I'm going to start a grow soon and after alot of reading i still dont understand about luminosity ect ect, the space i have is 4ft wide, 4ft deep and 3ft high so i am going to use a ScrOG with 2/3 indica plants, i just want to understand and know more about the amount of light needed for the grow!
How much light will i need??
- Thread starter Tokay
- Start date
I agree, can you handle the heat generated though ?
Pureblood89
Well-Known Member
you ideally want 6500-10000 lumens per sq ft. since you have 16sq ft to work with.
1000w = 120,000 lumens = 7500 lumens per sq ft
600w = 90,000 lumens = 5625 lumens per sq ft
400w = 55,000 lumens = 3437 lumens per sq ft
you could use 1 1000w, a 600w and a 400w, or 2 400w
1000w = 120,000 lumens = 7500 lumens per sq ft
600w = 90,000 lumens = 5625 lumens per sq ft
400w = 55,000 lumens = 3437 lumens per sq ft
you could use 1 1000w, a 600w and a 400w, or 2 400w
chazbolin
Well-Known Member
it totally depends on the lamp. hps is a 65 lumen per watt lamp but provides IR spectrums whereas metal halide is a 85 l/w lamp that provides uv spectrums. so a hard and fast fact like when speaking about lumens is only referring to human vision measurements not plant lighting needs.
as long as the lamp produces the adequate PAR levels in wavelengths and intensity then wattage is not the primary consideration. there is a 400 watt grow going using induction (166.5 v lumens per watt) on another RIU forum which lets use substantially less wattage exactly because the PAR spectrums have been met with 500 umoles (method of measuring qty light for plants) as an average over 1 sq/m.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/401594-blue-dream-800w-induction-lights.html
Be careful not to equate the wattage or lumens with what the plants will actually need for ideal photosynthesis. All you usually end up dealing with is higher electrical consumption then necessary and having to overcome the heat.
as long as the lamp produces the adequate PAR levels in wavelengths and intensity then wattage is not the primary consideration. there is a 400 watt grow going using induction (166.5 v lumens per watt) on another RIU forum which lets use substantially less wattage exactly because the PAR spectrums have been met with 500 umoles (method of measuring qty light for plants) as an average over 1 sq/m.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/401594-blue-dream-800w-induction-lights.html
Be careful not to equate the wattage or lumens with what the plants will actually need for ideal photosynthesis. All you usually end up dealing with is higher electrical consumption then necessary and having to overcome the heat.
Bonzing
Active Member
the hell you ,mean 120 000 lumens for 1000watt ?
why am i pushing 156 000 lumens then ?
super HPS Hortilux bulb o.o ? is that why ?
Gastanker
Well-Known Member
I see a big problem with these in a 4x4x3 area. If you go with a 600 or 1k for a 4x4 area you are going to need a super wide hood (like a 4x4 hood) in order to illuminate the entire area. A small hood from 1 ft away will beam a 2x2 foot plan and surly fry all of your plants in minutes. Even if you get a 4x4' hood the plants will still be right up again the hood and burn - .5' pots + 1.5ft plants and the hoods take up about a foot in height - everything will be touching. In my 4x4x6' tent I have a hard time keeping my light far enough from my mature plants.
You could hang a cool tube (requires less height than a hood) but even then I'm pretty sure 1k would fry everything in there and possible a 600 as well. You could try a few 250's in cool tubes and that might work or go with a CFL scrog. With the close proximity you are talking about CFLs can offer equivalent lumens (remember lumes diminish by 4 fold per foot traveled - 1200 lumens from 1" away is 1200 lumens, 5k lumens from 1ft away is 1250 lumens). I grew in a very similar sized enclosure and had great success with a CFL scrog (even with CFLs heat can be an issue).
chazbolin
Well-Known Member
I've used this lamp. It's alot of wattage and the temp at the lamp is over 400 degree F. So if not adequately ventilated or burned base up the lumen output depreciates like 20% in 6 months. So for me it was a 2 grow lamp. It may be different for you but the only sure way to tell this is with a light meter since the output looks no different. to the eye.
145,000 lumens is day one light output. within 100 hours they output their average lumen output of 120,000 lumens over the 20k lifespan losing 20% of that on a sodium is no bueno
Gastanker
Well-Known Member
This is a great idea. T5's work really well in height confined areas and are perfect for covering an even scrog canopy.
/e of LEDs if you have the budget for em.
chazbolin
Well-Known Member
have you tried reflectors on this setup to push more light into the canopy?
I see a big problem with these in a 4x4x3 area. If you go with a 600 or 1k for a 4x4 area you are going to need a super wide hood (like a 4x4 hood) in order to illuminate the entire area. A small hood from 1 ft away will beam a 2x2 foot plan and surly fry all of your plants in minutes. Even if you get a 4x4' hood the plants will still be right up again the hood and burn - .5' pots + 1.5ft plants and the hoods take up about a foot in height - everything will be touching. In my 4x4x6' tent I have a hard time keeping my light far enough from my mature plants.
You could hang a cool tube (requires less height than a hood) but even then I'm pretty sure 1k would fry everything in there and possible a 600 as well. You could try a few 250's in cool tubes and that might work or go with a CFL scrog. With the close proximity you are talking about CFLs can offer equivalent lumens (remember lumes diminish by 4 fold per foot traveled - 1200 lumens from 1" away is 1200 lumens, 5k lumens from 1ft away is 1250 lumens). I grew in a very similar sized enclosure and had great success with a CFL scrog (even with CFLs heat can be an issue).
Bonzing
Active Member
right away people are ALL gonna say , ya but neons you have to lift it up cause its always gonna touch the plant cuase it grows so fast, Blah blah blah . Right? mhm
heres a special something , Grab a 160 Watt reptile Mercury vapor bulb, stick it in the grow room ( 3 ft from plant ) and turn that baby on , then whip the t5 neons at around 7 inchs from the plants, that UVB LIGHT will shoot enouth spectrums, in a distance , so it covers for the loss of lil spectrums because you lift your neon t5 set at 8 inchs from the plant, but really if you got mylar on walls, 1 or 2 set, of t5 sun blast neons and you should make a god dman beautiful grow op .
what i mean by a set, i mean 4 tubes of neons , Brand is T5 Sun blast
heres a special something , Grab a 160 Watt reptile Mercury vapor bulb, stick it in the grow room ( 3 ft from plant ) and turn that baby on , then whip the t5 neons at around 7 inchs from the plants, that UVB LIGHT will shoot enouth spectrums, in a distance , so it covers for the loss of lil spectrums because you lift your neon t5 set at 8 inchs from the plant, but really if you got mylar on walls, 1 or 2 set, of t5 sun blast neons and you should make a god dman beautiful grow op .
what i mean by a set, i mean 4 tubes of neons , Brand is T5 Sun blast
Gastanker
Well-Known Member
That isn't my current set-up but the tops of those Y connectors were litterally touching the top of that closet. If i added reflectors that hung 1" above the bulb I would only be recuding the travel distance by ~1.5-2" so I just didn't bother as the top was painted a nice reflective white.
I personally like to mix spectrums as well as floros and HIDs. I'll have CFLs hanging in here as well:
Bonzing
Active Member
also , make the bucket based on larger, not height , save space for more space for plant wise , more plant , less soil height = more cultivitation ( fucked up shit right there and its noobie shit i know , but i guess i just feel like talking! Dont i .. fuck i should work ... wonder if they reading this .. ) lol