So I did have a quick question that has been eating at me.
I only have 620w of LED in the 5x5 when I should have closer to 750-800w, according to the 30-40w/sq ft idea. On top of that, they're running at about 80% on the dimmer, so it's actually only about 500w actual. They are dimmed to 80% based on the idea that I don't want to give the plants too much light intensity. At the center of the canopy I am hitting ~60k lux, while at the edges I am around ~50k lux. My lights are about 18 inches above the canopy. If I raise the lights a bit I can get better/more even coverage and raise the dimmer to about 100%, I'm just afraid it'll cause more of a stretch. Regardless, the plants are going to max out and eventually the light is going to be 16-18 inches from the top, so I will have to run the lights at 80% anyway. From what I understand I don't want to go over 70k lux anywhere in the canopy. I know lux isn't accurate when using LED, if anything it is higher than the reading I am getting, so I don't want to go over 60k.
Anyone have any input/advice on this? I am still considering adding a fourth light in, which would give me better overall coverage, but I'd have to run them on a dimmer, when I could just run that sf2000 in another tent. Is that extra light really worth all that much considering I am already getting pretty good light coverage in the 5x5? What is the max lux I want to give the ladies during flower? I have been increasing it daily as I get further into flower, but I think I'm already at my max... if the meter is off by 10% that would mean the parts getting 60k are actually getting 66k.
Anyone running sf2000's in a 5x5? How many? What is the dimmer set at? What's your lux like?
I just want to keep my operation as efficient as possible. I feel like I will get more out of the other sf2000 if it is in one of the other tents, but maybe I am wrong. Any advice is much appreciated. I feel like this is one of the last things I have to figure out, at least for this first run.