# colored lights



## Genuine (Jun 9, 2011)

i was wondering....would using 1 red cfl and 1 blue cfl have any positive effect on the plant? i read that it can help decrease stretch, but idk if it might have any effect on the bud production itself


----------



## SPEARCHUCKER (Jun 10, 2011)

What do you mean colored. The color temp, or bulbs painted red and blue, like those party bulbs.
Cause your regular 2700 color temp cfl will give more lumens without that paint in the way, and already hits a little over 80% the right color range as is.
Not sure what the percentage is for the 5500s for blue. I think 6500 would put more a % in that range. But 5500 cant be to bad, myself and nearly all others start plants pretty well with them.


----------



## Genuine (Jun 10, 2011)

yeah i meant party bulbs because i use red/blue/green/yellow cfl bulbs for the light fixture on the fan in my room and i read that red and blue lights affected the growth of plants...but i guess i should mean color temp. would they be more effective than normal cfl's? could you point me to some that you like please? how would i set them up, and what purpose do they fulfill exactly?


----------



## Mutt (Jun 10, 2011)

I always beleive in as much spectrum as one can provide.
People say MH for veg. HPS for flower. 
From my experience the best results are from maximizing blue (6500kelvin aka daylight on the package) during Veg, but adding the yellow/red (2700kelvin or soft white on the package) as we perceive it on a 1/3 or 1/2 if only room for two CFLs. 4 tube flo fixture running 1 soft white and 3 daylight for veg ggives me good results. For flower of course HPS but if stuck on flos just reverse the pattern for flower.
Also look up "overdriving T12" here and if you get stuck can guide you to a master at slamming it to a 4' tube flo.


----------



## SPEARCHUCKER (Jun 10, 2011)

"but i guess i should mean color temp. would they be more effective than normal cfl's?"

No. Thats what I meant. Regular bulbs are better than the painted cause they already hit so hard in the right zone. "Color Temp" refers to regular cfls output of light. 
You might have a red party bulb. But what if its output is 680red, when the feeding red zone is like 610-660. Im sayin 80% of a regular 2700 color temp bulb hits within that range of feeding already.


----------



## Mutt (Jun 10, 2011)

Oh he means those painted incandescent bulbs. :doh:
Worthless man. Won't grow squat. except wierd looking 3' tall plant with 2 leaves and curled leaves from the heat....if it makes it that far.
click here 
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9396


----------



## Genuine (Jun 10, 2011)

k thanks for the responses. 

i do have all party bulbs. youre saying this what you recommend? and how do i tell how much of a color of light one bulb is emtiting?


----------



## Hick (Jun 10, 2011)

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=24 <--- all about lights...


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 10, 2011)

Genuine said:
			
		

> k thanks for the responses.
> 
> i do have all party bulbs. youre saying this what you recommend? and how do i tell how much of a color of light one bulb is emtiting?



No you do not want to use "party bulbs".  When we talk about different colors, we are not talking about different colors of bulbs--we are talking about color spectrum--something the eye cannot see.  The K on the box denotes spectrum.  Bulbs in the 6000K range are more blue and bulbs in the 3000K range are more red.  

Do you have a space set up?  You are also going to need to check the lumens--you want a min of 3000 lumens per sq ft for vegging and a min of 5000 for flowering.


----------



## Genuine (Jun 10, 2011)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> No you do not want to use "party bulbs".  When we talk about different colors, we are not talking about different colors of bulbs--we are talking about color spectrum--something the eye cannot see.  The K on the box denotes spectrum.  Bulbs in the 6000K range are more blue and bulbs in the 3000K range are more red.
> 
> Do you have a space set up?  You are also going to need to check the lumens--you want a min of 3000 lumens per sq ft for vegging and a min of 5000 for flowering.



Thanks that made it very clear for me. I have a space "ready" to be set up lol. Its just my closet cleared out and im using about a square meter in area which should be good for 1 plant but i could increase to 3/4 plants like i would if all goes well pretty easily. lumens would be found on the bulb box right? Ive looked into what you said about the spectrum and discovered MH/HPS lightbulbs. Just curious how much wattage is necessary per plant. I'm going to be using mostly 40 watt CFL's, but i will also mix in some MH/HPS during their useful stages, and im thinkiing the wattage would prbably be around the same as the CFL's. ill just go to home depot


----------



## dman1234 (Jun 10, 2011)

Everytime i see this thread i think

Coloured lights can hypnotize, sparkle someone elses eyes, now Women, get a way hey.

i know, im wierd.


