First Grow! Which CFLs do i need? Bright white, soft white, daylight, etc?

Hello, I'm starting my first indoor grow with bagseed. I have a sprout that just busted the soil, was maybe 1/2 inch tall this morning. I let it sprout outside (b/c after a few days inside seemed like the cfl wasnt getting the job done). Last night i checked it and seen a little green starting to emerge (after brushing away a little soil) so i brought it inside and put it under a 23w (100w actual) sylvania (i think) daylight spectrum cfl bulb (from wal-mart) in one of those aluminum drop light type lamps and it grew like a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch overnight. Anyways I just got back from Lowe's and now i'm totally confused by what additional bulbs i should buy. I currently have two of the 23w from wal-mart with 'daylight spectrum', but am only using one at the moment. I haven't figured out all the grow space, b/c i have an extra bed room (well its the dogs room actually) but dont know if i want it so easily seen. I also have a extra closet in the bathroom that is probably something like 3x4x8 that i plan to flower my plants in (maybe). Anyhow, back to the bulbs. I would like to get some of the slightly bigger lights (some said floodlight on them) i think they were 150w actual and something like 42w that it used. But i couldnt find one that size that was 'daylight' spectrum. So the question is do i want bright white or soft white or should i just stick with the type like i got now (23w daylight spectrum). I know i've read on here somewhere that you used one for flowering and a different one for vegging. And also, what lumen count should i be looking for? I saw them anywhere from 800 to 2600 today. I know this has probably already been answered a million times but could someone please help me out. Oh, i also have 3 more that should be ready to go under lights soon and plan to have a few more if that helps. Sorry so long. PLEASE HELP!

oh, i also forgot. I found some bare sockets but couldnt seem to find the splitters I see ppl using on here, shoud i stick with the aluminum reflector drop light type that i have now and just get a few more of them or disassemble some lamps or what?

ok im new like you and i read and read and read the CFL Indoor GRowing forum, the thing i learned is lumens lumens lumens the more lumens the better you want enough lumens for at least 2200 per sq. ft. check out a few threads the have websites where you can order some for 23 bucks a bulb, but anywho check my grow thread "look what i stumbled upon" cause im using 6 cfls (1 42w (26L), 1x23w (16L), 2x27w (13L ea.), 2x26w (16L ea.) total of 10,000 lumens my space is 2ft x 2ft x 4ft, in three two to one bulbs sockets, 2 bulb to plug sockets, and one bulb extender with plugs on both sides set-up looks like an 2 pointed left, 2 pointed right and 2 pointed down all from the depot
also get you a light timer (wal-Mart 5 bucks or so) and a small fan (desk fan radio shack 4 bucks on sale) mylar for light to surround the plant or paint space flat white.
I hope that helps

You need a mix of bulbs to cover the color spectrum needed for plant growth. Just mix them up get daylight and the others.

OK? what kind of mix should i look for? I already have fans and a on/off auto timer. Just trying to decide on the bulbs. Also, should i change the mix when i get ready to flower? i know these are basic questions, but i have no clue! lol. THANKS GUYS, KEEP IT COMING!

Cdubb84 said:

OK? what kind of mix should i look for? I already have fans and a on/off auto timer. Just trying to decide on the bulbs. Also, should i change the mix when i get ready to flower? i know these are basic questions, but i have no clue! lol. THANKS GUYS, KEEP IT COMING!

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Use an equal mix of bulbs, no need to change the mix for flower if you have a nice bulb combo.

Go to wal-Mart. Invest on the 150 watt equ. 42 watters that let out 2600 lumens. Look for the Daylight spectrum 6500k. buy about 3-4. Then go to lowes or Home Depot And pick up light splitters 1.50$.

There ya go.

NewGrowth said:

You need a mix of bulbs to cover the color spectrum needed for plant growth. Just mix them up get daylight and the others.

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He right its best to mix up the spectrums.

arent the 2700k warm bulbs the most important ? (except of the mix .. )

Ok heres whats it about
the suns spectrums are allwayz a mix but In the summer the blue is one of the main ones but still lots of red if not still more red but winter there alot more red than any
other spectrums

so all spectrums are important .
blue (6400k) (summer)
Red (2100k) (winter)
remember the sun has allwayz got all the main spectrums

So yh 2100K (RED) is more important in flowering but the 6400k (BLUE) is still important in flowering (winter) as growth is mainly to do with blue .

Ok .. tnx .. going to make a little mix for the baby .. hehe

keep to this
IN (Vegging) mostly blue blubs (6400k)
IN (Flowering) mostly red blubs (2100k)
Mostly meaning still add a couple of the vice versa spectrums

exactly what I just did .. put 105W, 65W, 45W of RED and 45W, 23W of BLUE ..
think its enought ?

Yh lol just It

Ok, i think i got it figured out. I know which bulbs are the 'blue' bulbs bc they say daylight on the package and even 6500k on the ones at wal mart (just got back from there). But i'm still confused on the "bright white" and "soft white" and ppl on here are talking about "warm white". Which one is closer the 2100k 'red' spectrum? Or am i'm just being dumb and they are the same?

Yh
'Warm white' or 'Soft white' 3000(K) 333(M)'White' or 'Bright White'3500(K) 286(M)'Cool white'4000(K) 250(M)'Daylight' 5000(K) 200(M)

(K)elvin(m)ired

ok, i've been experimenting with my bulbs a little the last few days and here's what i've done. I got a little girl that Is about 6 inches tall that i transplanted from my flower bed (i randomly throw reject/loose seeds in there just in case, lol) and she had a few bad leaves i removed and buried the first set of leaves too so it's a little shorter. But I started her with (2) 26W Daylights and (1) 26W General Purpose (soft white) and anothe (different brand) (1) 13w Warm white. I used this for a day and didnt see much growth. So Last NIght i removed the 13w warm white and replaced it with a another (1) 26w Daylight and checked it this morning and the bottom leaves where turning yellow and brown and curling up(they were already on their way out when transplanted but left them thinking they might turn around) and i removed the dead/dying leaves and trimmed the second row of leaves on one side. So I removed the 26w Daylight this morning and replaced it with a 26w Soft white. So now i have (2) 26w Daylight and (2) 26w Gen Purp (soft white). So maybe this mix will work. B/c seemed like 3 daylights was too much heat and 2 daylights and 1 big and 1 small soft white wasnt enought heat to promote reapid growth. So hopefully i got it figured out now. Any more help would be great.

go for the daylight spec and some 2700k bulbs

Ok, now that she is a little older and over the shock of being transplanted i've gone back to (3) 26w Daylight and (1) 26w General Purpose (soft white) and seems to being doing really well. Just the right Kelvin temp mix seems like to get that fast growth i'm looking for. How long should I grow this girl out before I start thinking about flowering her?