One big cfl or Many smaller ones?

Hi guys, I dont currently have the room for lots of many small cfls, Im going to do a straight 12/12 stealth grow from seed for NL X BB. Is one big CFL ok just on its own? Theyre a bit more expensive and so dont have the funds to add smaller cfls. Was going to buy a dual spectrum one but is there any need if im 12/12 from seed straight away? Just because theyre a bit more pricey than just one spectrum. thanks

Its all about light (or watts)/square foot.

Yes, if you use a BIG bulb, and have a SMALL plant, you can get away with one CFL bulb as your lighting source. Obviously, the bigger the bulb wattage, the more light its going to put out and the bigger/better your final crop will be.

Make sure you use a good reflector, otherwise, most of the little light you'll get from your CFL will be wasted.

And yes, you can use a flowering spectrum bulb all the way from seed to harvest if you need to.

Not incidentally, because they're a lot more popular and readily available, small CFL bulbs are generally CHEAPER on a per-watt basis than big ones.

The issue with small bulbs is that you also need sockets for them, wiring, and reflectors, and in total THOSE things are going to add to your expense.

But given that 23W CFLs only cost roughly $3, and will plug into any standard Edison light bulb socket, its hard for me to believe that you can't afford a few of them!

Watts being equal, the advantage of multiple bulbs is the ability to position them differently as the plants grow. If you have one big one overhead, you may have to lst plants to keep a more even canopy. Yes, use 2700k if you are going 12/12 from seed.

I'd definitely recommend getting 1 big CFL (250W is possible) & if ur gonna do 12/12 straight from seed then get the red spectrum one (Warm White/2700K). I've never used dual spectrum, and tho i have heard good things about them, i'd say just get the red one straight off as u may as well have the full flowering spectrum if 90% of their lives is gonna be spent in flowering.

Then if funds allow as the grow continues, add a few small CFL's & hang them down near the sides of what will hopefully be a growing plant. The top big CFL will bud up whatever it hits but u'll defo need side lighting if u wanna fill out the bottom & middle parts of a plant.

I'd say 1 x 250W CFL & maybe 2 or 3 side light 20W CFL's would be enough to grow 2 or 3 plants to about 2 foot high yielding maybe an Oz each. (tho assuming all else in grow is adequate obviously!) Anymore than 2 or 3 tho & i don't think it'd be enuff light -u'd have to add more light then i reckon.

You can. with learning, get a gram per watt from a 250w hps. That's about 9 oz. The number of plants is irrelevant, only the grow space. You will never get half that with 250w of cfls of any size. They are inherently inefficient.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, I think im going to go with the one big 200w cfl. And put a few smaller ones around too, ive realized ive been looking at cfls labelled as grow lights and were a lot more expensive. Thanks for all the tips

i have 2 250w cfls for 4 plants, i grow soil, i veg for 3 weeks, no topping or lst, and i grow in soil with only basic flowering nutriets from canna. i average 14-23g a plant. when i had 9 30w cfls i got about 10g a plant. dno why it makes no sese at all but yea

Another quick question would there be any need for me to have a "vegging" nute? if growing from 12/12