first cfl grow help

chimera012 · May 13, 2016

Hi guys so i decided to start my very first grow completely diy built
the box is made from hardboard painted in flat white paint
the bos size is 700mm by 700mm by 700 mm
the light reflector and hood is also hard board and white
im using 3x 80mm inlet fans and 3x 80mm exhaust fans
with 3 120mm fans inside for circulation connected to a 200watt powersupply

im running
7x 14watt warm white cfls lights 900lumens each (total 6300)
1x 23 watt warn white 1200 lumens
4 x 20 what soft white cfls R1250lumens each(5000)
190watts total

total lumens for diy grow light =12500

do i have enough light for the set up?to flower?
i have 4 1 gallon pots growing very good bag seed i had.
the photo attached is at 5 weeks veg.they seem small!

feeding"
day 1=sea kelp
day 2=nothing
day3=6-1-3 fert
day4=molasses
day5=nothing
repeat

what results can i expect?
want atleast 200grams

vostok · May 13, 2016

Wow...!

imo/= I'd raise that power unit of the floor and even attach it to the roof

these plants are gonna get big, be ready for that the real issue here..

the lights are to far and of the wrong color, ensure the bulbs are 50/50

warm white and cool white bulbs for correct internodal growth

once this is done you may wanna super crop or list even fim for yield

tho you are feeding well the plants photo motor can't keep up

imo just feed one item one time per 5 days, unless you go hps

to my blog on the members cfls arrays

https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/a-collection-of-diy-ghetto-blasters.30154/

above all lower them bulbs to within half an inch of the tips

good luck

chimera012 · May 13, 2016

Thanks for he info.i have raised the plants by adding a cup under each plant.now the plants are within 7cm of the lights. i plan on adding another 10 15w cfls adding a total of 9000lumens to the grow. that would be a total of 21000 lumens .will that be necessary or is the lights i have now enough? here in SOuth africa HPS and MH are just way over priced with out shit economy.

i have topped each plant twice so they each have 4 main branches now

+GoodVibes+ · May 13, 2016

chimera012 said:
Hi guys so i decided to start my very first grow completely diy built
the box is made from hardboard painted in flat white paint
the bos size is 700mm by 700mm by 700 mm
the light reflector and hood is also hard board and white
im using 3x 80mm inlet fans and 3x 80mm exhaust fans
with 3 120mm fans inside for circulation connected to a 200watt powersupply

im running
7x 14watt warm white cfls lights 900lumens each (total 6300)
1x 23 watt warn white 1200 lumens
4 x 20 what soft white cfls R1250lumens each(5000)
190watts total

total lumens for diy grow light =12500

do i have enough light for the set up?to flower?
i have 4 1 gallon pots growing very good bag seed i had.
the photo attached is at 5 weeks veg.they seem small!

feeding"
day 1=sea kelp
day 2=nothing
day3=6-1-3 fert
day4=molasses
day5=nothing
repeat

what results can i expect?
want atleast 200grams

View attachment 3680722
View attachment 3680723

I'm a new member myself but I believe the the question you may receive will be what are your temps and humidity and the answer may be (Depends on your experience) I have never asked this question myself but with my little time on here that's the usual.

chimera012 · May 13, 2016

current temp in the grow box is 26C .the 3 intake and exhaust fans are working hard.not sure of humidity .its winter here in SA so i leave my garge door open to cool the room the box is in

+GoodVibes+ · May 13, 2016

chimera012 said:
current temp in the grow box is 26C .the 3 intake and exhaust fans are working hard.not sure of humidity .its winter here in SA so i leave my garge door open to cool the room the box is in

Sorry I can't be of help but in no time a more experienced grower will help out

mean.green · May 13, 2016

Lumens per sq foot: the sun produces 10,000 lumens per sq ft. You need a minimum of 2,000 lumens per sq ft to grow. Ideally you want 10,000 lumens per sq ft.

mean.green · May 13, 2016

chimera012 said:
do i have enough light for the set up?to flower?

