# Quality of weed grown with fluorescent lights?



## zensnapple (Mar 2, 2010)

Hey all, first time grower here, going out later today to get everything to set up my grow room. I'm planning on using 4 four foot fluorescent lamps for the lights, money's an issue. 

Is it pretty much guaranteed that the weed will be shitty if I use those lights? All the resources I've seen say that it will be lower quality, but how much lower will it be?

Any help/advice would be appreciated!

-zensnapple


----------



## michomikhail (Mar 2, 2010)

is this just forveg or veg and flower?


----------



## monkz (Mar 2, 2010)

id grow 2 plants and surround the lights around the plants hanging vertically

wattage btw???


----------



## FuZZyBUDz (Mar 2, 2010)

monkz said:


> id grow 2 plants and surround the lights around the plants hanging vertically
> 
> wattage btw???



u got the best idea, wat type of tubes?? T-12?? if so those r NOT that strong. i use them fer cloning ONLY


----------



## mookie brown (Mar 2, 2010)

The quality will be good, it's just that you wont get the quantity you would get if grown under hps with same wattage. I'd like to give t5 HO's a try myself. Come this summer I'm going to do an indoor with them as long as I have 2 growing outside to make up for the quantity. The last thing I want to do is run out of meds between harvests & end up paying street prices for dank. pfft


----------



## SeanIzen (Mar 2, 2010)

Your buds can be totally fine using CFLs. Its in how you grow, nutes, soil, temp, humidity, all this plays in effect. with CFLs the trick is to position the light the right way. I would say depending on your space, add two of those tubes on top and then two on either side in the "middle" of the trees as they grow. as you go on it doesn't hurt to keep buying more bulbs and salting them around aslong as heat can be maintained. Just make sure you can afford to buy replacement 2700 or 3000k bulbs for 80% of the fixtures. Using one or two blues during flower helps keep the buds more dense. try to get t-5's pr t-8's.


----------



## cannatari (Mar 2, 2010)

I recommend you hold-out for a T5 HO fixture. You'll get way better results. T12's are for clones. Don't be hasty buying all your stuff, patience = success.


----------



## 88supra (Mar 2, 2010)

so far on the veghie note my time so good results with ho fl. flowering is yet to be determined so far so good (i'm using 400 wat halogen


----------



## 10jed (Mar 2, 2010)

zensnapple said:


> Hey all, first time grower here, going out later today to get everything to set up my grow room. I'm planning on using 4 four foot fluorescent lamps for the lights, money's an issue.
> 
> Is it pretty much guaranteed that the weed will be shitty if I use those lights? All the resources I've seen say that it will be lower quality, but how much lower will it be?
> 
> ...


many people believe that the light spectrum from warm (2700K) floros will flower with better resin production. I think most will agree that cool or mixed spectrum floros are as good if not better than anything for veg.

the biggest difference in the use of floros vs HPS is that HPS does a far better job of penetrating the canopy, but with proper techniques you can keep the bulk of your bud sites at an even level and get very good performance from floros! The big advantage to floros is that you can place your plants as close as 3 or 4 inches from the bulbs, so for a lot of people who are working in a small space it is the only option. By proper techniques I mean scrog or lst, and when I say you can keep them 3-4 inches away from the bulbs, I'm saying that you should.

as for the tubes... it depends on what you are talking about here, and how much space you are trying to light. In my flower cab I use CFLs (the curled up floros that screw into a regular socket) and I am very pleased with my results. I currently run [email protected] 42 watt CFLs in a 20"x14"x30" space and like I say I am very pleased. Last summer I only had 4 of the 42 watt bulbs and that worked well too. When summer heat comes back I may have to pull the extra 2 out due to heat. Keep in mind that when I say 42 watt I mean 42 and not a "42 watt equivalent". the equivolent rating on the 42's is 200 watt.

Typical "shop lights" (t-8's or t-12's) may or may not produce any smokable bud... I'm going with a maybe and most likely not anything to brag about. The 3 most popular flouro options are T-5 bulbs, PL-L bulbs, or CFLs. The first advantage of the t5's (tubes) and PL-L's (plug in sockets) are that they use an external ballast and you can put that outside of your grow to divert some of the heat... not a lot but some. The other advantage, and probably the biggest one when using them in a cabinet, is that because of their thin tubular design they don't take up much height and distribute light evenly.

Good Luck!

Jed


----------



## cannatari (Mar 2, 2010)

Well said Jed.


----------



## tburton12345 (Mar 2, 2010)

from what ive read bud grown under fluros is still good shit if it has good genetics, the buds just dont get as big and they tend to not be as dense as buds grown with HID lights.


----------



## mookie brown (Mar 2, 2010)

I would think that floros would be best for micro growing 1 plant using the scrog method. 1.5 to 2 square foot screen using 2ft T5 HO's 6to8 bulb fixture you probably will pull off close to 3zs or even a qp. I say this because I have one of those 250watt cfl's & I was using it as secondary light with my hps on my first grow & the branch that was growing towards that 2700k cfl was just as dense/frosty as the buds on top of the canopy getting light from the hps. I'm sold that you can grow good herb with floros but only if the bulb was close to your plant. The right floros with the scrogging method will produce quality herb. Most definitely


----------



## 10jed (Mar 2, 2010)

I'm not down with the whole "lack of bud density" thing either. I'm running Apollo 11 which is a mostly sativa hybrid and my buds seem as dense as anything I have ever smoked. Resin is crazy too. Key is getting the buds up next to the light so that the light can penetrate deeper into the plant. 

Don't think I'm hatin' on the hps though. In a big grow it is the only way, but for a confined space and a small, manageable grow the flouros work wonderfully FME.

Jed


----------



## AquafinaOrbit (Mar 2, 2010)

CFL simply stands for Compact Fluorescent lighting and we've all seen that CFLs can grow the good. Using HID now but when I used to grow with CFLs and fluorescent they always produced very nice buds, just not as dense as an HID but still nothing to complain about.


----------



## SmokeMore (Mar 3, 2010)

monkz said:


> id grow 2 plants and surround the lights around the plants hanging vertically
> 
> wattage btw???


Along those lines, just wondering, and any input would be appreciated, but I'm on my first grow, and what I've started out with is 4 - 4 foot T5's which are 54 watts and 5000 lumens each for a total of 20,000 lumens and 216 watts total. I do have the two different spectrums for veg and flowering. Right now, I've got two plants that are about 3 inches tall, with one of the lights horizontal at the moment about 3 inches from the top of the plants, and they seem to be doing fine.

What I plan to do, once the plants gets taller, is hang the 4 T5's vertically, like a teepee, so the lights are close to the plant and the plant will be basically bathed in the light, over the whole plant, as opposed to a single bright light at the top.

