lighting question

[Guest]

i see in some peoples pictures they have these things that look like this:

/\ and a bulb plugs into each end. at the hardware store i was only able to find
one that was straight and wasnt split into two. can anyone tell me what these are called? and do they plug directly into a power outlet or what?

also, which are the best CFL's to use to grow a plant? i have 2 cfl's right now that have a bright white look, and one that is yellow. the boxes didnt say anything about how many lumens and which spectrum so could someone tell me which is which? and what are the best brand lights to use.

 

[Guest]

someone here has to know what these things are called. here is a picture with them in it:

 

[Maj.PotHead]

mogul Y adaptor any hardware store or walmart carrys them

 

[kokua]

pomh...what happened to your avatar? Thats like Coke changing its formula, no matter how good the new one is, it is hard to beat the original, the classic.

 

[Guest]

and which bulbs are best to use?

 

[kokua]

the hightest wattage that you can find at home depot or lowes or local shop. They are normal CFL's nothing special about them

 

[sugabear_II]

and which bulbs are best to use?

depends -

daylight and cool blue cfls with a blueish tint are great for vegging.

for flower the warm white or plain white (not the yellow one - that's probably a bug lamp) are better.

23 and 25 watters produce the best lumen/watt ratio for CFLs and are cheap and avalaible widely. Any CFL less than 20 is not suitable for growing IMO. If you can fit a bunch of lights in there like in the picture you posted I would use these lamps with mogul Y adapters. This way you can get 46-50 watts in a socket with a nice spread.

Larger wattage CFLs like 30 42 and 45 can also be used if you don't have room to fit more of the smaller ones. They tend to cost more and produce more heat though. I still use them though If I only want to have one bulb in the socket. In my experience most of the time you won't be able to fit two large lamps in a Y mogul adapter without running out of space in a micro grow. but if you have room you can get 90 watts in there.

One more note about Y mogul adapters - often times you need to screw in the adapter in the cabinet then the bulbs - as you won't be able to spin the Y adapter and the bulbs in a tight space. on and make sure the power is off when you do this - it's real easy to stick your finger in one of the holes when you screw it in and zap

 

[Bulénath]

Sorry to get off topic....

Aloha Kokua! Lets get rid of Hawaiis $20 gram baggies

Sugabear its really you! My lost Overgrow friend... Its me Wazen Aka Sianeminty (which ment C-odine and M-orphine in a cup of Tea, pertaining to opium). Yes my good friend, I am back from the Subcontinet, with the c-dub stativa seeds ready to bitch slap the 0.8 GPW ratio with my 150hps. What happened to our inner circle of consturctive competition? Beat my unnoficial fattest cola record yet?? hehe...

Listen to Sugabear, his knowledge is priceless.
Though your new advice does contradict the old advice of using 19 watt 6500k spectrum CFL's which worked wonders on my vegging babbies...

Remember the old bottom line once commonly shared after years of relentless study:
"It all depends on your situation."

While low wattage CFL's have its apparent downsides,
it was perfect for my 150 watt stealth operation in a low humidity envoriment.

Low humidty can stress a baby during its first three weeks of veg.
This three week window plays a significant role in determining the sex.
A single 19 watt CFL with reflector, hung close to my babies, kept the humidity from dropping too much compared to a hotter, bigger light.
It also provided enough light to keep internode spaces tight and the plant healthy. However, upon your advice, I triggered flowering after three weeks of veg when the plants had roughly 4-5 interdoes barely totaling 4-5 inches tall!! The internodes were so tight, the first, second and third interdoe leaves were almost resting on eachother!

...This can prove useful for certian micro-grow enviroments!


Suga, Good to see you friend.. looking foward to firing up that 150 and getting serious about my growing.

Boom Shiva!

 

[supernerd]

I picked up some 40 watt 2600 lumen bulbs from lowes today.... havent seen home depot carry them if people are looking for something like that check out lowes.

 

[sproutco]

Plants have two areas of light that they use for photosynthesis: blue and red. Get a mixture of warm white and cool white bulbs.