first i must say thanks in advance for any more help i get. just by reading these forums the last couple days i have gotten so much help, thanks. i want to grow 4 - 6 plants in a 3'x3' box hydroponically. i want to go with florescent for safety reasons but I'm not sure what i need, I'm looking at a 42w compact florescent bulbs suggested in another thread but I'm not sure how many i need.
light question
- Thread starter longbomb
- Start date
JRyanGT
Member
I have a similar sized tent and I used 23w CFLs and just built a chandelier type thing with 3 Y-splitters and four bulbs. I have a total of 14 CFLs for ten plants and a T5 for the clones. This is my 3rd grow using these lights and the plants seem to love it. As long as you have air moving over them, you can keep the bulbs within inches of the tops of the plants. I would use 6000k for vegging and 2700k for flowering. Good luck!
fabfun
New Member
u are way underpowered u only have 32.2 watts per plant u need like 3 times that
u would get higher yields if u stepped it up to at least double
u would get higher yields if u stepped it up to at least double
i'm looking at 3 2' sunblaster ho fluroescent units, specs here --> T5 24 watt Miniature Bi-Pin (G5) Initial Lumens ≥ 2100LM Mean Lumens ≥ 2000LM Voltage 120 V Rated Life ≥ 10,000 hours Nominal Length 565mm Color Temp (Kelvin) 6400K CRI ≥ 80 Mercury (Hg) content ≤ 3.0 mg and i'm gonna put in 4-6 42w compact fluroescents.the sunblasters should give off 6000 lm total of full spectrum light if i figured right.
JRyanGT
Member
The cfls are just for vegging. The ladies get spoiled with a 1000w HPS for flowering. Thanks for the input though! Any feedback is always appreciated.
@longbomb that sounds like it should be fine. Like fabfun said, more light will give a higher yeild and denser buds.
JRyanGT
Member
The cfls are just for vegging. The ladies get spoiled with a 1000w HPS for flowering. Thanks for the input though! Any feedback is always appreciated.
@longbomb that sounds like it should be fine. Like fabfun said, more light will give a higher yeild and denser buds.
jawbrodt
Well-Known Member
I was referring to the 42 watt CFLs. You have 9 square feet to cover, at 3000 lumens per square foot, minimum. That's 27,000, so shoot for 30,000+ lumens, spread it out evenly, and keep as close to your plants, as possible. Whichever light you choose,...the more you add, the better you will do,(proportionately) yield-wise.
jawbrodt
Well-Known Member
Yes,(for arguement's sake) but it's biased towards the blue end of the spectrum. 3000K is towards the red end, and is argueably the best choice for flowering. Both, is even better.