Wats and lumen for flowering stage in a micro-grow

Hi there,

Looking for a suggestion here, what would be better for flowering:

2 x 26W 6500k CFL

or

2 x 18W 3700k CFL

at the moment I've got 1x26W and 1x18W. Thought that a mix could work fine.
BTW, it's a micro-grow, very little space. I've been vegetating with the two
26W and it worked fine.

Thanks

I think that popular belief would say 2x18w 3700k, many would say 1 of each and maximise the output whilst combining the spectrums, personally, I would go for the 2 18w 3700k, based on experience.
A plant will still enter and progress through flowering stage with a high frequency bulb, however belief states that lower frequencies are better for flowering, I have not seen any empirical evidence to support this and I'm too new to the game to be able to claim greater knowledge.

I would suggest going 2 weeks with what you have and then adding another 18w ino the mix, see how that affects space and temps, more energy will only increase your yield and if you can fit it in there you should.

Hi spindles,
Thanks for the reply. That's also what i read, that 3700k is better for flowering stage. I was having doubts because the watts/lumens difference is quite big, with the 26W it's around 3000 lumens and with the 18W it's around 2000. That's why I wasn't really sure if it was worthy to use the two 3700 bulbs with the lost of around 1000 lumens.

Use all four...more light is always better...especially with cfl's.

spindles said:

I think that popular belief would say 2x18w 3700k, many would say 1 of each and maximise the output whilst combining the spectrums, personally, I would go for the 2 18w 3700k, based on experience.
A plant will still enter and progress through flowering stage with a high frequency bulb, however belief states that lower frequencies are better for flowering, I have not seen any empirical evidence to support this and I'm too new to the game to be able to claim greater knowledge.

I would suggest going 2 weeks with what you have and then adding another 18w ino the mix, see how that affects space and temps, more energy will only increase your yield and if you can fit it in there you should.

Click to expand...

Higher spectrums during flowering will increase tricome production...it's been proven already...low spectrum helps create larger buds...so by using a mix of both low and high spectrums...you will get optimal results!

hi homegrownboy

Many thanks for the advice. I'll continue with the mix then and I'll use the other 2 in a pc grow box I got Right now I don't have more clf's and neither more cables to connect them but I'll definitely keep it in mind for the future, maybe some time this month

I was also worried that more watts/lumens will harm the plants but I guess that may not happen now that they are big. When they were smaller those 2 26W were too much to take. I'll watch them closely when I do it so I don't harm them.

BTW, really like your avatar ;D happy days!

lince said:

hi homegrownboy

Many thanks for the advice. I'll continue with the mix then and I'll use the other 2 in a pc grow box I got Right now I don't have more clf's and neither more cables to connect them but I'll definitely keep it in mind for the future, maybe some time this month

I was also worried that more watts/lumens will harm the plants but I guess that may not happen now that they are big. When they were smaller those 2 26W were too much to take. I'll watch them closely when I do it so I don't harm them.

BTW, really like your avatar ;D happy days!

Click to expand...

Even on a cloudy day...the sun puts out more lummens then a 1000W HPS, a few extra cfl's won't hurt your plant...in fact it will be beneficial. The only thing you'll have to watch for is the temperatures...even cfl's can get hot enough to hurt your babies!

CFLs get especially hot when compared with the larger bulbs. Beware of the heat monster.

I say mix um up. I have 2700 with 5500-6500 I use them all for veg and flower. The only thing I change is the cycle or light and the Nuts they are getting. I thought I had also read somewere that once you get into the 3500-4500 ranged they are pretty much useless as they dont produse a useable light specrtum. Idealy you want 2500-3000 and 5000-6500 ranages the once betweens those dont work well.

Thanks for the replies everybody I'm convinced jeje I'll put another bulb (I think I've got a 22W bulb) and see how it goes, I don't think I'll have a heat problem coz I've got a good ventilation and it's also not very worm here (between 24ºC/75ºF and 28ºC/82ºF in the box) but will keep an eye on it whatever makes my babies happier

Who knows, if it goes well I may end up adding more and more lumens

You're actually not adding lummes but rather lux, it's complicated and it has been an issue in the past here with a great deal of arguing...in the end people still have there own opinions.