Lighting logic for noobs

B

br4inl3ss

Well-Known Member
Hello guys im new here and by new i mean i jusre registered :p but iv been reading on this forum for quite a while now... i finally decided to try to grow 1 for the first time... i just went through CFL Light Tutorial I have read it all but 1 thing i dont understand... my area is 24" X 48" if i go by the rule of 10 000 lumer per square feet that mean i would need like 28 42w CFL :| how does that make sence... even 65 W cfl i would need 20 of them :s those number seem unlikely to me am i doing something wrong. i cant affor HPS or other type of "high end" lighting plus the set up for heat venting... what to do !? shouldi still try 8 cfl !? or its net even worth it. help i maybe just realised my dream is crushed :eek:

EDIT:what do they mean by: Determining lumens for your grow area:
First determine the square footage of your area. What if i only use a small portion of my growing tent and like i said keep the CFL closer to the plant ?
would i need less bulb if i tell you i will only make 1 at a time and keep the light close to the unique plant !?

PS: sorry for bad englando
 
br4inl3ss said:
Hello guys im new here and by new i mean i jusre registered.but iv been reading on this forum for quite a while now... i finally decided to try to grow 1 for the first time... i just went through CFL Light Tutorial I have read it all but 1 thing i dont understand... my area is 24" X 48" if i go by the rule of 10 000 lumer per square feet that mean i would need like 28 42w CFL :| how does that make sence... even 65 W cfl i would need 20 of them :s those number seem unlikely to me am i doing something wrong. i cant affor HPS or other type of "high end" lighting plus the set up for heat venting... what to do !? shouldi still try 8 cfl !? or its net even worth it. help i maybe just realised my dream is crushed :eek:

EDIT:what do they mean by: Determining lumens for your grow area:
First determine the square footage of your area. What if i only use a small portion of my growing tent and like i said keep the CFL closer to the plant ?
would i need less bulb if i tell you i will only make 1 at a time and keep the light close to the unique plant !?

PS: sorry for bad englando
Click to expand...
Yep, you are right. Lots of cfl's. Myself, I wouldnt deal with all that hastle. I understand about finances but a crapload of cfl's and cfl fixtures wont be cheap either. Probably more than a led setup or mh/hps lol.

How many plants do you intend to start off with? Before I give any recommendation I figured that question needs to be answered first because if you're okay with not totally feeling your 2 foot by 4 foot area and instead start with one to two good-sized plants you don't need to start with the room totally filled with light to make it a little easier on your wallet to get going.
You could fill your 2 foot by 4 foot room with decent quality LEDs for a few hundred dollars or you could go with HPS for that or little bit less. You have to remember if you go cheap you grow cheap. Lighting is the absolute key and yes while we all want to save a little bit of money lighting something you don't want to skimp out on too much.

Heck, if you are okay with one to two good-sized plants and don't necessarily need your whole room flooded with light right now it wouldn't even cost that much to get decent quality LEDs that you could be proud of.


Sent from my VS980 4G using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
If you just want to grow some head stash, just use a smaller portion of your area. If you want to use just like 6 or 8 bulbs grow one medium size plant in the middle of the space. Keep your bulbs tight and move them often. The girls will grow into them pretty quick when veg takes off. I burned a few tops a few times. You're gonna get airy-ish nugs but definitely quality. IMO. LEDs are tits and HPS/MH is definitely nice so upgrade as you can. There are a lot of good cfl growers on here. Check out some journals if you havent already. Good Luck brother

Sent from my LGLS990 using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
i would do 1 plant at a time... i almost bought the 2x4 tent today but when i realised i messed up my calculus i started thinking about it... im considering a 30"X30" now... i would of like to get 2 plant at some point but right now i really cant afford dropping a lot of money at once... seed bought, some socket and CFL bought, i dont even have the seed at home yet and its already a hastle... maybe im aiming to high for a small budget ;d
 
1 thing im not shure to understand is what do they mean by grow area... like if i only do 1 plant in a EXEMPLE: 25X25 room... you dont calculate the whole room right !? and if i only do 1 plant but first time and i dont know how big this strain get how do i make my calculus :p stains is crown royal from... i dont know if i can say where i got them from caus i read The Case of the Mysteriously Disappearing Growers POST today and dont want to piss off sponsors :p
 
Ye those are domestic cfl !

Lumen's don't grow plants that is just a measurement of light aviable to the human eye.



You can get larger cfl like 125w & 250w more suitable for growing like this.

