Can it be done?What is an ideal level of light?For cfl flowering, is it really more of a "as much light as possible" thing?After adding up the specifications, my grow box is approximately 3ft tall, and 2ft wide, 1.5 ft long.I could, hypothetically, (without buying anything) get approximately 500 watts worth of CFL light. Would that be enough for such a small area?

Yes, CFL's can & do flower buds. CFL's are great for your size area.

CFL's still produce heat and you'll need at least a 100CFM exhaust fan, an oscillating fan inside and possible a 100CFM forcing air into the cabinet.

One option in growing in a small space is training the plant or bending it. Keeping it low and bushy.

Mylar on the walls helps.

Veg with a couple of 85W CFL's and if they're not too hot, then add a 3rd when changing over to flowering.

I'm sure some small cabinet growers here will give you some good advice.

Blue has you moving in the right direction

I love CFL;s and have had plenty of success as have many other growers with way more experience than me.

This is what you need to study if you really want to know what to do....yep study not a casual read....it will answer all the questions you didn't even know you had yet about CFL;s

Please read these.

CFL Tutorial

CFL PRICES and General INFO

after that bit o' homework we can communicate much more effectively about your grow and how many watts you want.

but to get started

watts are a measure of power usage
light bulbs use that power to make two things
heat and light
we need a certain amount of light (measured in lumens usually) to get the growth you want
not all bulbs give the same lumens per watt
when you know how many lumens you want (5,000 per ft2 is fine)
and
How many lumens you have (we need to know the manufacturers specs for this or we can estimate)
then
we can see if the lighting is up to the job

that is the one methodical way to go about it

but if you do it that way you will be anwering questions about CFL's in no time.

It is a learning curve but not that steep and we are all here to help.

ps if you not into this simpy post the specific bulbs you are using and I will caculate it all out in a post for you.

pps the short answer is yes you probably have enough light.

what the heck let me do it out

canopy size 2ft x 1.5ft = 3ft2

you want a minimum (not ideal just the minimum) of 3000 lumens per ft2

you have 500watt of cfl

the efficieny of cfl's varies and in general lager bulbs give more lumesn per watt
but I think you safely say you will get 55 lumen per watt minimum

so

55 lumens per watt x 500 watt = 27500 total lumens

now you want to see how many lumens per square foot

27500 lumens / 3 ft2 = 9166 lumens per ft2 not just ok but ideal

next is the issue of light spectum/color/or temperature of the lights? let us know if you want to talk about that?!

yea they flower look at mine. They work great. fun fun.

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For some reason I did a lot of research on CFLs and not as much on PAR, amps, watts, and lumens...

I heard somewhere that you nead about 1000 lumens per plant, and another site said it was ALL about wattage, and there is a minimum wattage per plant. Here is my lighting setup-

1 Surge Protector mounted in the top.(six sockets)
I originally was going to have the surge protector power 3 100w equivelent CFLs. Since I remembered the 1000 lumen minimum, I made sure I got the bulbs (with over 1000 lumens each.) If I remember Correctly, I got 3 3500k and 3 5000k bulbs.
I bought some apapter light socket thingies and have the bulbs anchored to the ceiling.
BTW I put thought into your training idea, SoG kind of. I really thing it would complicate things and I'd rather not have to veg for 3 months... I'm seriously thinking about lowryder autoblooming genetics. Their average height is 12-16 inches, and that would put them about 3 in from the light.
Plus it would give me a fun goal on genetics... Try to make a larger-yield lowryder... "BB Lowryder"


I'm going to experiment with some bagseed. Kind of play around with the nutrients and lighting that I have now and try some urban legends on making plants grow better...

BTW I also got some lamp splitters, rated for 100W each. I could plug them into the surge protecter, and get 2 bulbs per socket, but I probably wouldn't try getting more than 6 1000 lumen bulbs on the surge protector and timer until I double check their ratings...

As far as temperature, it's about 80 degrees with the lights on and 70 during dark. Humidity is about 40 percent when I mist regularly.

How many lumens do you think I need?
Right now I'm running close to 2200 lumens. They just got their second set of leaves. The temperature is about 80 degrees when I leave the lid slightly ajar. The Humidity is 40% when I mist twice a day.

I have two "White" 3500k bulbs and 1 "Daylight" 5500k bulbs. About 1000 lumens each.

And yes, I made a reflector out of soda cans... I cut the tops and bottoms off, slit the side, glued a thin strip of posterboard to the back, and pulled the aluminum into a slightly wider 90 degree arc. I glued them to the roof of the box, around the surge protecter/light fixture.

