Fluoro Tubes vs CFLs

[frozentide]

Hey all, Im new here, however i was a faithful member of OG may it rest in peace :(

Im about to start my second grow and wanted to gain some more info so i can improve SIGNIFICANTLY from my first grow. My question is what is better the basic fluoro tubes or cfls?

I do realize that most people feel HID is THE way to go, however i have found it quite difficult to find appropriate HID for growing. Also the price to buy and run fluoros is much less than HIDs. Sure the plants may yeild less but that is not necessary since i am aiming to produce more than enough lumens for my grow.

so theres the question i pose to you great people: Fluoro Tubes or CFLs?

thanks,
frozentide

[krink]

Welcome first of all...secondly....cfl's and floros are shit for flowering. They will do well for the first while in veg, but you really need an HID for flower. Even if it's a little 75 or 250 watter. Not very expensive if you look around. You can even buy a kit and put it together for very few bucks. Ebay should have some cheap systems also. It's really worth it in the end.

Cheers,

[nevaquit01]

I don't grow but I read enouph. From what I've read Floros are less lumens than CFLs and you can place many CFLs for the same energy cost as a regular floro and CFLs go in regular sockets. All in all easier to set up. CFLs will work great for veg, but You may be up for around the same results as a floro for flowering. the lumens on CFL's just aren't up to par. It would take like 80 CFL's to equal one good HID in lumens. Thats where the major difference is. You can get CFLs with the right color range but getting your plants the amount of lumens you want (which is what will increase the yeild) is toupher with CFL's.

That all said, if I set up a grow, which would be uber stealth, I would go with all CFL's for reduced power consumption (no spikes in electric bill to notify the authorities), cheaper initial setup, and the smaller space required.

Just plan on a rather modest yeild, which is ok with me, if I do grow anything It'd be for the joy of building it and watching it grow more than having lbs. of pot when I'm done.

[harmonicminor]

you can overdrive the 4 foot t8 bulbs by as much as 4x by using a 4 bulb ballast driving 1 bulb. I have a few 2x overdriven fixtures and they are a lot brighter than stock. they are pretty much as bright as a t5.
I am sure you could do a sog style grow for maximum yield.

[frozentide]

thanks everyone for the advice.

I will keep looking for HID lights for my grow.

[busteruk7]

Welcome first of all...secondly....cfl's and floros are shit for flowering. They will do well for the first while in veg, but you really need an HID for flower. Even if it's a little 75 or 250 watter. Not very expensive if you look around. You can even buy a kit and put it together for very few bucks. Ebay should have some cheap systems also. It's really worth it in the end.

Cheers,
i disagree there cause ya can get a self ballasted envirolite for flowering and they work perfectly cheers