cfl lighting opinions

Please before I start the thread I'm not bashing CFLs more trying to understand why my results are so poor

Was hoping on using them for clones and veg before switching to HP's for flower but they just don't work for me!

So my clones just take ages and don't grow large, also the leaves don't seem to grow "proper", more like mutant.......similar to when youb re veg clones.

I'm using 5500, I know there not perfect but didnt think it would make tons of differance running 6 clones I had 250w real power, have the lamps real close but with a fan blowing

Is it something I'm doing wrong? I got feed up and switched to mh and they exploded within a week

Don't know. I used to run CFL and not optimal but worked great in veg....

As a hobbiest with a small CFL grow area, i have had good results. i use 12 - 23W mixed 2700 and 6500k lamps.

There doesn't seem to be much reason to use CFLs now with the prevalence of LED "lightbulbs." You can get 60w equiv (9.5w actual) Cree LED lightbulbs at Home Depot for $7. They produce 90-100 lumens per watt, whereas CFLs are in the 65-75 range. People have grown from veg to flower with them (although you need about 12 of them to flower in a 2x2 space. Managing alot of lightbulbs can be a problem. Although, there are also 18w Cree PAR38 spots and floods too. Fewer are needed.).

Anyway, for veg people use 1:1 ratio of 2700k and 5000k. In flower they use around 3:1.

invest in a HID setup. get a cheap digital 400 off amazon with the MH and HPS bulbs or something. CFLs blow!

CFL do not penetrate worth a damn. To have a good grow with CFLs you have to have a lot of them and have them positioned all around the plant. They arent worth the trouble. Get a HID lighting system, or LED system, otherwise you go spend a lot of money on cfls that never actually produce what you would get from a HID or LED for a lot less complications.