You could always use more light. The more 2700k bulbs the better.

chimera012 said:
what results can i expect?
want atleast 200grams

.6 grams per watt is achievable for your first grow. 1 gram per watt is probably not going to happen.
.5 gram per watt with CFL's and your doing ok.

chimera012 said:
i have 4 1 gallon pots growing very good bag seed i had.

12 inches of grow per gallon of container minimum.
if you think you will have a 36 inch tall plant at the END of flower, then you need a 3 gallon container.

The plant will DOUBLE or TRIPLE in flower.
If you flip a 12 inch tall plant: it could very well reach 24 inches or 36 inches.

chimera012 · May 14, 2016

well currently my box is 2 square foot. with 12500 lumens so i should aim for 20000 and that will be enough?

mean.green · May 14, 2016

chimera012 said:
20000 and that will be enough?

Perfect!

But, your box looks bigger than 2ft by 1ft.

If your box is 2ft by 2 ft that equals 4 sq ft. you would need at least 12,000 lumens to grow and ideally you want 40,000 lumens.

chimera012 · May 14, 2016

mean.green said:
Perfect!

But, your box looks bigger than 2ft by 1ft.

If your box is 2ft by 2 ft that equals 4 sq ft. you would need at least 12,000 lumens to grow and ideally you want 40,000 lumens.

thanks bud.as far as size of the plants right now..around 15cm should i consider staring flowering cycle or veg longer? im going to buy the extra lights today.will bump me up to 22500 lumens and 320watts total

mean.green · May 14, 2016

chimera012 said:
will bump me up to 22500 lumens and 320watts total

Awesome! I am also growing 3 plants, but I am in a 3x3 space (9 sq ft).
Here are some pics from day 36 of flower, if you interested. I use 450w 2700k CFL's and 375w 6400k CFL's (total 825w) = about 57,000 lumens.

chimera012 said:
thanks bud.as far as size of the plants right now..around 15cm should i consider staring flowering cycle or veg longer?

If you want to grow in the box then you have to measure the box from floor to roof. measure the lights and subtract it from the total. measure the distance from topsoil to 2 inches from light bulb. and that is biggest plant you can grow.

EX: Your box is 60 cm tall. You light is 10 cm tall plus 2 inches from canopy. The pot is 12 cm tall. 60 cm - 12cm - 12cm = 36 cm is the biggest plant you could have. Hope this helps you figure it out

chimera012 · May 16, 2016

thanks for all the help everyone.will keep you updated.i have bought the extra 10cfls for another 12000 lumens...my last question is should i add them to my grow light with the existing bulbs or more use these 10 for around the plants?

chimera012 · May 23, 2016

so i started flowering one week ago and the stretch has begun.good news...they are all female!iv added 4x 15watt cfls for an extra 3600 between the middle of the plants and still have another 8 15 watt cfls to hang on the side walls. it will bring me up to 24000 lumens total and 320watts worth of lights

chimera012 · May 23, 2016

oh incase people are wondering why i used so many 15watts well its simple.
here in south africa ...
15wat cfls are R18 each (1.14USD) and give 900 lumens=60lumens per wat
23 wat cfls are R58 each(3.69USD) and give 1250lumens=54 lumens per wat

so 15s are by far cheaper and actually better lumens per wat

chimera012 · Jun 18, 2016

SouthAfricanHaze · Jul 28, 2016

Hey what's up man, I'm still new here and been reading a lot. I have a 800 mm x 800 mm grow space and 5 x warm white 2700k cfls ( consisting of: 15W x 4,18Wx 1 & 15W x 1 ). My initial question is... Will this be enough light for one single plant? ( NOTE!: I'm growing in a bed cubboard. )
Ps. South African too ayah!!!

Thanks in advance!

first cfl grow help

chimera012

Member

vostok

Well-Known Member

chimera012

Member

+GoodVibes+

Member

chimera012

Member

+GoodVibes+

Member

mean.green

Well-Known Member

mean.green

Well-Known Member

chimera012

Member

mean.green

Well-Known Member

chimera012

Member

mean.green

Well-Known Member

chimera012

Member

chimera012

Member

chimera012

Member

chimera012

Member

SouthAfricanHaze

New Member

Similar threads