Does anyone thing I'll get a decent yield by doing this?


----------



## 10jed (Mar 3, 2010)

SmokeMore said:


> Along those lines, just wondering, and any input would be appreciated, but I'm on my first grow, and what I've started out with is 4 - 4 foot T5's which are 54 watts and 5000 lumens each for a total of 20,000 lumens and 216 watts total. I do have the two different spectrums for veg and flowering. Right now, I've got two plants that are about 3 inches tall, with one of the lights horizontal at the moment about 3 inches from the top of the plants, and they seem to be doing fine.
> 
> What I plan to do, once the plants gets taller, is hang the 4 T5's vertically, like a teepee, so the lights are close to the plant and the plant will be basically bathed in the light, over the whole plant, as opposed to a single bright light at the top.
> 
> Does anyone thing I'll get a decent yield by doing this?


That can work... I don't know about the tepee thing but vertical works for sure. I saw a thread on another forum where a guy ran 6 55w Pl-L lamps (basically a T-5 bent in half with a clip on conector instead of the pins) on the inside of a 32 galon garbage can and after about a month of veg he ended up pulling out a massive spherical plant that dried at about 6 zips. If you do vertical it would be best to contain the light IMO. You could probably scratch the teepee thing and just use a box or tent with a reflector at the top. Another thing the garbage can guy did was use the clear plastic floro covers over the bulbs so that the plants could touch them without risk of burning. I think he also channled some airflow through the tubes though he only used a single fan so it was passive. He called it the "the high pod" and I think that thread will come up if you google.

The PL-L's are 22 inches long so for 4 55w t-5's, I would think it would be best to keep the interior space about 12-18" so you get decent penetration. That would probably rock the stretchy sativas!

I was impressed for sure, and I am considering trying some vertical tubes in my grow.

Jed


----------



## SmokeMore (Mar 3, 2010)

Thanks Jed!

I really appreciate the reply, that makes me feel alot better!

I should have been more clear and explained a little more, I actually have a grow tent that's 4' x 4' x 6.5' tall and I plan to hang the lights vertically in the shape of a teepee, with the 4 lights basically starting at a single point at the top and then hanging down vertically, at an angle, close to the plant down the whole length of the plant, on 4 sides of the plant.

I have a plastic shelf in there to hold the exhaust fan and other stuff, plus the plants are raised up about a foot or so, so I can deal with any runoff from watering, so the actual "grow" area is maybe 2' x 3' by 4.5' total. I'm growing Indicas so I'm hoping for a Christmas Tree shape on the plants.

I went with the 4 ft. T5's trying to strike a balance between total lumens and electricity cost, which cost is not really the issue, but I live in a trailer park and pay the electric at the office, and if it went up too much, even if they didn't suspect anything, they'd at least comment about it.

Hopefully I'll get through the veg stage, the flowering stage, and then at least get something to smoke while I'm waiting on the next grow, which should be improved due to learning.

Thanks again!


----------



## captain792000 (Mar 3, 2010)

Im sure somebody has mentioned this already, Im just lazy and dont feel like reading...lol....

Lighting in no way effects the potency or quality of the green...It effect quantity.....White widow grown with floros or an hps (as long as its grown the same way by soil or hydro) will taste the same and produce the same high....The difference is with an hid you will probably double your yeild.....


----------



## growone (Mar 3, 2010)

some others have mentioned using fluoro's vertically, i haven't tried this yet but i have good reason to think it works well
this is from another grower forum, these were t8 bulbs - i was impressed - looks like top quality results


----------



## Pupu (Mar 3, 2010)

The picture above looks really nice... 

I want to start a grow with 40 pcs 35W T5 HE tubes.. all in 16 ft².

The purpose of that is quality, stay low with the box and have 100.000 lumens/m² wich I understand is equal to sun. 

What do you think?


----------



## growone (Mar 3, 2010)

Pupu, one hell of an idea, this is pretty wild, excellent pics too
only issue that comes to mind is the heat from the interlaced tubes
wondering if there might tube hot spots where they cross
other than that, i've never see this idea for fluoros


----------



## Pupu (Mar 3, 2010)

Thank you very much Growone.

I was thinking few months ago that even if you put a lot of light on top of your crop light is still not penetrating deep enough.
Plus the fact that if the light is coming from a point or two you get a lot of shade..
Also.. if you have 2-3 foot plants and you need to hang the lights another feet or two above that.. you need a *room* to grow.. 
I've designed this grow box in such manner to fit under a window in a balcony of a communist apartment building (hehehe.. Eastern Europe)

below are two solutions that I've come with for the heating problem.







Plexiglas casings around each slot







My favorite.. AIR!

I think a lot of people don't put enough accent on venting.. If the leafs are moving more light reach below them.

I am Just so curios about what bud can be made like this.. because of the arrangements of the light It should get a *ball* not a Christmas tree. I think Lollipop method is a great way of tunning this.


----------



## 10jed (Mar 4, 2010)

SmokeMore said:


> Thanks Jed!
> 
> I really appreciate the reply, that makes me feel alot better!
> 
> ...


the pic of that t8 closet grow that growone posted is in line with what I am thinking. With more power that plant would have been pushing up to the sides of that cabinet I think... T8's are pretty wimpy. Keep in mind you really don't NEED light from the top. To promote side growth it may even be better not too. Plants when healthy will stretch to the light regardless and heavy side branching should be easy to achieve with intense side lighting. I would leave the bulbs vertical, and minimize the size of your tent so you are getting a direct reflection from the backside of the bulbs. Start with the plant raised toward the top to promote side growth/branching and lower as you go. When you get to about 24", drop that sucker so the bottom of the bulbs are in line with the top of the pot, then throw a 42w cfl in a hanging/adjustable reflector over the top and flip her to 12/12 keeping the top bulb a few inches over the top of the plant. That should get you a nice thick bush. 

LST techniques may help the system too... I read a tut one time on "4-way LST" and it was a great way to open up the center of the plant so that may be a way for you to maximize your yield. For the first one I would just let the plant do its thing and then make mods to your technique where they are needed.

As for your electric costs, you can log onto you local power company website and see if they have an appliance cost calculator. Mine does, and when I figure 250 w run 12 hrs per day for 30 days it tells me my flower cab is costing me about $13 per month. You can probably calculate this on your power company website too. 

Maybe try to limit the rest of your electrical usage in your home to compensate... use the grill instead of the oven sometimes, lower the temp on the water heater, watch leaving the frige door open, switch out your heavily used lights for cfls or led lights, use the sleep timer on the bedroom tv and things like that! It'll be easy to bury much of your grow I would think. 

