minimum watt for cfl flowering per plant

was jus wondering wat the minimum watts u can flower a plant with say i had 2 25w 2500k cfls for one plant would that see me thru? happy toking!!

See you through until the end? I dont think so. I was using one 250w CFL and it was passable but still not enough for one plant...not really, super slow growth...and that's 200 more watts then what you are talking about...I have a 150w cfl of a bluer variety and the 250w is for veg so it is in the red spectrum, I can never remember the numbers in k...like 5000k or whatever but it all boils down to the same...blue for veg and red for flower. So to get you to the end I would think you would need 2 lights of a different spectrum...hell maybe not? What do I know?

so u say i need 5000k now? iv been told i need 2500k for flowering.. i have a perfet budget grow going on and i was jus thinking of setting up a second with less lights, i guess its diffrent with every grower then thanks anyway missnu

Ohhh noooo...that was just my example number to explain that I can never remember what number goes with when..i look it up before buying the proper light, but thereafter you know which bulb is for what time...the 5000k was just my example...

You need a higher number for veg and a lower for flower...but I got decent results with flourescents...but I have since switced to MH and HPS...I have used the HPS for flowering a couple plants so far, and it does better than the flourescents, but it gets super hot in a way a floro just won't...so less heat damage and risk of fire are always a plus...lol. I didn't mean to confuse the whole thing...sorry

ok lol forgot to mention im talkin about a small grow box say 4x2.... (love the sig by the way lol)

do more, I have 3 65W, and 4 42W bulbs and want to put in more for 3 plants, and the box is very similar in size. and BTW 2500-3800k for flower 5000-6500k for veg.

Billdo024 said:

do more, I have 3 65W, and 4 42W bulbs and want to put in more for 3 plants, and the box is very similar in size. and BTW 2500-3800k for flower 5000-6500k for veg.

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Same here im using 10 42 watt bulbs (8 2700 k red and 2 6500k blue) by the end of flower with 4 plants ,goimg to add another 68 watt 2700k (300 watt equivilent) bulb I saw at home depot for 14 bucks. More wattage the better with cfl's ,not enough wattage means fluffier buds ,less yeild.

Why burn 363 watts of power, have uneven coverage, less powerful lights, and less potent herb? That's damn near the same electricity it takes for one 400W HPS setup, and if you do add more bulbs it would be the same if not more. I don't like the idea of using like 10 bulbs to get less quality or quantity than I would with 1 high powered one.

That aside, yeah you could flower with 2 25W bulbs, but the results would suck. You can get decent results with the higher wattage CFL bulbs, if they are the correct spectrum, you have them close enough, and use reflectors on the lights and around the plants. Here's a link to another thread where I included a video of a CFL grow that looks very decent, check out my other posts on the thread for more info and links to where you can buy. One of the 125W CFL's I link to is equal to 1000W incandescent, and they cost like $30.

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/480964-cheapest-bulbs-i-can-get-2.html#post6536776

Anyhow, 5000K doesn't work well for vegging, 6400-6500K is the proper color temp to get, and for flowering 3000K is also incorrect, 2700K is the one that works. See the chart below

@gstrich,
I have heat issues so hid was out, and i also wanted to do a cfl grow because of ppl like you. if you notice i gave averages on the color temps and what each spectrum does, but hey i concede, you definitly did one-up me. **golfclap**

Minimum you will want 42 watt cfls

im on my second grow on a budget kit i threw together, single 250w CFL over 3 plants in a makeshift tent made from reflective material. Seems to be doing the job so far but cant help but feel that a HPS bulb would make it more worth while and get a better yield for my time spent growing them. Might treat myself next year to a proper tent with ventialtion system and move away from autoflowers too. Im still enjoying growing them though and really enjoying smoking them too!

