CFL Light Tutorial

[Leonardo420]

I like the idea of using a stretch of inter-node spacing to help maintain more compact plants. +rep

The only downside to using both grow and bloom during the first 2 weeks is that you increase you leaf to flower ratio. Thu cutting down on your over all flower yield. Not necessarily your entire yield just your buds them selfs. The high Nitrogen content force more leaf rather then flower.

Now I'm not saying it bad, cause hey it keep them babies green plus hey if it ain't broken then don't fix it. on your trails and conclusions.

thanks for the +rep Butcher.

I agree and have witnessed what you mean by more leaf/flower ratio with using grow/veg nutes in early flowering. Certain strains get more leafy naturally, and my encourgement certainly doesn't help. lol

However, this may be a benefit to someone like me who defoliates heavily in flowering. i never defoliate ANY leaf connected directly to a budsite. So more leafs on the buds refuel the losses from defoliation? hmm...I guess I will find out. still learning as I go.

 

[G-Dog]

Yeah I have read for years to CUT N when you put them into flower lighting. However, in the past couple of years I have been thinking it is better to give them a little N in decreasing dosages for a few weeks into flower. I use to think that cutting the N was part of the trigger for them to flower, but it is actually sexual maturity and photo period that throws them into flower. I have seen a lot of near dead plants with nothing but a buds left in the final weeks of flower from cutting the N too drastically. Thanks for the reminder as I am just putting some girls into flower right now and I have to note how long and how much N I give them for the next couple of weeks.

 

[The Butcher]

Yeah it definitely does keep from the yellowing. N in depleting dosages sounds a lil more beneficial.

As Rafedial1 stated it does help when your dealing with a short compact plant.

Thats one of the great things about growing you can manipulate nutrients as needed.

Nice post G-DOG

 

[Setting Sun]

I still haven't figured out how to do the quote thingamajig. In response to SS (thanks for responding by the way and yes, this site is pure grow love" )

In the lower right corner of the message, just click on where it says "quote", and that will open up a reply box with the message quoted.

If you want to quote multiple messages, then click on the icon just to the right of the "quote" icon and it will turn red, then do the same for the remainder of the messages you want to respond to. When the last message you want to add is red, click on "quote" and it will pull all those messages into a reply box so you can make just one reply.

In your opinion would it serve better to get one of the flood lights (1 65w) as opposed to that of 2 32w? Of course assuming on the lumen output was nearly the same, as you noted the manufactured reflector may make up the difference.

When talking about CFL's, it's better to use the actual watts versus the "equivalent". The 65w "equivalent" CFL floods actually use only 14w, so for growing, that's the best number to use when discussing them.

Given the same wattage, more bulbs give you more coverage over your plants than a smaller number of higher-wattage bulbs, so the choice would have to do with your individual grow space and how best to illuminate it.

More bulbs = more flexibility.

 

[Setting Sun]

What about those who do design a grow room and use reflector hoods and have walls that reflect the light we use? To not think about reflecting the light when using regular CFL's is that persons mistake and they are wasting money in multiple aspects if they dont consider how to get the most use out of the lights they purchase.

I think about reflection and reflectors, and that's one of the reasons I like CFL floods.

 

[G-Dog]

I have never used the floods. I have used the CFL Spirals and I love them. I can dangle them between plants, between buds and have light radiate out into the plants. I do use reflectors too. Since the lights are much cooler I can use foamcore to bounce as much light back into the plants. Foamcore can be cut, bent, shaped, duct taped, put up and taken down fast and it is cheap. I have put foamcore under the plants, bent up walls in arc shapes to direct the light and held it all together with duct tape. They are cheap and easily obtainable at Wallmart. Very easy to build a small confined space and expand it as necessary.

 

[Green007]

Is the first number in those ratios the 6500k or 2700k bulbs?

I'm a CFL guy. I always use about 75/25 2700k/6500k when I'm flowering.

Thanks for any reply.

You got it, that's exactly what I meant.

25/75 2700K/6500K during veg
25/75 6500K/2700K during flower

 

[Green007]

When talking about CFL's, it's better to use the actual watts versus the "equivalent". The 65w "equivalent" CFL floods actually use only 14w, so for growing, that's the best number to use when discussing them.

Given the same wattage, more bulbs give you more coverage over your plants than a smaller number of higher-wattage bulbs, so the choice would have to do with your individual grow space and how best to illuminate it.

More bulbs = more flexibility.

 

[Green007]

Excellent discussion going on here!

The whole mixed spectrum results I spoke of comes from my friends multiple actual completed comparison grows.
Not theory.
But still only one mans experience with the same strain.

Just sayin'

bros

 

[Purple Goose]

Earlier in this thread I can across a Post which stated that cfl bulbs help to keep internodes nice and tight and I felt I should comment on this .
As I am vegging 20 plants right now under a pair of 200w cfl's one at 6500k one at 5000 kelvin I thought I would give you an idea of the growth I am getting as all my plants are the same age.

