How many CFLs, need some help.

Hey guys, I'm a new member thinking of growing.
I was wondering for an area of 2 x 3 feet, how many CFLs and what wattage would I need for successful growth?
Hoping to fit 4-6 plants in, any input would be appreciated.

I am using 42w CFL and a 13w CFL for 5 plants

Alright thanks,
any other input welcome.

My friend is using,

10 26 w cfls
2 13 w cfls

for four plants... Not completed yet so don't know if it will be enough. Gotta remember there is a 50/50 chance it'll be male or female, So i'm thinking the actual 286 wattage will be good enough to flower 2-3 females I hope..

some times if you can use more weaker CFLs the better because then you can adjust the lighting for them, I might try to get 8 of my other CFLs up and running but I also might pick up a nother 42w CFL

yeah it's just a bitch having to adjust the light height every couple days.

smokingbot said:

yeah it's just a bitch having to adjust the light height every couple days.

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yea but I perfer that then having to adjust the plants

I wouldn't mind moving my lights,
Thanks for the help.

robkdwight said:

I wouldn't mind moving my lights,
Thanks for the help.

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when you have 10+ cfls you'll mind.. Unless you create a quality contraption.

smokingbot said:

when you have 10+ cfls you'll mind.. Unless you create a quality contraption.

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I get the ones that I can tighten down to a leg for easy moving

To be honest you need at least 5 cfl's per plant in order to achieve vigorous growth. When flowering you will need even more to provide sufficient light for your plant. I went with 7 for 1 plant...see my gallery for what it looked like and how the setup looked.

Thanks, I plan on using CFLs for growing only.
For flowering I'm going to look into buying a HPS light.
I still have a lot of research to do.

i used 8 23 watt in a washing machine to get these ( check out my journal for more pics )











this is just 2 plants

robkdwight said:

Thanks, I plan on using CFLs for growing only.
For flowering I'm going to look into buying a HPS light.
I still have a lot of research to do.

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you can actuly flower with CFLs though you just need a higher red spec.

Rough looking plants but thats waht cfls will get you..If your dead set on cfls figure 6 per plant for minimal growth. Your a lot better if you can use tube florescent lights.

FilthyFletch said:

Rough looking plants but thats waht cfls will get you..If your dead set on cfls figure 6 per plant for minimal growth. Your a lot better if you can use tube florescent lights.

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I was reading the FAQ about Floresent lights and well the Energy Saving CFLs are supost to penitrate the deeper leafs then Tube lights

Thats not correct the tubes give a wider coverage and deeper penetration.They are also cheaper and run much cooler then cfls.Cfls you can use for side lighting.The only good cfls to grow are the engineered kind that are like 125 watts-300 watts and thats actual watts not equal too wattage. thhose are about 12 to 18 inches long and cost $60-200 each like vitalumne bulbs