One thing about floros though that people don't usually talk about, is that the electrical used to fire up the bulb is about the same as running the bulb for 6-8 hrs, so for in/out rooms like bathrooms they aren't always the best option. Low wattage incandescents or LEDs are best for rooms like that, with supplemental lighting for when you need it.

Sounds like you are in for a fun grow!

Jed


----------



## growone (Mar 4, 2010)

10jed, been looking at the t5's for a while, they are incredible for their lumens
but i just checked plain, old t8's the other day, 2800 lumens for a 32 watt bulb
that's right around 90 lumens per watt! not quite what t5's do, but to me that pretty intense
a few other growers have remarked that t8's can be touching foliage with no burn
i really woul like to do a vertical grow, but plain cfl's give me the largest crop i'm comfortable with
until NY goes MMJ, soon perhaps


----------



## 10jed (Mar 4, 2010)

Pupu said:


> Thank you very much Growone.
> 
> I was thinking few months ago that even if you put a lot of light on top of your crop light is still not penetrating deep enough.
> Plus the fact that if the light is coming from a point or two you get a lot of shade..
> ...


Pupu this seems like a pita to me... I can see those bulbs breaking a lot since you will be constantly rotating the plants. I think you are right about the ball shape and the concept is porbably a good one. The heat issue would be a big one as said already but you may try using the clear floro sheilds and conecting them to a system of tubing so that you can cool them independant of the grow space. For ease, you may also just want to go with 2 or 3 sections leaving a good 2x2 for the final chamber. I have thought of doing something similar but with more emphasis on vegging and a single flower space like what we are talking about with smokemore. 

If you want to do a sog in a box like this I think top lighting woube be best with the tubes tapering down toward the front. With your rigidly spaced grow areas it will not be very efficient since plants don't grow in symetrical increments. Have a fully open space will allow you to adjust the position of the plant to be at an ideal location in reference to the lights. then with a single plane of bulbs it would be quite easy to seal them all off and vent them independantly.

My $.02

Jed


----------



## 10jed (Mar 4, 2010)

growone said:


> 10jed, been looking at the t5's for a while, they are incredible for their lumens
> but i just checked plain, old t8's the other day, 2800 lumens for a 32 watt bulb
> that's right around 90 lumens per watt! not quite what t5's do, but to me that pretty intense
> a few other growers have remarked that t8's can be touching foliage with no burn
> ...


2800 is more than I would have guessed! Give it a shot if you get the chance and let us know. There is a lot more to flouros than I understand. It really does come down to the light intensity and the colors that the bulb produces. a 2700K bulb doesn't just produce that specific color and a 2700 cfl, vs t8, vs t5, vs hps are likely to be drastically different in the range of colors they produce and their intensity at a given color range! Even though they may all have the same Kalvin rating. Proof is in the pudding as they say, so lets all make some pudding and compare our results. that is a big part of the fun in growing and what makes forums like these so interesting.

Jed


----------



## 420MyTime (Mar 4, 2010)

I've got a small grow room I just set up with 2 - 4 ft, 4 bulb fluorescent troffers, hanging vertically and my blue moonshine and hashplant buds are thick, fat and sticky, after only a month of flowering. Keep your bulbs within an inch or 2 of your plants and they'll amaze you if ya feed'em and treat'em right. My girls are freakin me out they're buddin up so nice and purdy.


----------



## Pupu (Mar 6, 2010)

I'm certainly not giving up the side lighting method ...I will do it with less tubes. Probably half of space / half of tubes.


----------



## stonesour (Mar 6, 2010)

Pupu said:


> I'm certainly not giving up the side lighting method ...I will do it with less tubes. Probably half of space / half of tubes.


take a look at my grow box, im sure it will provide some insight. It solves the problem of adding light when needed and not all the time. I just went with what i thought would work and built it. The link to my journal is my signature. If anything it will give you ideas. So far its working great.


----------



## MrBlanco (Mar 6, 2010)

I just finished my first grow and I used cfls. I live in California and have been smoking weed for almost 20 years, I'm very impressed with the results.


----------



## Cheechburner (Mar 6, 2010)

shit load of fireflys in a jar work better than a hps imo.


----------



## bigDAWG (Mar 7, 2010)

CFL's are just as good as any other light if you use them right and have sufficient lighting..


----------



## 10jed (Mar 7, 2010)

Pupu said:


> I'm certainly not giving up the side lighting method ...I will do it with less tubes. Probably half of space / half of tubes.


Didn't mean to poo poo on your idea friend... I am going to be setting a friend up soon who has a whole basement I can play with. He wants a smallish cabinet for personal production. What we are talking about is a multi cab vertical using PL-L's and t-5HOs. 1 independant veg chamber about 2x2x3H and 1 flower chamber 2x2x5H. Then a smaller cab for a few bonzai moms and his clones.

Basically the difference in what your design shows is that he would only move the plants once. 4 weeks in the veg cabinet and then 8 weeks in the flower cab. The Pl-L lamps are about 22" long for a 36w or 55w bulb. Using a fulham workhorse 8 he can run 4 @ 55w or 6 @ 36w PL-Ls. The veg cabs would be top access similar to your design. Lights would be in the clear floro protectors and routed into piping to be cooled independent of the grow area and allow the plant to touch right up to the bulbs without burning. Flower cabs would have to have a front access because of the height and would require him to rotate the plant every watering since there would only be bulbs on 3 sides of that cabinet. that so far is the only flaw I am seeing, but it should work very well.

Veg chamber will be 2 PL-L bulbs per wall and the flower chamber will be 4 t5's on each of 3 walls. That ends up being about $150 in ballasts and about $200 in tubes so we are also just talking about an hps and calling it a day! he doesn't have to worry about sound as much as I do so a big fan to cool that sucker isn't a big concern. This, IMHO, is the point where you maybe just say fuck the floros and gives me som hps.

Jed


----------



## greeni (Mar 8, 2010)

88supra said:


> so far on the veghie note my time so good results with ho fl. flowering is yet to be determined so far so good (i'm using 400 wat halogen


 How are u finding halogen for growing? r u veging or flowering.


----------



## Sw1sh3r,k33f (Mar 8, 2010)

so would i be able to set up the grow room with 3 4ft 40w, 1 8ft flos, and 1 150w reptile lamp(sounds ridiculous but just thought about it) hanging facing 9 flowering plants and get great results? or should i just go hps since i have more than just a few??


----------



## growone (Mar 8, 2010)

Sw1sh3r said:


> so would i be able to set up the grow room with 3 4ft 40w, 1 8ft flos, and 1 150w reptile lamp(sounds ridiculous but just thought about it) hanging facing 9 flowering plants and get great results? or should i just go hps since i have more than just a few??


that sounds like an awkward setup, you might be able to veg for a while but flower probably wouldn't go too well
more bulbs or hps


----------



## 10jed (Mar 10, 2010)

greeni said:


> How are u finding halogen for growing? r u veging or flowering.