Let's take a look

[quote=chaos420;89515]For some reason I did a lot of research on CFLs and not as much on PAR, amps, watts, and lumens... and who would? you are just tryin' to grow some plants

I heard somewhere that you nead about 1000 lumens per plant I think 1000 lumens per plant is perfectly fine if not ideal for a smaller indoor plant, and another site said it was ALL about wattage, you can do it that way if your comparing HID's and you know their general efficiency...but if you are comparing HID to CFL to Incandescent...well that is like comparing apples oranges and peaches and wattage is not a useful guide and there is a minimum wattage per plant. Here is my lighting setup-.

1 Surge Protector mounted in the top.(six sockets)
I originally was going to have the surge protector power 3 100w equivelent CFLs. this is always easy to confuse....don't think in terms of equivilent watts...when this term is used it is equivelent to a regular old incandesent bulb...and 1000 watts of of incandesent is plenty of light for the house but not for the plants. Multiply the actual watts of a CFL by a factor of 55 and you should see the minimum lumens that bulb can give off. Since I remembered the 1000 lumen minimum, I made sure I got the bulbs (with over 1000 lumens each.) If I remember Correctly, I got 3 3500k good for flower but could be lower and 3 5000k bulbs. 5000k is kind of like an inbetweener ok for flower or veg but not ideal for either....but it will work you don't have to get rid of it and get new lights.
27000k ideal for flower - looks redish
65000k ideal for veg - harsh white light
I bought some apapter light socket thingies and have the bulbs anchored to the ceiling.
BTW I put thought into your training idea, SoG kind of. I really thing it would complicate things and I'd rather not have to veg for 3 months... I'm seriously thinking about lowryder autoblooming genetics. Their average height is 12-16 inches, and that would put them about 3 in from the light.
Plus it would give me a fun goal on genetics... Try to make a larger-yield lowryder... "BB Lowryder" perhaps your LR will be fine...I may have become a bit of a strain snob since I started growing my own.


I'm going to experiment with some bagseed. Kind of play around with the nutrients and lighting that I have now and try some urban legends on making plants grow better...sounds fun and most urban legends have some relationship to an actual botanical principle.

BTW I also got some lamp splitters, rated for 100W each. I could plug them into the surge protecter, and get 2 bulbs per socket, but I probably wouldn't try getting more than 6 1000 lumen bulbs on the surge protector and timer until I double check their ratings... when it comes to electricity I just make sure it's safe

As far as temperature, it's about 80 degrees with the lights on and 70 during dark. Humidity is about 40 percent when I mist regularly. this sounds good

How many lumens do you think I need? see my earlier post or the tutorials I suggested...for a canapy of 3 ft2 1500 lumens minimum should be sufficient especially if the plants are very short and the lights are very close
Right now I'm running close to 2200 lumens. are you sure? if the bulbs are equivelent watts instead of actual watts it is hare to see how they kick out that many lumens...does the manufacturer rate the lumens that high?They just got their second set of leaves. The temperature is about 80 degrees when I leave the lid slightly ajar. The Humidity is 40% when I mist twice a day.

I have two "White" 3500k bulbs and 1 "Daylight" 5500k bulbs. About 1000 lumens each.

And yes, I made a reflector out of soda cans... I cut the tops and bottoms off, slit the side, glued a thin strip of posterboard to the back, and pulled the aluminum into a slightly wider 90 degree arc. I glued them to the roof of the box, around the surge protecter/light fixture. I envy the mechanically clever. [/quote]

sounds like you have a plan - start a grow jounal with us if you would like and let's see how this all goes. PS pics help get better/more specific advice if you are looking for that kind of feedback

good luck and wishing you the best on this.

The bulbs are all about 1400 lumens... so I'm really running 3200 lumens. How far away should the bulbs be from the plants? the surge protector is anchored to the roof, but I could aways get some 6-inch extension cords I saw at LOWES to lower them... Or raise the plants or something. Right now they're about 8-12 inches away.(These are 24w CFLs, and look at their lumens-1650 https://earthaidkit.com/buy/ecobulb23wcfls.php )My other benefit for the Lowryder- no change in light needed, so I can keep varying stages of growth in the same box for a perpetual harvest...
Also, I read my bulbs. I have 2 6500k and 1 2700k bulb in the case right now. Is that a fair portion? I plan on adding more, one at a time, as they grow. Right now they're still babies...

As close as possible without the plants touching (except for tender spouts) I find the hand a good guide. Put your hand the distance you want the plants to be and see if it feels warm or hot...hot is bad....you can also put a thermometer at the top of the plants growth...if the temp is getting over 85F then they are too close...also you can have your circulation fan flowing over the lights carrying the heat away. plant grow fast at times so you also want to keep enough space so that they don't grow into the light while you are away shopping or something..

I am very excited about this grow...I hope you can show us that perpetual grow with LR2 can be a good choice.