# CFL's Lumens per Square Foot.



## NoQuarter74

How many lumens per square foot should i aim for when using CFL's?

for example if i want to have a one plant grow op.how many bulbs would i use?(assuming i get the highest wattage i can).how many lumens would i use during the vegetative stage? and how many lumens would i use for the flowering stage?

and also how many hours of light per day is the best option for both the vegetative and flowering state.


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## HippyInEngland

5,000 lumens per foot.

24 hours non stop light for veg.

12 hours light and 12 hours dark for flowering 

How big is your grow area?

eace:


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## NoQuarter74

not big, i'm gonna try and set a nice grow box in my closet.it could prolly only hold 2-3 mature plants.i haven't done the exact measurments yet.


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## Real78

Ok, I found these what do you guys think? I was looking at maybe buying two of the CFL I will be using it for veg stage and would be buying a hps for flowering. The cost would be cheap enough as my budget would only be $60 to maybe $90 dollars after I buy my 600 watt HPS light.

125 & 200 Watt CFL - Compact Fluorescent Grow Lights 
Prewired Mogul Socket

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/lights.shtml


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## POTUS

Real78 said:
			
		

> Ok, I found these what do you guys think? I was looking at maybe buying two of the CFL I will be using it for veg stage and would be buying a hps for flowering.


Well, first of all, this is someone elses thread. It would be polite if you started your own thread instead of busting into someone elses. 

But since you asked, and it is within the topic the OP started, you may have missed Hippy's post earlier in this thread. He said: "5,000 lumens per/sq ft".


			
				HippyInEngland said:
			
		

> 5,000 lumens per foot. 24 hours non stop light for veg. 12 hours light and 12 hours dark for flowering. How big is your grow area?


It doesn't make a bit of difference what type of light you use, it's still 5,000 lumens for every square foot of plant canopy you have.

If you use a bulb that has 8,500 or 12,800 lumens total, then just do the math to calculate how many of whatever light you use to cover the square footage of your grow and end up with 5,000 lumens per/square foot of canopy.


			
				Real78 said:
			
		

> Ok, I found these what do you guys think? I was looking at maybe buying two of the CFL I will be using it for veg stage and would be buying a hps for flowering. The cost would be cheap enough as my budget would only be $60 to maybe $90 dollars after I buy my 600 watt HPS light.


Well, two times 12,800 is 25,600 lumens. 25,600 divided by 5,000 is enough light to give 5,000 lumens per/sq ft to about 2 feet 3 inches by 2 feet 3 inches of area. If you squeeze it, you can cover two plants at the most. One fully mature 3 foot tall plant would fill that much area to bursting. 

I would suggest that since you have a limited budget, you just buy the 600 HPS and use it for your entire grow. It'll work fine.


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