was told today that cfl lights grow a lot more slowly...

I vegged 2 plants with 250W cfl and they were growing like on steroids. I`m growing 4 under it now and it seems ok too, so 300W for 3 plants should be plenty as far as vegging goes. Not sure about them clones being yellow though - did that person sell those clones to you? How old are they?

Originally Posted by madmad

I vegged 2 plants with 250W cfl and they were growing like on steroids. I`m growing 4 under it now and it seems ok too, so 300W for 3 plants should be plenty as far as vegging goes. Not sure about them clones being yellow though - did that person sell those clones to you? How old are they?

no the three plants i had were not from him. I was just looking around at different dispensaries and i mean, he was pretty much accurate as far as i can tell. most places had a lot of plants with yellow leaves...

i ended up buying 3 more clones off that guy. they looked healthy. again though this is my first grow.

its been a week only since i got my initial clones. but things just seem to be getting slowly worse. i do have ventilation and a fan blowing on them. my ph runs about 6.0-6.5

My first guess with the yellow leaves and slow growth is a lack of nitrogen. What kind of soil you got, how close are the lights, and have you fed them yet? Pics are always helpful. Your pH is a tad low. Is that the pH of your runoff?

cfls are great as long as you keep your plant within inches on your bulb, And my theory on the yellowing leaves, Or atleast the one i've heard the most is, they yellow because they have to use energy/nutrients to make roots. Personally i've only had a few outta the 15 or so i've done turn yellow, So can't tell you forsure about the yellowing but i am positive about the CFLs.

They are yellow 'cuz there is a lack of chlorophyl. Growing roots will not "suck" the green out. First and foremost the plant needs healthy leaves so that it can produce the food necessary for the production of roots.

CFLs do not put out as much light per watt as HID lighting does. The chart below does not show the curly pigtail looking home lighting CFLs that many growers use, but it does show how it takes more florescent lights of any type to equal the same wattage in HID lighting. CFLs also lack penetration when compared to HID lighting. So, if you use CFLs you need more of them and you need them at different levels to make up for them putting out less light and having less penetration. Also, just like with HID lighting you do want to make sure that you are using the proper light spectrum for vegging and then change to the right light spectrum for flowering.

Light Output Comparison Chart

yea, metal halides will beat cfs anyday

The OP should still be seeing growth even with CFLs. They should not be yellow. Obviously HIDs are better, but dude wants to know why his shit is yellow and ain't growing.