CFL vs Tube

norcaliiguy said:

i dont think there is any possible way you could burn a plant from 16" with a cfl. especially 26w

Click to expand...

yep, its not possible! Are you confusing heat stress with 'burn'? .... lets have a pic? if the temps are too high (ie no ventilation) it will certainly cause leaf edge to curl up or 'cup' and will dry them out, is this whats happening?

Anyway, heres a simple solution for you, you need air in and air out, then consider a thin glass heat shield (see pic). I run 16 CFL bulbs in my little cab for a total of 375 watts and temps remain at 75 - 77. With this your buds can be within an 1" of the glass and remain unaffected by heat

Hope this helps. Pics hows lights off, but you get the idea! Bulbs are resting on the glass.

How big our your plants and how many? I found my tube lamp worked really well when they are still under 6". especially if you have a few plants because you can put them all in a line at first and get the tube within 2 inches of the tallest plant... I did this for getting a head start on an outdoor summer grow. Helped because i got an extra 2 weeks of 24 hour light before they went outside. Ended up with a 7'. That was last summer and now i want to indoor grow. I am now looking into a closet grow but don't know what kind of light i need for flowering... (a little off topic i know) but can i have a successful yield using only CFL's/tubes? (aka no HID?). HPS or metal halide aren't going to work for me unfortunately due to the heat and overall space needed to set up a well ventilated grow room..

Would appreciate any advice... Thanks.