CFL Light

Hi guys, just a quick question.

Will a 6400k Blue, 125w CFL light be enough to see me through my vegetative stage?

And how many days will it be before I see seedlings pop up? I put five in about a day and a half ago and only one so far has came through.

Thanks for any help/replies.

It depends on how big the space is. You should go to the CFL club page, you will find a quicker answer and more experienced help there. But, more information is needed. Size of set-up, growing medium, etc.

Yeah sorry, the area is 100 cm x 100cm x 200 cm and I'm growing in soil. I've got a 400w HPS light ready to go for when flowering starts.

Should I maybe just use the HPS for vegetative?

Thanks for any help/replies.

It really depends on how long you veg. I would not let the plants get any higher 12"-18". Keep the light as close as possible after you get the first set of true leaves.

Thanks guys for your help. Just another couple of things - how close should I keep my light to the seedlings and also when and how should I water then?

Thanks for your help/replies guys.

NathSpoon said:

Thanks guys for your help. Just another couple of things - how close should I keep my light to the seedlings and also when and how should I water then?

Thanks for your help/replies guys.

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Save the HPS for flowering. As for the seedlings, you can keep the cfls as close as you like, but if they are extremely close they will dry out the soil rather quickly. I keep my cfls anywhere from 6-12 inches above my seedlings, and they grow fine. I use the same method of watering with my plants in every stage. I wait until it looks bone dry on the surface and then water. I also started using a 4 in 1 (ph, moisture, light, fertility) meter for my plants during the flowering stage, as I have a heavy hand when it comes to watering. Use the first suggestion and you will be fine.

Thank you for your help Freethroughexchange, It is very much appreciated. Do you think it would be worth purchasing a moisture meter?

you should add a couple red spectrum lights 2 with that CFL. like maybe 2-4 26 watts or 28 watts hanging on the side. and placing seedlings in make sure you dont put them in toooo deep. just like to your pink nail.

NathSpoon said:

Thank you for your help Freethroughexchange, It is very much appreciated. Do you think it would be worth purchasing a moisture meter?

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The best thing and the most cost effective thing to do is try and combine as many things as possible. If you want a moisture meter for the soil, buy the 4 in 1 I mentioned above from like amazon or e-bay they are cheap, about $9 dollars (if that). If you need one for the grow room, buy one that has a thermometer also, they are like $7 dollars for the cheapest and like $14 for a digital one. Both of these products are also available at home depot, ace hardware and stores like that. I would definitely spring for one though, otherwise when the simplest things happen you are going to drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what it is. And, you are always going to relate it to whatever "equipment" you don't have on hand.

realmaple1 said:

you should add a couple red spectrum lights 2 with that CFL. like maybe 2-4 26 watts or 28 watts hanging on the side. and placing seedlings in make sure you dont put them in toooo deep. just like to your pink nail.

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I agree! The best thing I ever did was too mix my cfl's. You don't really need to spring for the over-expensive ones either. The watts realmaple1 suggested are what I use. Add a couple of 23-26 watt 2700k bulbs. No need to go to crazy since you are going to use the HPS for flowering.

Yes your 125 watt cfl will be enough to take you thru your veg stage no problem.I used 2 bulb t5 fixture with 6-8 plants and my plants loved it.As long as you have good reflection i dont see no problem.

wyteberrywidow said:

Yes your 125 watt cfl will be enough to take you thru your veg stage no problem.I used 2 bulb t5 fixture with 6-8 plants and my plants loved it.As long as you have good reflection i dont see no problem.

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I agree 125watts is plenty for veg!! I would definitely recommend vegging under the cfl for at least a couple weeks before dropping them under the hps! Just to give you an idea I vegged 3 plants under 50 watts of cfl and they came out fantastic!! No need to over do the light in veg imo..

As far as watering, that gets kind of tricky at first! I go by the wieght before and after I water.. I usually wait longer when the plants don't have much of a root base, then every 2-3 days seems to be the trick.. Good luck!

Right, I'll be getting a couple of red spectrum lights as soon as. And are the 4 in 1 meters for measuring things as good as buying the individual meters? It seems to me that a $15 or less, 4 in 1 meter wouldn't be that good as buying the individual moisture meters, pH meters ect.

NathSpoon said:

Right, I'll be getting a couple of red spectrum lights as soon as. And are the 4 in 1 meters for measuring things as good as buying the individual meters? It seems to me that a $15 or less, 4 in 1 meter wouldn't be that good as buying the individual moisture meters, pH meters ect.

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The analong meter I had was garbage! I would get a digital ph pen and learn to read your plants for watering.. Your right though, I bought a cheap analog from homedepot and it was useless!!

Water them every 2-3 days and you should be golden! Its when you start watering everyday that u usually get in trouble.. I found out the hard way lol.. Oh and make sure you ph is 6.5/soil

Yeah SmeLLyTreeZ, I think I'll invest a little extra to get the decent meters. Though I must admit, I think I'll get a moisture meter too, as this is my first grow and I've never been around any sort of plants in my life, lol. I Just want everything to go smoothly.

Yep got plenty of reflection Wyteberrywidow, they're in a grow tent which is completely white in side. Now it's been a couple of days since I originally posted and they're coming along nicely.

Also, thank's for all the help and reply guys.

KEEP the questions coming =D give some people things to do while bored.

Here's a question for you Realmaple1. I planted 5 seeds and only 4 have came up (they're doing great). So what should I do about my 5th seed. Should I stick it back between two damp paper towels or should I just accept its fate and concentrate on its 4 sisters? I don't really want to go into it with a razor or sandpaper as some guides suggest to do.

are you sure its a true 125 watter and not like a 32 watter that has an output of 125 watts....mistakes i made at first when i started using cfl's..thought i had 600 watts...turned out i had barely 120

djruiner said:

are you sure its a true 125 watter and not like a 32 watter that has an output of 125 watts....mistakes i made at first when i started using cfl's..thought i had 600 watts...turned out i had barely 120

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Well on the box it says 125w/6400k Blue. It was recommended by the guy in my local grow shop. And to be fair the 4 seedlings that have came up are doing great.

How would I find out otherwise?