Standard led bulbs. Not led grow light?

[yourkiddin]

So it's my first day, be gentle. Lol
So I'm trying to use items all ready around my house. I have a 150 watt led bulb. This is the bulb that home owners went to after the cfl craze. Not a led grow light. It puts off hardly any heat. And I'm only going to be trying one feminized seed in a small grow room.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Welcome to the forums bud


First of all it is a domestic light source so not totally design for growing but will produce results you may need a few of em for flowering tho.

Need to check (K) kelvin rating it should be listed on packet or on the bulb it self... most domestic stuff is about 3000 kelvin or mention as warm light, ye that is ok for flowering phase as most cfls are around the same light rating.

 

[Major PITA]

What ^ Fuzzy said ^.
Also, be aware most LED and CFL bulbs are spec'd with "equivalent" watts, which is pure garbage. Unfortunately, that 150 watt bulb is probably more like 20 watts. Still, two or three of them could grow a modest plant. They are often 2700K, which is good for flowering / not optimum for veg, but they will work. Keep them very close - just a couple of inches away from the plant.

to

 

[yourkiddin]

So it seems as if there is so much different info on the cfl for one plant. I don't mind putting some money into cfl lights. And later down road the correct led grow light. But I personally have no reason to be tending to 5 to 9 plants. Really the correct cfl wattage and type ie warm or daylight for veg and flowering stages is my only confusion. I will be puchasing from local big box hardware store.

 

[Major PITA]

So it seems as if there is so much different info on the cfl for one plant. I don't mind putting some money into cfl lights. And later down road the correct led grow light. But I personally have no reason to be tending to 5 to 9 plants. Really the correct cfl wattage and type ie warm or daylight for veg and flowering stages is my only confusion. I will be puchasing from local big box hardware store.

I'd go with 6500K for veg and 2700K for bloom. You can do a mix and/or run all of them throughout. The real hurdle is just getting enough light, even with a single plant.

 

[yourkiddin]

I seen one post that recommends 4 cfl. Two of the 42 watt soft white which I don't see listed on big box web page. And two 40 watt daylight. . But then I can't find the correct kelvin listing either.

 

[Major PITA]

I seen one post that recommends 4 cfl. Two of the 42 watt soft white which I don't see listed on big box web page. And two 40 watt daylight. . But then I can't find the correct kelvin listing either.

6500K is usually called "daylight". 2700K is called something like "soft white". When I look at the big boxes, they do give the kelvin temperatures of each bulb. Don't worry about the exact bulb wattage. More is better. No 40 watters? Get 60 watters. I'd shoot for a minimum of 50 true watts per square foot.

A four-pack of Philips 60W equivalent Daylight bulbs would get you in the ballpark (13 true watts x 4 = 52 watts of 6500K light) for $9.

 

[yourkiddin]

Ok great. That's good info. Off to shop I go.

 

[Major PITA]

Ok great. That's good info. Off to shop I go.

I edited my last post. It might help.

 

[yourkiddin]

Oh man I just went back and and seen where you mentioned the 4 daylight bulbs. That's when I get confused. Cause we went from the daylight for veg and the soft white for flowering. If I just go with the four 60 watts . Does that mean I don't change anything but the timer between veg and flowering?

 

[Major PITA]

Oh man I just went back and and seen where you mentioned the 4 daylight bulbs. That's when I get confused. Cause we went from the daylight for veg and the soft white for flowering. If I just go with the four 60 watts . Does that mean I don't change anything but the timer between veg and flowering?

I don't know how much difference you will actually see by using different color spectrums for veg/bloom. If money is tight, save a few $$$ and get a 4-pack. Hopefully you can spend another $9 and get four more 2700K bulbs when you flip if budget permits. Otherwise you can mix and match with a couple of each color. IMO this isn't as critical as just getting as much light on the plant as you can and still control the environment (heat & RH).