Help with CFLs

Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
Okay ... I've read and read and read, and I can't find the answer ... even though it may be there somewhere and I'm just overlooking it.

We'll be growing with CFLs. We'll have a bookcase with doors. The height of the actual grow area is about 30" high, and the width is about 24" wide. The actual floor of the cabinet will be 24"w x 12"d. So the "floor" area is about 23 square feet.

I think this much is right:
2700k = cool white (majority blue spectrum - for vegetative growth)
6500k = warm white (marjority red spectrum - for flowering/budding)

So, for my particular area, I need 25w/sq ft for growing and 50w/sq ft for flowering. So, I'll need six 26w 2700k CFL for growing a single plant, and six 50w 6500k CFL for flowering.

I am planning a "rotating crop." So ... while I have a decent size plant in the grow area, just before flowering, I'll clip a clone to start. The larger plant will then go into the flowering area. When that is finished flowering and harvested for drying, the clone will go into flowering, while another clipped clone is growing.

So ... as for the lights ... does that sound right? Or will I need more? The space is really small, and I know the plants will double in size at flowering, and I'm planning to keep them small for that very reason.

Anyhow ... thoughts on the lights?
 
mushka

mushka

Active Member
hey there,
I am an extreme NOOB and am just getting ready to start my first grow. I been reading TONS of threads on this site for the last few weeks and I'm pretty sure you're supposed to use the 6500k for vegging and the 2700k for flowering/budding.....the opposite of how you had it.

Again, I am new to this so if anyone else wants to confirm this that would be cool.....
 
wackymack

wackymack

Well-Known Member
mushka got it right 6500veg and 3500bud.+rep mushka

but with cfls get the biggest one you can get and you will be fine,me i got a 125w 6500k 12000lumen mogul base bulb and it works just fine and dandy. with spectacular results
 
mockingbird131313

mockingbird131313

Well-Known Member
Enkilot said:
Okay ... I've read and read and read, and I can't find the answer ... even though it may be there somewhere and I'm just overlooking it.

We'll be growing with CFLs. We'll have a bookcase with doors. The height of the actual grow area is about 30" high, and the width is about 24" wide. The actual floor of the cabinet will be 24"w x 12"d. So the "floor" area is about 23 square feet.

I think this much is right:
2700k = cool white (majority blue spectrum - for vegetative growth)
6500k = warm white (marjority red spectrum - for flowering/budding)

So, for my particular area, I need 25w/sq ft for growing and 50w/sq ft for flowering. So, I'll need six 26w 2700k CFL for growing a single plant, and six 50w 6500k CFL for flowering.

I am planning a "rotating crop." So ... while I have a decent size plant in the grow area, just before flowering, I'll clip a clone to start. The larger plant will then go into the flowering area. When that is finished flowering and harvested for drying, the clone will go into flowering, while another clipped clone is growing.

So ... as for the lights ... does that sound right? Or will I need more? The space is really small, and I know the plants will double in size at flowering, and I'm planning to keep them small for that very reason.

Anyhow ... thoughts on the lights?
Click to expand...
Well for openers, you have two square feet, not 23. So you will need about 5000 lumens per square foot. Use a large number bulb like 6500 Kelvin for the veg cycle. Use a low number bulb for the bud, say 2700-3200 Kelvin. I suggest using several bulbs, around 23 watts, to distribute the light and heat in the cabinet evenly.
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
I realized my mistake in the measurement after posting ... LOL

Thanks, everyone! Awesome replies!

I think I kept getting mixed up in the store looking at the bulbs ... I kept thinking 2700k was blue spectrum, while 6500k was red spectrum.

It's my understanding that you want blue for grow, red for flower (but there again, that could be a mixup, too).

Anyhow, thanks for the replies! Very helpful! +Rep to all of you!

I like the idea of using one large bulb ... but I also like the idea of several smaller wattages in order to distribute more evenly ...

