300w cfl ???

i am currently using 4 36w 4ft flourescent tubes and 3 20w cfls to grow 4 plants only a couple of weeks old in the near future i will need more light and was wondering what light would be best

http://www.basementlighting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?page=1/prod/300cfl
this one has a higher lumen out put but cant come in dual spectrum


http://www.basementlighting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?page=1/prod/elc250
this one has a lower lumen output but can come in dual spectrum

so i was wondering what light i should get and would dual spectrum be better than just one of a specific spectrum??

all help is appreciated

Yeh I also ordered that first bulb, one in blue and another in red. It is pretty good and the sight is efficient. One word of warning, the bulb is VERY big, make sure you have room for it.
If you are going to get one, I would do what I did and get one in blue and one in red from the second link, and swap between grow veg period and flower.

If you get that bulb, you will have 504 Watts worth of CFL in total, is that really needed, that 504 Watts will put out less lumes and only a little less heat than a 250 Watt HPS kit (£60): http://www.grotec.co.uk/products.php?DepartmentID=25 (Scroll down the page a bit).

I can't be sure, but I think you may get 2 decent pants, maybe 3, but I doubt all four would be good yields.

I spent quite a bit of money on CFL lights, all went to waste now I have a HPS/MH hit, get one, you won't regret it

I used a 300w vegging light from the same supplier and boy, did my girls like that!

I am currently using a 250w red, 2x85w red and they seem to be liking that in flowering.

thanks for help the only problem is i have less height in my grow room so i could not hang a hot bulb that high away fro the plants, does the 300w cfl put out alot of heat, and would on of those along with my 4 36w flourescent tubes and 3 20w cfls be enough to grow properly and bug i i got in red spectrum. i also found this buit im not sure i can afford to keep it cool if i got this

http://www.basementlighting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=HRLP

i really appreciate the help cos i am not sure what i will need to do or if ill h ave the money

my grow room is approx 40 cubic foot and have uite good air flow just it only about 5 ft high at ita tallest point

yES, THAT'S definitely enough light. I'm flowering right now with 200 watts of CFL....a 300 watt CFL will put out ALOT of heat though. Maybe even more than a 150 watt HPS. I would get an HPS if I were you.

does anyone have any cheap hps or mh websites for the uk then because i can only find cheap ones that are like 600w what wattage would be ideal do you think

I've used 300w 6400k (in combination with 2x65w 6400k) and am now using 250w 2700k (in combination with 2x85w 2700k) and heat is not the problem it is for me with HPS, so much so that I stuck my ballast on ebay today.

I have found that the heat output from CFLs is not that much of a concern and I just run a fan for circulation inside the cab and a 50w fan running extraction on about 1/4 speed through a carbon filter and that seems to be fine.

When I am done with this grow I will write up my findings properly, but I have been taking temps with a USB thermometer since day 1 and have graphs showing the impact on my airspace of 600w HPS, 400w HPS and between 130w and 550w CFL, I can tell you now that the difference is massive and with HPS alot of those watts are pouring straight out as heat. I personally, based on my reading, knowledge of the physics and experience so far, would say that a 250w HPS was considerably less economical next to a similarly rated CFL.

I would state quite clearly however that I am on my first grow and base everything I say on reading and experimenting with the equipment to reveal hard data. I do not have a crop from both sources in the same setup to say "this is what you'll get".

I am using a300w and a 200watt cfl it sounds sill but the 300 watt one is brighter but cooler than the 200 watt one you will be OK with the 300 watt just have a good fan and all will be well good luck

I recently switched from about 350w of CFL to 250w HPS, I'm only about 2 weeks into flower with the new round but the difference is tremendous let me tell you. Where CFL's would give me only a few inches of dark green canopy growth (I LST heavily) the 250w HPS has my 13 inch girls dark green from top to bottom so far!

Let me confirm what the CFL guru's repeat over and again: CFL's are a lot less of a heat concern then HPS.

Don't get me wrong, watt for watt, they seem to accumulate the same amount of overall heat in an enclosed space, but my cabinet required a couple more upgrades to handle the extremely hot single point source.

Also, infrared (radiated heat energy) is A LOT more of an issue with HPS then with CFL, I find white painted walls do better then mylar as paint absorbs all that heat in light form whereas mylar will make it bounce around in the cab until the girls get hit by it. (I downgraded from mylar walls to white walls, and the girls still get more light overall even with reduced reflectivity).

Overall, I'll gladly take the extra complications for the results I'm seeing, but I can certainly see why some people prefer CFLs, especially in small or difficult to ventilate spaces.

I run 4-100W CFLs. 2 are 2700K and the other two are 4100K. The added blue takes away almost all my stretch as opposed to having all warm whites, and all my nuggs look very, very, dense so far. Each bulb puts out 7,100 Lumens. Heat is no issue. In fact several times I have found my leafs growing right into the center of the spiral without burning... I can hold my hand on the glass for a moment without any discomfort.

So yeah. You get the point. Listen to what VH13 has to say as he has the most experience. I use CFl's cause I'm growing in rubbermaid bins. HPs's are definitely hotter than CFL's watt for watt. However, HPS's are also Waaaay more efficient and will give you bigger better buds. I'm running 250 wats of CFl in 2 rubbermaid bins, but if I could start over, I would buy 1 150 watt HPS (you can find them as security lights at places like home depot). Good luck

so in a 40 square foot growing space that can get quite hot on its own in the summer what would be the best light source seeing as height is an issue

jr22hockey said:

yES, THAT'S definitely enough light. I'm flowering right now with 200 watts of CFL....a 300 watt CFL will put out ALOT of heat though. Maybe even more than a 150 watt HPS. I would get an HPS if I were you.

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300 Watt CFl is realy not that hot. One 120mm PC fan for in and out will be easily enough.

If heat and height are both issues I would definitely go with the high wattage CFL. And if you have two 120 mm fans, makes both of them your exhaust and use a passive intake