If i upgrade from a 1000w from a 600w....

[Yota]

in a 4X4 area, how much yield should i expect to increase. currently get about 8 oz at a time under the 600w. I don't cool the lamp either, so with 1000w im sure i would need to increase the cooling. Any rough estimates would be cool. Especially people who have up'd from a 600 to a 1000

 

[rolla8]

Your 600w setup still has quite a bit of potential. With the proper nutes and grow environment you should be able to yield about 1g per watt, which means you should be getting closer to a pound per harvest. Before investing in a bigger light, maybe there are other areas you could improve upon. Just a thought...

 

[Yota]

Your 600w setup still has quite a bit of potential. With the proper nutes and grow environment you should be able to yield about 1g per watt, which means you should be getting closer to a pound per harvest. Before investing in a bigger light, maybe there are other areas you could improve upon. Just a thought...

ya that's true man, a good thought. I hear you can get 1g per watt..but i just cant seem to do that. I have experimented with different kinds of nutes so im pretty sure thats under control. Maybe my rez is too dirty causing too much salts, but i doubt it. My temps can get a tad high, like mid 80's at times, but thats not too bad. I got good air flow. I don't know what to do honestly. Maybe its the style i grow. I grow like 9 plants and let em branch out, about 3 weeks veg. Lately been cutting lower growth. Best ive gotten so far is 9 oz. Thats way short of 400g. 400g is about 14 oz, so im 5 oz short. Since i havent been able to pull that much, i was thinking of getting the 1000w. sigh.....

 

[rolla8]

If your temps are high with a 600w, its gonna be much higher with a 1000w but you already knew that. I am against cutting lower growth myself. I've found that it dramatically reduces my yields. Instead, I pinch and manipulate the fan leaves so that all the growth shoots are able to be exposed to the light. Even though the buds get smaller as you move down the stalk, cutting leaves causes more harm than good. I think it's Jorge Cervantes who rants about this all the time. According to him, you should never remove any leaves unless more than 50% of the leaf is dead. He is a proponent of the pinching and manipulating technique I mentioned. Another thing I do is remove individual leaf blades when they are dying. A lot of times I'll have leaves that are healthy, except for one or two blades. I just snip those blades off and let the rest of the leaf live on. Maybe you could try these techniques to see how they work for you before plunking down your cash on more lights?

 

[Yota]

If your temps are high with a 600w, its gonna be much higher with a 1000w but you already knew that. I am against cutting lower growth myself. I've found that it dramatically reduces my yields. Instead, I pinch and manipulate the fan leaves so that all the growth shoots are able to be exposed to the light. Even though the buds get smaller as you move down the stalk, cutting leaves causes more harm than good. I think it's Jorge Cervantes who rants about this all the time. According to him, you should never remove any leaves unless more than 50% of the leaf is dead. He is a proponent of the pinching and manipulating technique I mentioned. Another thing I do is remove individual leaf blades when they are dying. A lot of times I'll have leaves that are healthy, except for one or two blades. I just snip those blades off and let the rest of the leaf live on. Maybe you could try these techniques to see how they work for you before plunking down your cash on more lights?

I appreciate the advice btw. I dont cut that much off, only maybe 6-8 inches from the bottom. IT saves me a lot of trim time trimming crappy fluff. I never cut the fan leaves or anything important. I have white walls, maybe i need to get mylar. And maybe i should try to cool the 600w and get it closer to the buds. BC as it is, if i move it too close, it could burn the tops of the one underneath it. A lot of people say 600w is perfect for a 4 X 4, but i dunno. I have been doing this a while, and 8-9 0z is pretty consistant for me. bahh

 

[buckd316]

ya that's true man, a good thought. I hear you can get 1g per watt..but i just cant seem to do that. I have experimented with different kinds of nutes so im pretty sure thats under control. Maybe my rez is too dirty causing too much salts, but i doubt it. My temps can get a tad high, like mid 80's at times, but thats not too bad. I got good air flow. I don't know what to do honestly. Maybe its the style i grow. I grow like 9 plants and let em branch out, about 3 weeks veg. Lately been cutting lower growth. Best ive gotten so far is 9 oz. Thats way short of 400g. 400g is about 14 oz, so im 5 oz short. Since i havent been able to pull that much, i was thinking of getting the 1000w. sigh.....