All plants are 6" tall and 17 days into veg right now from seeds , under the 6500k bulb internodes are about 1/2" - 3/4" away for a total of 6 completed internodes these plants are also 10" across .

Under the 5000k bulb plants are all 6inches as well and have developed 8 internodes the width across is only about 7 inches .

But for branching the 5000k plants are more densly covered in branches most have 6 branches 4 of which are 2 internodes long.

The 6500 k plants are note as heavily branched only 4 branches and the next set of 2 just begining but these branches are much large and more densly leaved.

So in general the 6500k plants look much larger but the 5000k plants are more densly foliated and if you were to count leafs there are twice as many on the 5000k plants I actually think I will go with all 5000k bulbs next time I need to buy more or possibly build a new reflector and place a 3rd bulb in the closet and mix 2 5000k and 1 6500k soon as I can afford a new one.

 

[G-Dog]

Earlier in this thread I can across a Post which stated that cfl bulbs help to keep internodes nice and tight and I felt I should comment on this .
As I am vegging 20 plants right now under a pair of 200w cfl's one at 6500k one at 5000 kelvin I thought I would give you an idea of the growth I am getting as all my plants are the same age.

All plants are 6" tall and 17 days into veg right now from seeds , under the 6500k bulb internodes are about 1/2" - 3/4" away for a total of 6 completed internodes these plants are also 10" across .

Under the 5000k bulb plants are all 6inches as well and have developed 8 internodes the width across is only about 7 inches .

But for branching the 5000k plants are more densly covered in branches most have 6 branches 4 of which are 2 internodes long.

The 6500 k plants are note as heavily branched only 4 branches and the next set of 2 just begining but these branches are much large and more densly leaved.

So in general the 6500k plants look much larger but the 5000k plants are more densly foliated and if you were to count leafs there are twice as many on the 5000k plants I actually think I will go with all 5000k bulbs next time I need to buy more or possibly build a new reflector and place a 3rd bulb in the closet and mix 2 5000k and 1 6500k soon as I can afford a new one.

First off, awesome Post. Analysis like this is priceless. Obviously clones, what is the strain? Do you have photos?

It is hard for me to believe that such a small difference in color temperature would cause noticeable results.

Do you have a thread of this grow? It would be great to see how it is going.

I have had excellent results with multi packs of 23 watt bulbs that are on sale. I am not as detailed or serious as many folks are about growing weed. I love good weed, but I use my mind in other places for the really detailed stuff. I have always been one that tries to grow as cheaply and with as much improvised material as I can. My thoughts are that if I have to veg a week longer or something like that it is better than spending a lot of time and money to make it happen faster. The most important thing to me in MJ is the density of the buds. When it comes to the buds I am all ears on what makes them dense.

Again, great post and positive reps. I will hope to see your grow as it goes. Reflectors are really the key in a CFL grow and the more creative you can be with those will really show.

 

[Green007]

@ Cateros - Great Post! +reps

@ G-Dog - journals here have shown HPS during flower typically result in denser buds than CFLs.

But CFLs have their place for many people in the grow room.

 

[standupman]

Yeah I have read for years to CUT N when you put them into flower lighting. However, in the past couple of years I have been thinking it is better to give them a little N in decreasing dosages for a few weeks into flower. I use to think that cutting the N was part of the trigger for them to flower, but it is actually sexual maturity and photo period that throws them into flower. I have seen a lot of near dead plants with nothing but a buds left in the final weeks of flower from cutting the N too drastically. Thanks for the reminder as I am just putting some girls into flower right now and I have to note how long and how much N I give them for the next couple of weeks.

Thankyou G dog because readin around i always thought also 2 cut all nitro duaring flowering..And this year i put 1 in the yard an it got tooo big..So i cut all nitro thinking this thing will bud..even late july early Aug no buds..So i tied it down an it turned into big bush..And it turned a dark evergreen when i gave it some 0-10-10. But i hear ya, by slowley cuttin down on the nitro..

 

[standupman]

A 23w PAR40 CFL flood has around 1250 lumens versus a regular spiral at about 1600.

The reason that doesn't matter much is because of the very efficient reflector design on the flood bulb.

Many growers using regular spiral CFL's without thought to reflection are losing around half the lumens anyway, but again, the reflector in the floods is probably more than an equalizer when it comes to how much light is going to hit your plant.

can't wait to test them

Setting sun your right just came from home depot.. thanks an My ge cfls are around 1,600..I FOUND BIG 9.5'' cfls 300 W Givin 4,200 lumes.. 4 the 2700k bulb.. Made by TCP..Need some at 6,500k now.....Anyone know of another company havin big cfls also??

 

[Setting Sun]

The ones you found at Home Depot are 42w actual at 2700k, nice and bright, and should do great for flowering, and vegging also if you mix in a few lower wattage 6500k CFL's, which you can also get at home depot.

I haven't found any 42w or greater 6500k CFL's in the local stores, but they are easily available online from many vendors.

If you would rather not purchase online, you could double up on the 23w 6500k bulbs, which you can get at places like HD.

