its hard to learn when everyone says something different...

HI, Im having issues with learning about lighting.
I understand I need 5000k-6500k for Veg and I need 2700k-3000k for flowering.
so with that being said,,,, how many CFL watts per plant do you need???
do I have 1 150watt 5000k light...... or do I use 4 23watt 5000k lights..???

what would you reccomend....

what has worked for you in the past.


what I would really like to do is grow 2-3 plants.
I have 6 seedings with no where near enough light, Im thinking I started taking on a bigger project then I could handle for a begginer.

any advice would help

im no expert only 40 yrs outside growin but i am using 10 23watt cfls during and add a 150 hps for buddin iinside.the 10 bulb from top and a few around sides would work for smaller plants for you and be cheap too buy---i started with 4 fem plants and 10 reg seed so i am waitinng to sex them to remove males howeveer they are lr#2s and stay small.here is a pic of one i made

ML75 said:

HI, Im having issues with learning about lighting.
I understand I need 5000k-6500k for Veg and I need 2700k-3000k for flowering.
so with that being said,,,, how many CFL watts per plant do you need???
do I have 1 150watt 5000k light...... or do I use 4 23watt 5000k lights..???

what would you reccomend....

what has worked for you in the past.


what I would really like to do is grow 2-3 plants.
I have 6 seedings with no where near enough light, Im thinking I started taking on a bigger project then I could handle for a begginer.

any advice would help

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i was once told that with cfls you want like 100w per plant so like 4 23w bulbs per plant min. i dont use em personally but thats what ive heard.

more bulbs will spread the light around more evenly.

I use a combo of t8 and cfl in my closet. I have 3x 42watt 2 light t8 ballasts above the plants and I have at least 2-3 more 42watt bulbs hanging down for lower lighting. If you are going just CFL I would stick with either 23watt or 42watt bulbs. How many you need really depends on the size of your plants. CFL light only is effective for a couple of inches, so as your plants grow just look at them. Does it look like you have the plants covered in enough light? If not get some more bulbs.

Anywhere from one 23 watt (100 watt equiv) - 120 of them lol

Just save some money and buy a 250 watt HID on amazon you will get much better results for flowering I promise.

I have used one 23 watt CFL for one auto while vegging it... but I will never use a CFL to bud...

LittleT said:

im no expert only 40 yrs outside growin but i am using 10 23watt cfls during and add a 150 hps for buddin iinside.the 10 bulb from top and a few around sides would work for smaller plants for you---i started with 4 fem plants and 10 reg seed so i am waitinng to sex them to remove males howeveer they are lr#2s and stay small

Click to expand...

so you have 14 plants under 10 23watt cfl. ?

or you had 4 plants under 10 23watt cfl?


I do not have feminized seed either, I hope so bad mine ends up female. but its luck of the draw.

Depending on your grow space, for 6 plants, I would say you should just go with an hps light.

bamfrivet said:

I use a combo of t8 and cfl in my closet. I have 3x 42watt 2 light t8 ballasts above the plants and I have at least 2-3 more 42watt bulbs hanging down for lower lighting. If you are going just CFL I would stick with either 23watt or 42watt bulbs. How many you need really depends on the size of your plants. CFL light only is effective for a couple of inches, so as your plants grow just look at them. Does it look like you have the plants covered in enough light? If not get some more bulbs.

Click to expand...

yea I am chick and trying to keep it the least ammount of complicated I can. I am making a break through in actually learning more about the lights and spectrums and all that stuff..
the cfl only being effective for a couplf of inches is good information, I havent heard that yet.
what do you have your blubs hanging from..... I feel like Im missing something...
I literally broke the two lamps in my front room,,, smashed them open to have the cords on the inside.... and I have the lights hanging that way ... (let me take a picture) how do you have your lights hanging? I either need more cords... OR I need to order a 150watt blub.

just wanna add... I had more plants but ripped some out and the only plant that really looks decent in there right now is the dark green one in the back , the one right in the middle of all the lights.




I just found something simple and effective, a bulb splitter..... this will help me maximize my lighting issue without adding more cordes

Grumpy' said:

Depending on your grow space, for 6 plants, I would say you should just go with an hps light.

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yea I believe that and Im taking baby steps at the moment so thinking of getting rid of some of the plants. the only shitty thing is I do not have feminized seeds soooo if I raise 2 plants and they are both male then I will cry as I am starting over.

i also agree with grumpy u cant go wrong with hps ( GAURENTEED ) as long as u no what ur doin to a degree ! and maybe in a ideal world they wud get x amount of lumens for veg then more for flower but i just use 1 600 watt hps for everythink ! u can grow 6 plants with with a 600 watt hps,, if ur gonna do this then start off with the number one type of bulb ther is for growing bud ( HPS ) wattage up to you !
but i do 4 plants avg 2 ounces per plant under my 600 watter,, but the flip side to the goodness of hps is ( HEAT ) so then u will need extraction fans etc but any decent grower will use them anyway to extract stale air / smell / heat from there grow space !

hope this helps as the whole cfl thing i no nowt about, though some peeps grow exceptional bud with them ! peace !

Here's a whole forum devoted to CFL's. You'll find answers here and possibly woon't have to listen to everyone yapping about other lighting.

https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-fluorescent-lighting/

growing in sand?

wamedical said:

growing in sand?

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it appears so doesnt it, I should have explained.... the potting soil I purchased came with fungus gnats, so I had a really fun time fighting those off... NOT! a thick layer of sand above the soil is all that has helped.

I have a set up in a closet. So I just hand the lights down from the clothes rod that is in the closet and then twist tie it so it wont move around.

get some ys for your light sockets for now----will double your lights

im currently flowering 4 plants under 12 23w 2700k cfl. ive found that the plants will flourish well under them but the light penetration is so low that they cant be over two feet tall. There only three reasons i would flower with cfl's though. short growing area, cant ventilate alot of air, or dont have money. and even if you dont have money by the time you buy alot of cfl's and fixtures you could have bought a 400w hps online .(i did this lol) i cant say im unhappy with the quality of my cannabis but the yeild under my lights isnt very good. i have 2 more plants flowering under a mix of 2700k and 6500k cfl's, about 200 actual watts. there a little bigger. good luck happy growing , i hope this helps and is at least somewhat understandable...

iiibert said:

im currently flowering 4 plants under 12 23w 2700k cfl. ive found that the plants will flourish well under them but the light penetration is so low that they cant be over two feet tall. There only three reasons i would flower with cfl's though. short growing area, cant ventilate alot of air, or dont have money. and even if you dont have money by the time you buy alot of cfl's and fixtures you could have bought a 400w hps online .(i did this lol) i cant say im unhappy with the quality of my cannabis but the yeild under my lights isnt very good. i have 2 more plants flowering under a mix of 2700k and 6500k cfl's, about 200 actual watts. there a little bigger. good luck happy growing , i hope this helps and is at least somewhat understandable...

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it does help actually, thank you. and I found out the same thing.... al the $$$ I spending on lights and fixtures, timers, dirt.... I could have just bought a HPS light. its all good. live and learn.

Well I can't do private msgs. now , but apparently everything else works hopefully.
Here's the pictures: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/483276-first-grow-using-cfls.html