200w led or 200w cfl?

jman23

Active Member
if you have to choose go with the cfls for one there cheaper and you can space them out good around the plant witch means better bud sites with the leds just on top you would maybe get one good cola
 

RC7

Well-Known Member
Cfls for small stealth grows, High output florescent lights like t5s are best imo you get like 92 lumens per watt compared to like 60 with cfls. One of the best lights are the t5 badboys... Hps is the most optimal light for indoor growing i believe but if you do not want to deal with heat go with T5's..... you can do very well


edit: forgot to add Forget the led's they are simply not worth the money. Too expensive and many of the lower quality ones break often from what i've heard. They produce the same results as cfls so you might as well go with Cfls for alot cheaper.
 

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
Well, it depends on the space and how many plants you want to grow. CFLs are good in a pinch. I use them as supplemental lighting with my UFO 90, which probably is more like 60 watts, but it's in a 2 X 2 Mylar lined closet + 4 cfls used as side lighting.

Most led mfgs flat out lie about actual wattage; you are lucky to get 2/3 of what they say. One honest retailer is Hans. His company is www.growled.eu. PSUAGRO just started a thread with one.

Unlike 400w hps, HO T5s have no radiant heat. You can keep them within 3" of the canopy. Where hps shines is in the broad G/Y/O/R spectrums. All easily duplicated with various aquarium bulbs.

I use an 8 bulb BadBoy. (432w) It's been high 80s here for over a week, and will stay that way or hotter until mid-late September, and the grow area has no ac.

Combining Wave Point Coral Waves + ZooMed FloroSuns + UVL AquaSuns/RedLifes/660 easily equals the spectral output of a hps 400 without the radiant heat, while covering an entire 2 X 4 area.

The twin ballasts are pretty warm. I would not recommend using an 8 bulb in a tent with a sealed top. Now you could cut out the top and get some insulated foam boards to semi cover (retractable roof). My DIY tent does not have a top so the hot air rises. Still I am blowing a fan over it
 

Moebius

Well-Known Member


Unlike 400w hps, HO T5s have no radiant heat.
If this is true then why say this;


The twin ballasts are pretty warm. I would not recommend using an 8 bulb in a tent with a sealed top. Now you could cut out the top and get some insulated foam boards to semi cover (retractable roof). My DIY tent does not have a top so the hot air rises. Still I am blowing a fan over it
I have T5's, three of them (2ft 4 bulb for cloning, 4ft 4 bulb for mums, 4ft 8 bulb for veg). They put out heat LOL.

T5 and phat/dense buds. Not a phrase youll hear together often. Buy a dimmable HPS and never look back. IMO
 

mrjerky

Active Member
Here's what CFL and LED combined got me/ the last pic is the Kraken; still going strong and on track to produce well over an onion of manicured stank bud. The rest totaled around 3 and a half. Good luck on your efforts and don't let them discourage you, there is potential with CFL. I admit not what you could achieve with HPS but still not a waste of time.
IMAG0065.jpgIMAG0061.jpgIMAG0066.jpgthe kraken.jpg
 

brewing up

Well-Known Member
i have 2 X 70w hps here but im using a 125w and 2 X 45w red cfls, there in a small cupboard with a light breeze, would the hps's be better or just crisp my plants up and burn the cupboard down? would i need another fan or an exhaust?? :-/
 

Moebius

Well-Known Member
i have 2 X 70w hps here but im using a 125w and 2 X 45w red cfls, there in a small cupboard with a light breeze, would the hps's be better or just crisp my plants up and burn the cupboard down? would i need another fan or an exhaust?? :-/
Youll be needing an exhaust fan. Plus a small fan to blow the heated air directly above your plants. For a small cupboard I would recommend either a cooltube or aircooled hood.
 

brewing up

Well-Known Member
what if i cut a hole in the top and placed a usb laptop fan over it to suck the heat out?? the front will be open a little also for the fan to blow fresh air at them :-/
 

bluntmassa1

Well-Known Member
you would have done a lot better with the hps hands down but that aint to bad for someone who don't smoke a lot of weed I would be lucky if that lasted me 2 weeks and the overall quality is down as yield per watt hps is the most efficient as it produces bigger and tighter nugs
Here's what CFL and LED combined got me/ the last pic is the Kraken; still going strong and on track to produce well over an onion of manicured stank bud. The rest totaled around 3 and a half. Good luck on your efforts and don't let them discourage you, there is potential with CFL. I admit not what you could achieve with HPS but still not a waste of time.
View attachment 2189298View attachment 2189297View attachment 2189299View attachment 2189300
 

brewing up

Well-Known Member
sweet i think ill try the hps's then with a cfl maybe, i need a cheap extractor fan thats easy to set up for the heat now lol :-/
 

Hipster2U

Well-Known Member
Actual current draw on leds is about half of rated capacity. LED manufacturers are not "lying" about their watts: industry certification requires that the manufacturer state the capacity. You should know that led's generally run at half capacity to extend the life of the diode. They do however lie about the so called "equivalent". Or you could say "exaggerate".

Your 200 w CFL is going to draw the full 200W. The 200W led is going to draw about 100W and be hella bright.

So the advantage of the leds is lower electric bill and less heat for the same light. downside of course is the high initial cost of the unit. If you can open the vents and ports on your tent, if smell is not a problem you'll find that you don't need extraction fans and the cooling fans in the led create enough breeze that you don't need an oscillating fan.
 

Moebius

Well-Known Member
.....the led create enough breeze that you don't need an oscillating fan.
You need oscillating fans either way. An oscillating fan is essential for strengthening the stem of plants through stress and blowing 'stale' air away from the area around the leaves.
 
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