Billdo024 said:

@gstrich,
I have heat issues so hid was out, and i also wanted to do a cfl grow because of ppl like you. if you notice i gave averages on the color temps and what each spectrum does, but hey i concede, you definitly did one-up me. **golfclap**

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Actually a HPS lamps can come in different wattage. I've seen them go for around 35w, 50w, 70w, 100w. A 70w HPS lamp and ballast will run you around $50.

A 50w HPS might be able to preform better then 2 25w CFLs that you are using to flower with.

I was gonna buy 3 45w CFLs to flower with but I figured that I'll go with 2 70w HPS instead. I chose to go with 70w HPS because if I get another one I can have the timers set so that one is on for 12 hours and the other one is off and when the one that was on turns off the timer would turn on the other 70w HPS so it would like a laptop or 70w house hold item is running or lizard light(s) or some thing like that.

Not to mention if you replace your CFLs every 6 months your better off buying a HPS lamp since the cost of CFLs cost $10+ for 42w+ CFLs you can buy a $50 after buying maybe 2 70w HPS lamps.

Billdo024 said:

@gstrich,
I have heat issues so hid was out, and i also wanted to do a cfl grow because of ppl like you. if you notice i gave averages on the color temps and what each spectrum does, but hey i concede, you definitly did one-up me. **golfclap**

Click to expand...

Before you get all sensitive,

People like me? Meaning what, that growing CFL will stick it to the HID man? I noticed you gave ranges (not averages) of color temps that were over 75% wrong. You're sensitive about me specifying which ones are correct (when you obviously weren't sure yourself), why again exactly?? You could have looked it up before posting, so don't whine about it and get snotty. I was concerned with the fact that nobody plainly said which ones were right for the OP's benefit, no desire to make fun of you honestly. After all, this thread isn't about you, is it?

Lastly, I said, "Why burn that much power.." rhetorically, that means it was a question being used as a statement and I wasn't putting you on the spot. If being a CFL rebel makes you happy then good for you, but don't act smug with me. I don't know all that I do by luck, maybe I have experience eh?

Never said you can't grow that way, and if you add some more bulbs you should consider the ones I described http://www.gthydroponic.com/cfl-grow-light-systems/ 7000 lumens and they blow smaller CFL bulbs away. You'd only need one or two to up your grow substantially. I'd lose like half of the smaller ones if you did add two 125's for electric and heat concerns though. FYI, they fit mogul sockets so you'd need medium-mogul adapters or mogul socket cords, and they're big suckers @ 13.5" long and 3.5" wide so make sure you have room. Happy growing

As a rule of thumb you want a minimum of 3000 lumens per square foot.

Well its what I get for being drunk posting, not wanting to cause issues. I honestly meant to say ranges, and ya you basically said I will only get shitty bud fom cfls so why waste my time. the truth is I KNOW HID lighting is better, but its not always pratical. For me it definitly wasn't so I'm doing cfls to see what it churns out, about 8k lumens per/sqft is what i'm pushing and thats why i'm burning that much power.

I just started drinking a few ago, so cheers man. I didn't mean for it to sound like you'll get shitty bud, just for the original poster's sake I was saying yeah that'll work but if your electric bill and total equipment cost is damn near the same, why not? If they only have two bulbs, I was pointing out what they could buy instead since lots of people go for CFL initially for the cheaper price tag. I really was trying to suggest they buy one or two of the 125W bulbs I described since they're superior for the cost of the bulb and electric compared to multiple other ones. They don't know that or else they wouldn't be posting.

For me, my first few were done exclusively with FL and specialty CFL, so it's all good man. I honestly don't want anyone to get shitty bud, you and I included. Well maybe my ex, I hope she gets nothing but nasty dirt weed.

-Peace GST

Cheers, and I agree with you. My first problem is I couldn't find me a HPS, and in doing my research I decided to take on the cfl challenge and just push as many lumens as I can. Even put in a UVB light, got three decent plants I think.

Nice, I didn't think about it until you mentioned that, but since my glass filters out UVB maybe I could add one of those separately. Trying to get every bit of potency out of what I'm running as well!