Have i got enough light?

[Gorhad]

Hi all had a go at my first grow through the summer with two plants I germinated from seeds. Had a few problems as a novice with bugs, over watering etc, however they came through but the yield at harvest time was quite low in fact they only produced 16 grams total, but it was very nice bud.

Anyway in the meantime I took 3 clones and have now decided to bring them indoors for security, bugs and its getting cooler here now in Florida.
Still a soil grow

I built a homemade reflector/hood and installed a total of 9 spiral cfl's in there. 6 are mounted horizontal and 3 are vertical.

They are all 5000k bulbs

The 6 are 23 watt 1600 lumens per bulb totaling 9600 lumens and 138 watts with a current draw of 2.28 amps after ignition
The 3 are 14 watt 800 lumens per bulb totaling 2400 lumens and 42 watts with a current draw of 0.69 amps after ignition

So because I read spiral cfl's don't emit light from the ends and only from the sides I was thinking the vertical ones (3 x 800 lumens) would be reduced by a third therefore equating to a total of all 3 at 800 lumens

Therefore the total of lumens I have in there are around 10400

The reflector/hood is 24 inches by 16 inches dome shaped

They are controlled via a timer for 18 hours light and 6 hours dark

However all 3 plants look as though they are trying to flower
My question is do I have enough light to get them to veg and grow?


Thanks

 

[Lady Cannafan]

HI Gorhad, and !
I can't really answer your question on whether it's enough light for flowering, but for vegging I think it's plenty. Some people use mixed CFL's for veg and flower. You are right, they are going into flower. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable on the lighting lumens and CFL's needed will pop in soon. The plants look very nice and healthy.
Have you considered putting them into separate pots so they don't compete for root space?
Love the DIY light fixture too!
Have fun and keep em' green.

 

[Gorhad]

A bit of research i did.

As per this tutorial

CFL Light Tutorial

"Look at a lumen/watt ration of various CFL's. The higher the wattage of CFLs, the lower the lumen/watt ratio. This chart was submitted by Jerry Garcia, a grow buddy from another grow site, and edited for typos.

For example...

the 200w listed at 9250 lumens for a lumens/watt ratio of 9250/200=46.25

the 150w is listed at 7500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 7500/150=50

the 125w is listed at 6500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 6500/125=52

the 42w are listed for 2700 lumens, l/w ratio of 2700/42=64.28

I have some 26w that give off 1700 lumens for a l/w ratio of 1700/26=65.38

GE lists some 13w that give off 825 lumens for a l/w ratio of 825/13=63.46

So, according to these numbers the most efficient bulbs for growing are the 26w that emit 1700 lumens. If you used 8 26w bulbs (208 watts total) you'd be getting 13,600 lumens...4,350 more lumens than a single 200 watt CFL. AND the eight 26 watt bulbs would cost less than the one 200 watt bulb.

I suppose you need to purchase more sockets and cords and things to support 8 bulbs, but in the long run more lower watt CFLs seem like the way to go".

Therefore the bulbs i have, have a lumens per watt ratio of

23 watt = 69.6
14 watt = 57.15

According to the tutorial above that would indicate a very efficient grow for a newbie on a budget

 

[Gorhad]

Thanks cannafan.

The only problem im worried about really is that the tallest plant is around 7 inches and the 2 smaller ones are only about 4 inches therefore if they are flowering already the yield will be extremely smal?

 

[Lady Cannafan]

A bit of research i did.

As per this tutorial

CFL Light Tutorial

"Look at a lumen/watt ration of various CFL's. The higher the wattage of CFLs, the lower the lumen/watt ratio. This chart was submitted by Jerry Garcia, a grow buddy from another grow site, and edited for typos.

For example...

the 200w listed at 9250 lumens for a lumens/watt ratio of 9250/200=46.25

the 150w is listed at 7500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 7500/150=50

the 125w is listed at 6500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 6500/125=52

the 42w are listed for 2700 lumens, l/w ratio of 2700/42=64.28

I have some 26w that give off 1700 lumens for a l/w ratio of 1700/26=65.38

GE lists some 13w that give off 825 lumens for a l/w ratio of 825/13=63.46

So, according to these numbers the most efficient bulbs for growing are the 26w that emit 1700 lumens. If you used 8 26w bulbs (208 watts total) you'd be getting 13,600 lumens...4,350 more lumens than a single 200 watt CFL. AND the eight 26 watt bulbs would cost less than the one 200 watt bulb.

I suppose you need to purchase more sockets and cords and things to support 8 bulbs, but in the long run more lower watt CFLs seem like the way to go".



Therefore the bulbs i have, have a lumens per watt ratio of

23 watt = 69.6
14 watt = 57.15

According to the tutorial above that would indicate a very efficient grow for a newbie on a budget

That is a nice tutorial on CFL lighting, I used it on my own grow when I started due to budget restrictions. Budgets....[[sigh]]....
Good job on researching!

