Would a 20 Watt CFL be enough for one plant?

Hello all, first time grower here.

I germinated my seeds to great success and have recently planted 2 inside and 1 outside (hidden, of course). I, being irresponsible and half-assed, took it for granted I could use a incandescent. Well, since I just put the seeds into the potting soil today, I was trying to rectify the problem. Scouring around my domicile led me to one 20 watt CFL, which is about 1300 or so lumens if I am correct. Is this enough for just one of these plants? I know I should probably get more, but cannot as of now. I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, if I put the CFL real close to one of the little seedlings it will grow, at least better than the shitty incandescent would.

So, do I absolutely positively have to get more than just this CFL for one plant, or would it work at all? I'm gonna go scour around the house for more of these nifty little bulbs.

one cfl will work for a seedling but if you want to yeild more than a gram you will need to get a bunch more cfls

primeralives said:

one cfl will work for a seedling but if you want to yeild more than a gram you will need to get a bunch more cfls

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Ah, I see. How many watts? I hear of people using 65W CFL's for one or two plants, would that work?

EDIT: I seem to have found like 5 24 inch 17W fluorescents hanging around here since my brother used to be an aquariophile. Would those work if combined with the 20W CFL, and if so how many of them would I need? I'm thinking 20W CFL + two or three 17W fluorescents. Keep in mind it's just one or two plants.

Course I'd have to figure out a way to actually set this up, but it's better than nothing.

Can't you get anything bigger? You'd be better off placing your plant by a south facing window... even if you live in greenland (j/k). Seriously though, you want at least 150w of flouros for one plant. Should get you a decent yield.

get a 125 or 250w envirolite. everyone was saying that they are crap but my plant is looking ace! only about 20[gbp] and super cheap to run.

about to buy another but in red spectrum so ill keep you posted how they do during flowering

i have 2 cfls 1 blue spec and 1 red spec. and my plants are doin brilliant

crompy said:

i have 2 cfls 1 blue spec and 1 red spec. and my plants are doin brilliant

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What wattage are your CFLs? And does the spectrum color matter (ie is it absolutely necessary to get red/blue specs at certain stages during growth to ensure buddage?) As was stated earlier, I'm only trying to "get my feet wet" and grow some regs so by August or so I'll have something.

Any suggestions other than more CFLs? Currently I have 2x 17W fluorescents over the plant, with the 20W CFL a few inches directly above it. Sprouted two leaves since I turned the lights on last night!

I'm not sure of the color range of the CFL, but I'll have to check when I get home (at school now). Does the color range matter much? I hear it's different for vegging/flowering states, but is it crucial?

Thanks for helping a nub out.

Them envirolite are the shzit. That one dude on here has a smokin grow with them. 25 days flowering and they look incredible. Wish I remembered the guys name.

crompy said:

i have 2 cfls 1 blue spec and 1 red spec. and my plants are doin brilliant

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Wattage?

Pics?

You might grow a small plant but you won't get a bud big enough to make a joint from.
you need two different spectrums, the blue for GROW or VEG and a red for FLOWER or BLOOM. The spectrums are measured in "kevins" sort of a heat measurement. . If you go to Frequently Asked Questions here, you can find a chart of how much light is needed for one plant.
The red spectrum is your cool white or soft white, a cream colored bulb.
The blue spectrum is BRIGHT White bulb.
You need 65 to 90 watts of full spectrum for one small plant, or two 42s will barely do. I use 5 85 watts but I grow big plants and big bubs, look at my pics here:
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/12679-almost-7-weeks-flowering-54-a-3.html

Good luck,

I've currently got the only sprouted plant inside a small aquarium-like glass box, with two 17watt fluorescent 24's over them, and the 20watt CFL directly over it, maybe 6-8 inches away. Should I work on getting another CFL or more than just 1 more? Would it be possible to just use one or two CFL's on the plant (if they were a combined total of 100+ watts)?

And when you say "a combined total of 65 to 90 watts of full spectrum", do you mean 1 65-90w red and 1 65-90w blue?

Any suggestions on exactly which bulbs to look for?

All help is appreciated, thanks.

