BIIIIG CFL's

i've just got some of these huge cfl's here in the uk, ive got 2 85 watt blues and 2 85 watt reds so far just because i got them with a 4 in 1 adapter, i'm jus bout to put them under the blue to start vegging but i plan on using 12 of these 85 watt reds in total on just one plant, a northern lights x big bud, all these in a 2x2x4.5 foot tent from reading these reviews of the big cfl's i'm getting all excited now lol granted i know mine aint the 250's but i'm planning on keeping them at close proximity to the plant and in total i'll have 66000 lumens :)
 

VanishingToaster

Active Member
i've just got some of these huge cfl's here in the uk, ive got 2 85 watt blues and 2 85 watt reds so far just because i got them with a 4 in 1 adapter, i'm jus bout to put them under the blue to start vegging but i plan on using 12 of these 85 watt reds in total on just one plant, a northern lights x big bud, all these in a 2x2x4.5 foot tent from reading these reviews of the big cfl's i'm getting all excited now lol granted i know mine aint the 250's but i'm planning on keeping them at close proximity to the plant and in total i'll have 66000 lumens :)

you'll have a heat issue with 12, and i'm still new but unless u plan on growing a tree thats a bit ott
 
you'll have a heat issue with 12, and i'm still new but unless u plan on growing a tree thats a bit ott
yeah the heat wont be a issue as i'll be using fans and thermostat, i guessed from the begginning that it would be more than i need but ive been reading up and it seems that a lot of growers prefer to use hps because of high lumen output, and my lumen output will be equal to that of a 550watt hps exept my light will surround the plant instead of jus be on top. i'm only trying this as io know i could jus go out but a 250 hps or summat and grow the plant under it with hardly any problems but i prefer more of a challenge lol plus i'll be buying a hps and a bigger grow tent later in the year anyway so i'll be able to use the cfl's to combine with a hps when i get to that point, for now tho i'm jus interested to know what cfls are capable of :-)
 

VanishingToaster

Active Member
lemme know how u get on with the 12, if it works well then its clearly all about the lumens, but they can have too much light and given the results i've seen with a lot less i dunno if the difference will be worth the cost, then again u might turn one plant into a veritable factory
 
lemme know how u get on with the 12, if it works well then its clearly all about the lumens, but they can have too much light and given the results i've seen with a lot less i dunno if the difference will be worth the cost, then again u might turn one plant into a veritable factory
will do, as my light fittings hadnt arrived yet ive found desk lamp that is the same fitting as the bulbs so using that for today untill i get the normal fittings arrive tommorro when i'll switch over , ive come across quite a few threads the last few days of people using similar setup just with smaller less powerfull bulbs and they look pretty sweet!
 

Kevin A

Active Member
I saw a bulb just like that at Lowes for 19.99.

I also didnt know that Lowes sold HPS lights(50w-400) for around $21-$28. Just a little FYI

I bought a 65w*2700k today from Lowes and it was HUGE lol. I also spent almost a hour in the light section. I had my eyes set on the lower wattage HPS and MH bulbs but I stay true to CFL's with my grow
 

BlazedMonkey

Well-Known Member
I saw a bulb just like that at Lowes for 19.99.

I also didnt know that Lowes sold HPS lights(50w-400) for around $21-$28. Just a little FYI

I bought a 65w*2700k today from Lowes and it was HUGE lol. I also spent almost a hour in the light section. I had my eyes set on the lower wattage HPS and MH bulbs but I stay true to CFL's with my grow
Lights(bulb)but not the ballast unless im mistaken correct?
 

Kevin A

Active Member
Lights(bulb)but not the ballast unless im mistaken correct?
Yeah man. I couldn't find any type of ballast and its hard to get help when you cant actually say what your there for. I wanted to soooo bad. Damn I wish there was a local Hydro Shop I could go to lol
 

jdmcwestevo

Well-Known Member
yeah the heat wont be a issue as i'll be using fans and thermostat, i guessed from the begginning that it would be more than i need but ive been reading up and it seems that a lot of growers prefer to use hps because of high lumen output, and my lumen output will be equal to that of a 550watt hps exept my light will surround the plant instead of jus be on top. i'm only trying this as io know i could jus go out but a 250 hps or summat and grow the plant under it with hardly any problems but i prefer more of a challenge lol plus i'll be buying a hps and a bigger grow tent later in the year anyway so i'll be able to use the cfl's to combine with a hps when i get to that point, for now tho i'm jus interested to know what cfls are capable of :-)
not to sink your ship or anything but plants do not respond to lumens that is a common misconception. plants see and use PAR spectrum of light. lumens are just a scientific meassurement of light seen to the human eye. lumens dont make any difference to plants. just because a light setup is equal in lumens to another does not mean that you will have equal results.

i dont mean to say that you wont have good results, because by surrounding the plant equally you will most likely have awesome results for CFL lights. just thought some insight to clear that up might help a bit
 

carnage11

Active Member
I've seen the 74w HPS lights at Home Depot. They are in the outdoor security lights section. From what I could tell, they don't sell the HPS bulbs. They do carry MH bulbs and an 80w MH light fixture. The prices at Home Depot looked a bit steep, though.
 
not to sink your ship or anything but plants do not respond to lumens that is a common misconception. plants see and use PAR spectrum of light. lumens are just a scientific meassurement of light seen to the human eye. lumens dont make any difference to plants. just because a light setup is equal in lumens to another does not mean that you will have equal results.

i dont mean to say that you wont have good results, because by surrounding the plant equally you will most likely have awesome results for CFL lights. just thought some insight to clear that up might help a bit
yeah :-) dont worry my ships un sinkable when it comes to learning new things that will help :-) tho i had allready read this in a couple of places, only reason i speak about lumens is because they seem to be about the nearest proportionate measurement to explain the useable output from the bulbs; since bulbs dont give PAR measurements on the packaging which i guess is why the majority of ppl use lumens.
Heres a little brief explanation on PAR i found on the net for anyone that hasnt got knowledge ot it:
Photosynthetically active radiation, often abbreviated PAR, designates the spectral range (wave band) of solar radiation from 400 to 700 nanometers that photosynthetic organisms are able to use in the process of photosynthesis. This spectral region corresponds more or less with the range of light visible to the human eye. Photons at shorter wavelengths tend to be so energetic that they can be damaging to cells and tissues, but are mostly filtered out by the ozone layer in the stratosphere . Photons at longer wavelengths do not carry enough energy to allow photosynthesis to take place

aaaanyways got my baby under one 85 watt 5500 lumen 6400k bulb for the moment will get some pics up soon as the proper light fittings arive today :-)
 
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