Halogen doesn't work for growing MJ. TONS of heat and not a very usable spectrum... buy some floros or hps.

Jed


----------



## Total Head (Mar 11, 2010)

my two cents on floros for buds: USE SIDE LIGHT. as someone mentioned earlier in the thread even t5ho dont have the penetration for good production on their own if they are just above the plants, even if the plants are fairly short. on my last grow i used a 6 tube t5ho above the plants (self ballasted with reflector) and a few weeks into 12/12 i realized that my light meter all but stopped registering the light about 7 inches below the tubes and the preflowers were baely noticable. the tops of the plants were about 3 inches from the light. I added cfls for side light and noticed almost immidiate improvement from the plants. also the light meter read the cfl light as WAY more intense at identical distances. as far as the density of the bud it was just fine (i used pretty fancy seeds), it was the overall size of the buds that i think suffered. t5s are like the freakin holy grail of veg and cloning but for budding you need a lot of light and to keep the light practically on top of the plants which can be cumbersome when the plants grow inches in a week.


----------



## greeni (Mar 13, 2010)

10jed said:


> Halogen doesn't work for growing MJ. TONS of heat and not a very usable spectrum... buy some floros or hps.
> 
> Jed


 I know u can't use halogen, That's y i wos asking how he wos getting on with supposedly growing with halogen, Did u read earlier in the thread that he wos growing with a 500w halogen.


----------



## Babs34 (Mar 13, 2010)

Flos get a bad rap. I don't think it affects quality so much as quantity.
After stocking up on lights over the past year, I finally figured out I would have saved money making the one time purchase of hps.


----------



## 10jed (Mar 14, 2010)

greeni said:


> I know u can't use halogen, That's y i wos asking how he wos getting on with supposedly growing with halogen, Did u read earlier in the thread that he wos growing with a 500w halogen.


I know... I wasn't going to let the obvious newb tell you how great they are.


----------



## super2200 (Mar 14, 2010)

10jed said:


> I know... I wasn't going to let the obvious newb tell you how great they are.


lol 500w would be an easy bake oven. At work when people leave the halogen desk-lamps leaning on the monitors it melts the monitor casing easily. I cant see a use for one at all in grow environment unless your growing with cfl and just need some heat


----------



## beelbyman (Mar 14, 2010)

I use 4 flourescents two warm and two cool Whites, I usually keep them within inches until they are about three weeks old and then i'll go 8 inches and let them take off I have been growing for a while and have NO problems doing my grow this way. use drip feed but this time around i did EBB and Flow for Vegg.
When i flower them i usually take a couple clones off each one and let the clones become mothers (I have already established mine are all female) once the clones root i'll put my big girls into flower with a 400 watt HPS 12/12 and I use Ebb and Flow.
https://www.rollitup.org/members/beelbyman-168472/albums/first-grow-ever-10219/


----------



## Pupu (Mar 23, 2010)

Hi everybody. thanks for your input.

I'm already building my dream..........................................

I've started with the idea in the drawings ..and I've got another thing... because of the space (read "height")... because of my belief.. fluoros will win.



Strange:

Every person that I see trying FLO and then it writes here that is using 2 maybe 3 maybe 4 maybe 5 FLO ..........and then sees that bud is late and switches to HPS. 

Guys........ get real!

In my final solution (for now) I am using seventeen 21W HE tubes for an area of 2x3 feet with custom built reflector for each tube.

For now I don't have an Hps to mesure but what I can tell you is that I am beating MH big time

I am using this light meter:






.........so..... an 400 MH @ tolerable distance, at least one foot, is giving me a reading of +/- 40.000 LUX.

In my box I am reaching that with nine tubes... 21W each that is.

Pics & details will follow.


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

this was the first ideea


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

AND THIS IS WHAT I AM BUILDING NOW.


----------



## LANERBLAZE (Mar 27, 2010)

ur idea looks really cool and all. justthe top...
will it be ajustible? cause with floro's they can be like 2in away..

wont they stretch?


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

No is not adjustable. But the reflector shape that you see behind every tube is designed specially to focus the light in a beam. 
Actually the plants are gonna receive more light when are small because they will be in the middle of the box where all the reflectors aim.


First I've created 4 reflector shapes:







after I decided for the second I've made a vector image for a friend of mine who cuts Styrofoam with a computer aided machine:












Another shape for holding the clams (hope this is the word):












And after gluing this I run out of pictures:


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

[youtube]9T8znltnDc4[/youtube]


----------



## Mr.Funk (Mar 27, 2010)

Looks like a good idea Keep up the good work


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

that does look cool. Keep us posted. As to cfls/fluorescents...I've pulled 2 ounces of dense high quality herb from a single 3' plant using a mix of warm cfls and a cool fluorescent 2 tube fixture.


----------



## LANERBLAZE (Mar 27, 2010)

hmm, your idea is looking wicked man, and even if you could really aim the light im pretty sure the plant can sence the light really isnt that close.. 
imm keep watching just too see cause i am curious as too making it work.
im deffinatly not saying you cant do it..


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

the only issue i see is that all the lights won't be getting to the plant until it is about fully mature. With cfls hanging from extension cords...you can adjust individual light sources daily if need be so that the are within a few inches of bud sites.


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 27, 2010)

okay, i didnt want to start a new thread and i didnt know where to post so im just posting my question here.

i have ONE plant, its white widow btw, and im using a incandescent right now w/ 60 watt.

for the flowering stage however, i believe i need a light thats better but its just ONE plant not for a whole room, like a cupboard.


its a very small space and the plant could get too close to the light and get burned so it cant get very hot.
also price is a HUGE thing, its gotta be kinda cheap.

so what kind of light can i use that will work well? will a full spectrum fluorescent work? where can i find one?

thanks guys, hope you can help!


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

Anjinsan said:


> that does look cool. Keep us posted. As to cfls/fluorescents...I've pulled 2 ounces of dense high quality herb from a single 3' plant using a mix of warm cfls and a cool fluorescent 2 tube fixture.


thanks
can you tel me how many WATS that was?



LANERBLAZE said:


> hmm, your idea is looking wicked man, and even if you could really aim the light im pretty sure the plant can sence the light really isnt that close..
> imm keep watching just too see cause i am curious as too making it work.
> im deffinatly not saying you cant do it..


