coverage

[pipeman]

whenever a new grower comes on the boards they're always told to get a HID for flowering. Maybe thats the right advice, maybe it isn't. If you're a chronic smoker or like to share a lot with your mates then you probably need a HID or two, but based on other grows I've seen around the net fluros could be fine for a small personal grow IMO. I plan to set up a small fluro grow just to see what yields you can actually get, so when advising new growers on light choices, we actually know WTF we are talking about. Fluros could be the go for lots of people I reckon.

[pipeman]

weird, my previous post doesn't show up unless I add this post. Edited September 20, 2003 by pipeman

[lokm8]

thats also happened to me yesterday..posted something and it never come up...bug or something ?

 

Fluros are very good for personal grow. You can have equivalent of around 200Watts in a cupboard and it wont need much vent. at all.

My friend has one plant in his cupboard, uses around 150watts (cool and warm) and trained his plant to spread its wings. So far, 5 weeks into flowering and , considering its an experiment, hes pretty stoked at the results. Ofcourse hes not getting a fist-sized cola that oozes with trich's, but the thing is getting covered with small fluffy white buds, so I'd say fluros can do the job with less hassle then HID but given the experiments that have been done o/s with the HID v's Fluro shoot-out. Watt for Watt, It looks like they fall short in the Flowering department mainly due to lack of penetration distance as Taz Stoner pointed out.

But I would recommend them for the whole cycle for beginners, less heat issues will result in easier temp. regulation in tight areas.

 

lok

[Guest weekprik]

Yes and the heat in which I was referring is CFs compared to standard fluro tubes,

My CFs almost burn my hand like a normal household bulb, but the tubes just feel warm to the touch,

 

Hey theres nothing wrong with fluros, I just believe i that they are most expensive to run, and offer a lower yield, with a reduction is bud quality also,

 

But hey I used them for years and they still grow the stuff just not all that well,

[Guest weekprik]

this is something I found when looking at the comparisons, between the types of light, Its not my info:

 

HID (High Intensity Discharge) Lamps are:

Efficient. They put out more light, with less energy usage, than any other type of illumination available to indoor growers.

Bright. HID's produce more light than other types of indoor horticultural lighting.

Expensive. HID's cost more than flourescents. They range in price from $50-$600 dollars.

Hot. HID's produce considerably more heat than standard fluorescents.

 

Fluorescent lamps are:

Inexpensive. Shoplight fixtures can be purchased for as little as $7. Standard bulbs only cost a couple of dollars apiece.

Locally Available. Most discount stores and home improvement stores carry inexpensive, fluorescent fixtures and bulbs.

Fine for vegetative growth. Fluorescent bulbs put out plenty of light for plants growing vegetatively, including mothers, seedlings and clones. Some growers prefer fluorescents for vegetative growth because of the slower pace of growth and better root development.

Not well suited for flowering plants. Fluorescents do not put out enough light to develop meaningful buds. The light from a fluorescent bulb will not penetrate the canopy.

Comparatively inefficient. 10 forty watt fluorescent bulbs use the same amount of energy as a 400 watt HID, but produce far less light. Since they use the same amount of energy but produce less light, the remaining must be given off as heat. Contrary to how it may first appear, fluoros actually run hotter than the equivalent wattage of HID-- they just disperse the heat over a wider area.

[Guest Wilderbud]

The light from a fluorescent bulb will not penetrate the canopy.

Comparatively inefficient. 10 forty watt fluorescent bulbs use the same amount of energy as a 400 watt HID, but produce far less light.

I dont know about your grow but I am a fan of supercropping and this point is mute. HIDs are inefficient in a microgrow!

 

Dont assume that everyone grows large plants from seed.

 

I dont want anti-CF in my thread as I use them as part of my normal sized grow space design.

 

EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW THAT CFs GROW PLANTS SLOWER THAN AN HID! SHEESH!!!

[Luke Skywalker]

Since they use the same amount of energy but produce less light, the remaining must be given off as heat.

 

Prove it.

[Guest Wilderbud]

I plan to set up a small fluro grow just to see what yields you can actually get, so when advising new growers on light choices, we actually know WTF we are talking about.  Fluros could be the go for lots of people I reckon.

This is my reason for wanting to try them later on. I will end up trying a few grows under these lights to get the most buds from the least amount of space.

 

Im thinking of an arena grow cupboard which would involve a removable ceiling with 4 x 48W CFs to flower in - I can just build a unscrewable cage around a ceiling mounted lights this way and weave stems around it. My mother chamber can double as a test space when I have plenty of greenery - removable ceiling isnt too bad but itd disturb clones with my setup although I might build a tiny cupboard and ditch my warddrobe later if this amount of space can provide an ounce each month without much failure [i think it could but its just a guess].

 

As for heat - I can touch these CFs without burning myself but an HID will get too-hot to touch within a minute - anything over 10W at that size is going to produce enough heat to be too hot to hold onto AFAIK. You will need to duct air for any decently lit area IMHO.

[Guest Wilderbud]

BTW, I was at KFC the other day [mmm] and noticed their lights were CFs and were receded into the ceiling with light holders which had fans to extract the air into the air duct - nice setup idea for a sea of ]!

[Guest Wilderbud]

A week after chopping the growing tips...