Lighting Cfl lighting specrtum, and how you could improve your end product.

[Matty01231]

Hello guys, I'm new to afn, yet i do have some interesting and rather useful information to share with you guys that should improve your plants health, yield, and bud + trichome production.

You are probably aware it is accepted knowledge that those who use cfl's are to use 6400k bulbs for the first few weeks ( 3 to 4, depending on the strain ), which is the autoflower plants vegetative phase.

The grower then switches over to 2700k bulbs for flowering, but, it has come to light ( hehe ) that 2700k bubls lack alot of the spectrum ( PAR ), and as such those who do not use a combination of both bulbs are not giving their plants the best mix of light for good growth and development etc.
Please take a look at spectrum each emits;
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/3693/daylightcflcurve.jpg 6400k - veg.
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/3018/warmwhitecflcurve.jpg 2700k - flower

it is my prediction if those who use each bulb for the separate phases in the plants life, are missing out on a better end product, as the plant is, in my opinion, not receiving all the light it needs. Obviously the 2700k is lacking in the spectrum needed for growth, and although the spectrum needed for flowering is more important during the flowering phase, i think those who do not use a mix of both bulbs could benefit by using both at all stages in the plants life. Especially considering it is more difficult to tell when an auto flower plant has gone into flower. I would personally suggest for every 30 watts of 2700k, the grower also employs 10 watts of 6400k to assist the plant, and to give a more balanced and natural spectrum. Bear in mind as indoor growers we are trying to best replicate the sun. As a side note, i would also personally employ a uv tube, and a 4200k bulb which would further balance the spectrum.

I hope this information is useful to you, this is my first try at writing something like this up, so please be nice. If i seem to have missed anything out, or have made an error - let me know and i shall promptly change it.

Any comments, and/or advice on how i could improve are appreciated!, even if its something small that you wouldn't usually comment, just go ahead and do it
Thanks for reading, Matty out.

 

[Balarama]

This sounds right, however testing on clones would be needed to confirm it
I only want to add some spectrums I recorded, the 6500K and 2700K cfls in this post.

 

[Renaissance Redneck]

Interesting point, Matty.
I run an equal mix of 27's and 65's in my T5, with 5000k CFLs for side light. Had good luck with them on my first grow, and it appeals to my lazy side.
No bulb changes, just one less thing! "wg's Cool"

 

[AndyBotwin]

Nice post Matty and welcome to AFN. I agree completely with your general idea, but I would suggest growers use something closer to a 50/50 split of bulbs rather than 75% red. I have tried both CFL and T5 grows with various combinations of bulbs and found that autoflowers thrive best under 6500K light. I've even done T5 grows with nothing but 6500K from beginning to end and gotten very nice yields with compact buds. I think that going with 75% red spectrum throughout flower will hurt the overall yields when growing autos, and I've seen many other growers confirm these results over the years on AFN. My theory for why this occurs is that we are growing plants with ruderalis genetics that that live their entire life cycle under the summer sun, rather than standard photoperiod cannabis plants that grow well into the autumn season. In the summer the primary light spectrum is blue, while in the shorter days of autumn, the red spectrum of sunrise and sunset make up a large portion of the light. Now obviously our modern autoflowers have all sorts of sativa and indica bred into them so they're only partially ruderalis, which makes a mixed spectrum ideal, especially during flowering.

I personally ran my last T5 grow with 2 red and 4 blue bulbs from beginning to end, and had very high yields and potency, so that's what I will be using in the future. Just my "My 2 cents" on all this, and I recommend that all flouro growers do some experimentation to see what works best for them. :smoke:

 

[CGR]

i have a 8 bulb im running now ......:munchies:....with the same ratio as Andy i only use it for veg and not flower but im now tempted to let them go thru flower and see what happens (not all ) i have seen some D@mn good grows here with them.....:grat:....keep up the good work guys........."AFN smoke out".. ..each one teach one !!!!!

 

[SCARHOLE]

I recommend mixing WW an CW floro & supplementing floro with led ($) or incandessant or halogen (cheep)
To provide 660 an 730 nm for Emerson effect....

 

[AndyBotwin]

I recommend mixing WW an CE floro & supplementing floro with led ($) or incandessant or halogen (cheep)
To provide 660 an 730 nm for Emerson effect....

Good suggestion. I'm planning to add a couple of smaller LEDs to my T5 setup soon. I personally can't add incandescent or halogen due to heat issues.

 

[gradolabs]

Nice thread guys. Way to keep it scientific. This area of study, biological responses to photosynthetically active radiation has huge implications in the global economy. Our methods of growing, both on a commercial and personal scale can benefit greatly from new discoveries and ideas. But there are so many variables to take into account, it's hard to say what exactly will positively affect the yield or quality of a given grow.

