2000w in 5x5

So a few posts in my other thread got me thinking. I just moved up from a 2x4 tent in which I used 1x 600w in an air cooled reflector to a 5x5 tent. I was happy with yields and I had about 75 watts per square foot. I just got a new home so I decided to up my tent size. I figured if my 600w in the 2x4 was sufficient then 1x 1000w in a 5x5 should be sufficient. However after doing a little bit of research it seems I was wrong and that people shoot for 50 watts per square foot at minimum.

So after doing the math I would be way under that at 40 watts per square foot. One of the main ideas behind moving up in tent size was so that I could use 1000w lights and get better bud density. So with that in mind I am thinking about running 2x 1000w air cooled hoods in my 5x5. With the math that is about 80 watts per square foot. I hear the range is 50w-100w per square foot. I will be able to manage the heat however does anyone think that the 2x 1000w lights will be excessive for the 5x5 space?

If anyone has some first hand experience with too little or too much watts per square foot I would greatly appreciate it.

excessive, two 600s would suit that much better.
only a decent light meter would really tell but that seems excessive to me.
1- 1kw would do a 5by5 footprint assuming you can back it up enough.

You know, I was thinking about this number.. 50 watts per square foot.

If a 1000 watt is good for a 5x5 area... 5x5=25 1000 divided by 25=40

That would mean that the amount of light that a 1000 watt gave off would be insufficient for a 5x5 area... And the amount given off by a 600 and a 400 would also be below what is needed for the space given.

Where did this magical 50 watt per cubic foot come from??????? I run two 600 watt bulbs in a 6x8 room. So I am at 25 watt's per square foot and don't see the need for more.

someone was mentioning to me that photosynthesis slows or stops at 5500 footcandles.
He said this could be pushed to 7000 footcandles indoors as long as other aspects of environment were met.
so instead of as wattage per cubic foot shouldn't a light meter be used instead?

You should check out hygrohybrid on youtube. the dude pulls a pound and a half off one plant in a 5'x5' space.. using one 600 watt bulb.

dbkick said:

excessive, two 600s would suit that much better.
only a decent light meter would really tell but that seems excessive to me.
1- 1kw would do a 5by5 footprint assuming you can back it up enough.

Click to expand...

I kind of wanted to run 1000w bulbs but I have thought about the 2x 600 bulbs as that is 48 lumens per square foot.

dbkick said:

someone was mentioning to me that photosynthesis slows or stops at 5500 footcandles.
He said this could be pushed to 7000 footcandles indoors as long as other aspects of environment were met.
so instead of as wattage per cubic foot shouldn't a light meter be used instead?

Click to expand...

Not even sure how I would handle that. Do I measure 12" from the light? 2 feet from the light? etc.

ButchyBoy said:

You know, I was thinking about this number.. 50 watts per square foot.

If a 1000 watt is good for a 5x5 area... 5x5=25 1000 divided by 25=40

That would mean that the amount of light that a 1000 watt gave off would be insufficient for a 5x5 area... And the amount given off by a 600 and a 400 would also be below what is needed for the space given.

Where did this magical 50 watt per cubic foot come from??????? I run two 600 watt bulbs in a 6x8 room. So I am at 25 watt's per square foot and don't see the need for more.

Click to expand...

I don't know where the number came from. Just seemed to be the common number floating around several forums. What is your gram per watt with those 2x 600s and about how many grams of popcorn buds per harvest?

new.b said:

You should check out hygrohybrid on youtube. the dude pulls a pound and a half off one plant in a 5'x5' space.. using one 600 watt bulb.

Click to expand...

Yeah I am confident I could get a good yield off of 1x 1000w bulb. My issue isn't the yield necessarily as I all of this is medical and for personal use. I was more thinking about quality (less "popcorn" buds) as 1000w bulbs have higher lumens and more canopy penetration.

N3farious said:

I don't know where the number came from. Just seemed to be the common number floating around several forums. What is your gram per watt with those 2x 600s and about how many grams of popcorn buds per harvest?

Click to expand...

I recently switched to the 600's during this grow from florescent's so I wont get an accurate count this time around. I did a lot of thinking and reading before going with two 600's instead of one 1000. Having them 3 feet apart is giving me great coverage and light penetration to the lower parts of the plants.

So far the popcorn looks like they will be nice nugs. The only thing I don't like about the popcorn is collecting all of it. I roll doobies out of the popcorn...
Now I just need to stop out growing my pots....