Hey guys,
Just wanted to stop in and give you all my information on growing with cfls. I just finished my first CFL harvest and then saw the "light to foliage" sticky post and was kind-of outraged.
I want everyone to read very carefully, and feel free to debate anything you feel necessary!
As per the sticky post, the lights should remain 1" from each exterior piece of foliage when growing with CFL's. Wrong. Plants grow, they grow toward light at a rapid rate, ESPECIALLY when put into 12/12 or beginner sprouts. When you put a CFL 1" from the plant you are taking a SERIOUS risk not only for your plant but for your life.
Let me explain.
I tried the whole 1" away technique and almost ruined my entire crop early.. I placed my bulbs an inch away from the top 4 fan leaves and left them be for the day as I went to work. I came home from work, took a shower - came back in and found that the fan leaves were intertwined in the bulbs (3 pointer leaves sticking through it). Immediately I removed the fan leaves but it was too late - the growth was 100% brown/blackish crispy and dead.
I agree with the fact that lighting should be close to the plant but there are MANY ways to solve this issue so that you can comfortably keep the lights at a 2-3" distance away at all times.
Step 1: Get a cheap roll of Mylar at your local dollar store OR home depot if your a baller.
Step 2: Find an intact aluminum can (empty of course) and use a can opener on the top end.
**Be very careful, the can will be extremely sharp and these next steps can be very dangerous if you fiddle a lot or have problems keeping a steady hand.**
Step 3. Flip the can over, and use the can opener on the BOTTOM of the can. By the bottom i mean the INSIDE of the "can stand" loop, the bottom hole will NOT be as big as the top of the can.
Step 4: Slice the can from top to bottom directly in half using a straight razor or a pair of sharp strong scissors. Do not cut all the way through on EITHER SIDE - leave about a half inch to work with!
Step 5: Apply the mylar to the inside of the can with spray glue adhesive, make sure the glue you use can withstand heat when dry. Press the mylar firmly in place so there are no ripples and uneven spots. Trip the mylar to the edge of the can and place a tiny strip of electrical tape on the lip of the can/mylar to cover the sharp edge and hold the mylar down on the sides.
Step 6, With a hole puncher or knife or whatever u poke with, punch 4-8 holes towards the BOTTOM ( picture the can upright ) on the half pipe shell. You should have something that looks similar to this:
Anyway guys its taken me a while to document doing all of that, uplaod the pics and organize this little post.
The entire thing should cost you about 2 bucks per light and thats ONLY if you use monster cans lol you can easily do this with cheaper coke or pepsi cans and save a bunch of money.
This method of CFL lighting allows you to place the light within 2-5" of the plant and still be able to effectively produce massive buds.
If anybody has any questions or comments feel free to ask. My entire setup has these on them I removed the to show you guys the diff in the pic. My babies are only a couple weeks old and are over 3 feet tall flowering.
Whoever says you CANT grow big healthy stinky nuggets with CFLs is a retard and probably trying to misinform you. There are ways to go about certain things and just because one is too lazy to think of them doesnt mean they dont exist.
PS: As a side note this is what the comparison pic looks like, check my baby in the back - 5" away CFL healthy as a fucking horse.
*EDITT* I was asked via PM by multiple people to explain the actual purposes of what this is for and what everything does so here goes...
The aluminum can is nothing but the structure for which you will make the CFL reflector. The hole cut in the top of the can is nearly a perfect fit for a regular sized 100w equiv. cfl. When you cut the can into a half pipe you create the "reflector base" where you then will apply the reflective Mylar strips (on the inside of course). After the mylar is applied you want to secure the edges with gorrilla tape or somethign that can withstand heat. Turn it over (so you are looking at the inside where the bulb will go) and at the base of the reflector poke 4-8 holes for HEAT VENTILATION... I was specifically asked why the holes are necessary and its for dispersing heat, if you dont do it your bulb will get so hot it will probably just fry. After that you want to clip the edges to create a { looking curve to broaden the reflection of the light as you please.
Seperate question : How did you get the socket to hold the light without tape. Okay this is going to be complicated to explain but I will try. You place the bulb base into the hole and from the bottom up ** HOLDING EVERYTHING VERY SECURELY AS TO NOT SLICE UR SHIT OPEN** push up the aluminum from the bottom up on bothsides so it points at the front, you then fold one end of the "point" in and press it shut. This will create more of a hold. You then take a piece of tape and wrap it around the rough area to #1 get rid of the shit that cuts you #2 thicken the ridge so the bulb base fits tighter.
Any other questions let me know!
Request a sticky! In place of the other one that fails!