005826.JPG


That is a glimpse of a 125w cfl 6500k which i use for vegging (7000 lumen)


So ye you can get loads of little domestic cfl with increased wattage of use to a pro cfl for growing less wattage & correct light spectrum or kelvin, some thing to think about.
 
CFLs are great for very small spaces, but when you want to grow in an 8 sq-ft area, I'd go with something else. By the time you buy all those bulbs, sockets and adapters, you could probably have gotten an LED setup.

Only measure the area you will utilize in your grow. One plant in a 25'x25' room would only need light for the one plant - not the entire space. How big will it get? that's depends on the strain and how long you veg it. That's part of the learning process. In a tight grow, I allow about 2.5 sq-ft per plant, assuming you have the height to deal with them. I then go with 150 true watts per sq-ft as my goal, or 100 watts minimum. This is for HPS or LED, but would probably also work for CFLs.

In a 2'x4' space, I wouldn't grow out more than 3 plants, but you could go with 2-4. With 3 plants at 150W each = 450W of high efficiency lighting. This is only a starting point. To me, CFLs do not make sense once you get over a few square feet of grow space - especially if you have a reasonable amount of height.
 
My buddy pulled a little over 2 OZ off of 150 watts of CFL. One plant.

He had fun. I had fun helping him. We had fun smoking it.

Have some fun dude!!!

When your plant is a seedling and through veg, you don't need a lot of light. You can start with less light and work your way up. Buy a couple bulbs a week and adapters, what ever you need.

One seedling will only need one CFL... Add light as she grows.

The best is the enemy of the good.
 
i was planning to get like 8 x 42W for 1 plant, i dont want to get in trouble... im looking for a grow tent right now :) but yeah i was planning on buying a Y splitter for 2 CFL every couple of weeks :) I still cant decide if i wanna get a 2x2 tent or a 2x4... i will sleep on that tought and i still didint received my seed :p

PS: i cant drop 300-350 on a led set-up cant afford that one shot :(
 
br4inl3ss said:
i was planning to get like 8 x 42W for 1 plant, i dont want to get in trouble... im looking for a grow tent right now :) but yeah i was planning on buying a Y splitter for 2 CFL every couple of weeks :) I still cant decide if i wanna get a 2x2 tent or a 2x4... i will sleep on that tought and i still didint received my seed :p

PS: i cant drop 300-350 on a led set-up cant afford that one shot :(
Click to expand...

A MH-300 (135W actual) is $60-$65. Buy one now and another when you can afford it. A better choice, IMO.
 
Yeah, for the price the mh300s are nice. I use 2 of them and a 400 watt mh/hps that i dial down to 50 or 75% and it works great. Laat grow i just used the mars lights and man were they frosty buds... Just didnt pack on the size i had hoped for. The clones im using the new set up with are way more filled out AND super frosty from the leds.

Sent from my LGLS990 using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
br4inl3ss said:
I dont know where you saw them at 60$ but i could find them at 150$ + taxes + shipping... And the reviews on amazon are mixed, i will think about it !
Click to expand...

They are very easy to find for $60. I just found a bunch for that price with my first search (free shipping included). I've had excellent service from the two I have.
These are not state of the art LEDs so I wouldn't expect top reviews. However, IMO they are better and more cost effective than CFL's, which is what we are comparing. I was trying to keep the cost low and allow you to add more light as $$$ permits.
 
I'm gonna weigh in on this as well...a lot of places won't ship outside the US for free...ordering from china can take quite some time(not always)...but if your intention is 1 plant for now...I believe I've seen that light on Amazon.ca offered PRIME...2 day shipping...it should be sufficient for one plant...you could supplement with some cfl's if your girl outgrows the lights footprint...I betcha those 42 watters are 20 bucks a bulb and Yer gonna need to switch temps on those bulbs come flower time PLUS fixtures/splitters/plug taps/extension cords...lolool...see where I'm going with this...1 light 1 cord 1 plant...1 convenient price...I use a ridiculous setup of t5's cfl's and low watt hps...only cause they din't cost me a penny...I believe I am going to gift most of this set up to a friend..eyeing up some 1200W leds(300 true)for next year...bout time this hillbilly started movin' uptown...at least in terms of growing...lolool...Good luck on whatever U decide...start a journal when you get set up...no shortage of knowledgeable people to help Ya out...Cheerz...h00k...
 
I actually did get the one from amazon yesterday night... and 2 day shipping :p paid more but its probably better than 30 CFLS lol. i will also add a few 42w cfl i went to the store yesterday and i saw them for less 10$ a pop i dont remember if they were 2700 or 6500, and less that 10$ for the Y splitter and extention cause i will probably end up using a reflector for dem 2 cfls. :)
 

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