Mega HO CFL

[MrMR]

Good chart there boss, so i think with enough CFL`s then you would be getting some good results. I see too many posts where people have 1x125w Envirolite and have like 3 plants, i`m gonna go silly on the CFL front and get some serious light going, and i still estimate the heat to be a fraction of a what a HPS gives off.

^^ True. But You can just get some fan's you need good circulation in your grow room any way and the heat hps gives off that's why the lights are a little farther away then cfl's cfl's will get you small grow's so it depends on what you looking for. They'll grow a plant no doubt but if your looking to get some high yeild you might want to invest in the hps or Mh the lumens in those cfl's your getting isnt that great. There are Cfl's out there that have way more lumens than those. Your going to be looking at about 1600 to 1700 lumens. When you can go lowe's or a hardware store and get CFL's that give you 3000 lumen's almost doubleing the one's your going to get.

Technology has advanced so much in the last 15 years that we are constantly refining the process and updating what we know works best for growing. Current theory holds that the minimum amount of lighting needed to sustain growth is around 2,000 lumens per square foot. Mid range is around 5,000 lumens per square foot. Optimal is 7,000 to 7,500 or higher lumens per square foot.

http://www.marijuana.com/cultivation-bible/bible-02.php use that as a refrence.

So with the price you would have to spend getting to Optimal you might as well get the hps especailly if your going to continue to grow over and over again. You get far better quality. And as well most hps 250 watt and up will cover most people's grow room with 7,000 lumens and higher with ease. And the higher above optimal the better chances you have to get the quality you desire. CFL's are just tempting because they are cheaper man.

[gunge9]

Ya know i think i`m becoming more tempted by HPS but it`s still the worry of the heat factor, i think i`ll just up the circulation in the grow room and keep the extraction going. I have a growspace of 35" x 20" x 55" high, the height is worrying as some strains will be massive, whats best to do ??

[hudson88]

The hps route is definately the better in terms of yeild per watt and probably potency, but theres plenty of people more than happy with the results they get using cfls. Have a look around and see how much a hps setup will cost, you'd only need a 250watt light for your space, but then you'd need a powerful fan to exhaust the heat and a cooltube too as you've not got a lot of height to play with so you can't afford to have your lights 18" away. I'd say go with the cfls for now, and when you've got a grow or two under your belt you can decide whether you wanna invest in the hps setup.