Ah ... I"ll decide sooner or later ...

And then I'll keep everyone posted on my grow journal (soon to be started).

Thanks lots!
Enkilot
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
Check this out and see what you think ... It's just a quick graphic I did in Paintshop Pro 7, but I think it gets across the gist of what I mean by what I want to do.

 
mockingbird131313

mockingbird131313

Well-Known Member
Enkilot said:
Check this out and see what you think ... It's just a quick graphic I did in Paintshop Pro 7, but I think it gets across the gist of what I mean by what I want to do.

Click to expand...
Most people want the fan on the leaves of the plant or the light bulbs. Not above and below as you show. Also by using a wye-splitter in the light socket you double your number of bulbs without adding light cords to you circuit. One socket can turn into 4 bulbs easily and quickly with three wye-spliters. Buy them at Lowes for $3.
 
Gamera00

Gamera00

Active Member
Enkilot said:
I realized my mistake in the measurement after posting ... LOL

Thanks, everyone! Awesome replies!

I think I kept getting mixed up in the store looking at the bulbs ... I kept thinking 2700k was blue spectrum, while 6500k was red spectrum.

It's my understanding that you want blue for grow, red for flower (but there again, that could be a mixup, too).
Anyhow, thanks for the replies! Very helpful! +Rep to all of you!

I like the idea of using one large bulb ... but I also like the idea of several smaller wattages in order to distribute more evenly ...

Ah ... I"ll decide sooner or later ...

And then I'll keep everyone posted on my grow journal (soon to be started).

Thanks lots!
Enkilot
Click to expand...

Oh Oh Oh!!! Is the red highlighted part correct? I only ask because I'm on my 1st grow and the info is precious to me!!! And does blue=cool and red=warm? Good Lord, I hope I'm not buggin ya bro lol:mrgreen::peace: And thats looks like a pretty sweet setup man, lookin' forward to seeing how ya do. Best of luck bro!!!
 
adrianvasquez1985

adrianvasquez1985

Well-Known Member
Gamera00 said:
Oh Oh Oh!!! Is the red highlighted part correct? I only ask because I'm on my 1st grow and the info is precious to me!!! And does blue=cool and red=warm? Good Lord, I hope I'm not buggin ya bro lol:mrgreen::peace: And thats looks like a pretty sweet setup man, lookin' forward to seeing how ya do. Best of luck bro!!!
Click to expand...
i think red=daylight.
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
Yeah, red spectrum are the "warm white" or "daylight" CFLs. The mostly-blue ones are "cool white" usually.
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
mockingbird131313 said:
Most people want the fan on the leaves of the plant or the light bulbs. Not above and below as you show. Also by using a wye-splitter in the light socket you double your number of bulbs without adding light cords to you circuit. One socket can turn into 4 bulbs easily and quickly with three wye-spliters. Buy them at Lowes for $3.
Click to expand...
Well ... I did think about putting a fan on the plants, because that is what helps to make the stalk stronger, apparently, to help support good bud. But the fans in the picture are for ventilation. You can't see it in the pic, but the top fan (on both sides) pulls air out into a short dryer hose, blowing it through a carbon filter at the end. The bottom fan (on both sides) pulls cooler air in.

I could put the bottom one in the middle of the back of the cabinet and up a little higher from its current spot, but then I'd have to wonder if that would really change anything, as far as how much it hits the stalk. And, it couldn't really be moved to hit the stalk after its put in place, since it would be affixed to the cabinet's backside. Of course, the plant could probably be moved around from time to time.

Lights: I suppose if I used 6 CFLs in each side, I might need maybe 2 of the splitters.

Good thoughts. Thanks for provoking them ...

;-)
 
D

desert

Active Member
setup looks good, I would add 1 bulb on each side as well for a total of seven. Done with LST the results will be amazing.
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
desert said:
setup looks good, I would add 1 bulb on each side as well for a total of seven. Done with LST the results will be amazing.
Click to expand...
Well, there are already 7 bulbs total. One on the left is lowered to work with the clone (obviously that happens later, after the first plant is actually cloned).

