A Very Important Fact About Lighting For Your Plants

[TheStrainMaker]

I stopped reading this comical thread about the top of page 5. Something drew me back, an experiment. . . Veg 6 plants under a 3 hanging lights each with splitter, 2X15W CFL's, or 90W CFL producing 390W. After exactly one month from clone, take one bulb from each hanger reducing output to 45W=195. Continue vegging for at least another month(if they flower experiment over). Switch to 12/12 under 45W reduced lighting and let's see how that works out. Good Luck! Please post your high yielding results. . .

 

[Sean Tom]

ok here is my opinion on the matter. the lights are shining on an area. In order maximize the amount of light in a given area we add more bulbs. Example: a 5'x5' grow room. lets say you have one bulb that puts out 10,000 lumens. that bulb, depending on size and reflector, can only cover so much of that 5'x5' area so we add 3 more of same bulb. Now, we dont have 40,000 lumens hitting every area of the 5'x5', nut the total lumens are 40,000. 10,000 in every fourth of the area. now vertically, lumens are affected as well. Example. at a foot you receive the 10,000 lumens but with the light 2 feet away you receive 4,500 lumen. everything i am writing is my belief on the situation. The numbers are just made up not exact and not pertaining to one specific bulb. just a guideline. So all in all, the thread starter and you growers are right. +rep me if this makes sense.
Ed Rosenthal is a great person to learn from Read the Marijuana growers handbook. you should read up. Also to the thread starter, you should really try growing or at least referencing the things that you are saying. people will accept your opinions more.

 

[King Cobra]

At last after reading some of the new posts i dont feel like iam alone on this one. I was a bit upset by some of the eariler comments. I see many mixed views on this subject and a very strong sense of knowing from each individual. But iam not going to repeat myself on the matter anymore to the peeps who dont understand or just dont want to understand!! If you dont believe it look it up, and when you look it up and if you still cant understand it, then ask someone to explain it to you, whom you do believe. Then if you still dont want to believe it, you can continue using 12x24 watt cfls to grow your 2-4 plants, when in reality a single 250 watt cfl will do a much better job. Peace, love , and happiness to you all and over grow the world with the beautiful herb. :•).

 

[welshsmoker]

king you are right that what i was allways told. the bigger the better.

 

[Sean Tom]

of course the bigger the light the better but that is not the discussion. the discussion is on the given lumens with one or more than one light. but kobra what makes an idiot is someone that talks with no proof or experience in what they are doing yet trying to tell others. I tried to just add my two cents but you have a certain pride about you that shouldnt be there. grow then teach.

 

[Gastanker]

At last after reading some of the new posts i dont feel like iam alone on this one. I was a bit upset by some of the eariler comments. I see many mixed views on this subject and a very strong sense of knowing from each individual. But iam not going to repeat myself on the matter anymore to the peeps who dont understand or just dont want to understand!! If you dont believe it look it up, and when you look it up and if you still cant understand it, then ask someone to explain it to you, whom you do believe. Then if you still dont want to believe it, you can continue using 12x24 watt cfls to grow your 2-4 plants, when in reality a single 250 watt cfl will do a much better job. Peace, love , and happiness to you all and over grow the world with the beautiful herb. :&#8226.

Large CFLs (anything over ~68w) are comprised of multiple tubes. Each tube acts as an individual lamp. In this case the stated rating in lumen is a combined measure of the multiple tubes... so no, a 250w CFL is not better - it's less efficient lumen/watt, puts off more heat/lumen, and is comprised of many smaller lights (6, 42w tubes for a 250w) that according to you do not 'throw' as far as say a single tube 68w CFL.

Additionally, you wont be able to get your single large light close to the majority of your plant - only one point which will be overexposed while the rest of the plant is underexposed. In the case of a 250w CFL you would be much better off with 6 individual 42w bulbs.

 

[TheStrainMaker]

of course the bigger the light the better but that is not the discussion. the discussion is on the given lumens with one or more than one light. but kobra what makes an idiot is someone that talks with no proof or experience in what they are doing yet trying to tell others. I tried to just add my two cents but you have a certain pride about you that shouldnt be there. grow then teach.

King, perhaps your math is correct, really does it matter? GROWERS test so many variables, light, air, heat, RH, PH, NPK, time. spacing. This is an academic post for an article on electricity, not about growing. I will use JUST enough light, grow a certain strain, experiment with feeding, watering, soil amendments, organic pest control, to name a few. This conversation is academic. . . Peace and grow on.

 

[skunkd0c]

i am not sure what the moral of this story is meant to be, it seems like you are stating the obvious but getting it wrong in the process too
i have never thought that growers think that by buying another light it will magically increase the penetration of a completely different separate light lol ??

but if it were the case that you put 1x400 watt light at the top of the canopy and 1x400 watt light at the bottom or side lighting, you would in fact
increase penetration with 2 lights over 1 light , so i do not see your point ?

now 3 x 600 watts will give slightly more lumens than 2x 1000watts at 200watts less power consumption
because of the larger footprint that 3x600 watts will produce, it will yield slightly more than 2x1000 watts because its footprint will cover a larger area
so what is your point ?

peace

 

[King Cobra]

Your first couple of lines explains my moral pecfectly. Yes of course if you have more bulbs with a lower intensity, it will light up more of your grow room, as i have already stated! But if you have a max lumen out put, the extra bulbs will NOT increase that out put. My whole point of this post was to inform people who do think that adding extra bulbs with lesser intensity will improve their overall lumen intensity.!!!

