CFL vs FLORO vs HPS

when buying a cfl what wattage do you look at? was looking at some online and came across this "The 23 watt spiral uses 75% less energy than a 100 watt incandescent" so does this mean its equal to a 100 wt? just wondering what kind i need to buy. plan on using them for veg?

great post (prob. tired of hearing) this should be sticky in all forums grasscity, cannibis.com, everyonedoesit.... so people sticky this EVERYWHERE BTW,you saved me from going cheaper with the flo and now im stickin with the hps probly

I'm enjoying following this, but I'm now quite confused. Would these results also apply to T5HO tubes? I'm almost considering going CFL instead. Which to choose...

Interesting.. can't wait to see the end results.

Big, awesome thread (I know I've said that before). I am impressed by the difference between the HPS and CFLs. Seemed like the CFLs had the early lead but the HPS is starting to show it's form now. "And down the stretch they come......"

ok update time again. these are 15days into flowering. all the tubs are at the same PPM(1200), water temp(67 +/- 2), and ph(5.7-6.0).
really dont think i need to tell yall whats what but i will anyway.
pic1 CFL, floro, and HPS left to right
pic2 same as 1 but i put the same cloning gel i used in older pics for scale
pic3 floros plants roots
pic4 HPS roots
pic5 CFL roots
also what do yall think the reason for the roots turn yellowish this early could be from? i have pretty of air pumps/stones, and the water stays well uder 70. i added alil liquid seaweed extract to the mix about a week ago to help the floros roots out some, and i hope that is why. the CFLs and HPS plants didnt need it but trying to keep things fair and balanced i gave them some aswell.

Nice. The HPS is really taking off, quite unlike that sorry one under the tube. Speaking of which -- what are the fluorescent tube's specs?

just plan ole 4' 40watters from walmart as for the color temp im not sure

hi mate great thread. i have never posted before and i apologise just now if i shouldnt have posted in your thread . i am was wondering if the cfls are the same thing as envirolites. the envirolites come in 125w & 200w and 6700k + 2700k. if you had 5 of the 200w do you think that it would have beaten the hps all the way to the end.

very interesting

Thanks mate, nice to know. You're doing us a marvellous service!

mmmm.zzzz..z, I find this quite interesting ...zzZZZ

I wonder how it would've done if you used a T5 instead of regular tubes cuz I think most people (the more serious growers) would be at least using the right type of lighting...

According to what I've heard, nothing touches a good HPS for flowering. Still have yet to try myself though...

the3bigbad, Thanks man, we need more info from experiments. I use spiral CFLs, 85Watts, both red and blue spectrums, and I am very pleased. I am a closet grower (pun) and a STEALTH Grower, and I can touch my CFLS. I keep them 1-1/2 inch from the top of the plants and I have to raise them twice a day ! YEP, 2 to 4 inches of growth a day!
I did an experiment with Air Stones, I had two identical 6 planter buckets (see my pics in grow room) and in one bucket I had one small 4 inch circular air stone and in the other bucket I had two 12 inch long air stones .! (air stones from the Aquarium Dept) Wow at the difference. In the 9th week, the plant that did nto have an air stone under it was 18 inches shorter than the other plants. My next grow will have the bottom of the buckets lined with air stones. OXEGEN is very important to rapid growth!

How do you tell whether or not cfl is red or blue spectrum.
I can not find a listing on packages.
I have 3 42 watts and they are 2700k (red)
I am in veg.
Where can I find 6500k cfl's (blue)
I mean what should it say on the package.

I would like to buy at lowes or Walmart.

mine say "daylight", I have seen some that say "cool".

when in doubt you can go to the manufacturers website for details

a'men roseman, air is huge. the more the better. all ive used are the cheapo air stones from walmart and the air curtains. i love the curtains. but i wondered how well the round stones worked. youve got some great lookin plants in your gallery, what strain are they? and how many total lights are u useing?

+rep on this post, but dont u think the wattage is a lil unfare, the 1000hps vs. 78cfl vs. 80, do u think they should be more evenly matched. except for the floros, i wouldnt waste anything more on them. all in all this is by far the best post i have seen in a long time, but u havent updated it in a while. i was wondering how did all the plants do??

i updated just yesterday, and yeah i know its kind unfair pitting 1000watts vs 80ishwatts, but i used what i had extra. and ive got almost all i need to do a 1000watt CFL vs 1000wattMH veg /1000wattHPS flower now. i didnt start out planing on going to the end with the lights like this, but i did anyway. i started this to see what worked better for veg/clone (CFL or floros, but i had an extra HPS so i used it to) and if you hadve asked me a few months ago what i thought was the best light for veg or clones i wouldve said HPS, but not anymore. i let these plants get way to big but untill the very end of veg the lil CFLs (78watts) were kickin the hell outa that HPS(1000watt).

nice experiment quite interesting. do u stick to the hps for flowerin still or is it cfl all the wall??