im currently setting up a grow and im thinking of using some cfls althrough the grow
i will be growing some auto ak47 in a wardrobe that is 18 x 30 inches and about 4 foot tall
so i was wondering how many cfls would i need for the best?i was thinking just 2 red 250w,would this be enough or not?

Hiya mate,

I'm no expert but that sounds plenty sufficient - I'm sure someone better-informed'll be along soon

All the best

cheers mate just wondering if it would be just enough or major overkill.
how far away from the plants can the 250w cfl bulbs go for the best performance?

About an inch or two if you have a fan blowing at the bulb. Are you doing one light per plant? I don't think you'd get too many in that space. Don't underestimate the heat they give out either. 500watts of light in a space like that is going to need some good airflow through it.

Kc

i was going to grow about 10 plants in sog but im just wondering if the light will be enough for the amout of plants i will have

If the plants are in very small pots you could do that. The problem with enviros is you have to keep them close to the plants, this cuts down their spread. But for such a small space and 2 of them lights you'd be fine. You could actually use 2x125w, it would cut down the heat quite a bit

do you think that would be enough light for them then just 2 x 125w?
i thought the 2 x 250w would be better so that theres more light to get to the lower places

Awkward size that in terms of area to headroom - any chance of getting more height ?

I've grown with a 250 watt HPS in a little over 4 foot 6 - the area's a bit big, but you could maybe do the extraction from the side ....

2X250s would be better when using floros, but they still have alot of heat build up in a little box, you will need some meaty extraction i'd imagine. People think they are cool because you can touch them, but it's because the heat is spread over a larger area. They still put out heat and 500watts would take some cooling in such a small box.

As compostverte says a 250hid could be used with a little more height, i think it would be much better than 2 250 floros, in terms of light coverage, penetration and yield

If you're dead set on using that space just try the one light at first and see what kinda temps you can run, that way you'll know if you got room to play with another light.