cfl's and flowering - GreenPassion.org - Dedicated to Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation and Education

ddank1 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-01-2009, 04:50 PM

Cfl club, i must be home! So heres my question i'm gettin ready to start flowering i'm useing a 65watt cfl security light from home depot. My girls loved it vegin i'm hearing that you don't yeild as much flowering though. Any truths to this?

Pullo · #2 (**permalink**) 05-01-2009, 05:12 PM

In very general terms yes, it is true.
Also I don't think 65watts is going to deliver the results that you are expecting, unless of course you have low expectations. Make sure that you are using the correct color spectrum bulb. During the flower cycle 2700 Kelvin (warm light) is better then 6500K (cool). The addition of an additional 65 watt light would help too.

take care and good luck,

Pullo

pine boy · #3 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 08:04 AM

Your best bet with cfl's is going to be low wattage, lots of bulbs and short plants.you can grow some wieght with this approach.I was told by a few people that Mary Jane has to have H I lights.I'm stubborn and grew well with cfl's.I'm also certain that if I had 500 watts of cfl's and did a side by side grow with 2-400 watt hps.the results would be simular with more trics on the hps grow.I dont have the space to test this tho.
I dont see much benifit in the large cfls...all the advantages come from multiple points of light,keeping em close and the proper spectum.I favor 27 watt bulbs.
Ddank you could add some dangling bulbs like in this pic.
Good luck

justanotherbozo · #4 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 08:32 AM

pineboy is right on the money. CFL's bin berry berry good to me! lol

as a CFLer myself i've learned through my own experience that the smaller
wattage bulbs, 23 watts to 30 watts, work best, and for the reasons already
given by pineboy.

Pullo is right about the spectrum too, when you're ready to flip you'll want to
run mostly red or warm light (2700Kelvin and lower).

here are a couple of pics of a light setup you can put together for about
$20.00 plus bulbs, and the 23watters are often sold in 4 packs for under
$10.00.

i've also included a couple pics of some buds i grew with nothing but CFL's.

pine boy · #5 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 08:48 AM

Right on Bozo,My 1st innie was in a 90degree crowded cabinet with 6 bulbs and some fans .I was so stoked with the outcome.I'm working with a hps right now and am kicking around some ideas, leaning heavy on cfl's.
I

em

justanotherbozo · #6 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 09:03 AM

i've been using nothing but CFLs for a while but about 3 months ago someone
sent me a link to a place named Econolite where i was able to pick up 2x 150wtt
HPS lights for $20.00 USD each and i just couldn't pass them up. unfortunately,
they've since been discontinued.

so now i'm working on a new cab to house them in in a DIY cooltube. i want
to see if my buds really do grow better, lol.

but even if they do out perform my CFLs, i'll still use 'em for vegging as they
do a wonderful job and for short money.

SomeDude · #7 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 09:10 AM

I picked up some 42 watt (150W equiv) cfls at a local hardware store for about $9/ea

pine boy · #8 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 09:29 AM

I have 2 of the 42 watt bulbs too.I fit them in my vanity fixtue over the shorter plants..
Bozo... Are you going to drop the 150's vertical?I really want to do a multiple bulb ,low watt,Hps grow but I have no money for the gear.

justanotherbozo · #9 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeDude

I picked up some 42 watt (150W equiv) cfls at a local hardware store for about $9/ea

i've used them myself but, like pineboy said, the lower wattage bulbs have
3 distinct advantages.

first, they are more cost effective as you can often find them in 4 packs for
as low as $6.99 USD (the 23watters) which gives you a total of 92watts.

second, because CFLs are low intensity light you need to have them close to
the plants and the 23watters run cooler than the 42's. strictly speaking, that's
not entirely true as 2x 23watters will run hotter than 1x 42 but, because the
heat is spread out across 2 bulbs, the heat is more evenly distributed.

which brings me to the third advantage in that many small bulbs will give
you many points of light that you can have very close to your buds rather
than just one or two.

i do still have a few 42s but, as they die, i replace them each with 3 or 4
23s or 26s, it just seems like more bang for my buck.

SomeDude · #10 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 09:44 AM

don't forget the flat white paint or mylar

justanotherbozo · #11 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pine boy

I have 2 of the 42 watt bulbs too.I fit them in my vanity fixtue over the shorter plants..
Bozo... Are you going to drop the 150's vertical?I really want to do a multiple bulb ,low watt,Hps grow but I have no money for the gear.

no, i'll be putting them on either side of a DIY cooltube i'm putting together.

heres a pic of the cab and one of the cooltube (2 hurricane glass' and a rubber
piece i found in the plumbing department of Lowes).

i'm planning a SOG in 33oz DIY 'pots' aka Smartwater bottles, lol. the floor of
the cab fits 11 rows of 5 bottles and i already know from past experience
that i can average a minimum of 12 grams dry per bottle so this should
yield about 2 zips per week, hopefully a bit more.