Have you been growing the same strain? Or have you tried LST or SCROG? Maybe try growing less plants and lil longer veg. change up your style. i was thinking of growing 4 plants. one LST, one SCROG, one normal and one lollipop. Running the same for 3 harvests with the same strain, same nutes, and then seeing which style gave me the most. then sticking with that one. try it yourself! I would much rather experience the grows then read about them or taking other peoples word for it because every ones grow is always different in a way. Whether its strains, nutes, style, ect. don’t get me wrong I love other people input because there is always something to learn. Once you find your fave style then you do the same with 4 plants but then 4 diff types of nutes then see which nutes gave you the most and stick with those. then after that try 4 diff strains! on and on. until you find the best way to grow with your experience.

 

[rolla8]

Is you light sealed and air-cooled? If not, you may want to consider getting a sealed air-cooled reflector. You should be able to get one for under $100. Both my 600w lights are air-cooled and I am able to keep them about 10" from the tops of my plants without any burning. My canopy temp stays at a steady 77°F, which is pretty much perfect. I have an inline fan that pulls air through both my lights and blows it out of the room through flexible ducting. I bet if you cooled your light and moved it closer to the tops of your plants your yield would go up.

 

[rolla8]

Have you been growing the same strain? Or have you tried LST or SCROG? Maybe try growing less plants and lil longer veg. change up your style. i was thinking of growing 4 plants. one LST, one SCROG, one normal and one lollipop. Running the same for 3 harvests with the same strain, same nutes, and then seeing which style gave me the most. then sticking with that one. try it yourself! I would much rather experience the grows then read about them or taking other peoples word for it because every ones grow is always different in a way. Whether its strains, nutes, style, ect. don’t get me wrong I love other people input because there is always something to learn. Once you find your fave style then you do the same with 4 plants but then 4 diff types of nutes then see which nutes gave you the most and stick with those. then after that try 4 diff strains! on and on. until you find the best way to grow with your experience.

This is a good idea, buckd. Reading up on this shit and getting advice from others is a great way to get ideas and learn, but nothing beats gettin your hands dirty and trying it out yourself. I do little experiments like that all the time and it has taught me all sorts of shit I wouldn't have learned otherwise.

 

[Yota]

thanks for the advice. I do have a reflector, i just need to buy the glass and ducting and i could rig it up. Maybe ill try a scrog or something next time. any other advice welcome.

 

[Yota]

Do you guys think that having a temp of like 85 degrees could be the reason im having a 8 0z harvest everytime? Someone tole me today that if i got it down to 75 degrees i would definitely see a big difference. What you guys think? Or i could consider keeping temps high and adding co2? maybe that would increase yeild...i need some help lol

 

[VictorVIcious]

Do you guys think that having a temp of like 85 degrees could be the reason im having a 8 0z harvest everytime? Someone tole me today that if i got it down to 75 degrees i would definitely see a big difference. What you guys think? Or i could consider keeping temps high and adding co2? maybe that would increase yeild...i need some help lol

I think he has been trying to tell you that all along. Light is only one of the basic 7, yeild depends on having them all in balance. Air cooling the light in a closed system will save you money in the long run and give you better yeilds. If you are thinking of adding co2 you will have to have a separete system for the light, your exhaust fan would not be running while your producing co2, if you think its hot in there now.....VV

 

[Yota]

I think he has been trying to tell you that all along. Light is only one of the basic 7, yeild depends on having them all in balance. Air cooling the light in a closed system will save you money in the long run and give you better yeilds. If you are thinking of adding co2 you will have to have a separete system for the light, your exhaust fan would not be running while your producing co2, if you think its hot in there now.....VV

But isnt that ok for it to be hot while running CO2? Or would it get too hot for me? thanks man

 

[bongrippinbob]

The max temp you want with Co2 is about 90degrees. You are already at 85degrees, so you will not be able to use Co2.

Get your current garden in tune before you go changing the lights. 8oz from a 600watt set up is not very good. I was getting that with 400watts. Now that I have switched a 600watt system, I pull about 12oz every 60days.

Do some more research, setup your current grow correctly, and you will have a good harvest with 600watts. You mentioned you have a res, so I'm guessing you're running hydro. If you air temps are 85degrees, your res temps are probably right around that same temp. This is too hot and is keeping the DO out of your res. Cool your res, cool your cab, and you should be fine.