For now I'm happy knowing I can grow from seed to harvest using a bare monocolored CFL, some water and some dirt. I can also knock the grow out of the park with DP genetics, coco coir and PH Perfect nutes under 1kw+ of Grow Northern LEDs... just depends on my style, budget, and overall level of commitment.

To be sure, I'd say the more micromoles of PAR per square meter, the better. That means use every type and color of light you possibly can and if you can, you should use mirrors to port in light from outside during the day. Light that sucker up like Time Square. And string it up with Christmas lights when you're not using them for the holidays. That's just not always possible or practical though.

I don't really have a point, other than to illustrate how complicated this gets really quickly, especially when you're trying to verify the benefits or lack thereof of certain spectra. So be safe... use all of 'em. And post a picture of your cannabis plants with Christmas lights on them... that would be hilarious.

 

[Matty01231]

Nice post Matty and welcome to AFN. I agree completely with your general idea, but I would suggest growers use something closer to a 50/50 split of bulbs rather than 75% red. I have tried both CFL and T5 grows with various combinations of bulbs and found that autoflowers thrive best under 6500K light. I've even done T5 grows with nothing but 6500K from beginning to end and gotten very nice yields with compact buds. I think that going with 75% red spectrum throughout flower will hurt the overall yields when growing autos, and I've seen many other growers confirm these results over the years on AFN. My theory for why this occurs is that we are growing plants with ruderalis genetics that that live their entire life cycle under the summer sun, rather than standard photoperiod cannabis plants that grow well into the autumn season. In the summer the primary light spectrum is blue, while in the shorter days of autumn, the red spectrum of sunrise and sunset make up a large portion of the light. Now obviously our modern autoflowers have all sorts of sativa and indica bred into them so they're only partially ruderalis, which makes a mixed spectrum ideal, especially during flowering.

I personally ran my last T5 grow with 2 red and 4 blue bulbs from beginning to end, and had very high yields and potency, so that's what I will be using in the future. Just my "My 2 cents" on all this, and I recommend that all flouro growers do some experimentation to see what works best for them. :smoke:

First off I'd like to apologize for the slow replies, my laptop is in for reply and im having to use to local library and my iPod to browse the internet, it kinda sucks!.

Cheers for the warm welcome andy, and everyone else here, im really enjoying this site, feels like a big ol' family , Yeah man, i follow your logic, find it so interesting how as a species each individuals thought processes are different, truly amazing. Really nice to read other peoples point of view, well i think it is anyways, head over to my proposed setup (here) and lemme know what you think, you seem like a smart guy . Although dont forget, allmost all autoflowering strains are a ruderalis landrace crossed with either a c.indica or c.sativa, or a hybrid of both, and the genetic makeup of the autoflower plants in general is mostly c.indica or c.sativa. My point being the autoflowers are more likley to have the genes that indicate what wavelenghts of light the plants need, from the c.indica or c.sativa, and not the c.ruderalis, and c.indica and c.sativa are also used to spring, and other seasons. Also i may point out, some landraces of the ruderalis are from areas like russia, which is not that sunny, but i do agree with your concepts.

well, shit, after typing all that, i realize that you, yourself, pointed out what i just said, but in two lines - well done sir xD.

 

[Matty01231]

Nice thread guys. Way to keep it scientific. This area of study, biological responses to photosynthetically active radiation has huge implications in the global economy. Our methods of growing, both on a commercial and personal scale can benefit greatly from new discoveries and ideas. But there are so many variables to take into account, it's hard to say what exactly will positively affect the yield or quality of a given grow.

For now I'm happy knowing I can grow from seed to harvest using a bare monocolored CFL, some water and some dirt. I can also knock the grow out of the park with DP genetics, coco coir and PH Perfect nutes under 1kw+ of Grow Northern LEDs... just depends on my style, budget, and overall level of commitment.

To be sure, I'd say the more micromoles of PAR per square meter, the better. That means use every type and color of light you possibly can and if you can, you should use mirrors to port in light from outside during the day. Light that sucker up like Time Square. And string it up with Christmas lights when you're not using them for the holidays. That's just not always possible or practical though.

I don't really have a point, other than to illustrate how complicated this gets really quickly, especially when you're trying to verify the benefits or lack thereof of certain spectra. So be safe... use all of 'em. And post a picture of your cannabis plants with Christmas lights on them... that would be hilarious.

One of the lines of your post that stood out was " So be safe... use all of 'em ", this is good advice to any new growers ( including myself ), not sure about the Christmas lights though, i cant imagine frosty the snowman and his crew in the growroom . Any of you guys with heat problems, i have found your solution, get frosty in there asap haha .

Getting a good, balanced spectrum of light will always help to improve your plants in pretty much every aspect, really does help them beautiful ladies.