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How many cfls to grow one plant

J

Jibblerjoe

New member
I want to use cfl to grow from seedling to about month old, till I can move under hps. How many to get good veg growth? Any input on cfls
 
The more the better but you can start out with just one 40 watt or a couple of 23 watts on a seedling for the 1st week or so but as it grows you'll want to add more. By a month old it's a good idea to have 4 40 watt daylight(6500) bulbs or 6/7 23 watts on your plant. You could squeeze by with less but it wouldn't be optimal. GWE has some great info on growing with cfls.
 
Start out with the light about 4 inches above your seedling for the first few days, then you can get closer, maybe 3 inches. Keep cfls close to your plants.
 
Put them close together so you can get around 5000lumens per square feet. So around 3 or 4 CFLs of 43 watt should do per square feet of LIGHT EMITION. then subtract by inverse square law how far away you can put them. I recommend no more than 7 inches away and not less than 2 inches close as long as you want your plants to grow. They need some space between light to grow and stretch so put canopy just an inch below your "sweet zone" so the plants fill it up.
 
Right now I use 100 watt bulbs (equivalent watts, 1600 lumens each) on my autos. Start with 1, after week or so go to 3, then as plants spread out 6, and keep adding to cover every bit of growth with light kept 1 to 2 inches away. May not be what is suggested, but I have seen some really nice growth with the 100 watt bulbs. Also switch from daylight bulbs to soft white when flowering begins. 🌻
 
Jibblerjoe, I use four 55 watt CFL for each planter (like the 'Bubbleponics' set up), two of the bulbs are 2700 deg. K and the others are 5000 deg. K. These bulbs cost around $13 - $14 each. I'm working on a reflector design that will fit my grow space (reflector 21" x 21") and have 24 - 23 watt CFLs for a total of 552 watts. I plan to use a 50/50 mix of the 2700 and 6500 bulbs in the new design. The 5000 - 6500 deg. bulbs are great during the vegetative grow, but you will need the 'red' spectrum of the 2700 deg. bulbs during the bloom phase.
Here is the latest photo of my current grow.
Good luck,
IMG_1160.JPG
 
Rock, how big is your grow space? I use CFL and some U-bend fluorescents I cannibalized from a phototron a friend gave me. Thought about switching U-bends to 23w cfl but they run hotter and I already struggle with heat. My space is small, 2X2X4.
 
I just bought 14 bulbs (30watt) half and half in color for just 35usd. There was a promotion. I'm building my next light. Its gonna be 100cm x 50cm and it will contain 20 bulbs (a minimum of 600watt) and 4 fans there are 5 square foots in there. So I need between 40 000 to 50 000 lumens TOTAL. I'm recreating the bad boys t5 light. Check it out to get an idea
 
I just bought 14 bulbs (30watt) half and half in color for just 35usd. There was a promotion. I'm building my next light. Its gonna be 100cm x 50cm and it will contain 20 bulbs (a minimum of 600watt) and 4 fans there are 5 square foots in there. So I need between 40 000 to 50 000 lumens TOTAL. I'm recreating the bad boys t5 light. Check it out to get an idea
 
#P.uravidaC, I'm not using a tent. I have an open circular cage lined with mylar and with bamboo poles to attach CFL fixtures. Heat is never an issue, and I grow autos exclusively indoors. I would attach a pic, but not sure how to do this on a comment. Not sure if you will even see this....forums are relatively new to me.
 
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