I work with the meter in few pics above so I kind of know what the plant are "sensing".
For now I have only 9 tubes running in the box and this are the numbers:

a. touching the tube with the meter 40.000lux
b. one inch away 28.000lux
c. four inches away 32.000lux
d eight inches to middle of the box 34.000lux

this is real data (little bit stupid that i don't have a camera, especially if you see all the other things i have around)


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> okay, i didnt want to start a new thread and i didnt know where to post so im just posting my question here.
> 
> i have ONE plant, its white widow btw, and im using a incandescent right now w/ 60 watt.
> 
> ...


incandescent? 60? 




an helpful answer will follow.


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

Pupu said:


> thanks
> can you tel me how many WATS that was?


Each tube was 40 watts so that = 80 watts. Eight 23 watt warm cfls = 184 watts

So a grand total of 264 watts.


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

Ok. do you have pics from that?


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

Pupu said:


> Ok. do you have pics from that?


I smell a non-believer. 

My pleasure...

https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/264981-final-ak48-harvest-all-cfl.html

Add 23 more watts to my total...apparently i used 9 cfls not 8. It's the constant adjustment of the individual cfls...keeping them with 2" of bud sites and blanketing the plant with light that made a difference.

https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/227239-ak48-day-37-flower-pics.html

That thread has a in-closet shot 37 days into flower. (so that you can see just how close i got the lights)


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

Anjinsan said:


> I smell a non-believer.


No way ) I'm a believer.

I've started a post asking you about positioning & distance of the light, vent, reflective material or withe ...................then I've realized that better ask for photos and if not then I ask the questions


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

Pupu said:


> No way ) I'm a believer.
> 
> I've started a post asking you about positioning & distance of the light, vent, reflective material or withe ...................then I've realized that better ask for photos and if not then I ask the questions


Read through those threads...lots of people had good questions that i tried my best to answer. I didn't use reflective material at all. The walls of that closet are kinda dull white...and believe it or not matte white is pretty good for reflectivity. I saw a chart around here somewhere one day...that pro mylar stuff was highest in reflectivity...but matte white was 2nd and not all that far behind. Gloss white was like 4th...and aluminum foil was next to last AND it had the issue of creating "hot spots" that could burn.


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

dead last on the chart was mirrors fyi. I know...all the sci-fi stuff we saw growing up always showed mirrors bouncing around light and lasers like crazy...but now I remember...mirrors were dead last for GROWING purposes.


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

I know... I dont have Mylar to have some tests but what i can tell you is that from what I've measured with my meter nothing beats withe matte unles you are making a reflector.
I put all my money down on withe that it beats even mylar on a flat surface. 
Explanation is logical: Mylar bounces light back but if it bounces anywhere but plant it bounces again and again until is lost.
On the other hand withe matte surface is glowing so you have an entire box emitting light in all directions.


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 27, 2010)

Pupu said:


> incandescent? 60?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


yea i know what youre thinkin lol
its just in the veg stage now but i gotta get a light i just dont know what kind to get. hopefully something that goes in a clamp lamp or comes with one cause i dont have a lot of room or money to work with.

i gotta step it up tho before the flowering stage


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> yea i know what youre thinkin lol
> its just in the veg stage now but i gotta get a light i just dont know what kind to get. hopefully something that goes in a clamp lamp or comes with one cause i dont have a lot of room or money to work with.
> 
> i gotta step it up tho before the flowering stage


dood...the type of bulb you are using...is useless. buy a cool white cfl. then buy a bunch of warm white cfls for flowering.


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 27, 2010)

oh btw way when i say i dont have a lot of room to work with....





...i mean im working with in a cupboard lol


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 27, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> oh btw way when i say i dont have a lot of room to work with....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you were using even one cfl in that hood as opposed to the incadescent? You've have a plant with twice as many branch sets easy...do you have a fan on that ethopian?


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

MJ as any plant uses light to combine CO2 with minetals from soil. *Light is the most important* thing you can give to your plant

And it goes like this:

Sun is putting out about 120.000 Lumen/sq meter 

we can grow weed by artificial lighting using the folowing lamps:

1.HPS (high pressure sodium) 
2.Fluorescent tubes
3.MH (metal halide)
3.CFL (compact fluorescent)

to have a idea this is how efficient they are:
(efficiency is measured in how many lumens they put out for each watt that is consumed)

HPS *100-160 lm/w*
fluorescent * 80-104 lm/w*
MH *80-100 lm/w*
cfl *40- 65 lm/w*
incandescent *10- 15 lm/w*

for a single plant (we consider that a sq foot) the sun is putting about 10.000 lumen ....so do the math. 
then you should consider that HPS & MH need ventilation.


----------



## Cru3l (Mar 27, 2010)

you forgot to mention LED


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

Cru3l said:


> you forgot to mention LED


I did not forgot, I've omited.

The pour guy is using a 60w incandescent light... my girlfrend tels me that anyway is possible that My post was confusing...

p.s. Also omitted was sulfur lamps


----------



## Pupu (Mar 27, 2010)

before I go to sleep


----------



## LANERBLAZE (Mar 28, 2010)

incadecent light bulbs do not work well for marijuana growing..
they tend to make the plant stretch and put most of it growth to the branched and stem.

you can use red light bulbs with a mix of cfls or whtever else your using..
just not by them self


----------



## LANERBLAZE (Mar 28, 2010)

and ur idea looks fucking wicked haha
still curious to see what the plants doo


----------



## stonesour (Mar 28, 2010)

Pupu said:


> before I go to sleep


That many t-5s should work great. Only thing is the height, how high is that dome? you might have to lst the hell out of those plants, or do 12/12 from seed grows. I really like that setup though. Is the structure (the overall dome) rigid or is it flimsy? and what did you use to build it?


----------



## iwearnopants (Mar 28, 2010)

people also laughed at Columbus when he said he could grow good tree with cfl's


----------



## growone (Mar 28, 2010)

Pupu said:


> before I go to sleep


Pupu, love the chamber, you're definitely an innovator
just damn cool


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 28, 2010)

yea i got a fan on it, i was just using this incandescent for the veg stage but like i said i GOTTA get something better.

so get a white cfl? what is that and does it get hot and what kind exactly should i look for?


----------



## Pupu (Mar 28, 2010)

Hi everybody.

Thanks for your kind words.

The plants, as you can see from the pictures below, are reacting just fine.

The dome is made from expanded polystyrene cutted with a computer aided machine. If you go back one or two pages you will see more details.

The box is quite stiff even now without the lower end. After is finished it will be a computer desk so i will be able to roll it around, there is still a lot of work/parts/money to go inside.

Exterior dimensions: 30''w x 32''h x 47"l
Interior dimensions: 23''w x 29''h x 35''l (usable space)

Any questions are more then welcome as I anyway bore my girlfriend to dead.


