125 Watt Full Spectrum Envirolite

[iliketogrow2]

I am 19 and started trying to grow when i was 15. I am into my 5th grow and the furthest i have ever made it. As a kid my parents were forever taking away my plants and my allowance didnt really allow for much equipment choice.

I have recently moved out and moved up to a 125W full spectrum envirolite. I purchased it on the recommendation of a grower friend who just started his first indoor. Since purchasing it i have read terrible terrible reviews on it. However i am commited to proving that this bulb can be used to effectivly by employing the LST and ScrOG techniques. I am a little unfamilar on how to reference posts however I just put one up under indoor grows - soil. entitled 'my grow - pics soon to come' feel free to have a look for a more detailed description of my grow.

I'm looking for anyone who has used this light, or is thinking about using this light just to get a discussion going on the pros cons and capabilities of this product. I am extremely interested in it becase a. im using it b. so are 2 grower friends in my neighbourhood, and c. everyone bashes them.

So? envirolights? No good? No good at a DISTANCE? no good for flower? great for veg? nearly free to run? can they produce an ounce per plant? how are they for scrog and lst? what about using them in conjunction with 27W cfls? whats the max anyone have ever yield off a 6400K envirolight or 2700K envirolight? Are they useful in micro cabs?

lot of questions... answer some or few or none at your leisure. you can see my other post under indoor grows - soil / my grow - pics soon to come for pictures of my 6400K full spectrum envriolight grow using lst training during veg and a 2" melded wire concave screen for ScrOG during flowering - currently 16 days into flowering and looking well.

 

[Truth]

hmmm, full spectrum is a good start. cfl's will always yield less than say HID lights of the same wattage. an ounce per plant is probably possible (but a little far fetched in my opinion) under good conditions(probably need some cheapo yeast co2 too), and if you had one light per plant in a completely light tight grow box. you would definitely have to lst, because the intensity wouldn't allow for much distance from the plants in vertical growth aspects. if you want to shoot for good yields, HID's are recommended, or more floro's. Though, it would work better as a supplement to HID rather than a primary grow light in my opinion. any light is definitely less costly to run in hydro setups than soil setups since the growth is quicker in hydro. soil just means you will have to run the lights longer, hence more cost to run them. I wouldn't let them get too big either under those lights. they are definitely lights for micro cabs. if you add supplement lighting to them, place the lights on the sides of the plants so they can get some light in areas that might be shaded, since cfl doesn't offer much canopy penetration compared to HID's because of the lack of intensity. I couldn't tell you the max yield, but I know not to expect miracles

 

[iliketogrow2]

A friends envirolite grow

A friends envirolite grow

a friend grew 20 seeds, 8 females, 1 male, 11 plants exterminated (selective breeding) 10 white rino, 10 cali orange seeds were germinated, 3 cali orange and 5 white rino are currently in their 6th week of veg and almost ready to move into their bigger 2X 125 Watt 2700K envirolight bloom tent. They were vegged very successfully under 5 26W cfl's in a 2.5X1.5X4 veg box lined with white milar ventilated by a 50cfm 6" exhaust fan. They are a couple days from being switched to 12/12.

While my durban poison plant has been 'low stressed trained' and trained under a screen around the bulb, my friends 8 plants have been allowed to grow freely during their veg. stage and will flower un trained under the envirolights. This provides a unique comparison between the benifits of training methods vs. allowing plants to grow untrained. Here are few pictures of my friends grow during its vegative stage.

 

[iliketogrow2]

A couple of LST photos

A couple of LST photos

heres are a couple of pics of my durban poison 40 or so days into veg. just about to be switched to flower.

when i get home i will put up some pics of the screen after its installed, and the dp two weeks into flower

 

[Truth]

yep, they look about ready to go into flowering for the type of lighting used.

