bigred1991
Well-Known Member
Hey guys I'm a new grower would 2 50wyatts cfl bulbs good enough for 1 plant if so how close should they be to my plant?
Cfl's lights
- Thread starter bigred1991
- Start date
paul keating
New Member
Might just be enough to keep them growing slowly, but i wouldn't expect anything amazing.
And when it comes time to flower, in my opinion, the yield would be poor.
The good thing about CFL's, is they don't put out much heat, so you can have them right up close to the plant.
As long as the plant isn't getting burnt. You'll know, because the leaf will turn brown and crispy.
A problem with CFL's, is they emit light all around 360 degrees. So if you could find a way to reflect a lot of the light, and concentrate it in one spot, directly at your plant, you would get a lot more light.
I've supplied a picture of what I'm talking about. You could buy one of these commercial units, but they aren't very cheap.
If you are a bit handy, you could make something like this pretty cheap.
And when it comes time to flower, in my opinion, the yield would be poor.
The good thing about CFL's, is they don't put out much heat, so you can have them right up close to the plant.
As long as the plant isn't getting burnt. You'll know, because the leaf will turn brown and crispy.
A problem with CFL's, is they emit light all around 360 degrees. So if you could find a way to reflect a lot of the light, and concentrate it in one spot, directly at your plant, you would get a lot more light.
I've supplied a picture of what I'm talking about. You could buy one of these commercial units, but they aren't very cheap.
If you are a bit handy, you could make something like this pretty cheap.
i agree with paul , you can also buy the clf to fit this in dual spectrum , keep the blue side down in veg and then turn the red side down in flower , they are not overly priced , about £25/£35 , depending on the watts 
If that's 50 watts of draw, and not "equivalent", then yes, and you can probably run them 3-4 inches from the plant. I used 23 watt CFLs and kept them about 2 inches away.
There's a grower with a journal here who is using CFLs, and doing a great job all around. You can learn a lot by how she's doing it. Here's a link to her journal:
Sweetsue's First Grow - Stealthy Trio of Autos Under CFLs
There's a grower with a journal here who is using CFLs, and doing a great job all around. You can learn a lot by how she's doing it. Here's a link to her journal:
Sweetsue's First Grow - Stealthy Trio of Autos Under CFLs
here an example for you , yes get a look at sues journal
Fuzzy Duck
Well-Known Member
CFl suffer greatly with the inverse square law of light effect which is basically diminishing returns over distance...
Couple of inches is just fine for hanging height but no greater than 6" in my own opinion.
I use a giant cfl 125w 6400k (kelvin) in a reflector for seedlings/clones & vegging for several weeks with out a problem.
Couple of inches is just fine for hanging height but no greater than 6" in my own opinion.
I use a giant cfl 125w 6400k (kelvin) in a reflector for seedlings/clones & vegging for several weeks with out a problem.
- Thread starter
- #7
bigred1991
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for the help
Ill explain my grow area. I'm growing in my gun case its 3Ft wide and 5ft tall I done aluminum foil and 2 cfls I just fount out I'm using the wrong bulbs I'm so I change them but is my area sufficient for one plant. Could I fins that tube double spectrum at home depot. Live in Mississippi so no grow shops my only source is lowes home depot or Walmart. My medium is 1/3 Perlite peat moss and potting soil. I'm only using tomato food cause fox farm nuts are to expensive for me just any pointers will help
Ill explain my grow area. I'm growing in my gun case its 3Ft wide and 5ft tall I done aluminum foil and 2 cfls I just fount out I'm using the wrong bulbs I'm so I change them but is my area sufficient for one plant. Could I fins that tube double spectrum at home depot. Live in Mississippi so no grow shops my only source is lowes home depot or Walmart. My medium is 1/3 Perlite peat moss and potting soil. I'm only using tomato food cause fox farm nuts are to expensive for me just any pointers will help
Fuzzy Duck
Well-Known Member
Double spectrum cfl area grow shop thing ya have to shop around for those i'm afraid.
So ya cabinet is 3' wide & 5' tall... ya forgot depth & may help a little !
What you do with the space & how many plants will all depend on grow style... sorry another big thing to ponder over ?
Ye a single small bush yes, or a scrog plant & perhaps go as far as SoG with half dozern plus plants.
Mmm need to think about ventilation also intake & out take as plants like lots of air to breath.
So ya cabinet is 3' wide & 5' tall... ya forgot depth & may help a little !
What you do with the space & how many plants will all depend on grow style... sorry another big thing to ponder over ?
Ye a single small bush yes, or a scrog plant & perhaps go as far as SoG with half dozern plus plants.
Mmm need to think about ventilation also intake & out take as plants like lots of air to breath.