At the very minimum I need the

I've currently got the only sprouted plant inside a small aquarium-like glass box, with two 17watt fluorescent 24's over them, and the 20watt CFL directly over it, maybe 6-8 inches away. Should I work on getting another CFL or more than just 1 more? Would it be possible to just use one or two CFL's on the plant (if they were a combined total of 100+ watts)?

And when you say "a combined total of 65 to 90 watts of full spectrum", do you mean 1 65-90w red and 1 65-90w blue?

Any suggestions on exactly which bulbs to look for?

All help is appreciated, thanks.

Also, another question: would running these 3 lights I currently have (One 20W CFL, 2x 17W 24 inch fluorescents all directly over the plant) increase the power bill by much? I'm guessing not because it's only three fluorescents, but the last thing I need is someone interrogating me because the energy bill went up a few bucks. As I hear it, 24/0 is only needed for the first two weeks, then one can switch to an 18/6 schedule or something along those lines. But my question stands: Will these lights being on for days on end increase the power bill by a noticeable amount (IE: Something is fucked up here, I better investigate)?

And speaking of my lights -- I read in another thread that "two 26Ws" should be enough to get one plant to veg or even flower. Does this mean that my 54W setup will take me anywhere other than a few weeks into growth?

If I seem like a total noob, it's because I am. Thanks for any input.

The CFLs and flourscents do not change a power bill much at all.

Did you read up on "kevins" or spectrums, you have to have both!

It's around 12 cents or so per kilowatt hour. Depending of course where you live. So hypothetically if you were running 200 watts 24 hours straight gives you 4800 watts per day. Cost you about 50 cents a day.

I offset alot of my power consumption through running CFL's in all the fixtures in my house. Once you start really getting into growing, I know at least with myself, I'm alot more concious of power consumption in my house and ways to reduce it.

The CFLs and flourscents do not change a power bill much at all.

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Ah, that is good to hear. I've spent hours making sure that closet looks as inconspicuous as can be -- although the probability of someone opening it during the 3+ months it takes to grow cannabis is probably against my favor. Being 17 with not exactly understanding parents doesn't help, either.

Did you read up on "kevins" or spectrums, you have to have both!

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Yes, and I posted about that a few hours ago but received a message my posts had to be approved before added, yet now they are added instantly. Basically I asked if a red and blue spectrum light is absolutely critical to fully maturing and flowering cannabis (ie my plant won't yield any buds if I lack these lights?), and also how much wattage per spectrum light I would need to see any yield. As in do I need 65-90w for the red spectrum light and 65-90w for the blue spectrum light? Could the lights I have now fit the description of the red spectrum, that is a cool white CFL and some fluorescents? And as for the blue spectrum, you say a "bright white light", does this mean a 90W+ CFL or something along those lines? A link to some examples would really help. With my current setup, I don't think my plant will mature substantially past a few weeks as I understand it requires lots of light during the vegging stage, and even more to flower. So, would you advise ditching the 17w fluorescents and buying a 65W+ CFL to pair with my current 20W, then adding a blue spectrum light (CFL? Wattage? Example?) for the flowering stage (which I understand won't occur until a few months, so thus the blue spectrum is not something I need immediately).

If I had to summarize my post in a few words it would be this: What exactly is the minimum amount of wattage/spectrum/anything I would need to see some little buds on this thing in a few months? I apologize if I sound demanding or harsh, but the quicker I understand what I need to get this off the ground, the quicker I can grow the plant with confidence.

Ownthink, this is an idea, but i REALLY dont recommend it, but it CAN Work. IF you KNOW you know you can get the right lighting, you CAN use a regular incandescent light bulb, but it makes stems grow through the roof. I used it for five days, and now im stuck using bendy straws to hold my plants up. im just saying if your really scared of the plants dying, it can be done. i REALLY suggest getting a grow light within a day or two afterwards though. Id say best thing to get is a grow light, which you can get for ten bucks at any garden store. mines a 60 watt, and my plants are growing much better than the incandescent, but the regular light really ruined my stems...

Man...your with your parents....your going to have an odor control problem later on. I would go outside with it if I was you.