looking for more lights to increase yield in flowering

have an auto under two 125 cfls, have read alot about how if i want a serious yield with some dense buds i need to get an hid lighting system.. the cfls im using are "full spectrum grow lights" MY QUESTION IS can i use this light bulb Philips
400-Watt ED28 Clear Metal Halide HID Light Bulb to help with flowering, and if so do i need to turn off the cfls
thanks in advance, cheezy

What temp are those CFL? Leaving any CFL on is not going to hurt. More light helps. It just helps most when its output matches the plants needs. And what are you going to run that 400 with? Ballast already or buying? Reflector or hood? For a single plant a 250 HPS would work fine. Especially with the CFL.

i would at least change the full spectrum cfls to a 2700-3000k spectrum, more for flower. and a hps instead of mh, again, more for flower.

cfl lights dont have that much heat, but more lights helps, i would say add more if you want more yield

i have just considered buying that hid today but probably going to wait until next grow, thanks for the help guys, probably just going to add another cfl to help my yield,http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/311UNq2WB4L.jpg i have three of these and two smaller ones for two plants.. hopefully the 625 in total is enough for a good yield, looking for maybe a oz-oz1/2 per 2 and a half foot auto berry ryders?

Just so you're clear. What you have there is an HID lightbulb. Not a normal lightbulb. An HID lightbulb won't fit in your normal sized socket, and also needs something called a ballast to make it work. Let's just check that you know you need the HID bulb + HID ballast + HID reflector in order to have anything you're able to use on your plants!!

The fact that you're asking about the bulb on its own worries me a bit!

thanks coco, yea i understand the the reflector ballast, im more new to forums and "lingo" for lights than i am growing haha. but your right i am a little confused on the lighting, that bulb can be used for growing, espcially flowering as long as a ballast and reflector are inplace? and are the cfls im using hps and if not what is the difference so confused haha

also in this post of yours from your link https://www.rollitup.org/attachments/led-other-lighting/2075297d1332098443-home-made-led-grow-lights-img_1110.jpg, what type of lights are those, with what spectrum? i have them and never used

CHeezyRyder said:

also in this post of yours from your link https://www.rollitup.org/attachments/led-other-lighting/2075297d1332098443-home-made-led-grow-lights-img_1110.jpg, what type of lights are those, with what spectrum? i have them and never used

Click to expand...

The two on the outside are standard CFLs (Compact Fluorescent bulbs, not HID) on red and one more blue. The two in the middle are my own home made 85W LED lights, you can't buy them in the shop pre-made unfortunately. I don't suggest you worry about LED yet. It cost me quite a lot just for those two DIY jobs, and you need to know how to wire it all up and solder too.

Anyway. CFLs are just fluorescent bulbs that have been coiled up to take up less space. The aren't HID, and usually come with their own small ballast built into the bulb so that they can be plugged straight into a normal light bulb socket.

HIDs are High Intensity Discharge lights, and come in two main flavours. Sodium and Metal Halide. Sodium is more efficient, giving out slightly more light than MH, and is a better colour for flowering plants. MH is better for vegetative growth.

Each bulb will be rated to a certain wattage. If you have a 250W HPS bulb you need to use a ballast which is matched to 250W. This is important. If you use a 400W ballast to power a 250W bulb then it will break the bulb, potentially explosively!
The ballast is a small heavy box which you plug into the wall electricity socket. You then plug you HID light bulb into the ballast output.

CFLs are much cooler than HIDs, but they put out less light. Each type of light has benefits, but HPS is really going to give you better buds in the long run...as long as you can control the heat in your grow space...

the 400 will suffice. lose the cfl's in flower. imo

thanks guys, coco really appreciate it

Philips
400-Watt ED37 Metal Halide HID Light Bulb
so just to clarify ^^^ one of these will be much better for flowering than the cfls?

metal halide(MH) for veg and high pressure sodium(HPS) for flower..

HPS & MH Are (HID) so Ballast is needed for either, Cfls with the right spectrum will be fine for 2 smaller to medium plants if done right. HID lighting would be optimal but i have seen some nice harvests under cfls, just need wattage and coverage

CHeezyRyder said:

thanks guys, coco really appreciate it

Philips
400-Watt ED37 Metal Halide HID Light Bulb
so just to clarify ^^^ one of these will be much better for flowering than the cfls?

Click to expand...

Probably yes on pure light intensity alone, but a 400W HPS would be better for flowering than the 400W MH....! Look up Son-t or...better yet, buy a dual spectrum HPS (look up sunmaster HPS on google) and use it right the way through from seedling to harvest...fine for veg and flower!