question from noob

Hey guys I know this is a stupid question but should I get 125 watt cfl or 250 watt cfl??????? I am getting a very small grow tent and will only be growing indicas and will be using roots organics soil and nutrients------thanks appreciate any feedback

more light energy = more end product.growing in a tent is great. inexpensive to enrich with CO2 and vent air in an out. take some pix so we can see how ya made out

Yea, the more light the better. However, I bought a 300W equivalent CFL once and I found it was too big to fit in my lamp hoods. At first I thought it was defective and then I realized it wasn't screwing in all the way which was causing the problem because it couldn't get a connection. Afterwards, I decided to go with three 100W equivalent lights instead but, hey, do what works for you. If you can find a hood for a 300W equivalent light, I'd say give it a shot. Walmart and the Home Depot all carry the huge CFLs if you want to use them.

go here ----->https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/343070-low-wattage-cfls-vs-high.html

It's a thread on RIU that explains it all. Pay attention to Lumen to watt ratio.

I'd look into an array of smaller CFLs instead of a few big ones. You can spread your light out much better, and the smaller ones have more light output per watt.

CFLs have very little light penetration, big or small, and if you have 1 big light, it will cover just a small area of your plant, whereas if you used 3 or 4 smaller ones in place of the 1 big one, you can spread that light over more areas of your plant.

And smaller ones are like 1/4 the price of the big ones per watt.

Are we sure we're talking real wattage here? I always get suspicious when someone mentioned a 250W CFL bulb.

Gary Busey said:

I'd look into an array of smaller CFLs instead of a few big ones. You can spread your light out much better, and the smaller ones have more light output per watt.

CFLs have very little light penetration, big or small, and if you have 1 big light, it will cover just a small area of your plant, whereas if you used 3 or 4 smaller ones in place of the 1 big one, you can spread that light over more areas of your plant.

And smaller ones are like 1/4 the price of the big ones per watt.

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This advice is right on the money. I have some 125W's and a 200W and they are a pain in the ass -- efficiency aside, big fixed-position bulbs are impossible to really take advantage of.

I'd get a bunch of 42W's, 4 per plant on tops and sides and you're golden. Keep'em close.

They do make them up to 300 (actual) watts. The biggest I have ever used were the 68s, and they are huge.

42s seem to be the popular choice among many CFL users. And they're not too big either.

wbd said:

Are we sure we're talking real wattage here? I always get suspicious when someone mentioned a 250W CFL bulb.

This advice is right on the money. I have some 125W's and a 200W and they are a pain in the ass -- efficiency aside, big fixed-position bulbs are impossible to really take advantage of.

I'd get a bunch of 42W's, 4 per plant on tops and sides and you're golden. Keep'em close.

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Gary Busey said:

They do make them up to 300 (actual) watts.

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Yeah I know, I just get suspicious when newbies claim to have/be looking at them is all. All too common folks claim their equivalency wattage.

I never got why they look at the incandescent equals when talking about weed growing.... Incandescent lighting does not grow pot very well. I tried like 20 years ago.

wbd said:

Yeah I know, I just get suspicious when newbies claim to have/be looking at them is all. All too common folks claim their equivalency wattage.

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Gary Busey, I bought a "Plant" light from the Home Depot before I knew anything. Afterwards I was pissed because it was a incandescent flood light that simply had blue glass on the exterior of the bulb. Talk about a joke.

I bought one of those once from Walmart, total waste of money. It was nothing but a 100 watt heat lamp.

easyrider23 said:

Gary Busey, I bought a "Plant" light from the Home Depot before I knew anything. Afterwards I was pissed because it was a incandescent flood light that simply had blue glass on the exterior of the bulb. Talk about a joke.

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