4x4x7 grow tent

How many plants can i put in my 4x4x7 grow tent with 1 400 watt hps light in 5 gallon pots is 6 to many?

IMO, 4 plants in 5 gallon containers under 400w is the max. Also, 400w hps won't fill a 4x4 space. You're looking at 3x3 max.

Ive done alot of reading and they say 400 is plenty strong enough for 4x4 i just didnt want to over crowd my tent with to many I think you are are right 4 is good.

6 plants seems about right for a 400W HID, I suggest you keep the plants fairly short as a 400W HID isn't going to penetrate a canopy very well, the top foot or so is going to get the most penetration but I have seen some pretty nice 3ft plants grown under a 400W HID, long veg/flower time with lots of popcorn buds in the end though, I have seen guy's grow just over a pound with a 400W CMH & a waterfarm DWC system, VERY IMPRESSIVE! With a 400W I would recommend you do a SOG, use 2-3gal pots (Superoots Air-Pots are the best) and do about a week veg time until the plants get about 10" or so and then start flower, you want to keep the plants short (between 20"-30" when finished) and remove any side branching, you end up with one beautiful fat football sized cola per plant that can weigh up to several OZ's (dry weight, no joke) if grown hydroponically that is. The beauty of this is that although you harvest less per harvest you have practically no veg time and usually a slightly shorter flower time so you harvest more times per year so you end up with more weight in the long run, the whole point of growing cannabis (and not to mention the funnest part) is harvesting the fruit of your labor, so why not do it more often and get more buds IMHO! Whatever you decide good luck and keep us posted.

Do what you want, but once you get past the reading portion and move on to the actual growing portion you'll discover that a 400w won't fill a 4x4 space with light. My 400w fills a 32" x 32" space perfect. I have a 600 in a 4x4 space and even that doesn't completely fill it with light. There's a definite drop off at the 8" or so perimeter of my tent. You can go ahead and if the space with plants, but your lighting won't be optimal. Will they grow and give you lots of bud? Yes. Will they grow to their maximum potential? No.

I have two in there right now and they maxed there height it looks like 30 inches give or take an inch i have 2.5 weeks left of flowering im wondering how much i can get of something that tall they have alot of buds already.

PJ Diaz said:

Do what you want, but once you get past the reading portion and move on to the actual growing portion you'll discover that a 400w won't fill a 4x4 space with light. My 400w fills a 32" x 32" space perfect. I have a 600 in a 4x4 space and even that doesn't completely fill it with light. There's a definite drop off at the 8" or so perimeter of my tent. You can go ahead and if the space with plants, but your lighting won't be optimal. Will they grow and give you lots of bud? Yes. Will they grow to their maximum potential? No.

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From an efficiency stand point PJ Diaz is correct, although a 400W will give you some decent results its not going to be superb, if your looking to maximize the results go with a 600W or 1000W, the 600W is the most efficient in terms of lumens per watt.

This will be my first harvest with two thirty inch plants what kinda weight can i expect with 400 hps

Mik101 said:

This will be my first harvest with two thirty inch plants what kinda weight can i expect with 400 hps

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without pics its hard to say. I'd guess somewhere between 2 and 6 oz.

I would be happy with those results im not looking to maxamize my plant just get some good smoke i hope i can get at least three a plant is it safe to post pics here?

Mik101 said:

Is it safe to post pics here?

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If your a legal medical patient staying withing your limits then yes absolutely (although if your not careful it may increase the chances of rippers finding you), if your not however then I suggest you disable the Geo-Location feature on your camera (if it has it) and just make sure there's nothing specifically in the pictures you take (its mainly stuff in the background you don't think about like pictures of you on the wall, mail or magazines with your address on them or geographical land marks seen through windows etc.) that could lead LEO back to you and you should be fine, Ive heard reports of LEO using pictures on forums to bust people so it dose happen.

How close should i keep the light i have that hood that you can put a booster fan on to suck the heat out when its to close i feel that the light isnt spread as much what right height for 30 inch plants?

Mik101 said:

How close should i keep the light i have that hood that you can put a booster fan on to suck the heat out when its to close i feel that the light isn't spread as much what right height for 30 inch plants?

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Your gonna want to keep that 400W as close to them as possible so just do the bear hand test, hold your hand under the light and if it doesn't burn you your plants should be fine, having an inline fan hooked up to your hood will allow you to put it a lot closer to the plants.

8 to 12 inches is ideal for a 400 watt.

When i lowered the light it didnt seem to spread all over the plant I have one of those air cooled hoods I think that might be limiting the light i have it about 15 inches right now because it gets the whole plant and at its brightest point on the whole plant would that be ok or make the top buds smaller plants not really growing taller.

http://www.growgreenerguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/HPS_chart1.jpg This is a great footcandle/ distance chart. Daylight is around 10,000 foot candles

So, 14-15" would simulate daylight.

Mik101 said:

When i lowered the light it didnt seem to spread all over the plant I have one of those air cooled hoods I think that might be limiting the light i have it about 15 inches right now because it gets the whole plant and at its brightest point on the whole plant would that be ok or make the top buds smaller plants not really growing taller.

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That's exactly why I was saying a 400w won't fill a 4x4 space. 15 inches is too far away for a 400w to get the lumens you want on the canopy. A 600w would be fine at 15 inches. IMO, you don't want a 400w more than 12 inches from the canopy. There's a lumens to distance chart floating around the net somewhere.

Here's those charts..

I can see your point on the closeness but when i put it close about 12 inch it dosent hit the lower branches on the side. What will happen to those flowers that loose the light due to closeness and will the buds directly under the light make a huge difference because my outer branches wont get enough lite im afarid. I have about 6 branch per plant.