halide Switchable Premium Cool Tube Grow Light System, try that... it uses less electricity, makes way less heat, and you dont have to adjust 30 bulbs every day... i dont know where everyone gets this idea that cfls are so efficient, they are a waste of time and money imho

cannaboy · #10 04-13-2008, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by primeralives

thats 1260 wats.... why wouldnt you get a 1000 watt hps with a switchable ballast??? and the 42watt bulbs are 10 bucks apeice thats 300 dollars for just bulbs, thats not counting all the splitters sockets and all the work to make make put it all together... 1000 Watt Sodium/Halide Switchable Premium Cool Tube Grow Light System, try that... it uses less electricity, makes way less heat, and you dont have to adjust 30 bulbs every day... i dont know where everyone gets this idea that cfls are so efficient, they are a waste of time and money imho

and i dont see where people get the idea that cfls arent so efficent...yea they might not do thier best in a big room,but people that have limited space or are on a budget will use cfls or floros as an alternative to a hps,and im not downing hps's at all,i even plan on getting one when i get a bigger growing space,but my point is that cfls are still great for people growing in a small space or a limited budget,or even if your growing just a few plants,what do you think they used before hps or mh were even invented?

...try that