----------



## Pupu (Mar 28, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> yea i got a fan on it, i was just using this incandescent for the veg stage but like i said i GOTTA get something better.
> 
> so get a white cfl? what is that and does it get hot and what kind exactly should i look for?


----------



## Anjinsan (Mar 28, 2010)

cool white cfl for veg...a few of them...triple the number when you buy warm white cfls for flowering as the plant will be that much bigger.


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 28, 2010)

Anjinsan said:


> cool white cfl for veg...a few of them...triple the number when you buy warm white cfls for flowering as the plant will be that much bigger.


those look like the energy efficient light bulbs everyone has now, is that what they are?
and do warm ones actually get warm cause i dont wanna burn my plant


----------



## growone (Mar 28, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> those look like the energy efficient light bulbs everyone has now, is that what they are?
> and do warm ones actually get warm cause i dont wanna burn my plant


warm just means 'warm light' to the eye, more red than blue
bit less heat from the warm bulbs, they are somewhat more efficient in lumen output than the daylights
cfl's will burn if they touch your plant physically, but all cfl's will do that


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 29, 2010)

growone said:


> warm just means 'warm light' to the eye, more red than blue
> bit less heat from the warm bulbs, they are somewhat more efficient in lumen output than the daylights
> cfl's will burn if they touch your plant physically, but all cfl's will do that


oh okay. but are cfl's like those energy bulbs or do they just look like those?


----------



## Fbmowner (Mar 29, 2010)

growone said:


> Pupu, one hell of an idea, this is pretty wild, excellent pics too
> only issue that comes to mind is the heat from the interlaced tubes
> wondering if there might tube hot spots where they cross
> other than that, i've never see this idea for fluoros


Even HP t5's really wont produce a harmful amount of heat, really just the ballast's create most of the heat. The only way I personally think the acual bulbs could harm the plants is if there not seated in the socets properly and the ends arc, in which case, hello melted plastic.


----------



## growone (Mar 29, 2010)

Fbmowner said:


> Even HP t5's really wont produce a harmful amount of heat, really just the ballast's create most of the heat. The only way I personally think the acual bulbs could harm the plants is if there not seated in the socets properly and the ends arc, in which case, hello melted plastic.


i was thinking more about the bulbs at the point where they cross
bulb is not designed to have a heat source beside it
don't know if it's enough to cause a problem


----------



## Pdxsti (Mar 29, 2010)

Yea very good points Jed.. Alot of good information there! I have the t5 setup and just waiting for my card  Then let the growing begin! Good Luck!!


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 29, 2010)

so i get three of these right now during the veg stage and keep using them during the flowering stage? right?

will these work;

http://www.amazon.com/ASL-SC18-27K-Electronic-Fluorescent/dp/B0017U76HM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1269891136&sr=8-1

or

http://www.amazon.com/ASL-TC26-27K-Electronic-Fluorescent/dp/B0017U76KY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1269891136&sr=8-3

hope those are it lol


----------



## growone (Mar 29, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> so i get three of these right now during the veg stage and keep using them during the flowering stage? right?
> 
> will these work;
> 
> ...


these will work, the 26w probably the better choice, more lumen output
you can get just as good at a walmart/home depot/etc. for a lower price
i use the GE 26w soft white for flower, they work very well


----------



## ethics213 (Mar 29, 2010)

I used 9- t12 fixtures, each housing two 40w warm/cool in each. I only used them because it's what i had laying around. I don't remember how long i vegged, but they were between 8"-14". Out of the five i managed to get almost 80g total of very light and fluffy bud. it wasn't bad, but just did not weight. 

i don't see how running cfl's, t5's, or t8's would be much different. I mean really the only difference would be power consumption. 

My advise would be instead of spending a bunch of money on fls pick up a med size mh/hps coverable lamp and be done with it. I got a 400w ($250) running in the same space i had done my t12 grow with two clones from that grow and look at the difference. each being about 3/4 weeks into flower. I changed nothing by the light. still using premier pro mix bx and fox nutes.


----------



## Smokey Truth (Mar 29, 2010)

good thread, lots of pics, lots of postss. lol it drew me in, i had to read it all an see the pic's (pic's help alot) but i gotta question, whats with the plastic cups on the littler plants? and on pg. 8 of the thread Pupu how old where the plants you had the pic's up?? thx for the info this thread brought me. subscribed.


----------



## Pupu (Mar 29, 2010)

in the first pic i see only 6 tubes... you were using 9x2=18 tubes? I see that they were only on top and one side ..or you remove some of them to make the pics?

the difference between t12 and t5 is more than consumption..

Look at my plants.. they have the same number of nodes but only 4 inches... you figure this out.


----------



## Pupu (Mar 29, 2010)

Smokey Truth said:


> good thread, lots of pics, lots of postss. lol it drew me in, i had to read it all an see the pic's (pic's help alot) but i gotta question, whats with the plastic cups on the littler plants? and on pg. 8 of the thread Pupu how old where the plants you had the pic's up?? thx for the info this thread brought me. subscribed.


thank you sir!

the cups are for keeping the humidity high. 
the age of plants is uncertain ...around one month.. but they had a hard childhood ..twice they stayed for two-three days with no light in a drawer..... and the rest of the time with only 2-3 tubes.


----------



## growone (Mar 29, 2010)

ethics213 said:


> i don't see how running cfl's, t5's, or t8's would be much different. I mean really the only difference would be power consumption.


cfl's can produce very nice bud, they pack a lot of lumens in a small space
example, this was from a 78w cfl grow, these were not fluffy


----------



## Pupu (Mar 29, 2010)

Yummy!!! mouth watering!


----------



## GrowinthaBudz (Mar 29, 2010)

growone said:


> cfl's can produce very nice bud, they pack a lot of lumens in a small space
> example, this was from a 78w cfl grow, these were not fluffy


What was the dry weight?


----------



## growone (Mar 29, 2010)

GrowinthaBudz said:


> What was the dry weight?


well, total weight was 35g of dry bud, lost a bit to mold
so about 1/2g per watt, can't remember now how much the main cola was which is what's shown here
still puffing on her, vaporizer really stretches out the goodness


----------



## grow space (Mar 29, 2010)

Yea, nice thread..
My first and only indoor grow went down with t 12 fluros, mixed in some cfls and a 70w hps..I got some pretty dank bud with decent yield to even come back to fluros in future(many times, i like ).All my mates was cheering and telling me that it was da freaking BOMB, and i have to agree with them 
Anyways, Pupu, freaking awsome..i have seen before your kind of setups, with all surrounding lights-they work all great and i believe you will get some nice bud out of there-great success!!!


