CFL question

BillyIdle

BillyIdle

I am considering the following reflector for my indoor chili project:

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Picture taken from designbelysning.no

The size of this is 35x45 cm, and I can get 125W & 250W CFL for this. Does any of you have an idea of how large area of plants I can cover with one of these?
 
Are you growing them as seedlings or do you expect to harvest produce? Do you plan on covering the walls with Mylar, white poster board or white paint?

I have an armoire that is about 36" wide by 30" deep that I painted the walls and doors white. I'm using one 105 watt CFL and the cukes and toms are doing well. The cukes have set several fruits but the tom hasn't blossomed yet - but it still should have a week or two before it is time.

Mike
 
I'm growing from seeds underneath an 18W fluorecent tube for now, and plan to use the CFL after I transplant them. I have have two options for my growing area. One is a quite large desk (2' x 8') standing in a corner against two more or less white walls. The other alternative is an unused 4' x 5' closet. I will probably go for the first one for now, as the closet needs pain or mylar, and I'm not sure if I can keep the temp low enough without building some heat dissipation solution.
 
That's not bad at all! How many cu. ft. is it approx? Mine would be about 130. Do you think two of those reflectors would be able to fill the entire space (2x125W alt. 2x250W), or are they too angeled?
 
Billy,

It is less than 60 cu.ft. The reflector will help but having mylar or at least white posterboard would help more. When I put mylar on the walls by my bench the amount of light nearly doubled.

You might get away with one 105 watt bulb but I would use two. You might also want to put them on a panel so you can raise or lower the lights based on how tall the plants are.

Mike
 
That Mylar is similar to what I use and agree with Mike that it really makes a big difference. Best alternative is plain white.


wordwiz said:
Billy,

It is less than 60 cu.ft. The reflector will help but having mylar or at least white posterboard would help more. When I put mylar on the walls by my bench the amount of light nearly doubled.

You might get away with one 105 watt bulb but I would use two. You might also want to put them on a panel so you can raise or lower the lights based on how tall the plants are.

Mike
Click to expand...
 
Ok, thanks for the advise guys. The reflector(s) will be hung from the ceiling with height adjustable yo-yos. And I guess it's better with two 125's than one 250. Right?
 
I would go with two. First, if you start seedlings and even when the plants are young, you will not need the full amount of space so you might be able to use just one for a while.

Mike
 
I get mine from 1000Bulbs.com, though they also go by another name. The first one I bought only lasted two days but they sent a replacement without me having to send the bad one back. I've bought seven so far and need at least three more, though I may get four (planning for the future).

Mike
 
We have 230V here, so 1000bulbs.com is out for me. But the store I took the picture from is really reasonably priced (for Norway anyway). $42 for the reflector and $49 for one bulb (will order both 2700K and 6400K). They have a bundle where the bulbs are 125W for growing and 250W for flowering. Is this necesary for chili growing, or is this only required for the pot growers? :)
 
Wow, how does your dollar compare to the US dollar? They have gone up a bit since I last ordered but I paid $22 each for six of them.

Mike
 
We have norwegian kroner, as we are not part of the EU, despite being in Europe :) I converted to US $, as I figure most people don't know the conversion rate. Anyway, Norway is unfortunattely not comparable to the states. Things are very expensive here, and especially non-mainstream goods, like high output CFL. So $49 is an ok price to pay here...
 
Ok, have been thinking a bit more. Some more info on my project: Except for my 3 super chiles that are 2 months old, all other plants are still seedlings, or soon-to-be seedlings. This will be a 100% indoor project, as I doubt the climate here is good enough for outdoor growing, and on top of that we have almost no windows to the south. That means I need light for flowering as well, but my budget does not allow for HPS.

I just contacted the store that sells the equipment. I got a deal for 4 x 18W 6500K fluros + 2 reflectors + 2 x 250W CFLs. I'm considering to use the fluros and the CFL simultaniously. My problem is that my budget does not allow for 4 CFLs (blue + red). Will a setup with 1 red and 1 blue be ok for the first 2-3 months? I will be able to afford one red 250W later, that can replace the blue when the plants are ready for fruits.

Or will 2 blue ones be better now, and then replace one of these with a red one later?
 
I have to admit to being a very newb gardener, but here is something I've recently come across:

-----
Now on to auxins. Auxins, in particular the natural auxin indole-3-acetic acid, are a class of a master growth hormone and are also a photo sensitive hormone depending on the wavelength of light. They have effects on root growth, stem elongation, natural ethylene levels, apical dominance, plants wounds and are required for fruiting. As an interesting note, 2,4-D, which is a synthetic auxin, was the major non-dioxin ingredient in Agent Orange defoliant used in Vietnam and the Korean DMZ and is also the main active ingredient (along with nitrogen) in “weed and feed” fertilizer used on lawns since very high levels of auxin and nitrogen will kill dicotyledons (the weeds) but monocotyledons (the grass) can thrive at high levels of both.

Blue light lowers auxin levels and red light actually also reduces auxin levels relative to complete darkness. Far red (700-800nm or so) boosts auxin levels and green light has an even more dramatic effect on boosting auxin levels in fact green light can cause more stem stretching than complete darkness. Why is this happening? Most plants have evolved a behavior called “shade avoidance” where the lower side branches that are not in direct sunlight will stretch. This stretching is caused by a build up of indole-3-acetic acid in the stems which loosens the cell walls in the stem to loosen and swell up. More far red and particularly green light can filter through the green leaves striking the lower branches. It is the ratio and amplitude of this filtered light that has a influence on the auxin levels and thus the stretching.

Metal halides have lots of blue light which reduces auxins in the stems that reduces stretching and is why its used in the vegging stage and this reduction in auxins will give less flowering/fruiting yield. High pressure sodiums have good ratio of green/yellow light which boosts auxin levels which helps in flowering/fruiting but this can cause stem stretching at lower light levels. Read the two proceeding sentences again. You now understand more about grow lights than 99% of all indoor growers and understand why the HPS lighting system rocks when you look at its lighting spectrum. To much green light, such as in a mercury vapor lighting system, produces to much auxin which produces high levels of ethylene so you get weak, stretched out plants. This is why we don't use mercury vapor systems for growing.
-----

Taken from: http://www.greenpinelane.com/yaf/default.aspx?g=posts&t=56

So it sounds to me like you want more blue then red initially.
 
For seedlings, the 6500K(blue/cool) lights are all you need. Then when they get older, incorporate some of the lower kelvin(red/warm)

I have mine under 3 x 6500k 24W 2ft. T5 HO fluorescents at the moment.
 
What do you suggest then for my setup, and based on my budget. As I said, I will get 4 x 18W 6500K fluros and I can afford 2 x 250W CFL's. In 3-4 months I can buy another red 250W. The question is: should I get 2 x 6500K now and 1 x 2700K later, or 1 x 6500K + 1 x 2700K now and 1 x 2700K later? Or even better (for my wallet), just buy one of each now and none later :)
 
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