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Just out of curiosity, what was the light schedule outdoors before bringing them in? How many hours of daylight and darkness there where you are?
And the plants, what strain and they aren't auto flowering strains right?

 

[Gorhad]

We are getting daylight now from around 6.30am to 5.30pm. I dont know the strain unfortunately the seeds were given to me back in May and these 3 lil beauties are clones off the mother plant

 

[Gorhad]

Heres a couple of pics of the mother plants, that were

 

[Lady Cannafan]

We are getting daylight now from around 6.30am to 5.30pm. I dont know the strain unfortunately the seeds were given to me back in May and these 3 lil beauties are clones off the mother plant

Thanks, Gorhad. I guess what I'm searching in my mind is whether the plants had been on a 12/12 light schedule before you brought them inside. 12 dark/12 day, if that's the case...it MIGHT have induced flowering.
I certainly could be wrong, we'll see what others say.

 

[closetorganic]

cannafan is right the plant was flowering when you cut your clones Gorhad, your lights sound fine too, and repotting asap is a great idea before those roots get tangled and compete against each other.If you keep them on 18/6 hours they should switch back to vegging growth , It will start to grow wierd during this transistion and could take awhile but +reps on rooting some clones and be patient

 

[Gorhad]

Guys on another forum, they mentioned i need more wattage by going for bigger wattage bulbs and that the cfl's need to be hung at different heights. However that awesome tutorial doesnt really mention wattage just the Lumens and Kelvins are the most important.

If i go for higher wattage bulbs then i hit the heat factor and also they are less efficient. So forget that lol.

If i need more bulbs ie lower kelvin ones to create a multi spectrum them i just found at lowes these

6-Pack 23-Watt (100W) Spiral Medium Base Soft White (2700K) CFL Bulbs ENERGY STAR

Twist light bulb
Uses 23 watts for 1600 lumens of brightness
Bulb life is 10000 hours
Medium base, most frequently used in general lighting applications including household lighting needs
Designed for indoor or enclosed use only
2700K Soft White light
Soft White light can give your room or object a soft, warm mood; combine with spotlights to highlight an object or feature
Light bulb dimensions 2"D X 4.5"L

$14.98

Which i could mix in with the others and also install on the hood sides vertically hanging down to emit light/lumens to the plant under canopy

My calcs bring me then to

15 lights emitting 20000 lumens with only a current draw after ignition of 6 amps max

 

[closetorganic]

I dont know much on cfl lighting or lumens stuff.People do use them from start to finish and have very good results.especially for a cheaper investment useing less electricity and making little heat. I hear you get better light having bulb horizontal and need to keep them close 6 inches maybe? I also think if you could DIY a reflector to aim most of light to plants it will help more.My last 2cents on cfls which could be wrong is that 2700k is flowering lights where the higher K almost double that is for veg.BUt a good mixed spectrum of lights can be good too so either way.I would grow /train them wider/horizontal for a month or longer on 18/6 hours and keep and even canopy for a better yield more than the mom plant easy I say

 

[yuyo]

every little bit helps and that goes double for light when it comes to inside growing,i like the 40-42 watt 2700 k for the most part when flowering i do leave a few daylight bulbs for the mix spectrum,if you will double check the 42 watt bulbs are very near the same lumen/watt ratio, practice canopy training its the cfl growers best friend,topping,fimming,lst and even the great scrog
anyway i wish you good luck and take care

 

[netstatmen]

hello there, for optimum light, you should have 30 (as minimum) to 60 (max) watts per square foot.

Here is the formula:

Square footage (length × width) of your room x 20 (wattage)
= The watts needed

i use LED grow lights, never personally used cfl's but i think it is the same criteria.


(lumens are for humans, PAR is for plants)
hope this helps

 

[Gorhad]

Love it. But what is PAR ? Power assisted relay or maybe PAR 4 in golf lol. Just messing thanks for yOur advice. Serious what is PAR

Again thanks

hello there, for optimum light, you should have 30 (as minimum) to 60 (max) watts per square foot.

Here is the formula:

Square footage (length × width) of your room x 20 (wattage)
= The watts needed

i use LED grow lights, never personally used cfl's but i think it is the same criteria.


(lumens are for humans, PAR is for plants)
hope this helps

 

[Gorhad]

Think I got it PAR
Light and Plants

Good reading thanks again

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Think I got it PAR
Light and Plants

Good reading thanks again

Good information find! +reps!

 

[Gorhad]

Maybe I overlooked it in the cfl tutorial mentioned prior but in light of above its not just lumens and kelvins but wattage is a big player in plant growth for photo synthetically active radiation

 

[Gorhad]

So I found a PDF doc with regard to various PAR values published by Sylvania for different types of light sources from incandescent to CFLs to sodium. Very useful. In that fluorescents are not far off the big boys. But how the heck do I upload here for reference lmao?

 

[David Bowman]

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