First time grower, experimenting with CFL and Sterilite Box

Kalebaiden said:

View attachment 2210377

Here's my set up for my mother

2 totes
aluminum duct tape
(2x) 3 socket bathroom fixture, one for each side
6 fixture splitters
12 CFLs
12v fan intake
12v fan exhaust
extension cord that's been chopped and rewired for the fixtures
(1x) 12v cell phone plug for the fans (one plug runs both)
Weather stripping around the seal
bent pieces of wire coat hanger for hinges

I can't seem to get the temps permanently under 30 so I haven't used in in over a year

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i could help u with the temps!

Just got my hands on some goods and my light set-up got a huge upgrade...check out the mini Lotus from Sun God Komee:



Notice some tubes are warm and the other are white / blue? Dual spectrum 2700k and 6500k

This is the item description from the manufacturer...

125 Watt Mini-Lotus With 9,500 Lumens!

This 125W Mini-Lotus light bulb puts out an amazing 9,500 Lumens of growing light power. This bulb is often referred to as the CFL 6500K Grow Light with the latest NEW High Quality Horticultural Self-Ballasted 125W CFL 6500K bulb.

The engineering in this latest state of the art grow light has been formulated to produce the proper spectrum and wavelength for vegetative growth for all kinds of plants including but not limited to most vegetables, herbs, flowers and other plants that require a consistent, powerful, cost effective light source.

This 125 watt Mini-Lotus bulb has several efficiency features such as, the incandescent equivalent of over 1,000 Watts of lighting power while providing a substantial energy savings of up to 80% off of your monthly electric bills.

This powerful grow bulb has a remarkable 8,000 hour effective lifetime or possibly longer depending on the constant usage. This bulb has a long life with a low lumen attenuation. This bulb has been rated to provide an immediate flicker free start. It carries a 9,500 horticultural Grade rating with a high light efficiency record.

The size of this grow lamp is very compact. An excellent grow light choice for cramped areas where space is limited.


I'm curious to see what this does!! Have seen them in another grower's set up and was instantly intrigued...going to have to try it for myself. It's kinda big in the box compared to the other bulbs, but I supercropped nearby tops and might use some LST to force the plants to grow around it.







And came up on something even better to add to the closet grow, 200 actual watt CFL rated at 1000watts...FUCK YEA

Keep in mind thats 1000w incandescent which isn't good for growing. But goddamn that is one big bulb. How much did each of those run you? Got a link?
I wouldn't of supercropped so late into flowering. The plant will put energy into repairing itself instead of developing the buds.

Cloudz2600 said:

Keep in mind thats 1000w incandescent which isn't good for growing. But goddamn that is one big bulb. How much did each of those run you? Got a link?
I wouldn't of supercropped so late into flowering. The plant will put energy into repairing itself instead of developing the buds.

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Yea, I know it's incandescent but still, that's awesome! It's supposedly better than a 250w Feliz. It goes for around 70 bucks on ebay after S&H.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330723938978&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160

I'm not really late into flowering...just started the 3rd week. Have around 5 more weeks to go. Usually I wouldn't supercrop but I see it as a larger benefit to have that bulb in there than to keep the normal lights (40 and 30 watt 2700ks). Had to supercrop to make sure the Lotus wouldn't be too close. I put my hand right under it, barely felt any heat though! Have to touch it to feel it. Will LST when they need further adjustment, but wanted to supercrop too to make sure the branches get stronger.They'll heal in less than a couple days.

EDIT: Here's the link for the lower watt one that's in the box:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330723945292&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160

Looks like the price went up though, was about 30 bucks when I got it.

Hmm not bad for the prices. Would be pretty cool to run 2 of the 125w in a y splitter. Looks like it's built to be hung horizontally though. Have your temps increased? Well you gotta remember the law of inverse square. I'd rather have five 40w bulbs over a 2 feet area than a 200w in the middle. Better light coverage. I guess supercropping makes sense for stronger stems. My side branch's stems are pretty thin compared to the main stem.

Cloudz2600 said:

Hmm not bad for the prices. Would be pretty cool to run 2 of the 125w in a y splitter. Looks like it's built to be hung horizontally though. Have your temps increased? Well you gotta remember the law of inverse square. I'd rather have five 40w bulbs over a 2 feet area than a 200w in the middle. Better light coverage. I guess supercropping makes sense for stronger stems. My side branch's stems are pretty thin compared to the main stem.

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You can hang it vertical or horizontal. My temps actually went down lol! Sitting at 79 degrees. Seems like the combo of a 40 watt and 30 watt was hotter than this one big bulb! That is crazy...I think it has something to do with the design, seems to do better without the spiral. I think 200watts with 15,000 lumens would be awesome in a 2x2 space! And the walls and shelf it would be suspended from are coated in Mylar. The light is going to take up just about half the width of the closet, I think the plants should get good coverage. Also, I have tons of little CFLs that I can arrange around the sides if I need to.