 

[Purple Goose]

First off, awesome Post. Analysis like this is priceless. Obviously clones, what is the strain? Do you have photos?

It is hard for me to believe that such a small difference in color temperature would cause noticeable results.

Do you have a thread of this grow? It would be great to see how it is going.

I have had excellent results with multi packs of 23 watt bulbs that are on sale. I am not as detailed or serious as many folks are about growing weed. I love good weed, but I use my mind in other places for the really detailed stuff. I have always been one that tries to grow as cheaply and with as much improvised material as I can. My thoughts are that if I have to veg a week longer or something like that it is better than spending a lot of time and money to make it happen faster. The most important thing to me in MJ is the density of the buds. When it comes to the buds I am all ears on what makes them dense.

Again, great post and positive reps. I will hope to see your grow as it goes. Reflectors are really the key in a CFL grow and the more creative you can be with those will really show.

Yep bottom of my post there is a link to my current journal they are growing from seed but the strains are White widow from GHS himalayn gold GHS and Super crystal and Armaggedon from homegrown fantseed but I have placed seedlings from all 4 strains under each light and you can see the differences in the seedlings under each area. There will be an update this Saturday to the pics my plants will be between the ages of 13 days old and 20 days old.

 

[Purple Goose]

Thankyou G dog because readin around i always thought also 2 cut all nitro duaring flowering..And this year i put 1 in the yard an it got tooo big..So i cut all nitro thinking this thing will bud..even late july early Aug no buds..So i tied it down an it turned into big bush..And it turned a dark evergreen when i gave it some 0-10-10. But i hear ya, by slowley cuttin down on the nitro..

I had to jump into this convo cause I have just read a posting at the growers underground advanced nutrients site and it has a lot of interesting info in there link to a posting called the great phosphorous myth exposed and as they have the only licence to grow marijuana for research purpose they are able to take samples of plant tissue daily from there plants and determine what minerals are found in the largest amounts in the plant. So this allows them to formulate there nutrients to work with cannabis requirements at all ages and the funny thing is that in the life of cannabis the largest nutrient requirement it will ever have from seed to full ripen shows to be nitrogen and from veg to flower nitrogen actually increases actually all 3 n-p-k all increase from veg to flower but the chart shows nitrogen increases by about 5-10% in flower P increases about 30% in flower and potassium increases by about 25% in fact if there charts are accurate N and K are the 2 most widely used nutrients in cannabis.

The thing about any plant is in nature the soil we plant in has nutrients being replace from the surrounding ground every time it rains and therefore we have no control over how much n-p-k there is available all we do when nutriating outside we are only ensuring that the required nutrients are available. But outside the plant will stop using nutrients when it is ready and I feel thats the best way to do it inside as well allow the plant to enter senesence on its own and you will get bigger yields of more potent bud but we can speed the proccess as well by cutting nutes and that is what hydro is about manipulating the growing conditions so the plant finishes when we want it to so as to maximize the space we have to grow in.

 

[G-Dog]

I like the way you think and work Cateros. I do not say that kind of thing to everyone.

There have been a lot of myths pass around for generations in the cannabis growing community that do not have merit. A lot of entities with commercial interest capitalize on these myths. Everything from nutrients to digital ballast, folks can spend a lot of money growing out this weed.

All one has to do is think about what a plant sees in nature and they will do fine. We can improve on nature, that is called cultivation, but I have seen a lot of people do way too much and hurt or kill their plants.

Look at youtube and you will see harvest or bust in South America or Afghanistan and you will see giant plants that are healthy and green with giant buds. Not like the indoor growers that have a dead plant with a bud on top of it.

 

[Purple Goose]

I like the way you think and work Cateros. I do not say that kind of thing to everyone.

There have been a lot of myths pass around for generations in the cannabis growing community that do not have merit. A lot of entities with commercial interest capitalize on these myths. Everything from nutrients to digital ballast, folks can spend a lot of money growing out this weed.

All one has to do is think about what a plant sees in nature and they will do fine. We can improve on nature, that is called cultivation, but I have seen a lot of people do way too much and hurt or kill their plants.

Look at youtube and you will see harvest or bust in South America or Afghanistan and you will see giant plants that are healthy and green with giant buds. Not like the indoor growers that have a dead plant with a bud on top of it.

I have to agree because of the fact the very healthiest plants I have ever seen are thos pics of the wild cannabis fields in place like afghanistan,india,africa etc and also the very best bud I ever smoked came from plants grown outdoors.

Oh I have a side note question just about plants in general but is it normal for White widow to develop an aroma at 3 weeks of age?

 

[faderharley]

My 1st grow was with CFLs, the larger spiral ones. I used the clamp style fixtures so I can place them anywhere in or around the plant. During flowering I used a ratio of 2 to 1 on the spectrum and got excellent results as well. Now that I'm in the beginning of my 2nd grow, can't wait when I got all 12 CFLs burning: eight 105watt/400watt, 2700k, 5000 lumen, and four 85watt/350watt, 6500k, 4200 lumen, making cluster fucker colas, thick as my forearm, hell yeah!