CFL help!

Just baught a 23W cfl that puts out 100W.also baught a energy smart 42W cfl that puts out 150W. There both screw in lights. is this too much or too little for a seedling? I have another 23W I can use instead, but I'm not sure. Its a clone/seedling room. help I don't wanna kill my baby!

that's enough for a seedling. but whats your Kalvens at? should be using 6400k

Id just use the 42w till a few weeks old


Beech

What are the Kalvens of the lights?..wattage is just energy used..dosent really mean nothing. for Vegitation use 6500K and for Flowering use 2700k.

I Believe your 23W would be 2700K and your 42W (no idea..never seen a 42W..but what I have read, would say aprox 5000K?).

It might be OKay if you use ALL the lights when they are done germ stage..but do not think it will be sufficient enough for a "good" veg stage with just those!

They will work however for the "Flowering stage" no problems.

Also, for your seedlings... Me, myself do not use lights at all until they are 2 weeks old.

Bottom line.....Get some good bulbs that cost more than 5.00 a piece at Walmart, or you are wasting your time.

The 42W is 2700 lemens and the 23 is 1600 lumens it doesn't say kalvens.. But with both, its 4300 lumens. And I'm only veging for 2-3 weeks. Then strait to flower in a different room. Its just a seed and clone room. Only need enough light for beggining veg stages

nickthestick said:

The 42W is 2700 lemens and the 23 is 1600 lumens it doesn't say kalvens.. But with both, its 4300 lumens. And I'm only veging for 2-3 weeks. Then strait to flower in a different room. Its just a seed and clone room. Only need enough light for beggining veg stages

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Kelvins not Kalvins

Beech

Adding more lights does not necessarily mean that you will have more lumens. Lumen outputs are maxed with just one light...more lights just means "filling up dead space" where the other plants are not getting enough light source...adding more lights does NOT give you more Lumens. They will grow..just not so good with what you have during Veg stage.....Use them both during veg..different types of Lumens will help 100% (as what you have).

Get what you need..these are cheap off of ebay.....and these will work for what you want...link below;
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/6-CFL-BULBS-2-5000K-60W-2-6500K-75W-2-2700K-100W-/150742063719?pt=US_Light_Bulbs&hash=item2318ed5a67&_uhb=1#ht_1790wt_932

(they are not the best..but will do the trick for a low budget set-up)

Lumens add linearly. if you have 2 50 lumen LEDs in a reflector, it will produce 100lm of light at the source. If you have 2 50lm lights in individual reflectors, pointed in the exact same direction, you still have about the same lumen output.


What startes to get confusing is that lm are relatively useless, because there are so many other variables involved - distance, reflective surfaces, where the light is pointed.

nickthestick said:

Just baught a 23W cfl that puts out 100W.also baught a energy smart 42W cfl that puts out 150W. There both screw in lights. is this too much or too little for a seedling? I have another 23W I can use instead, but I'm not sure. Its a clone/seedling room. help I don't wanna kill my baby!

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I think you're reading the labels wrong.
A 23w CFL is the 'equivalent' of a 100w incandescent bulb.
If you're vegging, you want at least 5000k (Or Kelvin), and for flowering, 2700k.
If you only have a couple of the 5000k or 6500k to veg, you can supplement with the 2700k bulbs, it will not hurt.
If you read the label, you should see 2 ratings, usually in small print, but one is 'lumens', which is the brightness of it, and the other is 'k', or 'Kelvin', which is the spectrum, like soft, warm, daylight, etc.
If you can get a couple more, in the 5000k to 6500k range, I'm sure you will put them to good use soon, if not right away.
I vegged one plant for a month, with 4x 13w 5000k bulbs, and 2x 23w 2700k bulbs and she turned out happy.

lol at bakatarre. Do not answer if you have no clue dude..you are totally wrong.

What I'm hoping is, that its not too much light and won't start a fire, and its on 18/6 now, its in a cupbord in my room, and is flat white on all sides. I have a few pics but they suck, and my phone sucks I can't find the pic upload thing.

nickthestick said:

Just baught a 23W cfl that puts out 100W.also baught a energy smart 42W cfl that puts out 150W. There both screw in lights. is this too much or too little for a seedling? I have another 23W I can use instead, but I'm not sure. Its a clone/seedling room. help I don't wanna kill my baby!

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Regardless of what has been said already YES you can use those cfl bulbs their both probably 2700k........right?.........these bulbs are usually used for flowering BUT you can use them even on a seedling..........think about it they thrive in nature under full sun.........most places.....with this being said bulbs with a kelvin(color temp)5000k or higher,i've seen 6500k and 6700k should be used while veg.....or before you start to flower.......using a mixed set of bulbs.......like your 23w and 42w 2700k plus a few more 5000k or higher bulbs would be ideal.GL.peace

I found a 25w 5000k bulb I swapped it with the 42w 2700k. It says full spectrum lighting. So I'm hoping that's what I need. So I have 1 23w 2700k and a 25w 5000k.

JaysBud said:

lol at bakatarre. Do not answer if you have no clue dude..you are totally wrong.

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Care to elaborate........

Beech

nickthestick said:

I found a 25w 5000k bulb I swapped it with the 42w 2700k. It says full spectrum lighting. So I'm hoping that's what I need. So I have 1 23w 2700k and a 25w 5000k.

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Nice......you can/should add more light as it grows.Keep reading more cfl grow info.You'll get it....keep with a mixed spectrum you should get better results.GL.peace

JaysBud said:

lol at bakatarre. Do not answer if you have no clue dude..you are totally wrong.

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Had to stop LOL'ing at you long enough to ask what I said that was incorrect.
And, furthermore, if you're going to sit there trying to tell somebody they are wrong, it would make it appear as if you might actually know something if you could provide facts to back up your statement.