250w Of Full Spectrum CFl's For Grow?

i'm planning on using 1x 125w blue cfl and 1x 125w in dual for my hydro grow, i'm growing 2 big-bangs (it's a skunk, northern lights & el nino hybrid) in a scrog setup, about 1.3 x 1.3 x 2foot.

i can't afford to use a hps cos' of the heat issue + ventilation, so i was wondering - will this work if i use them for 24:0 for the first few weeks of vegging, switch to 18:6, then 12:12 flowering?
(i've got all the nutes, timers, air intale + outtake, mylar, ph and ppm issues sorted)

this is the unfinished grow box:

and what sort of yeild can i expect?

and if somehow i was to use a hps what sort of yeild would that produce. and how would i ventilate it enough in such a small space?

hmm, i've been looking and it seems like hps's are by far the better option.

if i bought a 200watt one and installed it in the growbox with some killer ventilation, would it be a secure investment?

tightt!

Yeah i think a 70watt hps would work in that with the prober ventilation.

My space is 1.5'l 1.5'w and 18" deep and ill be sticking a 150w hps in it. But then again i do have 6 120mm computer fans for my vent system... lookin good though. I actually like the high power cfl idea, though they dont have the same intensity, get them close and i would imagine the results can be almost matched to the hps. Just got to get em reall close, so the highest intensity output is utilized.


and yeah, i think your buds will be 75 watts better with the 200w, the higher wattage the better, go for it!! if my space can fit 150ws than shit, anything is possible!

awesome, i'm looking at this and make my own ventilation system for the light. would that, combined with the ventilation in the growbox be enough?

Woa woa woat there rough rider. Lol. Hold on to your saddle. Did you give me the right link? cause i was linked to a 250w hps?

Ok not anything is possible, but you can do wonders with the proper ventilation. The highest possible hps system id say is 150w hps with a personal guess of about 4 comp fans or a low powered blower fan (150cfm and up), than maby. Hey is noise an issue for you? cause i may have just the fan... This think will rip a peice of paper accross the room like 5 feet, im guessing it has close to 250cfm, but it makes quite the racket, im not going to lie.

hah, would a 150w be worth investing in, i mean would the yield be much larger than if i used cfl's?

taking into account the cost of the extra ventilation as well.

having used both CFLs and HPS... go with the HPS if you can. it makes a world difference.

not just in yield but in ease of growing... moving CFLs around is a daily job.

CFLs are a false sense of economy.

bfq said:

having used both CFLs and HPS... go with the HPS if you can. it makes a world difference.

not just in yield but in ease of growing... moving CFLs around is a daily job.

CFLs are a false sense of economy.

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I'd bet that 150w of HPS wouldn't require much more venting, if any, than 250w of CFLs -- especially if you could place the ballast outside the cabinet. In my experience the CFL ballasts get pretty warm, especially with the big 85w+ bulbs.

Looking at eBay, two AgroSun 125w CFLs cost around $120 with shipping. An 150w HPS one-piece unit (lens and enclosed ballast) costs $125 with shipping. The AgroSun lights will give you 15,000 lumens -- the HPS will give you 16,000. So it's a matter of spending more money to get less light and lose more space to another bulky bulb.

not having experience yet with smaller HPS i can only guess... i am guessing kenaz is correct... 150 or even 250 watt HPS cant be that awful to deal with.... seen a lot of micro grows using them.

I'd bet that 150w of HPS wouldn't require much more venting, if any, than 250w of CFLs -- especially if you could place the ballast outside the cabinet. In my experience the CFL ballasts get pretty warm, especially with the big 85w+ bulbs.

Looking at eBay, two AgroSun 125w CFLs cost around $120 with shipping. An 150w HPS one-piece unit (lens and enclosed ballast) costs $125 with shipping. The AgroSun lights will give you 15,000 lumens -- the HPS will give you 16,000. So it's a matter of spending more money to get less light and lose more space to another bulky bulb.

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i can get 2 125watt cfl's for 90$ inc. postage, non-ebay.

sublimed said:

i can get 2 125watt cfl's for 90$ inc. postage, non-ebay.

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spend the extra on HPS.

If you want to see what results a 250w dual cfl gets check out my grow

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/98266-my-cfl-lowryder-2-grow.html

HPS does seem better but my cfl creates a nice gentle heat and doesnt need all the fans and stuff, and Ive been quite impressed with it so far. Ive never used the HPS tho!

imo the hps will get a lot hotter and be unnecessary, IF and thats a BIG IF, you could even fit the hps in there it would probably be too much for how little the plants will be working with a 2 foot tall 1.3 foot wide grow box


go with the cfls and skip the headache of possible super high temps and accidently burning your plants, even if you hooked up the ventalation it would probably still be too much idk

my box is 20"Hx15"Dx16"W
i use 1 125w in there with no dedicated exhaust fans just the door ajar and one 90mm pc fan across the light/plant tops. could easily run 2 CFLs in there no worries with a proper exhaust fan setup. i got 2 of these lights from ebay for $50 inc post, bargain eh.
ive got a 250w HPS for flowering with and theres no way id bother to try and fit it in the box with the ambient temps we get here. youd need some well set up venting to keep it cool but i rekon itd be doable if the ambients arent too high.
the 250w HPS is blindingly bright compared to the 125w CFLs.
a 70w HPS puts out about the same light as a 125w CFL.