ORECAL
Well-Known Member
thanks for helping me explain.... i don't really know a lot about CFL's I dismissed them pretty quick when i realized how many I would need. I decided to go with a single 400W HPS instead.
I have a LIght question,,Please someone help
- Thread starter floydfanx6
- Start date
WoldofWeedcraft
Well-Known Member
Yea I just wanted to see what I could do with them, plus they are much cheaper than HID lights. It's looking nice though, I'm about 1 week from harvest. The buds are really fluffy. If you want your weed to be dense like commercial bud feels, then HPS is gonna be the way to go. I'm going HPS next time for sure.
floydfanx6
Well-Known Member
Ok i read the FAQ page and i think I understand the CFL's i need to get,,,and even how to make the reflectro out of the can which is fine.. But heres the part I need major help with from any of u guys. I will bring an extension cord into the closet, with a surge protector. How do i plug The CFL's in? they fit into any socket right? but how can i mount them cheaply after i buy them tell me exactly what i should do with the lights, Should i mount the surge protector,,and the bulbs will go right in??? that doesnt sound right
floydfanx6
Well-Known Member
Ok Y connectors,,i guess is that connects the bulbs to the socket which is fine.. But how to put this shit over my plants,,, thats what i dont get,
floydfanx6
Well-Known Member
I dont want to make a grow box,,i dont have to right?? i can just devout my closet to growing,and line it with aluminum foil,,thats what i plan to do the first time
floydfanx6
Well-Known Member
Orceal can u go to the live chat room so i can took with u in there,,it would be a million times quicker then posting every time,,,i really appreciate your help,,,,there a lot of conflicting stuff out there,,,i understand what to do now.but i got a few tweaks to ask,,,,one weird thing the paper towel method- i read your supposed to put it in a dark place,,but on this site in the faq's it says to put it on a tv or cable box,,,,,lol,,i have mine in a dark place for 30 hours and i got squat. Again,i only wanna grow 2 plants so is the closet ok,no grow box? cheers!
ORECAL
Well-Known Member
there are many internet sites, I don't recommend that, many people on RIU use them and have no problems, I personally just don't trust it. other than that your basically down to bagseed, or getting seeds from a friend. you can get a good online seed bank by using the search, but I know RIU itself is only promoting NIRVANA seeds.
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
Hmm bits and pieces of correct info in this one.So first off to keep it simple and cheap.To veg dont waste the money on the cfls get a simple 4 foot shop florescent tube light costs about $12 with bulbs.This will veg 8 plants easily.You want the blue spectrum or what is called 6500 k or daylight. Then if you wanna use cfls to flower you will need a minimum of 6 bulbs per plant in the 2700 k red spectrum as this induces the flower stage.The cost of all the bulbs will be more then a single 400 watt digital switcahble ballast setup after also buying the sockets,y splitters,surge protectors and reflectors. Each cfl should go into a pan reflector with a clip so it can be positioned.You will be moving all the lights daily so set time aside a few time s a day.Also you say you had 150watt cfls I assume you mean equal to 150 watts or do you mean you bought the $60 14 inch ling actual 150 watt cfls sold by hydroshops? Biggest a local hardware store gets are actual 65 watt which are equal to a 300 watt standard incandescent bulb.To hang the lights you have to have hooks or make a frame to clamp the light to aroud the plants.CFLs tend to get pretty hot and with so many heat will be a thing to watch.A florescent tube shop light can touch the tops and be perefect cfls your gonna have to move them close but not so close they burn from thier heat.3 inchs from plant maybe.A simple 400 watt switcable setup makes it easier,cooler,and cheaper all around and save time and increase yield 300% alnog with shortening the grow time
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
lol I hate cfls excpet to use them in my housew to save money for my real HID lights lol although florescent shop lights are great for vegging.Nice T8s or T5s
ORECAL
Well-Known Member
thats exactly what I do, i use the smallest CFLs i can get and replaced all of my reg bulbs in the house, it pretty much exactly made up the new usage of my HPS light. if fact, my monthly usage still dropped a lil bit.
WoldofWeedcraft
Well-Known Member
I used the full spectrum grow CFLs to veg, and mixed the orange and blues during flowering. I was told that having a mixture of orange and blues would be better than just doing all orange.
I know a T5 would be best for veg, followed by HPS for flower. That's definately what I'll do next time. This CFL experiment was just my first noob attempt to indoor, and I spent less than 90 bucks on my fixture. I had priced the HPS's at my local hydro store, and I would have had to spend 200-300+ to get any HPS fully equipped with ballast and everything. I've seen a few links on here where there are some cheaper ones, but I've read that those are mostly old products that potentially won't last as long. So yea, I took the cheap way out and got what I paid for.
I know a T5 would be best for veg, followed by HPS for flower. That's definately what I'll do next time. This CFL experiment was just my first noob attempt to indoor, and I spent less than 90 bucks on my fixture. I had priced the HPS's at my local hydro store, and I would have had to spend 200-300+ to get any HPS fully equipped with ballast and everything. I've seen a few links on here where there are some cheaper ones, but I've read that those are mostly old products that potentially won't last as long. So yea, I took the cheap way out and got what I paid for.
floydfanx6
Well-Known Member
1)OK Listen lol i appreciate all the info but answere this if i get 2 cfl's 1 red and 1 blue,,42 watt,i would like to use it during the veg stage,,,and then add 1 more light maybe during flowering,,,reducing light to 12 hours. i do not want to buy 6,,,3 at max im sure itl work but i know i wont maximize my crop,,but for this time i will use 3 cfl's the whole time. for veg and flowering
2) I will run an extension cord from my surge protector. The Extension cord will dangle down right next to the plants. Since i want to do this cheaply i have to do it this way. When i position the 3 cfl's near my plant,,how do i make the reflector dish cheaply,,in the growfaq,,it shows u show to make a reflector out of the coke can,for each individual light.....i think once i get these 2 things down,,i can do this,,and not pay a forune anymore thanx
2) I will run an extension cord from my surge protector. The Extension cord will dangle down right next to the plants. Since i want to do this cheaply i have to do it this way. When i position the 3 cfl's near my plant,,how do i make the reflector dish cheaply,,in the growfaq,,it shows u show to make a reflector out of the coke can,for each individual light.....i think once i get these 2 things down,,i can do this,,and not pay a forune anymore thanx