Just wanted to stop in and give you all my information on growing with cfls. I just finished my first CFL harvest and then saw the "light to foliage" sticky post and was kind-of outraged.
I want everyone to read very carefully, and feel free to debate anything you feel necessary!
As per the sticky post, the lights should remain 1" from each exterior piece of foliage when growing with CFL's. Wrong. Plants grow, they grow toward light at a rapid rate, ESPECIALLY when put into 12/12 or beginner sprouts. When you put a CFL 1" from the plant you are taking a SERIOUS risk not only for your plant but for your life.
Let me explain.
I tried the whole 1" away technique and almost ruined my entire crop early.. I placed my bulbs an inch away from the top 4 fan leaves and left them be for the day as I went to work. I came home from work, took a shower - came back in and found that the fan leaves were intertwined in the bulbs (3 pointer leaves sticking through it). Immediately I removed the fan leaves but it was too late - the growth was 100% brown/blackish crispy and dead.
I agree with the fact that lighting should be close to the plant but there are MANY ways to solve this issue so that you can comfortably keep the lights at a 2-3" distance away at all times.
Step 1: Get a cheap roll of Mylar at your local dollar store OR home depot if your a baller.
Step 2: Find an intact aluminum can (empty of course) and use a can opener on the top end.
**Be very careful, the can will be extremely sharp and these next steps can be very dangerous if you fiddle a lot or have problems keeping a steady hand.**
Step 3. Flip the can over, and use the can opener on the BOTTOM of the can. By the bottom i mean the INSIDE of the "can stand" loop, the bottom hole will NOT be as big as the top of the can.
Step 4: Slice the can from top to bottom directly in half using a straight razor or a pair of sharp strong scissors. Do not cut all the way through on EITHER SIDE - leave about a half inch to work with!
Step 5: Apply the mylar to the inside of the can with spray glue adhesive, make sure the glue you use can withstand heat when dry. Press the mylar firmly in place so there are no ripples and uneven spots. Trip the mylar to the edge of the can and place a tiny strip of electrical tape on the lip of the can/mylar to cover the sharp edge and hold the mylar down on the sides.
Step 6, With a hole puncher or knife or whatever u poke with, punch 4-8 holes towards the BOTTOM ( picture the can upright ) on the half pipe shell. You should have something that looks similar to this:
Anyway guys its taken me a while to document doing all of that, uplaod the pics and organize this little post.
The entire thing should cost you about 2 bucks per light and thats ONLY if you use monster cans lol you can easily do this with cheaper coke or pepsi cans and save a bunch of money.
This method of CFL lighting allows you to place the light within 2-5" of the plant and still be able to effectively produce massive buds.
If anybody has any questions or comments feel free to ask. My entire setup has these on them I removed the to show you guys the diff in the pic. My babies are only a couple weeks old and are over 3 feet tall flowering.
Whoever says you CANT grow big healthy stinky nuggets with CFLs is a retard and probably trying to misinform you. There are ways to go about certain things and just because one is too lazy to think of them doesnt mean they dont exist.
PS: As a side note this is what the comparison pic looks like, check my baby in the back - 5" away CFL healthy as a fucking horse.
*EDITT* I was asked via PM by multiple people to explain the actual purposes of what this is for and what everything does so here goes...
The aluminum can is nothing but the structure for which you will make the CFL reflector. The hole cut in the top of the can is nearly a perfect fit for a regular sized 100w equiv. cfl. When you cut the can into a half pipe you create the "reflector base" where you then will apply the reflective Mylar strips (on the inside of course). After the mylar is applied you want to secure the edges with gorrilla tape or somethign that can withstand heat. Turn it over (so you are looking at the inside where the bulb will go) and at the base of the reflector poke 4-8 holes for HEAT VENTILATION... I was specifically asked why the holes are necessary and its for dispersing heat, if you dont do it your bulb will get so hot it will probably just fry. After that you want to clip the edges to create a { looking curve to broaden the reflection of the light as you please.
Seperate question : How did you get the socket to hold the light without tape. Okay this is going to be complicated to explain but I will try. You place the bulb base into the hole and from the bottom up ** HOLDING EVERYTHING VERY SECURELY AS TO NOT SLICE UR SHIT OPEN** push up the aluminum from the bottom up on bothsides so it points at the front, you then fold one end of the "point" in and press it shut. This will create more of a hold. You then take a piece of tape and wrap it around the rough area to #1 get rid of the shit that cuts you #2 thicken the ridge so the bulb base fits tighter.
Any other questions let me know!
Request a sticky! In place of the other one that fails!