So are you saying that it would work better with 7 bulbs on each side? Or that you would add one bulb on each side for a total of 9?

(I could just be confused. LOL)

:peace:
 
LemonHerb

LemonHerb

Well-Known Member
For what it is worth... I did my first veg with like 45k lumen worth of 6500k cfls, it was an 8 sqft area. I am doing my second veg now with 4000 lumen worth of cfl and 15k lumen of t5s, and the growth is pretty much the same. So it is starting to become my opinion that you can go rather light on the CFLs for the first month and then have to pack them in for flowering. It is still about 5k lumen per plant, but 6 per plant might be overkill for veg. I think you could do it with 3 per plant for veg.


Although to be fair I had problems my first veg, and my second has been problem free so take what you will from what I have said.
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
Cool ... thanks, LemonHerb, for that info. Here's what I'm considering at the moment:

-- 4, 6500k CFL (cool white) for grow
-- 5, 2700k CFL (warm white) for flower

One site I was reading on a while back said that this could be enough for a monthly harvest, with an established clone rotation. Pretty could idea ... IF a single harvest yields enough bud for a month. Expansion may be in order at a later date! LOL
 
LemonHerb

LemonHerb

Well-Known Member
You are using 5 50W for flower right? Now I am a supporter of use the light you want and all that, and of course am using CFLs myself at the moment. Now a 150w HPS gives off 16,000 lumen (I think) and I am guessing a 50w cfl gives like 3000 lumen. So you will be doing 15k lumen for a price of 250w, the energy bill isn't going to kill you but it's cheaper to go HPS in the long run.
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
LemonHerb said:
You are using 5 50W for flower right? Now I am a supporter of use the light you want and all that, and of course am using CFLs myself at the moment. Now a 150w HPS gives off 16,000 lumen (I think) and I am guessing a 50w cfl gives like 3000 lumen. So you will be doing 15k lumen for a price of 250w, the energy bill isn't going to kill you but it's cheaper to go HPS in the long run.
Click to expand...

Well, if a 42w CFL puts out about 2780 lumens, and we need 5k lumens per sq ft, then, with a 1 sq ft space for grow, we'll need about 2, 42w CFL cool whites. I would imagine that doubling that would be acceptable, so probably 4, 42w (5000 lumens) would work in the flowering half of the cab.

Hmm??
 
LemonHerb

LemonHerb

Well-Known Member
It's worth a try, 4 would give you 11,000 lumen in a 1sqft area so that would be plenty. 1 sqft is pretty small, I am not sure what your best bet would be as to light placement or what you do with your plants. I LST mine (or half of them so far) and I vegged for a month and I am on day 21 of flowering today, my LST plants are about 30 inches wide at the widest point. The pots I use are 12 inches across so even my non LST plants are quite a bit wider then that.
 
Enkilot

Enkilot

Active Member
LemonHerb said:
It's worth a try, 4 would give you 11,000 lumen in a 1sqft area so that would be plenty. 1 sqft is pretty small, I am not sure what your best bet would be as to light placement or what you do with your plants. I LST mine (or half of them so far) and I vegged for a month and I am on day 21 of flowering today, my LST plants are about 30 inches wide at the widest point. The pots I use are 12 inches across so even my non LST plants are quite a bit wider then that.
Click to expand...
The space is an estimate based on a bookshelf with doors that we already have. We'll be purchasing one a bit taller and wider, so it's a real guess as to what the space will *really* be. But we're looking for 1 to 2 feet. I'll likely be doing some LST on the plants, but I'm not absolutely positive on that. I wanted to, but then, if the cab is tall enough, I may just let it be.

As far as light placement, I'll be hanging them on chains from hooks so that they can be a few inches from the plant at all times.:wink:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top