CFL Help

G

Gilden

Active Member
Hey guys I was wondering if a 6500K CFL that has a incandescent Watt usage of 23. It this enough for the vegetative stage of one plant?

I am trying to stick to CFLs.
 
jmac

jmac

Well-Known Member
u want 3 cfls about 1-2 inches from ur plant for best results 23 watt cfls should be ok but 42 w would be better. use daylight bulbs 6500k for veg and soft white for flowering
 
Careerforacityboy

Careerforacityboy

Well-Known Member
ehh......only one cfl?? definatlly gonna want more wattage. or at least in my opinion. but if u got money i would tell you to upgrade lighting.
 
G

Gilden

Active Member
So does everyone agree that I should get two more 6500K 23 Watt light bulbs for my plant?

Could I grow my plant in the vegetative stage with only ONE 42 Watt 6500K CFL?
 
backyardchem

backyardchem

Active Member
if you can, try to get some tube fluros, they spread the light out a bit more than the cfls, and then its less individual lights
 
G

Gilden

Active Member
I am really trying to keep it to one lightbulb.
I will spend the extra money if I only have to buy 1 lightbulb.

So is there any ONE lightbulb I could use for vegetative stage?
Would some kind of HPS work..?
 
jmac

jmac

Well-Known Member
hps and mh is the best but more money if u can go with the digital switchable mh/hps ballast
 
G

Gilden

Active Member
Can you give me the exact specs on what kind of lightbulb I should buy if I just want to use ONE light bulb..?
 
G

Gilden

Active Member
I have as much as I need to spend. But I only want to use one light bulb for the vegetative stage so i guess my final question is...

Can i successfully grow my plant in its vegetative stage with ONE 42 Watt 6500K CFL?
 
jmac

jmac

Well-Known Member
smoke2live u never want to use a reg bulb, just floros and hids.
well if u only want 1 bulb u need hps u can use it for the whole grow,if ur just growing 1 plant then go get 1 of those security lights and convert it or order online i would say at least 100watts per plant, but u can do more
 
homegrownboy

homegrownboy

Well-Known Member
1 CFL will not do any good unless you can get like an 80W or more bulb. I am using CFL's for my 1 plant and i have a total of 7 shinning down on her and she's growing very nicely. If you trying to grow cheaply these little cfl's do just fine. Make sure you have the lights surrounding the plant so it get's maximum penatration to all spots that are hidden by larger leaves. You will want the 6500K daylight bulbs...and throw in a cool white bulb for a little bit of mixed spectrum...my plant loves it so far.
 
DOT5262

DOT5262

New Member
ok lemme sum this up for you... you can grow with 1 bulb... but it wont get you shit... the more light you have is better.... ideally you want 10,000 lumens a small 23 watt bulb will get you... 1200-1600... so get atleast 3 a plant.. minimum...but then again cfls produce significantly worse results then a hps of the same wattage... if you have some extra $$ to spend then get the hps.. it is a much better investment and you will be much happier with the results in the long run... and you could veg alot more then 1 plant... hps will work for veg and flower... but you could always get a hps/mh system which runs both bulbs ... mh = better for veg hps = better for flower... but either one by itself will most likly give you better results then CFls ..... you can get a 400 watt system for around 80-170 $$ and it will put out around 40-55,000 lumens which is good for growing 4-9 plants ( good size ) ...... so basicly

incandescent = worthless will not grow
CFL = cheapest solution (weak) 10-20 bucks for bulbs for 1 plant
hps = good ( nice results) 150 bucks for better results for more plants
Hps/mh = very good results around 180-200 bucks best results

..... that being said cfl = best for cheap grows which will get decent results
hps = some cash but will have significantly better results ( better overall investment)
hps/mh = not necissary but will give you the best possible results
 
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