What is better CFL or HID?

Is CFL cheaper on your electricity bill and arent the bulbs cheaper to buy?

How many Lumens are needed with CFL?



I am considering CFL because I already have a flourescent ballast that hold 2 bulbs I can use.

If CFL suck ill just buy a HID system.

PLEASE HELP GUYS! I really appreciate it. I have been trying to learn everything so fast. There is a lot.

Honestly there are so many variables to think about.
But lets start with your dimesions.
And what are you going to use for ventilation.

all about how you intend to grow and what you hope to yield

tell us more?

CFL's are cheaper both to buy and to use but that does not make em better

Definitely HPS for flowering, but for veg. I've seen some people grow good plants under CFL's so yeah it depends on what your working with. They're cooler and cheaper to run than HID lights.

ok cfls are the best for micro or very small grows hids for medium to large amounts even tho a 150w hps can make you do a dance of joy come harvest time and the amount of lumens needed is dependent on plant numbers sizes gentics and space i would say if its over 2 x 2 hid and under that amount of space cfls are the way to go even then tho a 250w hps will rock that space if your looking for personal head stash in a small space i say cfl can kick ass the ability to mix spectrum is perfect for small clones or plants and some say cfls give better resin prodution sorry im really stoned hard to type lol i say at least 6500 lumens for every foot and a half of flowering plant i could write a book on pros and cns of these to and end the end its all on your needs if you have any more qs ill be happy to anwser good vibes

Go with MH with the veg man....save you alot of time in growing....not to early tho but around node 5 or 6...............

bleedintears said:

Honestly there are so many variables to think about.
But lets start with your dimesions.
And what are you going to use for ventilation.

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It a 6 x 2 area. The ceiling are like 10 feet though. I dont think that matters though because the light will be shining down......right?


How do I properly ventilate?

you need exhaust vents connected to ducting connectd to your light with fans to pull out the heat (if youre using and HID light) and i recommend that you actually get all 3 lights - flourescent t5's for cloning and seedlings - Mh for vegging(& even in final week of flowering) - and hps for flowering

sexyheather2213 said:

It a 6 x 2 area. The ceiling are like 10 feet though. I dont think that matters though because the light will be shining down......right?


How do I properly ventilate?

Click to expand...

Are you in a rental suite.
Or are you in a house that you own?

If you are in a rental suite. Try to refrain from drilling holes in the walls.
Unless you are able to fix it your self.


But your ventilation needs are based off of you lighting and the amount of heat that this lighting will give off.
The amount of space you have would be most efficient running multiple 400watt lights.
But this just makes the most sense with the space.


You could use tube florescent fixtures.
Or you can also use the trusty CFL .
These two options require less ventilation. But you will often need more of them to get a decent yield.
But the theory of cfls and florescent creating more resin heads filled with our lovely compounds. Has almost been confirmed.


Ultimately it is always going to be up too you and how much you want to spend on your hobby.