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 29, 2010)

about the odor, i know this isnt a thread meant for this but its the only thread people have been helpful in lol

do ona odor jars work?
or ona odor gels?

i only have one plant with a fan circulating air around it so i dont think odor will be a big problem but it will still come up so will ona odor agents work?? i hope..?


----------



## Babs34 (Mar 30, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> about the odor, i know this isnt a thread meant for this but its the only thread people have been helpful in lol
> 
> do ona odor jars work?
> or ona odor gels?
> ...


Ona works WONDERFULLY. Purchase the soil moist granules and mix with liquid form. The gel seems to not last very long.


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 30, 2010)

Babs34 said:


> Ona works WONDERFULLY. Purchase the soil moist granules and mix with liquid form. The gel seems to not last very long.



ok so youre saying mix this;
http://www.amazon.com/JRM-Chemical-JCD100SMJ-Moist-Granules/dp/B0009ZENCW

with;
http://www.amazon.com/ONA-Liquid-Concentrate-1-Quart/dp/B000BS4Y6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1269944204&sr=8-1

then what? are you saying just to mix it then let it set out? or do you want me to actually plant my plant in there


----------



## growone (Mar 30, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> ok so youre saying mix this;
> http://www.amazon.com/JRM-Chemical-JCD100SMJ-Moist-Granules/dp/B0009ZENCW
> 
> with;
> ...


that would be interesting! plant wouldn't last too long in ona gel
idea is to pump out air from your grow chamber into a bucket with ona in it
search the forums for ona bucket, gives some easy plans for building one


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 30, 2010)

growone said:


> that would be interesting! plant wouldn't last too long in ona gel
> idea is to pump out air from your grow chamber into a bucket with ona in it
> search the forums for ona bucket, gives some easy plans for building one


this is getting too complicated lol cant i just let it set out cause its in a cupboard with a fan circulating the air so wont that work?


----------



## growone (Mar 30, 2010)

mcrtbsa7xava said:


> this is getting too complicated lol cant i just let it set out cause its in a cupboard with a fan circulating the air so wont that work?


that's growing, it gets more involved the further you go
try putting it in a bowl and have fan blow air across and out of your grow area, that's a very straight forward setup
it will help some, not sure how much, good starting point, if you need better, take it up a notch


----------



## stonesour (Mar 30, 2010)

Pupu said:


> Hi everybody.
> 
> Thanks for your kind words.
> 
> ...


Yeah i suppose that would be tall enough for some shorty plants. Those plants now look very strong. Are you planning on running all the lights in that thing? (Yeah my wife is not interested at all with my build, im like "honey come check out these plants" shes like "they dont look any differnt than a week ago. leave me alone!!" so she quits looking at them...LOL.)


----------



## Smokey Truth (Mar 30, 2010)

thx for the answer Pupu, you own!


----------



## villian13 (Mar 30, 2010)

sweet!keep us posted.


----------



## mcrtbsa7xava (Mar 30, 2010)

growone said:


> that's growing, it gets more involved the further you go
> try putting it in a bowl and have fan blow air across and out of your grow area, that's a very straight forward setup
> it will help some, not sure how much, good starting point, if you need better, take it up a notch


its just one plant...haha
oooh well, il try it and hopefully it will work out lol


----------



## Pupu (Apr 4, 2010)

Update..

I've changed the pots on 3 of my plants.

It is looking like 4 of them but I've run out of soil and changed only 3. Little Frankenstein (middle of 7th pic) went back in his half-bottle.


----------



## ethics213 (Apr 8, 2010)

Pupu said:


> in the first pic i see only 6 tubes... you were using 9x2=18 tubes? I see that they were only on top and one side ..or you remove some of them to make the pics?
> 
> the difference between t12 and t5 is more than consumption..
> 
> Look at my plants.. they have the same number of nodes but only 4 inches... you figure this out.


I was running 4 in the back, 4 on the door, 6 up top, and then added 2 to each side.


----------



## lemon900 (Apr 8, 2010)

They will vegy just fine. It is when it comes time to bud is when you will need more powerful lights to produce a bountiful flowering.


----------



## KlosetKing (Apr 9, 2010)

My lights. From what iam told its all about making sure you dont exceed your sq/ft light ratio. with these i only plan on 2, maybe 3 plants tops and from what i gathered online it is more than possible to get a large, dense yield, you just need to make sure you dont outgrow your light.

A guy buy the handle Bezzin is in the middle of a T5HO grow, and to be honest it is looking QUITE promising, and he is going t5ho from start to finish...


----------



## moobyghost (Apr 9, 2010)

Pupu, great set up. It would be awesome if your timer could turn one light on at a time. That way you could have light that goes around in an arc like a sunrise sunset effect. When the lights come on it starts with one. Two min go by, the one above that comes on, repeat until all the lights are on and it is like the sun rising. It would feel more natural to the plants....that or i am totally baked. lol.

Either way, amazing setup.


----------



## SimplySmoked (Apr 9, 2010)

In my experience i've found that the t5/t8/t12, whichever, are very good for vertically mounting in a flowering chamber, but not as a primary light. As it has been mentioned, keep them to the clones and let some real lights handle your flowering needs. If you can't afford the HPS/MH lamps, then I would sudgest using 2+ of the big boy CFLs, per plant. (I belive they are a 65w bulb with 200w Eqiv.)


----------



## Boston's Best (Apr 10, 2010)

The quality of the cannabis is directly related to the quality of the fluorescent. T5's put off the most lumens per watt, so for the electricity you draw you get the most yeild. T5's are a great full term lighting source for flowering. Use the 6400/6500k (depending on bulb manufacturer) for veg and then switch out to 50/50 6400k veg and 3000k bloom bulbs for flowering. T5 still put of quite a bit of heat and are not air coolable, so plan on using an intake and exhaust fan to keep temps in control. Still, there heat output is nothing compared to HID lights. The only downside to T5 compared to HID is light penetration. The T5's don't throw light as deep as the HID's. If you keep your plants under 30" you should be fine. If you want to go taller, just throw some more T5 strips down below for coverage on the bottom buds.

If you consider T8's T12" and Compact Fluorescents, then the quality and yeild starts to come into question. CFL's really arn't cost effective enough. By the time you go to home depot and get all the cords and bulbs, at $6 a piece for the bulbs and $10 for the cord, to get the wattage you want to get the yeild you want, you should have bought a $150 4' T5 light. T8 and T12 can start seedlings, house mother plants, but not adequate for veg or bloom. Anyways if you ran 100w for T8 and 100W of T5, the yeild difference between the 2 would be substantial, with the same power usage.


----------



## jimbizzzale67123 (Apr 11, 2010)

I just did it because I couldn't use my HID at the time and it was good quality but very little in terms of quantity.