I think I'm running 13,650(assuming I get the entire amount of lumens which isn't likely) and I can't imagine the box being any brighter. I have to wear shades just to look inside lol. If you run 2 of the 125w you actually get 19,000 lumens It would be awesome to run 2 of the 200w bulbs lol. At that point though you might as well use an HID. It could be the shape of the bulb, but I'm thinking the mechanics inside the ballast are a bit cooler than the stuff in the normal CFL bulbs. I can usually touch the bulbs, but the ballast is hot as balls.

Cloudz2600 said:

I think I'm running 13,650(assuming I get the entire amount of lumens which isn't likely) and I can't imagine the box being any brighter. I have to wear shades just to look inside lol. If you run 2 of the 125w you actually get 19,000 lumens It would be awesome to run 2 of the 200w bulbs lol. At that point though you might as well use an HID. It could be the shape of the bulb, but I'm thinking the mechanics inside the ballast are a bit cooler than the stuff in the normal CFL bulbs. I can usually touch the bulbs, but the ballast is hot as balls.

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Yea it would be awesome to run two of them! Maybe one of these days I will try that . Are you thinking about trying one of the mini lights?

Maybe, I'm kind of satisfied with my lighting as of right now. I do need 1 more 42w 2700k, so I'll have 2 6500 and 2 2700, but we'll see how this grow turns out. Feit sent me my replacement 42w 6500k, so I can use that for veg, but I only have 1 42w 2700k for flowering. All the rest are 26w. Temps won't be that much of an issue during the fall-spring so I could add more lights.

Running 300+ watts of energy 20/4 would get kind of expensive though, even though I pay 5.5 cents per KwH. I want to start looking at LEDs though. Bit more expensive, but the lumen output is near what HIDs put out at a fraction of the energy cost and virtually no heat. But mainly because of purple lights lol.

Cloudz2600 said:

Maybe, I'm kind of satisfied with my lighting as of right now. I do need 1 more 42w 2700k, so I'll have 2 6500 and 2 2700, but we'll see how this grow turns out. Feit sent me my replacement 42w 6500k, so I can use that for veg, but I only have 1 42w 2700k for flowering. All the rest are 26w. Temps won't be that much of an issue during the fall-spring so I could add more lights.

Running 300+ watts of energy 20/4 would get kind of expensive though, even though I pay 5.5 cents per KwH. I want to start looking at LEDs though. Bit more expensive, but the lumen output is near what HIDs put out at a fraction of the energy cost and virtually no heat. But mainly because of purple lights lol.

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yes, purple lights are awesome. LEDs seem pretty cool, bet it'd be fun to try. I see this can end up being quite an expensive hobby lol. I can't let myself spend anymore on the plants for a while!

Have you looked in to using T5s or even LEDs?

Mohican said:

Have you looked in to using T5s or even LEDs?

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Yea, but it would be kind of expensive for me to try....would def consider lining my closet with some T5s on the side in the future. I think LEDs are amazing but man they're so expensive! One of these days I hope to try...

Lady.J said:

yes, purple lights are awesome. LEDs seem pretty cool, bet it'd be fun to try. I see this can end up being quite an expensive hobby lol. I can't let myself spend anymore on the plants for a while!

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Haha I think I remember you saying that before Yea LEDs are definitely expensive. A quick look and I saw the 90w Blackstar(supposed to be the very best) costing $158 each. It's supposed to be the equivalent of a 600w HID though, according to amazon. Even if that's an exaggeration and it's a 400w that's still a damn lot of light!

For a small space they are the best - no heat and they are dialed in to perfect MJ grow spectrum. Look up Curly604 or VIPAR and see what the latest LEDs can do!

Cloudz2600 said:

Haha I think I remember you saying that before Yea LEDs are definitely expensive. A quick look and I saw the 90w Blackstar(supposed to be the very best) costing $158 each. It's supposed to be the equivalent of a 600w HID though, according to amazon. Even if that's an exaggeration and it's a 400w that's still a damn lot of light!

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Wow...I didn't realize it put out that much...you're right, even 400 would be good! Damn...now you are going to make me want to start an LED grow lol. Isn't it a pain in the ass to get replacement parts though? And if so, how long are they usually good for?

Mohican said:

For a small space they are the best - no heat and they are dialed in to perfect MJ grow spectrum. Look up Curly604 or VIPAR and see what the latest LEDs can do!

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I would definitely consider it when it's within my price range...thanks for the references, going to look them up now!

Here's what I found from Blackstar's website : "[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Yes, the LED is superior but based on lumens/watt alone a 90w total output is not equivalent to a 400w HID light.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]On Lumen output alone, a 90w LED does not match the 400w HID light system. In usable lumens alone the conversion is more like 90w LED = 320w HID (HPS/MH)" [/FONT]

Still even if you had a 250w HID you'd need some serious ventilation. Depending on how this grow goes I might pick this up. Every semester any money that I have leftover from my grants/scholarship I get credited back. Usually 1k-1.5k. They have pretty good light penetration too. Definitely more compared to CFLs.

You already know you have to start a thread if you do it

Well hopefully whenever these girls decide to bud so I can finish my grow I'm going to have to look into it for real lol. I think I might of just made myself interested in LEDs. I don't even browse the LED section of the forum.

where do u get that cfl?