CFL lighting, is this enough?

Hello,
So i have finally gotten my grow room set-up, received my seeds, germinated them, and finally planted them in my pots. So, now that i have all of these things done i look back at my set up and think is this enough lighting or too much? So please feel free to leave advice and comments below.

Right now i currently have two 42 watt (200 watt equivalent) , three 23 watt(100watt equivalent), and two 14 watt(not sure the equivalent) CFL lights. Is this enough? or too much? My only concern with these lights is the heat they put off, especially the two big ones! When i have those suckers running it heats up in a hurry. So maybe take those two out and put some smaller ones in and sacrifice the light for the heat?

Please help!

Firstly, forget "the equivalent" rating, it means naught. You will need 100w per plant actual cfl 'at a minimum'. Have you got a little fan blowing near these cfls?, because I had 200 actual watt cfls and they didn't get very hot with a fan on them.

tjohnny said:

Hello,
So i have finally gotten my grow room set-up, received my seeds, germinated them, and finally planted them in my pots. So, now that i have all of these things done i look back at my set up and think is this enough lighting or too much? So please feel free to leave advice and comments below.

Right now i currently have two 42 watt (200 watt equivalent) , three 23 watt(100watt equivalent), and two 14 watt(not sure the equivalent) CFL lights. Is this enough? or too much? My only concern with these lights is the heat they put off, especially the two big ones! When i have those suckers running it heats up in a hurry. So maybe take those two out and put some smaller ones in and sacrifice the light for the heat?

Please help!

Click to expand...

Heat is easily controlled with a fan blowing cooler air onto the bulbs.(Preferably away from the plants not towards them)

If you are using that much power, why wouldn't you try to get some kind of all in one unit.(AIO unit plug into a standard wall outlet.)
They have them in 150w HPS $75
250w MH/HPS $125-175
and
400wMH/HPS $200

Just a suggestion. Using the same power, creating the same heat(With more heat control options available) but get more light in the end.
I'm NOT knocking CFLs. I used them myself for a while before finally upgrading my whole grow.
I burned many a leaf with them 23w spirals lol.....
They work great, but you will in the end need more for flowering because they actually do increase the height of the plant just using them.
Don't ask why because I don't know. I just know that I have vegged plants out in CFL and MH and the MH had way shorter bushier plants than the CFLs with nearly the same wattage used..

Watch out for the big ones. They heat up the base of the bulb much more than even an incandescent bulb would. They can burn out your sockets if you use more than one or rig something up(Like wiring a 4 bulb bathroom vanity light to an extension cord so you can plug it in... lol GUILTY)

If you really want to run CFL spend the $50 at any grow shop or less online(Craigslist) get the 250 CFL with wing reflector. or just the bulb and socket. Hang that bitch up...
A buddy of mine found this GIGANTIC CFL bulb at lowes. I've never found them for myself, but he swears that's where he got it.

Good luck in your ventures. Have a great grow.
Stew

The sun averages 7k lumens per sqft ,most plants have adapted to be able to handle the sun... Over 10k or about 110,000lux if your a weirdo will bleach your plants. That's the sun at its strongest...when this bleaching occurs the plant is not being able to keep up chlorophyll production at rates necessary, plants can't handle 10k consistently..you aim for 7..likewise 2100 lumens are required to maintain photosynthesis..lights are rated at 1 foot...(I like to bleach some of my heavier sativas, but I wouldn't suggest that till you know how the strain reacts)
Do the math!

Heat burns the plant in a different way, similar to having too much wind. From moisture being drawn out the leaves (transpiring)faster than the plant can replenish
Btw photosynthesis is most efficient at about 85degrees..a smaller difference between night and day temps will reduce fox tailing...

This question comes up constantly..is there not a sticky on lighting?

All the advice you got above is solid. How many plants are you growing and how big is your space? Do you have good ventilation and/or fresh air coming in? The more information the more precise people can be with responses. The lighting you have now I would say could do one medium size plant or two very small plants put almost immediately into flower.