FarmerNinja
Active Member
any suggestions would be phenomenal. im really struggling with this one
so recently i upgraded my lighting system in my 4x4x6.5 tent (8 plants) from one 400w core and coil to three 250w lumatek digital ballasts.
the 400w is an electronic ballast from HTG supply that i got on used craigslist.
so i am dealing with heat issues. being the thinker that i am i am always changing things in my growroom to make them more efficient and this time i am not sure if i did the right thing.
the temps about 6' from the top of the colas are about 78-80 degrees F which is perfect. but when i take temp readings at the top of each cola sometimes they read up to 85-87 degrees F. i've tried a myriad of combinations with raising lights, intakes, exhausts, vents, ducting fresh air and nothing seems to get the upper half of the tents temps down. ive got 7 fans in there running during the light cycle and i am starting to think that maybe i pushed this space a little too far.
i really want to use the digital 250w lumatek ballasts cause they are efficient convenient and look cool too. i've read that these make your bulbs shine 20-30% brighter and longer.
so taking into consideration that the 400w was used and isnt as efficient at the 250w digital ballasts i started to slowly add the 250s and when i had two 250s and one 400 in noticed the temps way too high so i decided to put the last 250 in there and take the 400 out altogether. was this the right move? will my flowers not be as dense as they would with the 250ws even though i have 3 of them more concentrated? i cant seem to place them any closer than 24" either because it just gets too hot on the top of the colas. the bottom of the tents temps are around 75 so i placed 3 fans on the floor pointing upward. this helped a bit but i'm still getting temps around 86 degrees at the tops.
im starting to wonder if i should take out two, 250s and put the 400w back in? or if this will just affect my yield and not really help temps?
should i sacrifice lumens for heat control? ive already seen some white hairs get burnt so i raised the lights quite a bit more. so im not even sure if i am getting enough light to the plants but at the same time creating more heat.
i've also got fans pointing at the top of the plants colas, it helps slightly.
whats more important lumens or keeping temps below 85? would i be ok if the tops are at 86 degrees but the rest of the canopy is at perfect temp 78 degrees if i have plenty of airflow? do i need to add another exhaust fan? im also pumping in fresh cold air from outside on full blast with a squirrel cage fan. ive also tried using this as an exhaust on the roof with no change in temps.
have i screwed my crop by adding more lights?
so recently i upgraded my lighting system in my 4x4x6.5 tent (8 plants) from one 400w core and coil to three 250w lumatek digital ballasts.
the 400w is an electronic ballast from HTG supply that i got on used craigslist.
so i am dealing with heat issues. being the thinker that i am i am always changing things in my growroom to make them more efficient and this time i am not sure if i did the right thing.
the temps about 6' from the top of the colas are about 78-80 degrees F which is perfect. but when i take temp readings at the top of each cola sometimes they read up to 85-87 degrees F. i've tried a myriad of combinations with raising lights, intakes, exhausts, vents, ducting fresh air and nothing seems to get the upper half of the tents temps down. ive got 7 fans in there running during the light cycle and i am starting to think that maybe i pushed this space a little too far.
i really want to use the digital 250w lumatek ballasts cause they are efficient convenient and look cool too. i've read that these make your bulbs shine 20-30% brighter and longer.
so taking into consideration that the 400w was used and isnt as efficient at the 250w digital ballasts i started to slowly add the 250s and when i had two 250s and one 400 in noticed the temps way too high so i decided to put the last 250 in there and take the 400 out altogether. was this the right move? will my flowers not be as dense as they would with the 250ws even though i have 3 of them more concentrated? i cant seem to place them any closer than 24" either because it just gets too hot on the top of the colas. the bottom of the tents temps are around 75 so i placed 3 fans on the floor pointing upward. this helped a bit but i'm still getting temps around 86 degrees at the tops.
im starting to wonder if i should take out two, 250s and put the 400w back in? or if this will just affect my yield and not really help temps?
should i sacrifice lumens for heat control? ive already seen some white hairs get burnt so i raised the lights quite a bit more. so im not even sure if i am getting enough light to the plants but at the same time creating more heat.
i've also got fans pointing at the top of the plants colas, it helps slightly.
whats more important lumens or keeping temps below 85? would i be ok if the tops are at 86 degrees but the rest of the canopy is at perfect temp 78 degrees if i have plenty of airflow? do i need to add another exhaust fan? im also pumping in fresh cold air from outside on full blast with a squirrel cage fan. ive also tried using this as an exhaust on the roof with no change in temps.
have i screwed my crop by adding more lights?
