CFLs watts per plant? Nutrients?

[Bob13567]

Hi I am a noob planning a small grow maybe 3 plants in my spare bathtub. I am just wondering how many cfl lights I will need and how many watts per plant do I need. Is a 23 watt that's equal to 100 watts good or do I need to get 100 watts that are equal to 500 watts. And are there nutrients that I could pick up at Canadian tire or something that will work well. I see most ppl recommend fox farms but it would be nice if there was something I could just pick up at the store instead of ordering online. Any help much appreciated!



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[BigBaron]

Its all about spectrum and lumens. Cfl does not provide full needed spectrum for optimal yield. This doesnt mean you cant use it.
Persinally i use mh/hps/cmh +uv and some red and far red for special times of the day.
I used cfl in first grow and the results with mh/hps aint comparable to cfl.
If you wanna go big, i suggest 1000w mh/hps + some plasma and cmh if you can. If not at least a 600w mh/hps.
For the nutes advanced is canadian. I have used house and garden, advanced, canna, dutch pro and dyna gro. All with great results. Now i mostly use my own mix and sometimes during grow i add some silica and some other readily made products to my mix, its much cheaper and results do not vary enough to justify the price. Sure dynagro and advanced are better than my handmix nute, but not by much.
No one knows your plant better than you.
Just go for any decent brand respecting 3-1-2 for grow and 1-3-2 for bloom. Add some silica, pk boost for mid flower, some rhizo product to populate the medium, cal+mag if you use coco and some form of molasses(blackstrap molasse works well for me)
A nitro boost in mid veg could reveal itself well worthy too if you can well manage the phase.
Remember the more you care, the more you yield
Good luck bro

 

[Graytail]

BigBaron is right. I started with CFLs and I've watched many others do the same.

CFLs are great for the little plants, especially when they're young and tender, but once they start to really grow, CFLs lose their charm. So what usually happens is, you start with some small CFLs (small is better, say 23 watters), you end up buying a dozen or so with sockets and some sort of way to organize and rig them, and when your plants get to be a couple feet tall, the CFLs just don't keep up anymore and you start looking for some serious lighting.

The problem is how fast light loses its intensity. The reason CFLs are so great is that you can put them within 2 inches of the plant and get some really good intensity. But the inverse law screws you. At twice the distance you get 1/4 of the intensity. Your canopy is functionally only 2 inches deep. So as the plant grows, you add more CFLs to the sides and top ... but you end up with a lot of CFLs and you wish you'd gotten an hps or LED instead of buying all the extra CFL gear - remember, you have to buy sockets and hanging gear, too. And CFLs wear out fast. After a few months of 18 hours/day they lose a significant amount of lumens. So you have to buy more fresh ones ...

I bought some of the Mars-Hydro 300W panels on the 'bay and I've seen many other grows on 420Mag using them. They're great panels and they're cheap. They draw 140 watts each, and two of them would be ideal for three blooming plants. Right now, you can pick up a 2-pak for under $140 shipped. Keep them in mind.

CFLs are easy and work great for early and mid-veg, so go ahead and start with them if you like. And then I'd recommend one or two of the M-H panels for bloom. You could just add one to your CFLs or keep the CFLs for veg.

 

[Bob13567]

Thanks for the info. Right now cfls are my only real option I don't have money to spend on expensive lights. This is my first attempt if it goes at least half decent I might invest some money next time.


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[Lazarus13]

I did cfls first grow, then got 2 of the mars 300s for 2nd grow and now on this grow im using the mars and a 400 watt mh/hps. Take it in steps, see your grow through and upgrade when you can. Good luck man

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[dr.h00k]

...anything is possible Bob!...have seen some pretty impressive CFL grows on this forum...tho' yields might be lower than a more sophisticated set up......the fellas's above are correct...for three plants, the required # of lights/fixtures and work involved setting it all up could be substantial...plus swapping out or mixing up color temp's during flower adds a lil more expense(23 watt at MY dollar store are cheap)...I've had the benefit of collecting fixtures and various types of bulbs/tubes over the past few years at zero cost due to upgrades.retrofits thru my work...so MY lighting is still low tech...butt...results are respectable and acceptable...as for Nutes...this is my first year using FF...until this year I used various flavours of Miracle Grow and Epsom salt and egg shells to cover feeding...so far...haven't noticed any major difference...bear in mind...ANY nutes should always be used at half or less strength at least till you see how your plants respond...If you go ahead with Yer grow...start a journal!...best way to get some exposure and help...pic's are always recommended when you have problems...or...are just proud as chit!!...lolool...cheerz...h00k...

 

[Bob13567]

So if I got one 300 w led would it work well for the whole grow from veg to flower and could I use it along with cfls ?


