question about lighting

johnnieblaze420

johnnieblaze420

Active Member
if i veg for 3.5 weeks under blue spectrum light, white spectrum light, and reddish 15 watt t8s, will i be fine flowering with the same lighting setup or should i change the bulbs to all red spectrums? or is the fact of the matter that flowering only needs 3500k or less and veg needs 6500k or more? really not sure if i should be buying new bulbs or not. thanks for the help in advance.

by the way at the moment im using 2 24 watt pc lights, one a combo bulb of actinic and daylight. one is a "grow" bulb.
and 4 18" 15 watt t8 bulbs, (plain cheap fish tank lights)
 
T

T.H.Cammo

Well-Known Member
Since you already have a 4-tube T5 fixture, the "most ideal" combination of tubes for growing is as follows:

3 6.5K (Daylight) tubes to 1 2.7K (Warm White) tube. That's 3 "blue spectrum", to 1 "red spectrum", for vegging.
3 2.7K (Warm White) tubes to 1 6.5K (Daylight) tube. That's 3 "red spectrum", to 1 "blue spectrum", for flowering.

Vegging uses primarily 6.5K tubes and flowering uses primarily 2.7K tubes - but this combination of the two spectrums provide the best that both have to offer. In actual fact, your're not just getting these two color temperatures (6.5K and 2.7K), there is also a fair amount of the "nearby" spectra as well.
 
johnnieblaze420

johnnieblaze420

Active Member
so basically ive bben using more of a flowering light setup for vegging and now since im switching to flower i should just leave it the way it is.?
 
DeeTee

DeeTee

Well-Known Member
Sorry to jump in, don't mean to hijack your post but came across it and got me curious, can we use 50/50?
 
T

T.H.Cammo

Well-Known Member
johnnieblaze420 said:
so basically ive bben using more of a flowering light setup for vegging and now since im switching to flower i should just leave it the way it is.?
Click to expand...
The terms you used in your first post are a little ambiguous. "Red, white and blue" spectrums (spectra?) are not very exact; it is much more meaningful to use specific color temperatures ( such as 6,500K or 2,700K). These are the two color temperatures that provide the best spectra for growing. Anything else may be a step in the right direction, but its still just a wanna-be 6.5K or 2.7K.

Sorry if I sound like a color temperature snob, but even the CFL makers play fast and loose with "word"descriptions. I've seen 5K CFL's labled as "Daylight", yet they still emited a faint orangish tint. Flourescent lights aren't that powerful to begin with, all thier power should be directed at producing the most PAR light possible!

Anyway, my point is - I'm not sure what color temperatures you have been using.
 
T

T.H.Cammo

Well-Known Member
DeeTee said:
Sorry to jump in, don't mean to hijack your post but came across it and got me curious, can we use 50/50?
Click to expand...
I'm sure that would work OK. A ratio of 3-1 or even 2-1 (in favor of the proper spectra) just produces a slightly more balenced amount of useful light.
 
johnnieblaze420

johnnieblaze420

Active Member
thanks for the useful info everybody. im gonna keep everything the way it is. maybe ill post some pics once the lights come on.
 
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