CFL Veg > LED Flower = Environmental shock?

Howdy everyone! First post here. Regarding LEDs, I recently purchased a G8LED 240w BLOOM panel for a 2x2 area in a tent. I had a few seeds popped vegging out under some spirals I got for a temporary setup and moved the plants into the tent with the bloom light.

Reading the FAQ sheet that came with the panel, one thing raised my eyebrow which was the claim that while CFLs can be supposedly used in conjunction with LEDs (though i don't know how that would work with wildly different canopy distance requirements) that vegging with CFL and blooming with LED is not ideal due to the fact the plants undergo a radical environmental change.

The first week and a half under the bloom was slow going, but then (Ladies, hurray!) they exploded and more than doubled in height with strong healthy vegetation. Currently in bloom 4 and have some nice dense healthy buds.

Not having experimented enough with the setup, I can't say how much other factors influenced the stunted growth period, but could it be the change in type of light like the sheet said, or is that just to get you to buy more LEDs (which I want to eventually because I'm very impressed)?

I've bought a nice T5 fixture for my current veg but want to know before I put them in the tent whether there's any scientific backing to that claim. Of course based on what i've seen with this light, vegging with their non-bloom version WOULD be ideal but there's always the $$. Any insight is appreciated, cheers!

I veg under T5 and flower under HPS.
I don't think T5 slows down anything.

I used to Veg with CFLs and put them straight into flower under LED. I never noticed any adjustment period. In my case they perked up and that was probably due to the fact that they were most likely light starved in veg because they got too big for the 2 x 23 watt CFLs I was using to veg each plant. Maybe it's species/strain dependent. Growers who I respect around here say it doesn't matter and I'll go with them and what I've seen.

sounds like there just covering there ass in case you have problems and blame it on the light. Transitioning from CFL to LED shouldn't cause any issues, the plants will need to adjust to the new light but this happens very quickly. As for using flurosents as side lighting, I think its great especially if your growing a taller plant and the led is having trouble penetrating to the sides and lower parts of the canopy

Thanks guys that information has been greatly helpful. Think I will purchase another T5 and add it to the lower portion of my wire rack for vegging.

One time wonder here, so maybe my meager experience hardly counts, but my buds are the prettiest, most potent, most fragrant and delicious herb I've ever smoked. Grown mostly with household LEDs, and a few CFLs tossed in at flower. I used a light meter to measure CFLs, and household LEDs with and without their protective housings and I found at 5": LEDs w/o housings buried the meter. LEDs with housings were 30% less bright. CFLs produced only half the light of LEDs with housings, and less than 1/4 the light of an LED without a housing. Why even specialized spectrum blue and red only lamps have to be so far from the plants I don't get. Closer is always better, right? As long as the tops don't burn?

I talked to a few people at my town's premier grow shop as well as did some additional research and noticed an interesting point. Potentially--it's not so much the radical difference in light types, rather the difference in lumens from 1" canopy T5 to 25" canopy LED. From the extended growth I've seen under this 240 (probably only around 180-200w true power draw from what I've read) I think the period of stunted growth may be attributed to this, however the plant seems to have readily adapted to its new environment and continues to thrive and stretch (currently in bloom 5).

P.S.!! I suppose my experiments will change now my friend in Denver has returned my old 250w HPS so I will run that side by side with the G8 240 Bloom, as well as undo the separator in my 4x4 and toss in some Chocolope, Mendocino County Diesel, as well as Pink Lady I've been vegging out in some massive smart pots! The one under the LED now is a personal cross of homegrown trainwreck fem and TGA querkle male grown from a seed and she's smelling fantastic in the early budding stages. HPS/LED Hybrid ~450w grow soil organic journal soon to come!

Father Ramirez said:

One time wonder here, so maybe my meager experience hardly counts, but my buds are the prettiest, most potent, most fragrant and delicious herb I've ever smoked. Grown mostly with household LEDs, and a few CFLs tossed in at flower. I used a light meter to measure CFLs, and household LEDs with and without their protective housings and I found at 5": LEDs w/o housings buried the meter. LEDs with housings were 30% less bright. CFLs produced only half the light of LEDs with housings, and less than 1/4 the light of an LED without a housing. Why even specialized spectrum blue and red only lamps have to be so far from the plants I don't get. Closer is always better, right? As long as the tops don't burn?

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From what I understand Father Ramierez, each LED diode is a specific light band and the panel is an array of these. Each diode emits light in a cone shape, and only at a certain distance do the individual light bands overlap enough to blend into the most beneficial mix of usable spectrum light. Putting the LED panel too close would not allow the bands to blend properly causing uneven distribution of specific bands across plant surface area. This is based on outside and personal research, but my experience with LEDs is still brand new. I kept a height of 28-30" for 2 weeks in bloom which caused quite a stretch now I upped the height a bit, but the canopy grew so fast it's around 22" now. The minimum recommended height from the manufacturer is 24". I think it's highly dependent on the wattage of the panel, so you have to check with your manufacturer. Hope this helps!

Im currently trying ufo led above 2 plants with 3 supplemental 42W 6500K CFL on the sides...slow upper growth in veg only like 14" 40 days in from seed;...hoping for a big pop in flower like you but my question is: should we be applying the led seperate from the cfl or the same time. I would think the more lumens the better so I been doing both at same time. The difference seen so far is the height but it could just be the fact that I stunted it a bit in a few tests I tried. As I switch to 12/12 I will add more 2700K cfl but hoping this works similar for me too in veg. Congrats on the grow no mh/hps! I gonna try to keep 100W/plant rule but any suggestions for the lighting mixes?

So I have a question. I have had 2 plants under a 4 foot t5 in veg and I recently switched to a 300w led getting ready for bloom, but almost 4 days after switching my lighting my leaves are drooping. I know they are not over watered or under watered, is it possible they went into shock from the transition?

tommyhsh2 said:

So I have a question. I have had 2 plants under a 4 foot t5 in veg and I recently switched to a 300w led getting ready for bloom, but almost 4 days after switching my lighting my leaves are drooping. I know they are not over watered or under watered, is it possible they went into shock from the transition?View attachment 4263727

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You should start a new thread. Last post here was 2013.
When you do, take pics under white light, and include any other info like soil, nutrients, temps etc.