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 10, 2011)

Genuine said:
			
		

> Thanks that made it very clear for me. I have a space "ready" to be set up lol. Its just my closet cleared out and im using about a square meter in area which should be good for 1 plant but i could increase to 3/4 plants like i would if all goes well pretty easily. lumens would be found on the bulb box right? Ive looked into what you said about the spectrum and discovered MH/HPS lightbulbs. Just curious how much wattage is necessary per plant. I'm going to be using mostly 40 watt CFL's, but i will also mix in some MH/HPS during their useful stages, and im thinkiing the wattage would prbably be around the same as the CFL's. ill just go to home depot



HPS and MH bulbs require a ballast to operate.  The ballast and the bulbs need to be the same wattage.  Light requirements are figured by lumens per sq ft, not plant count.  A square meter is about 11 sq ft, so you would need 33,000 lumens for vegging and 55,000 lumens for flowering.  This would work out to about 13 40W CFLs (520 total watts) for vegging and 22 40W CFLs (880 watts) for flowering.  A 400W HPS will put out about 50,000-55,000 lumens.  A HPS puts out 60-125% more lumens per watt than CFLs, so are ultimately cheaper to run.


----------



## Genuine (Jun 10, 2011)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> HPS and MH bulbs require a ballast to operate.  The ballast and the bulbs need to be the same wattage.  Light requirements are figured by lumens per sq ft, not plant count.  A square meter is about 11 sq ft, so you would need 33,000 lumens for vegging and 55,000 lumens for flowering.  This would work out to about 13 40W CFLs (520 total watts) for vegging and 22 40W CFLs (880 watts) for flowering.  A 400W HPS will put out about 50,000-55,000 lumens.  A HPS puts out 60-125% more lumens per watt than CFLs, so are ultimately cheaper to run.




Ive come across MH/HPS bulbs that look somewhat similar to and have what looks to be the same screw socket end like a normal CFL bulb.

MH>hXXp://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&pq=mh+ballast&xhr=t&q=mh+bulb&cp=6&safe=off&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1366&bih=705&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=8804577694791583897&sa=X&ei=ynfyTYXYE4aisAOax7mvCw&sqi=2&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAQ"

HPS>hXXp://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&safe=off&q=HPS+50w+bulb&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1366&bih=705&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12435298822423378503&sa=X&ei=eXjyTb7GDI3UtQOJusWsCw&ved=0CFQQ8wIwAA
im sure if i look around at some specialty stores i can find the proper daylight bulbs. the lightiing seems like a lot more than I thought was necessary. I had planned on 4-6 cfls and 2 HPS/MH depending on the plant's stage of growth.


----------



## roadapple (Jun 10, 2011)

dman1234 said:
			
		

> Everytime i see this thread i think
> 
> Coloured lights can hypnotize, sparkle someone elses eyes, now Women, get a way hey.
> 
> i know, im wierd.


 
Geezes, 20 min, and still can"t get that song out of my head......Thanks :doh:


----------



## Genuine (Jun 10, 2011)

can you use normal terrarium lamps for MH/HSP bulbs? i found these hXXp://www.tigerhydro.com/sw-rfwing.html"])which seem like a step in the right direction, but as im on a budget and already possessing terrarium lamps, i would like to not spend for these if i can avoid doing so.


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 10, 2011)

You might want to do some more reading up on lighting.  You have some misconceptions about MH and HPS bulbs.  *ALL* MH and HPS bulbs require a ballast.  In addition (with a few exceptions) the ballast wattage and the bulb wattage *MUST* match.  Both bulbs that you linked require a ballast.  The link to tigerhydro is a reflector only (no direct links--I edited your posts).  HPS and MH systems consist of a ballast, a bulb, a socket/reflector set-up and cords.  People generally run either CFLs OR HPS--usually not both.  Hps lighting is about twice as efficient as CFLs--lumen for lumen, HPS will cost about 1/2 in electricity as CFLs do every single month.  You are also going to need ventilation.  

This is not an inexpensive "hobby".  You are looking to produce a product that goes for about $300 an oz "retail".  It really does take more than 3-4 CFLs.


----------

