400+ watt CFL micro grow - BCBD Blueberry IBL first week of flowering

[r2thizzl3]

I like. Good work. Can't wait to see your scrog grow.

 

[pcfarmer]

nice =)

 

[jak]

The "Stealth Hydro" 315 watt is 3 CFLs for $200 plus shipping/tax.

For $365 you could get a 400w Ceramic Metal Halide (or high pressure metal halide).
The GE 3K cmh has 41000 lumens (102.5 lumens per watt) vs. 15000 lumens
(47.62 lumens pe watt) for the "Stealth Hydro".

This CMH is full spectrum with CRI or 80; the "Stealth Hydro" does not list their CRI.

BTW, "Stealth Hydro" claims average color temperatures of 30K, 41K, and 50K;
however they are off by a factor of 10. This should be 3K, 4.1K, an 5K. This is a hint
that "Stealth Hydro" doesn't have a clue about lighting.

With a proper reflector, the 400w CMH should illuminate a 2.5' x 5' area.
I don't think the "Stealth Hydro" covers as much with their three CFLs.

You might want to use 3 of the 100w CMH instead, to get better distribution of light (from multiple angles resulting in fewer shadows). Each of these has 6500 lumens,
or 65 lumens per watt. Your total luminosity would be 1950, with fewer total watts than the "Stealth Hydro".

You make a good point that metal halides are still better but a main reason why anyone uses CFLs is to either conserve space or reduce cost because of the very low temperatures and not needing a cooling system. I don't agree with the "Stealth Hydro" but CFLs can be better than halides in certain cases. It gets a bit expensive to buy halides with ballasts and reflectors and cooling fans when you can just buy a row of sockets and some CFLs for under $100.