1hitter · #12 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 10:10 AM

I have my first grow going right now and it is all cfl so far so good.

Hey Bozo, I would like to see some pictures when you get that set up going I have been thinking about doing sog or scrog have not made up my mind yet.

justanotherbozo · #13 (**permalink**) 05-02-2009, 10:23 AM

high man, you can be sure, when the cab is done and in operation, i'll be sharing
my progress here in hopes of giving back what was so freely given to me.

in any event, if you are looking for yield, SOG is your best bet as a properly
run SOG will out-perform any other indoor method.

the problem with running a SOG is that, even with a med card, you'll always
be over your legal plant number limit.

anyway, here are some pics of DrBudGreenJeans work, he's been growing for
nearly 30 years and he has inspired many many people.

btw, if you'd like, i can put up a link to one of his threads, he posts over at
ICMag but, at the moment, he's recovering from triple bypass surgery so he's
not posting much right now.

DixieHicky · #14 (**permalink**) 05-03-2009, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pine boy

Your best bet with cfl's is going to be low wattage, lots of bulbs and short plants.you can grow some wieght with this approach.I was told by a few people that Mary Jane has to have H I lights.I'm stubborn and grew well with cfl's.I'm also certain that if I had 500 watts of cfl's and did a side by side grow with 2-400 watt hps.the results would be simular with more trics on the hps grow.I dont have the space to test this tho.
I dont see much benifit in the large cfls...all the advantages come from multiple points of light,keeping em close and the proper spectum.I favor 27 watt bulbs.
Ddank you could add some dangling bulbs like in this pic.
Good luck

My first grow was with a flo. I got buds, but they were light and fluffy. Plenty potent, tho. I was using a four tube (two cool, two warm) from Home Depot sold as "grow/aquarium"
I dont remember what the wattage was...pretty low, tho.

Dixie

pine boy · #15 (**permalink**) 05-03-2009, 12:02 PM

Yeah Dixie,The buds I have now are fluffy.They were grown under cfl's untill a month ago. I put them under a hps to finish but they are still fluffy. I think they are hungry for something.Prolly Potasium.I also have 4 indicas next to them and they feel like rocks.
Oh and welcome to the site Dixiehicky.Its good that your here

justanotherbozo · #16 (**permalink**) 05-03-2009, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieHicky

My first grow was with a flo. I got buds, but they were light and fluffy. Plenty potent, tho. I was using a four tube (two cool, two warm) from Home Depot sold as "grow/aquarium"
I dont remember what the wattage was...pretty low, tho.

Dixie

if you run that fixture with 4x cool bulbs during vegetative growth you will grow
shorter plants with a much shorter internodal length, then, when you flip to 12\12,
take out 3 of those cool bulbs and replace with 3 warm bulbs and you will get
bigger, tighter buds. (they'll never be as big or as tight as HPS buds)

CFL's can also be added to give you more light, it really is true that the more
light you have, the more bud you'll get.

here are a couple of pics of something that can be found very easily and for
short money too.

CoNtRoVeRsIaL · #17 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 03:42 PM

This is my first time indoor, growing, wanted the 400watt hps, but because im renting and cant make any major adjustments to the house (FOR VENTING) i decided to grow in a 55gallon Drum,

My cfl's are working nicely,

justanotherbozo · #18 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoNtRoVeRsIaL

This is my first time indoor, growing, wanted the 400watt hps, but because im renting and cant make any major adjustments to the house (FOR VENTING) i decided to grow in a 55gallon Drum,

My cfl's are working nicely,

if you're growing in a drum you might find this interesting.

CoNtRoVeRsIaL · #19 (**permalink**) 05-07-2009, 01:06 AM

seen those b4 somewhere, they look awesome,

ive never fully grasped how they did the first and 2nd picture, any explanation?

THERES NO CENTER! so wheres the main branch??

justanotherbozo · #20 (**permalink**) 05-07-2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoNtRoVeRsIaL

seen those b4 somewhere, they look awesome,

ive never fully grasped how they did the first and 2nd picture, any explanation?

THERES NO CENTER! so wheres the main branch??

sorry, here's a few more that should help explain the way it's done.

that first bunch i posted is from 2 different versions by 2 different growers
but the concept is the same.

i'd be happy to try and explain further if you need, actually, i might be able
to find a link to a grower using his version, only thing is, the original post is
in polish.

there is a partial translation also but only partial, about 60%.

lol, anyway, i'm rambling so, like i said, if you have questions, ask away.

btw, the original poster responsible for this gray unit is named 'framster' and
he is the person who deserves the credit for his ingenious build. i'm pretty sure
he's a member over at cannabis.com.