What do you need to look for when shopping for CFLs

I've heard a few different oponions about what you need to look for when shopping for CFLs for your grow. Someone posted recently in my grow journal that you need atleast 6500K. I had been working under the assumption that it was all about the lumens. And others look at nothing but watts (though isn't there essentially a direct relationship between the increase in watts and the increase in lumens?)

What is it that you need to look for when shopping? And how much of it do you need?

2700k warm for blooming
6500k soft white for veg
look for actual wattage, the bigger the better, as many as you can
a mixture of the two is what i use.2700k has a better or more developed red spectrum, while 6500k has the blue you want for early growth.

40acres said:

2700k warm for blooming
6500k soft white for veg
look for actual wattage, the bigger the better, as many as you can
a mixture of the two is what i use.2700k has a better or more developed red spectrum, while 6500k has the blue you want for early growth.

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I've been having a hard time finding 6500K lights. Would I need one bulb that produces 6500, or can I use the 3 bulbs I got the other day that are 3000K each?

The K rating for a light, Indicates what type of light the bulb produces.....not how much light....the higher the k rating, like 6500 for example...The bulb puts out more of the blue light spectrum...which is what plants prefer for vegging....the lower the K rating, like those 3000k lights you bought....the more light they put out in the red spectrum which is good for budding.....you can use the 3000k lights to grow but your plants will grow slower....use the 3000k lights and go get a few "DAYLIGHT" cfl's from home depot....or they may say "NATURAL LIGHT" on the package

So, I went shopping an hour or so ago. Everything I wanted that Lowes and walmart didn't have, Home Depot did. So here's my question: I picked up 2 bulbs 23watts (100 watt equiv) 5500K. They were the closest I could find to 6500. My total number of lights right now is the 2 5500K lights, 3 23 wat 300Ks and 3 13 watt 3000Ks. Now do I want to just run the 5500s now and save the others for flowering or should I have them all going?

I was told by a few different sources to (if your using three lights per plant) to use 2 coll white cfl's, and one warm cfl for veg, and then flip flop to two warm and one cool for budding. I have been recommended to use both types of light in both stages, just more of one type depending on the stage your in. Then again, I am starting my first grow with this setup so we'll see how it turns out. Good luck to you!

Peg said:

I was told by a few different sources to (if your using three lights per plant) to use 2 coll white cfl's, and one warm cfl for veg, and then flip flop to two warm and one cool for budding. I have been recommended to use both types of light in both stages, just more of one type depending on the stage your in. Then again, I am starting my first grow with this setup so we'll see how it turns out. Good luck to you!

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What considered cool and waht's considered warm?

Use everything you have....the more the better.....sounds to me like you have about 150 watts...you could grow 1 maybe 2 plants with those lights....enjoy

The packets of CFL light bulbs will generally come in three different types of packaging. Either there will be the general purpose. The 'daylight' ones and the soft ones.

The daylight ones tend to be the cool whites. The ones for vegging. For the 23w cool whites your looking at around 6500 (k)elvin @ around 2700 lumens. If you buy the 42w version you get around 4500k and 3600 or so lumens.
For the soft whites, the ones for budding you want the lowest k rating you can find. The 23w soft whites are around 2500k and 1700 lumens. I'm not sure about the 42w as I have never used one.

And I'm not really sure on the general purpose ones because I never used them either.

The big thing to remember about CFLs is to get them as close as possible to get the best results. Within an inch or two of the plant should be fine. Never touching though

wow man . ive posted in 3 different peoples threads about this. 6500k is what you want . i have a bunch of 6500 k full spectrum daylight bulbs. 2 bucks each brand new. and yes its about lumens. the average on a 6500k bulb is about 1600 lumens. which aint shit compared to a mh .

This is my current setup. The 2 lights in front are 23 watt 5500K the other two are 23 watt 3000Ks, and on both sides of the wall there is aluminum foil. On my next trip to walmart I plan on picking up a small fan.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Should I add more light? I have more bulbs and lamp space.

if your gonna do it, do it right, get a higher kelvin temp for daylight spectrum man. dont mess with the weak stuff. 6500k for veg 2700k for flowering. while your at buying new ones. get a bunch for the lighting in your house you use most. saves a bit on electr bill. (unless your livin with mommy n dada) . i have a bunch for 2 bucks a piece brand new. 23w 6500k full spectrum daylight.

ok, u want to run all ur lights during veg.. the more light the better (more light=faster growth)

firebrand18rjr said:

wow man . ive posted in 3 different peoples threads about this. 6500k is what you want . i have a bunch of 6500 k full spectrum daylight bulbs. 2 bucks each brand new. and yes its about lumens. the average on a 6500k bulb is about 1600 lumens. which aint shit compared to a mh .

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well if you have 12 1600 lumen bulbs you get 19200 and i believe i saw a 400w mh putting out about 25000 but with the 12 cfl's you only use 276w and for a small setup you dont have the heat or the cost and this can also be changed out come flower time to the 2500k ones

firebrand18rjr said:

if your gonna do it, do it right, get a higher kelvin temp for daylight spectrum man. dont mess with the weak stuff. 6500k for veg 2700k for flowering. while your at buying new ones. get a bunch for the lighting in your house you use most. saves a bit on electr bill. (unless your livin with mommy n dada) . i have a bunch for 2 bucks a piece brand new. 23w 6500k full spectrum daylight.

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I've looked three different places so far, 5500 is the highest I could find. Unless I find some in one of my other trips they'll have to do. Maybe I'll order some for my next grow; I'm already planning on ordering some mylar for it.

i have a bunch for sale if you want em . 2 bucks a piece. 6500k full spectrum daylight.

as many as possile. Most watts. 42w are good.

if you want 6500k cfls checkout ebay. do a search for 'SAD light'. you will get a load of 6500k lights. just scroll down for the cfl versions. they do wattages from about 5 to 250. to have the setup more efficient get more bulbs. to have the setup more simple get higher wattages

Finally gave in and bought 400w hps/mh light ... 55,000 lumens is just too tempting ... cc - $140 ... not bad