vegging with fluorescents

[lc00p4]

howdy ic members! i went to home depot a while ago and bought 2 150w fluorescent bulbs and 2 hoods. will this be good to veg with and then get a 400w hps before i start to flower? i plan on doing a dwc in a 18 gallon rubbermaid going scrog style. how long should i veg GRAPEFRUIT with the fluoros before i switch to flower with the 400? also, how close should the fluoros be to the tips of the plants? i am planning on removing the shelf towards the lower bottom to give more vertical room. this picture of the cab i want to use is going to be modded a little bit (actually a lot) in order to grow successfully. any input would be great and i hope to hear from you guys!!! thanks!!!

 

[Guest]

You lost me on the 150W flourescents bro,are they compact flo's?

 

[ethereal]

lol



150w flourescent is bullshit the package says that but thats one reason home depot is a joke.

150w EQUIVELANT, is what it means, as in, it looks to humans as bright as a 150w incandescent lamp while burning...which is usually bullshit anyway. the cheapo chinese import CFL bulbs that home depot sells exclusively (home depot brand=lights of america) are of terrible quality IME.

buy name brand (aka: domestic) Compact flourescents from the local electrical supply house. they are a bit more money but will last you and they will give you the true wattage (which 'should' be listen on the home depot bulb's base as well)

fact is the lamps you have are less than 50 watts. probably 40-45.

be well

 

[ethereal]

OK just read your post (#1), its apparent you are lost.

you should do some reading on the forums before making posts. here is a link to the search engine--

www.icmag.com/ic/search.php

to save you the trouble this time, here--
from a thread 3 posts down in the same forum posted earlier today by me.
(will answer a lot of what i see you asked in your post) --

my .02 is the same, babba

well, sorta

MH in veg has always seemed like a waste to me. then again, till now ive never ran an A/c fixture! so i should restrict judgement

***combination of HPS from a distance, and 'daylight' 'full-spectrum' (blue) flour. as the main light source has by far been most impressive in all of my trials over the years.***

*the next best thing, IME, is using the warm white, red spectrum flourescents in combination with the aformentioned blue tubes. 'CFL' lamps are widely avail. in a range of spectrums according to degrees Kelvin. give a call yo your local electrical supply house, or lighting store (not home depot) they should stock or be able to order any color florescents you desire.

the effect of reddish CFL/t5 is basically the same as with HPS, but since i use screw-in compacts (and now free t5 fixtures i recieved recently) bulbs can often get in the way, so i use a low wattage HPS blasting the plants from the side, as the screw-in CFL make things tricky lighting from above, plus, lush growth in the undercanopy is never a bad thing.

do what works for your setup, but whenever possible, incorporate those reds! likewise for the flower cycle you want to add some blue spectrum to the mix, but lean heavily on the red side.
This is optional, and a halide is preferred as its said to boost potency via its UV-B radiation. im sure anyone who has grown outdoor pot alongside indoor will agree the sun adds something special to the herb. another level to the high to be precise. and we can attempt to duplicate this (to some extent) by using Halide in flower, whether it be your main source, or supplemental.

IME, the red spectrum will provide for lush and hardy vegetation, while the blue end makes tight internodal spacing, etc.

unless your setup is set where you veg and flower under the same light, in which case it'd save you a few bucks buyin the flourescent gear. most folks use them for starts anyway so if you have them layin around, definitely give it a try.

to elaborate on my last post a bit....

Compact flourescent (the spiral,or tubular type, that screws in) offer a bit better penetration into the canopy than the linear tubes (be it t5,t8,or t12,t=code for lamp diameter. nothing more)
[ High-Output (HO) ] T5 lamps, i find, match the CFL in efficieny hands down.
it may be because the tubes can be staggered so closely together.

and more power traveling through smaller tubes will for sure appear brighter to the human eye than a tube twice as thick and just as long of the same wattage!

as someone said, you can (and must) get flourescents (any) within 1" of the plants' tops, with an oscillating fan rustling the foliage to prevent singing should the leaves come in contact with the bulb thats been running 24/0 for weeks/months. yes, flourescents stay cool, but left on without a break they sure do heat up, the ballast part of the bulb more than the tube, but still something to watch out for!

ok hope this clears up some of the 'technical' or 'science' via my experiences killing plants over the years be well you guys

some of it will help, soem you may know, but i sure as hell aint doin this^^^ kind of post again today,,lol
thread>> http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=33490

good luck whatever you end up doing :smile:

 

[Guest]

TRUE 150w compacts will cost you as much as a hps bulb....$75.
They look like these.



Seed

 

[ethereal]

you forgot to tell him he cant buy those at home depot
FACT: you can only buy mogul base/high wattage CFL lamps through a Hydroponics/Horticultural Supply outfit.

they are made for plant growth indoors. Home Depot, does not carry such specialty items.
even electrical supply outfits have a hard time getting quality (horti. grade) high wattage compacts.

great lookin veg. setup, s_S. be well dude

 

[lc00p4]

thanks for the help guys. i now feel like an idiot after buying those. probably going to get a hps.

 

[Makavellian]

you can still use the cfls for decent vegging. when you turn on the lamps, what color light do you see? if its whiteish - whiteishblue like the lamps you see Spreading Seed is using, then you can definitely do some decent vegging with them. if its orangeing-yellow, you can still use them for vegging but they arent as efficient as the white/blue cfls. they can be used for supplemtnting the 400w you have.