CFL? For a spare room

northwest13

northwest13

Member
im gonna use a spare room for growing using 2 different spaces 6ftx6ft for veg and blooming plan on growing about 5 plants and have them veg another 4 weeks to get them bigger for a better yield can anyone post some pics or ideas on the best way of doing it i have great value 23 watt 100W equivalent day light doing the 18/6 and for flowering Basic Spiral CFL 26watt 100W equivalent also from walmart
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
The problem for you is your bulb temps. Look on the box or package and they are 2700K. You need 6500K for early seedling, vegging. Go to Lowes. Wal Mart never has 6500K lights available. Buy a cheap bowl reflector and a bulb for each plant.
 
mmj92

mmj92

Member
Individual bowl reflector is what I would do. Remember you will need alot more light than that by far to flower, I run 4,000 watts of hps to flower 16 plants or if I'm using my cfl setup like you saw in my pictures I run 800w for those 5 plants surrounded by mylar
 
Astral Zoom

Astral Zoom

Active Member
def get a few 5000k and 6500k for veg. a few lower ones like you have (2700ish) can stay in the mix. I like to have about 3-4 5000-6500k's for every one 2700k bulb

so a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio... as they grow.. and be sure to have them very close to the plants and have them arranged all over the tops/sides of the plants. Bc cfl light lumens cant penetrate worth a damn.. but if you surround the plant wit them and are pretty close.. oooohhhh boooyyyy game time. at least for cfls anyway...
 
cheechako

cheechako

Well-Known Member
The beneficial light from CFL drops off pretty quickly. I recommend many small CFLs rather than one big one. If you run a T5-HO fixture with a really good reflector, that is different, although you can still supplement with CFL.

Some people use the "bowl" reflectors. Most of the light comes from the sides of the bulbs, so other people just hang them from extension cords in between, above, and around the plants.
 
northwest13

northwest13

Member
k for veg 2 125w 6400k day cfl above with bowl reflectors and for sides 125w 6400k day cfl around the plant and one in the middle will that work also if you use mylar do you need reflectors?
 
mmj92

mmj92

Member
northwest13 said:
k so 2 125w 6400k cfl above with bowl reflectors and for sides 125w 6400k cfl around the plant and one in the middle will that work also if you use mylar do you need reflectors?
Click to expand...
Yes I would use mylar. You can geta roll that is 50 feet long by 4 feet wide for only $20 off amazon.
I would do 2 125w 6400k cfl 5u lights on top and hang one 125w 6400k 5u light in the middle using a vertical light socket. I would use the bright wing reflectors for the top. Temp shouldn't be a issue in that big of a room, just run a oscillating fan for air circulation
 
Bakatare666

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
I don't think you realize the proximity to a plant that the CFL's have to be, in order to be effective.
I believe it will take a lot more CFL's to cover a 6x6 area than you are aware.
Here's a recent pic of my 1 plant, in a 2x2 area.jan21pic7_zps51018f3e.jpg
 
Bakatare666

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
On 3 of them, yes.
I just started throwing things together one day, and adding to it, been too lazy to take everything out at the same time and start over.:wall:
 
cheechako

cheechako

Well-Known Member
Foil is not as reflective as our eyes think it is, and can create hot spots. However, due to the quick fall-off of CFL light, I'm not sure those are issues. I wouldn't recommend it if you're using HID, though.
 
Bakatare666

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the tip, I know, and I'm not having problems with it.;-)
I'll try to get motivated enough to change it before I veg for next season, but I'm just gonna finish this one out.
 
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