----------



## jimbizzzale67123 (Apr 11, 2010)

I just did it because I couldn't use my HID at the time and it was good quality but very little in terms of quantity.


----------



## oakgrowth1 (Apr 11, 2010)

This set up has 8 t-8's on the sides
& a 150watt hps on top
It started with the t-8's because they are cheap and available.
Then I realized how cheap the hps was ($80) and added it


----------



## KlosetKing (Apr 12, 2010)

oakgrowth1 said:


> This set up has 8 t-8's on the sides
> & a 150watt hps on top
> It started with the t-8's because they are cheap and available.
> Then I realized how cheap the hps was ($80) and added it


almost exactly what i have planned for my end setup, just going one step at a time


----------



## Pupu (May 12, 2010)

Hi evereybody. Long time no see.

My box is working just fine.. now are lited 15 tubes: 13 of 21Watts /1900 lumen/HE; and 2 of 39Watts/3100 lumen/HO 

As you can see from pics everything is looking great ..to bad that only one female was in a big pot.. 3 males went to hemp heaven ..and 2 other females are in really small pots (last picture.

Today is exactly one month flowering, one week 14/10 and three weeks 13/11.
All the buds are hard ..no popcorn bud.

Big plant is now about 16 inches.

one more thing... ABOUT COSTS: My setup was quite expensive.. I've could had two 400 watter setups with the money invested. 

I've wanted to explore the fluorescent side of growing ..push the envelope a bit.

PLS tell me your opinion on how is this plant looking for a 4 week flowering plant.


----------



## growone (May 12, 2010)

looks primo to me,at least the larger plant buds look good
cost is a negative, but as you say, it's more of a proof of concept
looks like there is plenty of spare space at the moment


----------



## Pupu (May 12, 2010)

Just one female got in the box being in the eight liter container. There is space for twelve containers, but I will only put twelve plants If they are small clones or seedlings.

Ideally, for flowering, they will be two rows of three plants planted in twelve liter pots, toped and trained with branches of each row pointing towards the laterals of the box.

I have a *big* disappointing ...twelve of the tubes, two HO & ten HE, are powered by Phillips electronic ballasts, 30$ each, one for every two tubes. My light meter shows 32k-37k lux for the 39W HO and 24k-27k lux for the 21W HE with the meter touching the plastic shield. The other three 21W HE tubes are powered by *Chinese* ballasts, 1.3$ each, one for each tube ...and my meter in the same position reads 29k-32k lux 

I am so curios about dry weight of the buds on the big plant.................. 

I have to get some serious seeds ..these are bagseed from a schwag with trillions of seeds. I have now a AK47 that was single in a bag of killer weed ..but anyway, here in eastern europe all the weed is "AK47" or "WW". 
I really wish some *Top 44* seeds ..I've smoked it last year in Holland and was a ton of laugh.

The box draws 360W total.


----------



## growone (May 13, 2010)

i can see why you mentioned high cost, that's expensive ballasts
did you order those, or buy local? of course that's water over the dam


----------



## Pupu (May 13, 2010)

Ordered on-line from a guy that is stealing them, i think, from his workplace. I paid "only" 110$ for 6 pieces.


----------



## growone (May 13, 2010)

that doesn't sound too bad, the $30 price must be the retail price$
i asked because i just bought a 4 tube fluoro electronic ballast, it was a GE
it was around $20, but that's in the USA at a Home Depot
still mulling a scrog, which was my plan, maybe in the near future


----------



## Pupu (May 13, 2010)

Indeed you can not compare prices between Europe & US.

1 gallon of gas is 6.5$ here

1Kwh is 0.15$


----------



## xMaYHeM (Dec 23, 2012)

10jed said:


> many people believe that the light spectrum from warm (2700K) floros will flower with better resin production. I think most will agree that cool or mixed spectrum floros are as good if not better than anything for veg.
> 
> the biggest difference in the use of floros vs HPS is that HPS does a far better job of penetrating the canopy, but with proper techniques you can keep the bulk of your bud sites at an even level and get very good performance from floros! The big advantage to floros is that you can place your plants as close as 3 or 4 inches from the bulbs, so for a lot of people who are working in a small space it is the only option. By proper techniques I mean scrog or lst, and when I say you can keep them 3-4 inches away from the bulbs, I'm saying that you should.
> 
> ...


Hm, so if I were to grow outside, but supplement the light during veg for 3 hours every night with a standard shop light, would it works to prolong veg? I have started my season late and want to still have a long veg time.


----------



## hotrodharley (Dec 23, 2012)

xMaYHeM said:


> Hm, so if I were to grow outside, but supplement the light during veg for 3 hours every night with a standard shop light, would it works to prolong veg? I have started my season late and want to still have a long veg time.


Depends. If plain T8 low wattage shop lights, probably not much. Are you planning on changing bulbs to grow friendly spectrum/temp? 6500 for veg.


----------



## xMaYHeM (Dec 24, 2012)

hotrodharley said:


> Depends. If plain T8 low wattage shop lights, probably not much. Are you planning on changing bulbs to grow friendly spectrum/temp? 6500 for veg.


Ideally I want to buy a decent light to pair with this shop light asap. Do you think $40 could cover it? I'm on a pretty tight budget.
I have 4 plants that have just sprouted two days ago, and I'm running them at 18/6 with 14ish hours of sunlight and 4 with this light.
I'm actually not sure what wattage this light is, because I found it in my back shed and it has no labels on it :O
The people that used to live here just left it.
The temperature where I've got them is at about 20 degrees C at nights, owing to the summer weather plus the little heat the my light emits.
Here's how I've got it set up right now! Is that fine?


----------



## ASMALLVOICE (Dec 24, 2012)

I use 2' 4 bulb 6500k T5 lights, and I love them for my Mom/Clone and Veg Cabinets. I can keep 10 seedlings in 1 gallon pots for a while and get very even growth. The plants react quickly to the distance the light is from the plant and you can damn near stretch/squish them to the density you want before you throw them into the world of HIDs
On a side note, they run right at 80*F on the top and make great heaters for cloning trays. My clones are loving the heat. Pic is grow under T5 at a little under 2 weeks from seed pop.


Peace and Great Grows

Asmallvoice


----------



## Hotshot123 (Nov 10, 2013)

I don't know, if they will be any better, but I will tell you in a couple of months. I am using a 72"x34"x48" space, with 6- 40 Watt 2700, 150. I am in my 3rd week of bud, with a Big Bud X Whitewidow and the plant is already starting to been over from the weight. I am using Coffee grands, and Maricle Grow. Wish I could send you a picture, it is the most adorable plant I have ever seen. Good luck.


----------