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[Lazarus13]

300 watt mars is good for like 1.5x1.5-2x2 foot area i believe so for 3 plants i would definitely add supplemental cfls. I used 2 300s in a 2x3 for 2 plants and it was pretty good. The more light the better to a point. However you put your cfls up try to make them as mobile as possible because you really want to get them in as close as you can. 3 to 5 inches away at most for best penetration. You could hang your led at recommended height then use cfls to light up the shaded spots and edges where the leds dont cover.

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[OldMedUser]

Great advice about different lighting to use to get better results Bob but if you're just starting off you can get the feel for growing just fine with CFLs. One of my best online grow buddies is also named Bob and grows great pot with nothing but CFLs. Lots of them tho and even he knows it would be more productive and easier with HIDs or even LEDs.

I'm smoking some of the hi-CBD crosses he made last year. Sent me a few grams of two crosses he made using Cannatonic, Herijuana and Otto #1. I have 2 of the Otto #1 16 days into growing right now. Very high CBD and almost no THC. Have seeds for the two crosses of it and the others as well but want to see what kind of medicinal effects I get from the pure Otto in a coconut oil extraction.

Here's a little pic of them plus 6 of my own regulars crossed with an auto that I want to find the autoflowering ones to breed those. Otto is not auto and they are the two with the Bic lighters in them. All are 16 days from sprouting. 2 days since repotting. Just put them in those 1L/qt tobacco cans and now under 2 - 23W 6400K CFLs on either side with a 30W 2700K CFL in the middle to give them a better balance of light spectrum than from 6400Ks alone. To flower I would reverse the bulb types ratio tho I use 400W HPS bulbs for flowering. I have an 85W 5000K CFL that works great for plants too. CFL bulbs give off most of their light from the sides so mine are mounted horizontally with a sheet of tinfoil draped on top to direct all the light down. Don't let anyone tell you BS about hot spots using aluminum tinfoil with CFLs. Ain't gonna happen as they don't have near enough intensity and almost all reflecting hoods use aluminum for the reflectors so what's the difference. Done it for decades and it works great. As The Kinks would say, "♪♪♫ I'm on a Low Budget! ♫♪♫"

This is them just a couple days before repotting. I'd let them dry out a few days earlier by accident and some of the first true leaves got damaged but that won't hurt a bit as they get bigger as they are now. The smallest one at the bottom of the middle row came up root first and the tip was brown and dead. I flipped it over and it's growing just fine now and had a better root system than the rest when I repotted it. I also pinch off any stringy roots when repotting and even saw off the bottom inch of the rootball when going from one pot size to a larger one each time I up-pot.

The Otto's are the two on the right side.

You can learn as much growing under CFLs as anything and let your love of growing direct you to better methods as your skills improve. Not to mention that the money you save growing your own will allow you to upgrade your gear as you grow.

There is lots of stuff at Canadian Tire. or other box stores that you can use to get started growing but stay away from Miracle Grow or Shultz's crap and look more at what is organic for tomatoes. They use much the same nutes as pot. ProMix Vegetable and Herb mix is killer for vegging pot on it's own but need 20% coarse perlite added for better aeration of the roots.

Good luck and good growing!

 

[Bob13567]

Thanks everyone for the input! Hope to start journal when I start!


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[kmando]

all cfl. It's how you do it. Not who u know. Takes practice

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[kmando]

Mainline is a great way to help your cfls.

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[Greenethumb42]

Try to do some lst..low stress training so you can get an even canopy cause your gonna want your light 2 to 3 in away..I used cfl's 1 plant 300 watts..veged for 5 weeks flowerd for 11 weeks..

 

[Bob13567]

all cfl. It's how you do it. Not who u know. Takes practice

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Thanks for the reply do you have any pics of your light setup how many lights are you using


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[kmando]

I'll get you a pick, but they were all bought on amazon, and they are just high watt cfls, with the right lumenes

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[dr.h00k]

Amazon is my new best friend...lolool...just about anything Ya need...when possible always try to support sponsors...but when borders become barriers...always a good alternative...cheerz...h00k...

 

[Greenethumb42]

Also you need to mix it up put a couple 2700k in for veg and a couple 6500k for flower..so you get a mix spectrum

 

[Bob13567]

Is it ok to mix led in I'm thinking about getting a 300w ufo from Amazon lol I get everything from Amazon or eBay. and having 4 or 5 23w cfls ? And like to have 4 or 5 plants


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[dr.h00k]

Sure it is...however...does that particular light give any coverage info?...depending on what Yer' growing...Sativa's are... in general... skinnier than Indicas...but require more height space...you might be able to pull off doing 4 plants with supplemental CFL lights...butt the footprint of most 300 watt leds isn't that large...You will get results...just not up to potential...start small and build up...will save you money in the long run...just IMHO...cheerz!...h00k...

 

[Bob13567]

Planning on indicas and autos maybe I'll just try 2 or 3 first then. I'll be starting a journal when I start my grow but it won't be for another couple months because I am going to be away too much. So I have lots of time to plan my grow. Thanks!


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