choosing fluorescent or CFL for cloning / seedling /moms room

hi folks
i am going to buy 3' X 3' tent for keeping 7-8 moms under vegging all the time and making my clones and vegging my seedlings
(i have 5' X 5' sqft flowering room already )

i will buy 250 or 400 watt MH lamp some day,but now i should buy Fluorescent (or CFL,i dont know ) for the vegging moms and clones.
i know only thing that i should buy 6500kFluorescent.
that is all..


but i dont know how many Fluorescents and how many watts should i buy for keeping 7-8 moms at vegging stage all the time and rooting and growing my new clones..
the brand is important ?

in addition,should i buy T5 or T8 and which is better ?i dont know anything about Fluorescents..

In addition,can i buy CFLs instead of fluorescent lamps ?CFLs are very very cheaper than T5/T8 fluorescent lamps ..

what is your opinions ?

i will keep my seedling under these Fluorescents for first 10-15 days untill they would be rooted and after 10-15 days,they will go under 600 watt hps to keep on vegging..

i need your helps,thanks

charlesweedmore said:

hi folks
i am going to buy 3' X 3' tent for keeping 7-8 moms under vegging all the time and making my clones and vegging my seedlings
(i have 5' X 5' sqft flowering room already )

i will buy 250 or 400 watt MH lamp some day,but now i should buy Fluorescent (or CFL,i dont know ) for the vegging moms and clones.
i know only thing that i should buy 6500kFluorescent.
that is all..


but i dont know how many Fluorescents and how many watts should i buy for keeping 7-8 moms at vegging stage all the time and rooting and growing my new clones..
the brand is important ?

in addition,should i buy T5 or T8 and which is better ?i dont know anything about Fluorescents..

In addition,can i buy CFLs instead of fluorescent lamps ?CFLs are very very cheaper than T5/T8 fluorescent lamps ..

what is your opinions ?

i will keep my seedling under these Fluorescents for first 10-15 days untill they would be rooted and after 10-15 days,they will go under 600 watt hps to keep on vegging..

i need your helps,thanks

Click to expand...

you can go with cfls. the watts are not what is inportant. its the lumes that you want to look at try to find the cfls with the most lumes. you will probly want to get 8- 10 for that many plants rember lumes don't add up. it just spreads the light out over a larger space. try to get some y spliters the more cfls you use the more heat you will get. keep your cfls about1-3 inches from your plants. you want 6500k or day light cfls the warm ones are about 2700k best used for flowering. you will need more cfls to flower your plants

Yeah you could go cfl's and have to deal with how your going to set them up and everything, or go with T5 fluorescent. Maybe one or two 2ft 4 bulb T5 fixtures. Each fixture uses 108 watts and makes 10,000 lumens. Pretty efficient.

you can go with cfls. the watts are not what is inportant. its the lumes that you want to look at try to find the cfls with the most lumes. you will probly want to get 8- 10 for that many plants rember lumes don't add up. it just spreads the light out over a larger space. try to get some y spliters the more cfls you use the more heat you will get. keep your cfls about1-3 inches from your plants. you want 6500k or day light cfls the warm ones are about 2700k best used for flowering. you will need more cfls to flower your plants

Click to expand...

so the best way is mixing 6500k and some daylight i think.i have 600w hps for flowering..i will grow 20- 25 plant in 4,5 ' X 4'5 grow cabine.i will keep about 8 moms to get 35-40 clones..i will choose best ones and weak ones will be destroyed with old moms.

Yeah you could go cfl's and have to deal with how your going to set them up and everything, or go with T5 fluorescent. Maybe one or two 2ft 4 bulb T5 fixtures. Each fixture uses 108 watts and makes 10,000 lumens. Pretty efficient.

Click to expand...

4bulb =108w so every lamp has 27 watt..

2ft lenght and width about 1ft. 2 X 1 =2sqft 10000/2= 5k for every sqft.
it sounds like good.but i need bigger area..

is it good ?

Fixture for 4 x 18 Watt fluorescent tubes à 60cm. Ideal for propagation or small grow rooms.ca. 65 x 70 cm.
A power cord is needed.

Click to expand...

but 65 X 70cm = 2,6ft X2,8 ft =7,28 sqft.. 10000/7,68 =1.3k for every sqft.
isnt it very low for rooting clones and new seedlings ?
i will also use this for keeping 8 moms always vegging ..
what is your idea ?

hey i grow outside always from seed and what i do to start my seedlings i put them in foam cups ( 7oz) and i have 1 t5 4ft flourescent fixture that i can grow 50 seedlings in at one time 24/0 for 2 weeks and then outside

hey i grow outside always from seed and what i do to start my seedlings i put them in foam cups ( 7oz) and i have 1 t5 4ft flourescent fixture that i can grow 50 seedlings under at one time 24/0 for 2 weeks and then outside