The light is the last thing you need to worry about. An experienced grower can out yeilds a newbie with half the light just because they know what they are doing. I have said it a million times, you can't buy experience.

 

[socom3riot]

The max temp you want with Co2 is about 90degrees. You are already at 85degrees, so you will not be able to use Co2.

Get your current garden in tune before you go changing the lights. 8oz from a 600watt set up is not very good. I was getting that with 400watts. Now that I have switched a 600watt system, I pull about 12oz every 60days.

Do some more research, setup your current grow correctly, and you will have a good harvest with 600watts. You mentioned you have a res, so I'm guessing you're running hydro. If you air temps are 85degrees, your res temps are probably right around that same temp. This is too hot and is keeping the DO out of your res. Cool your res, cool your cab, and you should be fine.

The light is the last thing you need to worry about. An experienced grower can out yeilds a newbie with half the light just because they know what they are doing. I have said it a million times, you can't buy experience.

lies! I could pay you a couple grand to help me grow, then im buying experience! lol

 

[Yota]

The max temp you want with Co2 is about 90degrees. You are already at 85degrees, so you will not be able to use Co2.

Get your current garden in tune before you go changing the lights. 8oz from a 600watt set up is not very good. I was getting that with 400watts. Now that I have switched a 600watt system, I pull about 12oz every 60days.

Do some more research, setup your current grow correctly, and you will have a good harvest with 600watts. You mentioned you have a res, so I'm guessing you're running hydro. If you air temps are 85degrees, your res temps are probably right around that same temp. This is too hot and is keeping the DO out of your res. Cool your res, cool your cab, and you should be fine.

The light is the last thing you need to worry about. An experienced grower can out yeilds a newbie with half the light just because they know what they are doing. I have said it a million times, you can't buy experience.

Thanks man. I will focus on cooling things down now instead. You guys think that the first step is to cool the light down with a separate fan? That should shave off a bit right? The light is creating the heat

 

[bongrippinbob]

In my cab, which is 4'x4'x6'6", I have a 465cfm fan for exhaust, a bunch of passive intakes, a 130cfm intake fan, plus a 420cfm fan just for cooling my air cooled light. My temps stay about 5degrees above ambient temps. There are also 2 circulation fans inside my cab.

Make sure you have a quality fan for exhaust. Go out and spend $100 on a decent blower, or like $175 on a good inline fan. Don't use the duct booster fans(the silver ones) for your exhaust. You can cool your hood with them, they suck at that too, but don't exhaust with it.

Spend that money you were going to use on a 1000watt light to upgrade your current gear. A quality exhaust fan is needed for sure. Then I would say a quality air cooled hood. This is going to run you about $200-$400 for both items depending on how "quality" you go. But spending this $400 should bring your harvest value up well over $1,000. IMO, spending $400 to get an extra $1,000 worth of product seems like a no brainer.

 

[buckd316]

i agree with bongrip my room was about 85 with a 400watt then i got a 600watt aircooled and now it stays at 75 and the light is so much closer. its a great investment. i need to get a good inline fan for the summer because im using that duct booster which is ok for now but i know wont be in the summer with the crazy heat.

 

[Yota]

thanks for the advice guys. I have a good inline fan just connected to a Carbon Filter, but its a 178cm Can Fan. Maybe that's not strong enough to pull all the air? It gets the air moving a bit, i got a oscillating fan in there too. I think ill try cooling the hood as that's the component which makes the heat. Thanks again, this advice is getting me going in a good direction.

I was confused about the guy above who said since my temps are 85, i cant have CO2. I thought that was the ideal temperature for Co2?

 

[bongrippinbob]

You have to have your exhaust off to run C02. If you temps are already at 85 with your fans on, you will only be able to have your fans off for like 10min and thats not going to be enough time. Your plants need to sit in the Co2 rich environment for a lot longer than 10min. Thats why you won't be able to use it.

Is that fan 178 CFM or 178cm? This will make a big difference. Check the cfm rating on the fan. I cool my room with 465cfm for exhaust and the booster fan for my hood is 420cfm. This is a total of over 800cfm to cool my room. If you are only using 178cfm, you will need a lot more.

 

[Yota]

ya its 178cfm, so for a 4X4 that's no enough?