I am completely confused bout the clf lights

[underdox]

any growers out there?
I need to ask about a light setup:

2x23watt clf warm light 1371 lumens
1x23watt cfl cold light (no idea bout the lumens)

I've been browsing and people say different things which I don't really understand. This is the 1st time I ever try to grow so..help?

also, the whole thing is inside a 37inches (96cm) box (practically it's 2 EU PC boxes glued together).
I will get pictures and tutorial out if this works but I need people to give me a hand with this.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Luman has very little to do with growing plants as it is a measurement of light visable to the human eye & may fall into a certain colour spectrum tho...

Color temperatures over 5,000K are called cool colors (blueish white), while lower color temperatures (2,700–3,000 K) are called warm colors (yellowish white through red)

Kelvin is a common measurement of light spectrum often used, their is also Nm (nanometers assoicated with wave length)... Intensity we do not see so much off inless a colour spectrum graph is aviable for the bulb & this may reflect intensity of kelvin/Nm that bulbs puts out.

Blue spectrum light is often assoicated with vegative growth with the most popular kelvin used being 6500k.

Red spectrum light is often assoicated with flowering with a popular kelvin choice of 2100k


CFls used for flowering are often around 2700k / 3000k this is more yellow/orange & a tiny amount of red spectrum.


It is reasonable common practise to use 2 x 2700k & 1 x 6500k mix of cfls for flowering as this gives a slightly larger range of light spectrum to support plant growth.

 

[underdox]

I do have 2 warm light and 1 cold so I guess that's ok. but the watts and lumens play no role to that?
also, about the led lights, is it possible to do everything under a led light?
I am talking about a microgrow for personal use, not anything big or something and since this is my 1st time I need to know the basic stuff about it.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Lumens plays no role what so ever which i have found very little evidence to support plant growth... apart from decades of bad advice which seems to be entrenched in people minds.

I've not used LEDs before so can not comment on them ?

I do believe some of the better reputable brands of LED lights support multiple colour spectrums/Nm which provide good lighting for plant growth at all stages.


This is partly due to chlorophyll A & B (plant stuff) with peak plant growth happening at certain wave lengths (Nm) in the blue / red spectrum... Intensity of that light source is quite important also covering the Nm/kelvin range.

LEDS are often measured in Nm with decent qualitie panels providing near optimal wave length/colour spectrum & is still some what experimental fine tuning LEDS for perfect growth.


Their are few brands of dual spectrum HPS which provide both blue & red spectrum in a single hps also with these bulbs working for both stages of growth.

Ceramic metal halides is another new dual spectrum bulb now proving popular amongest some growers.




With the whole wattage, lumen per square foot thing being old school maths for science they lacked back in the day (decades ago)....

Its now 2012 & science has moved fowards in leaps 'n' bounds - get up to date with it




Their does appear to be some reasoning for wattage and that the bigger the bulb normally provides greater results... a side note to which should be considored is the heat generated from each & every bulb used requiring good ventilation to tame heat issues !

(wattage of bulb could be related to light intensity in the Nm/kelvin range)

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Forgot to mention the Inverse square law of light thats worth reading about also

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Light Quality

Light quality refers to the color, or wavelength, of light that's emitted from any light source. Phytochrome is a family of proteins within each plant that allows them to sense the colors of light. Sunlight contains the full spectrum, or wavelengths, of light that plants need to complete photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants transform light energy into food and oxygen. A prism will break the spectrum of color from the sun into bands of red, blue, indigo, violet, green, orange and yellow. Even though plants use all colors of the light spectrum, red and blue are the two primary colors necessary to complete the energy conversion. The amount of red and blue light within a light source will affect plant growth in different ways. Green is reflected rather than absorbed by plants, which is why they appear green.

Blue Light

Blue light regulates the rate of a plants growth and is especially helpful in plants with lots of vegetation and few to no flowers. Blue light regulates many plant responses including stomata opening and phototropism. Stomata are openings on or beneath the surface of the leaves. A plant's moisture loss is primarily due to the stomata and blue light controls the degree of stomata opening, therefore blue light regulates the amount of water a plant retains or expels. Phototropism is the definition of a plant's response to light; the stems grow up toward the light and the roots grow down, away from the light. Metal halide grow lights emit more light in the blue spectrum and are the best source of indoor lighting to use for plant growth if there is no sunlight available.

Red Light

Red and orange light triggers hormones in plants that increase flowering and budding, but plants cannot grow with red light alone. They also need blue light to help regulate other types of responses. Red light stimulates flowering and foliage growth, but too much red light will cause a plant to become spindly. HPS (high-pressure sodium) grow lights emit a red orange glow and are excellent companion lights for growing conditions that include some natural sunlight or other light sources with high levels of blue light. Red light induces germination and blue light promotes seed growth, but far-red light inhibits germination.

 

[JamaicaHerbs]

Fuzzy covered it pretty much but u can always check my sig for info on cfl grow.