Advice on using fluros

[Merlin]

Hey all

I need some advice on growing under fluros. How many fluros for 3 clones abot 10 cm tall. Do I need to change lights for flowering? Will they grow tall and lanky? I have no idea as I am a MH, Sont grower so some advice will be greatfull

Regards all

[rosscopico0]

Hey Merlin,

I read somewhere that for flouros you want 30w/sq ft. However I am using 180w (10x18w) of cfs in a box slightly larger than 2 sq ft. Each 18w cf emits 1080 lumens, so I have a total of 10,800 lumens in that area, which works out to a little under 5400 lumens/sq ft.

Now I have read that you need a bare minimum of 2500-3000 lumens/sq ft and that at the equator at midday or so there is about 10,000 lumens/sq ft which is apparently the ideal for growing, although some exceed this.

When I cloned off my 3 donor plants I just moved my cfs further away from the clones to avoid overloading them with light - seemed to work!

 

I hope this helps you.

Edited June 25, 2004 by rosscopico0

[Merlin]

Yeh this helps alot, but do you use the fluros for flowering aswell? Also I have found some 500W fluros on ebay (not an auction) if you are interested. They will need a converter as they are from the States. I am thinking of getting 2 or 3 if this system works well.

[rosscopico0]

Hey Merlin,

I used the cfs for the very first week of flowering as my 250w hps took longer to arrive than I anticipated.

 

You can flower under flouros but from what Ive read, they lack the intensity to create tight nuggets, rather smaller fluffy ones.

 

I chose the philips 18w daylight cfs because after much research I discovered that in terms of cfs, they have the highest light output per watt. Just wired up 10 of them in parallel & mounted them horizontally over plants on a 3mm white mdf board as a crude but seemingly effective reflector

 

Also hps is the most efficient light of all grow lights in terms of lumen output versus wattage, they are almost double the lumen output of cfs per watt.

 

I am now at the end of week 4 flowering, although Im having a problem with fungus gnat, my strongest plant (which is only 30cm tall thanks to LST) looks like it could yield over 2 ounces. Since this is my first grow, Im stoked.

 

Also being from an electrical/electronics backgroung, I dont believe there is such a creature as a 500 w flouro. It may put out a similar amount of light as 500w of incandescents, but I seriously doubt it is actually a 500w.

Edited June 25, 2004 by rosscopico0

[Merlin]

About the fluro on ebay. Not sure if it is 500W or not just stating what was in the description. Anyway I think I will use the fluros and go with a 250 like whas been recomended. Also a cheap alternative to a reflector is a white plastic gutter it looks like an aquarium light when finished. I have made a board from white vinyl coated door and have used 2 plastic gutters on the 2 end lights (4 lights on the board) only to direct the light down. Anyway thanks for your reply. I will have to buy more lights and keep growing, but from what I have heard I will have to go back to my 1000w MH and 2 400w sont's. Just wanted a cheaper alternative if it works works well.

P.S. Good to know your trade, it might come in handy when I setup in the timber garden shed (after I build it).

Cheers

[rosscopico0]

Hey Merlin,

Id love to help and it would give me a chance to compare growing strategies!

Im in Brisbane if that helps