 

[mtnjohn]

you go boyee........cfls are great for very small grows

after you do a few grows and get addicted to it...you will purchase a small hps
and then youll really be hooked .....hahahaha

mj

 

[Guest]

Lookin good, flower soon so they don't stretch to big

 

[Playaction]

mtnjohn is right. u will be a grow addict in no time

 

[iliketogrow2]

Couple newer pics

Couple newer pics

pics 17 days flowering after heavy trimming. I'm trying to trim back all the lower foliage that isn't getting proper lighting anyways to redirect energy to the top of the plant. I also cut back any damaged leaves or leaves that are directly in the way of what i consider to be 'potential big bud' sites. I think because the envirolite i am using is full spectrum the plant is continuing to grow leaves and stems at a rapid rate. I am concerned that having only the 6400K light will result in a unbalanced leaf/bud ratio and 'stemy' buds.

here are a few pictures. let me know what you think about the screen, is it to low? high? close to the bulb? any input on how to use this type of bulb more effectively would be helpful

 

[iliketogrow2]

added 40W of wide spectrum and 40w of cool white shoplites to the box one lies horizontally parallel to the screen and one stands vertically parallel to the pot. will get some pics up soon.

 

[brookie]

IMO the screen is a waste of time. Instead of string use garbage bag ties, they are much easier IMO. Looks like you are doing everything else right though, and you should be able to pull a nice little bag off a 125. I use 2 in my little cab mounted side by side, one 2700k and one 5000k. I've been using them for 4 years now, and they are enough to keep me from running out.

 

[iliketogrow2]

screen

screen

what makes you say the screen is a waste of time? its been pretty good so far. allows me to seperate the very busy branches from each other providing substantially improved light penetration. i added a couple of shop lights to supplement the 125 recently as well.

 

[Guest]

Ilike,
Did you say that you are flowering under only the 6400K? If so, I would suggest picking up at least a few of the 2700K household cfls. I just grabbed a 6 pack today and they are oddly VERY orange.....anyway, goodluck to ya. Always like to see cfl and LED growers get 'er done.

J.

 

[Guest]

Where do you buy your lamps for that fixture?I have one when my lamp busted and I saw replacement prices,well it just kinda sits there now like my 250MH.I liked it though for brand new clones wish it was physically bigger though they could have extended the reflector quite a bit and made the whole thing larger lol.Maybe 1000 bulbs.com?I just placed my first order with them last week,guy on the phone sounded cool,all business.I just got 2 400s for my combo and a 1K MH standard for veg,it'll be my new 1K horty connection if things work out well.Man I've been spending near double at the hydro store,I like the folks and all and want them to stay in business but DAMN!!

 

[iliketogrow2]

added 40W of wide spectrum and 40w of cool white shoplites to the box one lies horizontally parallel to the screen and one stands vertically parallel to the pot. will get some pics up soon.

No, i am not running solely the 6400K. I was having problems with intense bushing. so i added those shoplites mentioned above. 2 of the bulbs are the ones pictured below and the other 2 are 'cool white' does anyone recognize the kind of bulb in the picture? or have any inkling of the spectrum? they glow a pinky color, which is why i think they are warmer/flowering spectrum.

heres a pic



I dont know if it was a result of the additional lighting, or just a timing thing, but when i got back from my new england ski trip yesterday the buds were showing signs of trichomes. somthing i had never seen before in person. very exciting.

 

[iliketogrow2]

Where do you buy your lamps for that fixture?I have one when my lamp busted and I saw replacement prices,well it just kinda sits there now like my 250MH.I liked it though for brand new clones wish it was physically bigger though they could have extended the reflector quite a bit and made the whole thing larger lol.Maybe 1000 bulbs.com?I just placed my first order with them last week,guy on the phone sounded cool,all business.I just got 2 400s for my combo and a 1K MH standard for veg,it'll be my new 1K horty connection if things work out well.Man I've been spending near double at the hydro store,I like the folks and all and want them to stay in business but DAMN!!

Not really sure what your asking. I use a 125W self ballasted envirolite. the fixture can be purchased at any headshop for about 15$ and for a little cheaper i would assume at any hardware store with a good electrical department. As for the reflector. i took mine off. wanted to reduce head since my canopy is only about an inch from the bulb. Im really not sure how many lumens im loosing as a result but i have been having excellent results thus far.