Fluorescent Lighting Question

Hey all -- first time grower here. I haven't started my garden yet, but I'm doing some investigating and have run into a question: Is it possible to grow using nothing but fluorescent lighting?

I know it's alright during the early stages, and a few people keep telling me that it shouldn't be a problem all the way thru, but everything that I read says fluourescents just don't give off enough light for the flowering stage. Anyone have any advice? Since it's my first time, should I just try to use the fluorescents, or maybe invest in an HPS? Thanks in advance!

lots of peace ~ john

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Originally Posted by johnbesimple

Hey all -- first time grower here. I haven't started my garden yet, but I'm doing some investigating and have run into a question: Is it possible to grow using nothing but fluorescent lighting?


I know it's alright during the early stages, and a few people keep telling me that it shouldn't be a problem all the way thru, but everything that I read says fluourescents just don't give off enough light for the flowering stage. Anyone have any advice? Since it's my first time, should I just try to use the fluorescents, or maybe invest in an HPS? Thanks in advance!



lots of peace ~ john

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I would say it depends on your needs, HPS tend to be used by the pro growers and again swear by them but for a small contained grow and plenty of Flou` lighting very close to the plants i`d say you`d have a good result, i`m a bit of a novice myself and can only prescribe you from what in have read so i may be wrong but TLC and patience is the key. Good luck boss.

P.S. Rule of thumb tends to be Daylight tubes (6500k) for veg/growth @ 24/0 then after 4 or 5 sets of leaves then go nuts with Warmer tubes (2700k) and get `em close for flowering @ 18/6, but i believe a combination of coulours can be used for both veg/bloom.

Hope this helps, and as i say again my knowledge is limited but i have asked everything you have in the past and this is the answers i got.



Kind regards.

Plenty of growers have used CFLs throughout their entire grow and have yielded decent amounts. Like the guy above me says, it just depends on what you are wanting to get out of the grow. If you are just growing a plant or two for your personal stash, then 4-8 CFLs probably will do the job. But if you are looking to grow anything more than that, I would say invest in an HPS if possible.

With my current situation, I am not able to have an HPS, so I'm using CFLs throughout the entire grow.

Experiment and see how it works out. If you don't like the growth you're getting from CFLs, you can always upgrade to an HPS.

ya man lots of people do that. IT just isn't practical for big grows as you would need hundreds of lights. Cfl's also aren’t as efficient as HSP.
check out this grow he used CFL's all the way and that is one great cola

http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=84705

I used 48", 40-watt fluorescent tubes for many years ... I got up to 12 tubes, when I finally switched to HPS ... the quality of the product is no better than with the fluoros, but the growth rate and yield is much better with the sodium ... fluoros have their advantages, primarily with even light distribution, and cooler running, but I am talking about the 48" tubes, not the CFLs ... I feel the CFLs have the disadvantage of 'spot' lighting, as opposed to the well distributed light of the tubes ... :smokin:

thanks so much for the advise/input guys; very much appreciated!

because it is my first time growing, and i'm just going to try one or two plants to start, and because my space is so restricted (closet), i am going to try just using fluorescents.

great advise, image reaper, thanks. i'll invest in some tubes for sure. is the more fluourescent light the better? or is there a limit on how much i should be putting on only one plant?

thanks again guys

peace ~ john