Light for two plants (flower)

[FunkMeister]

whats a good light to use for flowering just 2 plants (CHEAP IS AWESOME!)

FunkMeister Reviewed by FunkMeister on 11-26-2008. Light for two plants (flower) whats a good light to use for flowering just 2 plants (CHEAP IS AWESOME!) Rating: 5

[Dutch Pimp]

In HID lighting?...one 250 watt MH/HPS...IMO. In CFL's?....a bunch of them...

[FunkMeister]

oh well ive been using cfls.. 12 of em, figured that i would just buy 12 2700k cfls and switch them with the 6500k i already got up, think thatd work?

[Roughrider]

It depends on how big you want to let your plants get. One thing about CFLs--you don't get much coverage below the canopy. I've pretty much concluded that CFLs are terrific for grows--if your plants are under 24" or so. You can still pull plenty of buds from a plant that size. If your plants are taller than 24", you should try and get a couple of lights under the canopy. In a 5 to 6 sq. ft,. area, I'd try and get at least 12 23-26w CFLs on top (that's around 20,000 lumens for the canopy) and a few more for underneath. So what you've got will work...but I don't think it's the best answer.

The thing is, CFLs aren't as efficient as HID lights (or T5s). It's not a problem in small grows. But the bigger the room, the more that becomes an issue...12 26w CFLS = over 310w of energy. And you'll get about 15% less light than a 250w HID. On top of that, CFLs do heat up, no matter what people tell you, and once you've got more than 10 in a smallish area, you'll start to have problems with heat. My personal feeling--this is just an opinion--is that CFLs are best for grows in 4 sq. ft. or less. If you've got a bigger area, it's better to spend the $200 or so to get a decent light. If you don't want to get the HID light, try and keep your grow area to 3 or 4 sq. ft. or less. My .02 on that.

A 250w will be fine for a 6 sq. ft. area...a 400w will be better. If you stick with the 250w, do yourself a favor and get a good bulb that gives you at least 27000 lumens. To be honest, you can four decent plants in that area. If you're growing monster plants, you'll end up with 2. But if, for instance, you've got a 26" x 30" area, you can grow four plants in 3 to 3.5 gallon pots. Each plants is going to have 13" x 15"--plenty for plants that are in veg for around 5 weeks and/or get flipped when they're around 12" tall. You'll have 4 plants that will (probably) range from 24" to 36" and you'll get a good yield.