 

[futiletoxin]

Hey i've read this entire thread its pretty fucking funny in my opinion, some interesting views, I just have a question which is kind of related to this topic, setting science to one side, kingcobra you are kind of right, however since you don't grow surely you have no idea about the quality of bud which is going to be produced compared to the quantity of bud which is being produced...

to explain what i mean a little further,
my believe is that a 400watt hps above one plant which produce better quality buds due to lumen output - light intensity for photosynth
however
two 200watt hps either side of the plant providing full coverage of the plant (i think) would produce more quantity of bud as more surface area is covered evenly...

surely this is why we have sog grows as the canopy of the plants are at the same level = similiar growth

so in theory surely its up to the grower to decide how he wants to grow, quality or quantity

(I apologize in advance if i'm just being retarded just my 2 cents )

 

[BlueBalls]

I was a bit upset by some of the eariler comments.

And you let your emotions cloud your judgment.

If you read what I wrote you would have understood that I did not disagree with your premiss.
I disagreed with your delivery. That is why I said you were being simplistic and misleading.

Lumens do indeed add together. Where your blowing it is not realizing that lumens do not leave the source.
All points in space are measured in foot-candles or lux.


Footcandles (fc) = Total Lumens (lm) ÷ Area in Square Feet
Lux = Total Lumens ÷ Area in Square Meters
Average Maintained Illumination (Footcandles) = (Total Lamps x Lumens/Lamp) ÷ Area in Square Feet
Required Light Output/Fixture (Lumens) = (Maintained Illumination in Footcandles x Area in Square Feet) ÷ (Number of Fixtures)
Required Lamps = Required Lumens ÷ Initial Lumens/Lamp

 

[skunkd0c]

Your first couple of lines explains my moral pecfectly. Yes of course if you have more bulbs with a lower intensity, it will light up more of your grow room, as i have already stated! But if you have a max lumen out put, the extra bulbs will NOT increase that out put. My whole point of this post was to inform people who do think that adding extra bulbs with lesser intensity will improve their overall lumen intensity.!!!

i still do not follow you, i think you have confused yourself, you seem to be saying something as useful as
1kg of feathers weighs the same as 1kg of bricks
2x500g of feathers does not weigh more than 1kg of bricks

peace

 

[King Cobra]

Hmmm! Well take whatever you want from what i said, but the fact is that it was said, and now all you have to do is figure it out. It's an easy task when your not stoned out of your brain.!!! Man whats not to understand,?you hit the nail on the head with your last comment, dont let yourself down by saying things like that. You know the facts lets be civil and leave it at that.!!! Joy to world and some!!! :&#8226

Oh yeah! And i hate chicken!!

 

[johnnyomegabuds]

each bulb puts out a certain amount of energy and we measure that into lumens, which is light intensity.....if you have 1 bulb that puts out 5000 lumens and two bulbs that put out 2500 lumens, yes the 5000 lumen bulb will be brighter and will have a higher light intensity, but the energy absorbed by your plant is the same......so in a way your right your light intensity will be 2500 lumens with the two bulbs which is less then the 5000 lumens coming out of the single brighter bulb. but since you have two 2500 lumen bulbs the energy that is transfered from those two bulbs is the same as the single bright 5000 lumen bulb....also with two sources of energy rather then one your able to manipulate there position more compared to one so your plant will get light in all of its areas

 

[Kite High]

lumens measure how bright light appears to the human eye. my plants don't have eyes.

There you go

 

[Kite High]

each bulb puts out a certain amount of energy and we measure that into lumens, which is light intensity.....if you have 1 bulb that puts out 5000 lumens and two bulbs that put out 2500 lumens, yes the 5000 lumen bulb will be brighter and will have a higher light intensity, but the energy absorbed by your plant is the same......so in a way your right your light intensity will be 2500 lumens with the two bulbs which is less then the 5000 lumens coming out of the single brighter bulb. but since you have two 2500 lumen bulbs the energy that is transfered from those two bulbs is the same as the single bright 5000 lumen bulb....also with two sources of energy rather then one your able to manipulate there position more compared to one so your plant will get light in all of its areas

very well put... this is why I have 2 400's over one 400 vert down low in the middle and 2 x's t5 in each corner as I feel it outperforms 2 x1000's for a lil less power

 

[mcrandle]

Aye, fucking useless thread. Lumens to me only matter if the plant is getting those lumens. Weak lights mean weak absorbance.
But please, fucking grow some weed before you start a thread that references growing. These guys, FROM EXPERIENCE, know what is best for their plants. I do appreciate the info though Cobra. But some things you need to actually experience, and not read about.

 

[del66666]

i still do not follow you, i think you have confused yourself, you seem to be saying something as useful as
1kg of feathers weighs the same as 1kg of bricks
2x500g of feathers does not weigh more than 1kg of bricks

peace

what about a kg of marshmallow?

 

[King Cobra]

Lol!

Del6666 well said man.

 

[TheStrainMaker]

very well put... this is why I have 2 400's over one 400 vert down low in the middle and 2 x's t5 in each corner as I feel it outperforms 2 x1000's for a lil less power

250W HPS Vert and 3x15W CFL,soon 4=260W over,(having reflector(s) built). Am I covered?