Depends on what kind of reflector you're using and the size of the plants, but prolly around 2-6 or so.
regards,
SS
Fluorescent light info
- Thread starter Stix
- Start date
Depends on what kind of reflector you're using and the size of the plants, but prolly around 2-6 or so.
regards,
SS
If you have a 250w (real watts, not equivalent) CFL, I would try to buy a "bat-wing" reflector for it. They cost about $25-35 dollars and will really increase the light to your plants.
What kind of 250w CFL bulb have you got? Does it have a Mogul base or standard base?
I would avoid using foil as its very fragile and can create hot spots that will burn your plant.
regards,
SS
O.G Grower
New Member
I know a guy who uses the new "Green Gold" 200w florescent bulbs for rooting his clones and they are kick ass for that, they actually have to be moved away from the dome about 6-8 inches or they are too intense. But his moms look like they are stretching under that bulb, still no replacement for a MH (Sun Pulses are probably the best but they are not cheap).
cool. It is a 250 watt (not that 250watt equivalent business) but how beneficial is the REFLECTOR?
It's *extremely* beneficial because it will direct a lot more light at your plants.
Not sure if you've plugged your bulb in yet or not, but if you have, all that light going everywhere but down is wasted without a reflector. That's a lot of light.
If you can't come up with the money just use it without a reflector until you can, but I think you will notice a difference.
regards,
SS
I have it in a 3x3'- 5' high space completely lined with aluminum foil including the ceiling which is about a foot or less above the light (which is laying horizontally) would an aluminum reflector be really better than the aluminum foil? Thanks for the feedback too
I got it from a canadien seller on ebay for about $75 us- including shipping. and i got the mogul socket the same way about $25 us
Aluminum foil is really not a very good choice for lining your walls. It's fragile and tears easily. It reflects light very unevenly and can create "hot spots" like a magnifying glass that can burn your plants. It's also only about 85% reflective at best, while flat white paint and mylar are closer to 95-98%.
But, in any case, no matter what you line your walls with, you would benefit greatly from a reflector.
In a box, a lot of radiated light will just bounce back and forth sideways, kind of like what would happen if you threw a super ball in a handball court. You really do need something to focus and direct the light towards your plants.
The upper half of my grow tent is relatively dark because I'm using a very efficient reflector.
This is the light we were talking about. It's 250 watt compact fluorescent, and has a mogul base. supposedly it's equivalent to a 1250 watt incandescent bulb. it's 2700k (yellow redish light for budding).
Nice grow light. It's quiet, doesn't put out as much heat as HID, and cranks out some decent lumens.
That reflector in the pic would work just fine.
I got it from a canadien seller on ebay for about $75 us- including shipping. and i got the mogul socket the same way about $25 us
Not a bad deal.
One thing to be aware of about these huge CFL bulbs is that they break easily if you hold them by the tubes instead of by the base when you screw them into the socket or remove them.
regards,
SS
yeah, you have a good point. I think i'm gonna get a piece sheet metal and rig something up. Do you think it would be better to make it curved like this ( shape?, or boxy like this [ shape? Or does it even make a difference. also should i bother dimpling the metal or just keep it smooth?
Not sure which one would be better, but either one would be a whole lot better than nothing. I'm thinking the curved shape might perform a bit better, but you'd have to measure things in order to really know.
Dimpled is better, but that's gonna be a lot of work.
regards,
SS
growninnorcal
New Member
This is the light we were talking about. It's 250 watt compact fluorescent, and has a mogul base. supposedly it's equivalent to a 1250 watt incandescent bulb. it's 2700k (yellow redish light for budding).
Can anyone verify my thinking if its correct. After seeing that bulb I was wondering if you can really have plants bloom? If you can what do you think is the square footage were talking about? If not, do they create a bulb like this in 6500K. And if there is a bulb whats the safe square footage for Veg stage per bulb.
My plan was to use this bulb during Veg stage (rather than T5's, interested in the T8's or even using blue LED panels) then bloom with a 600 watt HPS. What do you guys think? Can I make it happen?
Any opinions on T5 vs T8's vs T12 vs this compact bulb vs Blue LEDS?
Goal is to save as much money on electricity with the best bang for your buck. Right now running 600 watt HPS 18/6 and rather cut the wattage if possible. Sorry for the slight hi-jack on the thread.
While I admit that they have their place, I don't feel that they are cheaper to run since for most types it takes twice as many watts to equal the same amount of illumination as an efficient HPS.
And being less efficient I believe that they don't produce "much less heat" either since the two things that a light produces from the electricity that it receives are illumination and heat. And since energy doesn't just disappear, if a light is producing proportionately less illumination, it must therefore be producing proportionally more heat.
If (in a 75F room) this 26(?)-watt CFL is operating at an averaged (the "bulb" and the ballast that it's attached to) temperature of 169F... I know that a 400-watt HPS is a lot hotter but you're talking heat produced with something having the surface-area that the HPS bulb does versus the heat produced by 800 watts' worth of 26-watt CFLs (approximately 31 bulbs! lofl) and with a combined surface-area that is much larger and therefore not only better able to radiate said heat into the GR, but far harder to contain - and remove - the heat from separately from the stinky GR air which you might find yourself wanting to contain in any event if you add supplemental CO2.
And then there's the fact that very few people will actually bother to separate the ballasts from the bulbs on those CFLS while the average HID user has his/her ballast(s) outside of their GR.
It just seems to me that the laws of physics are at work on this one.
And then there's the whole penetration issue.
Red-Cricket
New Member
Hey Friends, Im gonna run (8) t-5 4 ft lg. I plan to use 2 different bulbs, one for veg and one for flowering. I got the 54 watt 6400 for veg. I am looking for the Best flowering bulb. I heard 2700....3000...?? Should I MIX?? In need of experience!! I built my own lighting structure with two bulbs sitting at 10 o clock & 2 o clock.........then two bulbs sitting at 8 o clock and 4 o clock total...... (8) .. t-5. This is my 1st grow, growing Big Bud THANKS ALL
Do you know the Kelvin numbers for those tubes?
On my 110w T5 light, I've mixed one 2700K and one 6400K tube with good results.