(1) 125w cfl or (5) 26w for 5 plants to 8''

Figured I get a response here since this is technically cfl starting related and not outdoor... yet. So... If I only want to veg indoors until 8'' and have 5 plants which option would give healthier results? Thanks

im a newbie, but i'd guess multiple lights would be best since you can position each light individually around the plants

For the power you are using with that, get an HID...
If you must, use the 125 as canopy lighting, and a few smaller cfl's as side lighting. 8 inchins is 5 inchess too much for the CFL to reach the bottom leaves effectively...
I vegged with 2 105's, and one they were 3 inched, immediately switched to MH, and I will never go back to CFL other than for supplemental, and seedling/clone lights...

Thank you both. So you're saying I would be better off getting a 150w mh setup? I don't want to spend too much $ indoors because I'm going outdoors...

Sorry dude, misread. MH would be best for the guys once they are a couple inches and have a few sets of leaves, but CFL will do fine for an 8 inch plant, but I do recomment a conopy of 125, and maybe 4 side lights...

i agree with superman. 1 big one and some smaller ones. im using a 43w and 4 26w and they are doin fine. And ya im doin cfl all the way but when i get a bigger place and some more money ill be getting a 400w hps (about 200 $) for flowering. But just for veging cfl's are all you need.

sirus420 said:

i agree with superman. 1 big one and some smaller ones. im using a 43w and 4 26w and they are doin fine. And ya im doin cfl all the way but when i get a bigger place and some more money ill be getting a 400w hps (about 200 $) for flowering. But just for veging cfl's are all you need.

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Yes, I wouldn't consider anything less than 400 for indoor if I was doing it that way, but I wound up getting a 125w+reflector/socket for 80. Hopefully this will work good enough in a traditional 5 plant square space to bring them 6-8'' within 2 weeks or so...

It won't work for them up to that size, you will need some more. I have 2 105's and they were not enough once the plants get a bit bigger.

Thing is, CFL's don't get much spread. The light is a good light, just does does not get good coverage at all. At 8 inches high, the plants will be in fairly big pots, as a result, will be spread out a good bit. As a result, more, smaller lights are needed to complete the coverage, that's all....

mannurse801 said:

It won't work for them up to that size, you will need some more. I have 2 105's and they were not enough once the plants get a bit bigger.

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OK, I just cancelled the order for the 125w cfl package. I'll shop around for a cheap 150-175 mh ballast kit. This will take my worries away for sure. I appreciate you saving me some headaches man

Thinking over again... For 5 plants and only 5500L I'd probably have results I wouldn't like even for shorties... So this is good, problems are being weeded out.

Looking over my carrying bag I have 12'' of height to work with tops (measuring at the top of the 16oz cups). I was under the assumption that I could get 6''ers safely homed inside a 16oz cup . Do you or anyone else agree?